Large valleys, such as the Qu'Appelle and Souris river valleys, are major landscape features of vital importance to southern Saskatchewan. These valleys provide for diverse uses - water storage, farmland, wetland habitat, woodlands, gravel pits, and even ski areas. Try to imagine Saskatchewan without its valleys!
Characteristics of a Saskatchewan valley
Duncairn Dam, near Swift Current
Valley-floor gravel pit, North Battleford
Wapiti Valley Ski Area, Saskatchewan River valley
Irrigated cropland, Qu'Appelle River valley
Blackstrap reservoir
Valley wetland
Deer in coulee
A Puzzle:
Many large valleys such as the Qu'Appelle, Souris, and Frenchman contain streams that are too small to have carved them. How did these valleys form?