Headway Systems: Gulf Islands Cycling

DRY ISLAND BUFFALO JUMP (The following text was taken from the above website. There are some fabulous professional pictures on this site as well.) Dry Island Buffalo Jump Provincial Park is named for two of its features, a "buffalo Jump" and a "dry island." About 700 years ago, aboriginal hunters used the cliffs to drive buffalo to their deaths so that they could harvest the meat and hides. And, over the millennia, erosion has created an isolated island ... one of the few places where it's possible to walk on grasslands as they were before the extensive cultivation that now characterize the region. The park is notable for its features. The lands along the banks of the Red Deer River, which cuts through the park, are a rolling grassland and a rich cottonwood riparian habitat. Between these bottom grasslands and cottonwoods and the top rim of the valley are countless formations, sometimes called hoodoos, that have been sculpted by rain, wind, and ice over the millennia. While the grasslands are lovely, the sculpted canyon walls are breathtaking and unique. These habitats support a variety of wildlife and plants that uniquely depend on them for their survival. Since most of this type of habitat is already dedicated to farming, if we wish to protect unique species, we have to protect the wildlands that support them. If you want to read more about this type of habitat and the unique species that depend on them visit the web site: Alberta's Special Places. After intensive lobbying by the citizens of Huxley, Alberta, the Provincial Government established the park in 1970. For the most part, the park consists of a gate which is locked in the evening and picnic facilities at the bottom of the road that leads down from the gate to the bottomlands of the park. There are a number of easy to find footpaths in the park. In wet weather, the gate is locked because the mud in this area becomes particularly slippery making the steep road impossible to drove even with a 4-wheel vehicle.
Heading for the hills	In amongst the hoodoos

Hoodoos forming

Ursula & Joe	Carol & Roy


Roy's collection of different colored rocks


Roy, Valerie, Carolyn, George, Joe, Ursula Nearing the top. We climbed up through the eroded mud cliff bands and hoodoos to reach the top of Dry Island.. The top of the island is covered with natural grasses as it has been untouched by cultivation. Due to the erosion caused by the river the island has been cut off from farming and grazing.
Valerie	Walking along the top of the island. You can see the Red Deer river in the background.


The cliffs are an eroded mix of colours and forms





Roy standing on a wall of rock hard sculpted mud with hoodoos below




Hoodoos are spires of rock that protrude from the bottom of arid basins and badlands. They are composed of soft sedimentary rock, and are topped by a piece of harder, less easily eroded stone that protects the column from the elements.



The down section was quite tricky in places as there were loose rocks on the hard clay making it very slippery.


Making our way down to the valley floor.	This is the only wild life we saw. George-alopes are a very rare breed