Cypress Hills Park, Saskatchewan

The diverse, cross-country beauty of the nation is depicted on 12 provincial and territorial parks stamps to be issued for Canada Day 1993. A striking geological anomaly on the flat plains, the Cypress Hills are located in the extreme southwestern part of Saskatchewan and in adjacent southeastern Alberta. The "hills" are actually part of a dissected, flat-topped plateau. Cypress is a misnomer, too. The voyageurs passing through the area mistook the lodgepole pines for eastern jack pines (cyprès) and named the area "Montagne de Cyprès", Anglicized to "Cypress Hills". The area's higher elevation and increased precipitation boast flora and fauna not found on the plains. Nearly 200 species of birds dwell in the park, which has one of the few remaining fescue grasslands in Canada. Rich in history, the area was once the hunting grounds of Cree and Metis, the location of traders and the site of the NWMP's Fort Walsh. Many fossils finds indicate that pre-historic mammals such as camels and saber-tooth cats once lived there. Formed as a Saskatchewan Provincial Park in 1931, it became part of Canada's first interprovincial park when Saskatchewan and Alberta signed an agreement in 1989 designating the two parks as one. The stamp designs convey the feeling that the artist visited these spectacular locations and was awed by their beauty.