Manitoba Escarpment

The geography of the hills helped to demarcate the boundaries of the land controlled by different tribes, and the river valleys provided trade routes.

The first European to explore the region was Henry Kelsey, who travelled with a group of Cree traders from York Fort to the Red Deer River to encourage the aboriginal people there to trade with the Hudson's Bay Company.

In the 1890s, the Canadian Northern Railway built a line on the east side of the escarpment which was eventually terminated in the Red Deer River Valley at Erwood in 1900.

To the west lies Aspen Parkland which was a sparse deciduous forest until the 20th century, but today has been cleared to make way for farmland.

A dense layer of shrubs and herbs exists below the trees, and the forest floor is covered by mosses, ferns, and grass.

An early map of Lake Agassiz by geologist Warren Upham , which shows the hills and mountains comprising the Manitoba Escarpment. The map also shows Lake Saskatchewan and Lake Souris which created the northern and southern boundaries of the range.