What are the Canadian Badlands?
Covering a broad swath of southern and eastern Alberta, the Canadian Badlands are a unique place to explore. Eons of compressed sea deposits have been carved by glaciation and subsequent erosion into a striking landscape of strangely-sculpted badland formations and rolling prairies bisected by coulees and deep river valleys. Fossils and coal This rapid erosion has exposed rich deposits of fossilized dinosaur bones and coal, the latter prompting a short-lived but colourful era of mining. The stories of coal mines, dinosaur finds and other natural and human histories are well told in the Canadian Badlands’ many fine museums, ranging from the world-class Royal Tyrrell Museum to small-town collections of Aboriginal and pioneer artifacts. Western hospitality Ranching and farming – much of it sustained by Canada’s largest irrigation system – remains a backbone of the economy, witness fields of colourful crops and grazing herds of cattle and even bison. You can sample this warm, western way o
