The Athabasca Sand Dunes Provincial Park was created to protect the Athabasca dunes , a unique geophysical feature of the Saskatchewan provincial boreal shield ecosystem. The Athabasca Hills is one of the most active northern sand formations on Earth.
It first became a concern that it should be a protected area in 1969, eventually becoming the Athabasca Sand Dunes Provincial Wilderness Park on 24 August 1992.
The park extends along 100 kilometers along the southern edge of Lake Athabasca and is located within the Athabasca Valley of the Canadian Shield. The dunes have a length of 400 to 1,500 meters, and a maximum height of approximately 30 meters. This park can be accessed by float plane or boat only.
The William River flows through the west of the park that ends in the great river delta. The McFarlane River flows through the eastern part of the park. The park surrounds the Fond du Lac 231 (First Nations Reserve) located on the McFarlane River. First Nations Fond du Lac lies 44 km (27 miles) by air from the eastern boundary of the park.
Video Athabasca Sand Dunes Provincial Park
Geology
The Athabasca Hills is estimated to be about 8,000 years old, formed towards the end of the last glacial period. When the glaciers receded, the water melted the sand, sediment, and sediment in large quantities from local sandstone to Lake Athabasca, whose water level at that time was much higher than it is today. As the lake level decreases to its modern depths, large sand deposits are revealed. The dunes were very unstable, constantly shifting by the wind, which pushed the dunes on the edge of the area into the surrounding forest. The evidence also shows that fires have greatly affected the wind that forms dunes. Unlike the dunes closer to the lake, the southern sand dunes are actually quite stable compared to other areas of the region.
Geological features that can be found in this region include esks and coastal mountains. In addition, part of the Williams River in this region flows through channels braided in the sand. Some of the hut fields are covered with desert sidewalks.
The dunes are generally parabolic shaped. Sand almost completely covers the underlying sandstone deposits; the runway is about 20 meters below ground average. The entire sandy region, including the southern dunes, serves as a huge aquifer, which as a result greatly affects the life of plants and the construction of dunes.
Maps Athabasca Sand Dunes Provincial Park
Flora is endemic
This area is home to endangered and endemic species of plants not found elsewhere. Some of the plants that can be found in this area are chickweed field ( Cerastium arvense ), leafy willow trees ( Salix silicicola ), Mackenzie hairgrass ( Deschampsia mackenzieana ), Tyrrell's willow ( Salix planifolia tyrrellii ), and floccose tansy ( Tanacetum huronense var. Floccosum).
See also
- List of Saskatchewan parks
- Sand Hill (Nebraska)
- Monahans Sandhills State Park, Texas
Maps
- William River's mouth 59 Â ° 8? 48.16? N 109 Â ° 18? 28.02? W
- The mouth of the McFarlane River 59Ã, Â ° 12? 38.21? N 107Ã, 57 Â °? 44.75? W
- Maps
References
External links
- Official website
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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