FOCAL POINT
Badlands of the North
In the far northwest corner of the province, the 65-hectare Kleskun Hill Natural Area is like a miniature Drumheller. Rolling hills rise above the plains, displaying their shale, coal, and sandstone layers. This protected outcrop, about 20 kilometers east of Grande Prairie, is home to the last remaining native grasslands in the region. Dinosaur fossils have also been found there. Visitors can explore the area on walking trails and hike to the top of Dinosaur Hill for a view of the heritage village next door. This living museum has several pioneer buildings to discover, including a barn, a general store, a church, and a school. Kleskun Hill isn’t the only spot in the region where dinosaur remains have been found. About 25 kilometres west of Grande Prairie, paleontologists continue to unearth fossils at Pipestone Creek Park. This mass grave — aptly named the River of Death and Discovery Bonebed — contains one of the highest concentrations of dinosaur bones in the world. Most are from a plant-eating dinosaur called Pachyrhinosaurus lakustai, named for Al Lakusta, the teacher who discovered the site back in 1974. Visitors will soon be able to learn much more about the region’s geological and paleontological history at the new Philip J. Currie Museum, which is set to open this fall in the Town of Wembley, about 20 kilometres west of Grande Prairie.
PHILIP J. CURRIE DINOSAUR MUSEUM Design: Teeple Architects and Architecture|Tkalcic Bengert Structural Engineering: Fast & Epp and StructureCraft General Contractor: PCL Construction Opening: Fall 2015 Size: 3,800-square-metres Cost: $34 million
SURFABLE dinomuseum.ca
78 | PEG SUMMER 2015
Made with FlippingBook flipbook maker