Cypress Hills, Hill group in southeastern Alberta, Canada.
Cypress Hills is a hill group stretching across Alberta and Saskatchewan that reaches 1,468 meters in elevation. The area features forests, grasslands, and wetlands spread over approximately 2,500 square kilometers.
Indigenous peoples originally inhabited this region until the Canadian government established Fort Walsh there in 1875. This outpost arose from conflicts between American wolf hunters and the Assiniboine people living in the area.
The Blackfoot people called this place I-kim-e-kooy, meaning striped earth, while the Cree used manâtakâw to describe it. These names show how the Indigenous peoples understood and valued the land around them.
The area offers seven campgrounds around Elkwater Lake with over 350 sites available for visitors. Additional facilities scattered throughout the hills support various outdoor activities throughout the year.
The elevation creates a special microclimate that supports fourteen orchid species and over 220 bird species. This diversity sets the place apart from the flat prairies surrounding it.
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