Did you know that Ontario has it very own badlands?  Have you ever heard of the Sundance kid? Read on……….

The Cheltenham Badlands are not a major tourist attraction at this time, but with the large number  of people trekking out to see this site, I am sure it won’t be long before the Province will figure out just how to make some money on it!

History:

This land was cleared for farming in the early 1900’s. Vegetation was removed and combined with overgrazing of livestock, the soft Queenston shale became exposed to the elements.

The lands use for grazing ended in 1930’s but the erosion has continued ever since, exposing more  rock each year.

If you look closely at the dead tree off centre, you can see that the roots are balanced on the rock and there is no dirt remaining underneath them.

The soil is very dry and these roots are slowly losing the dirt around them.

The badlands are northwest of Toronto. Currently, if you visit, you just park on the road and take a very short walk in. You can see them from the road. 

Other Canadian Badlands:

Big Muddy Badland in Saskatchewan   and …..the Sundance Kid.

Situated in southern Saskatchewan and northern Montana, these badlands formed the northern end of the ‘ OUTLAW TRAIL’, a series of trails used by the outlaws in the American West from Canada to Mexico during the 19th and 20th centuries. A number of famous outlaws including the Sundance kid, Coyote Pete, Dutch Henry, and Sam Kelly utilized the trail and hid in the badlands.

Dinosaur Provincial Park,

This Unesco World Heritage Site is in the Valley of Red Deer River,at Drumheller,  Alberta. Also, it is home to the Drumheller Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology.

 

Thanks Colline for showing your Badland photos and reminding me that I had these tucked away in a drawer.   This has been fun.    Click to see Collines blog on badlands in Mauritius.

Thanking for visiting today….