West of highway 2 and north of the Yellowhead are the approximate boundaries of this quadrant. It features lakes, rivers, and the start of the boreal forest, culminating in the northern border at Lesser Slave Lake heralding the Canadian North.

1. Sites – Worth Visiting
2. Sites Not Worth Visiting
3. Quadrant Description
4. Notes and References

Sites – Worth Visiting

Sites Not Worth Visiting

• Pembina River Natural Area

Quadrant Description

Border Zone. The quadrant is a border zone in many ways. There are estate communities to the west into which metro-Edmonton is sending out its suburban feelers. Farm land is making a valiant stand against this change. Further West, Obed and Sundance Provincial Park are in the foothills but not quite the Rocky Mountains. North, the city of Athabasca starts the long march into boreal forest, the mysteries of the Canadian North and the Hudson Bay era in the area.

Lakes and then Forest. While much of YEGVille is blessed with rivers and lakes, many of destinations in the NW are on or near them. Big Lake has the Lois Hole Provincial Park, Lac St. Anne holds a special place in the hearts of the First Nations but also was indirectly the creation of St. Albert. The mighty Athabasca river flows through the top third of the quadrant and contains the Hudson Bay focused history of the area (as opposed to the Eastern Canada, (North) Saskatchewan river). When the lakes peter out the boreal forest begins north of Whitecourt.

The Start of the North? Lesser Slave Lake forms the northern border of this quadrant and is in many ways the start of the ‘Canadian North’. The lake lies roughly on the 55th parallel north – but roads north of the lake become less frequent and the dense forest denser.

Notes and References