FOCAL POINT Southern Badlands
3 Bassano Dam bassano.ca
5 Medalta Potteries National Historic Site medalta.org In the early 1900s, Medicine Hat was home to a thriving clay products industry, thanks in part to the rich clay deposits found along the banks of the South Saskatchewan River. Today, the historic Medalta Potteries factory has been turned into a living museum. Visitors can step inside a beehive kiln, chat with costumed interpreters, or check out the museum’s 30,000-piece pottery collection. first flowed through in the spring of 1915, transforming semi-arid rangeland into rich farmland. In 1979, the aqueduct was replaced with a larger canal system. QUICK FACT: An innovative inverted siphon carried water under the CPR track and back up to grade. Built in 1910, the concrete dam is 220 metres long and diverts water from the Bow River into Alberta’s Eastern Irrigation District, where it’s used by farmers, industry, and 18,000 residents. Visitors can enjoy views of the river valley, take a tour, or try their luck fishing below the dam. QUICK FACT: The dam can handle a water flow of up to 3,000 cubic metres per second. 4 Brooks Aqueduct National and Provincial Historic Site history.alberta.ca Enjoy a quiet picnic or interpretive tour at the Brooks Aqueduct. Spanning more than three kilometres across 1,030 columns, this concrete irrigation canal was once the longest structure of its kind in the world. Water
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1 Royal Tyrrell Museum tyrrellmuseum.com No trip to the badlands is complete without a stop at the Royal Tyrrell Museum, home to one of the world’s biggest collection of dinosaur fossils.
Don't miss Hellboy, a new species of horned dinosaur just unveiled in the new Fossils in Focus exhibit. Indoors, take a stroll through time in galleries that showcase 3.9 billion years of life
on Earth. Outside, go fossil hunting with a guide or learn about mysterious popcorn rocks and other geological wonders. QUICK FACT: The museum celebrates its 30th birthday in 2015.
2 Dinosaur Provincial Park dinosaurpark.ca Canyons, coulees, and centrosaurus bonebeds await discovery at this UNESCO World Heritage Site. Public areas offer camping, a visitor
centre, and trails. For backcountry access, sign up for a bus tour, guided hike, or a real dinosaur dig. QUICK FACT: More than 40 species of dinosaurs have been found in the park’s world-famous fossil fields.
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