Faculty of Arts & Science
Geography

GENERAL INFORMATION

All field trips are on Friday 8 March

Meeting Points

• For Geoarchaeology and Agricultural Geography meet at the registration table in the Alberta Water and Environmental Science Building (AWESB). See below for specific meeting times.
• For Urban Geography meet behind the Lethbridge Lodge at the west end of 4th Ave S at 9:30 am.
• For Historical Geography meet at Fort Whoop-Up at 2 pm. 

Register and Pay for the field trips when you register for the conference. There is limited space available on some field trips.

On-campus Parking

• On Thursday and Friday daytime we arranged free parking for conference delegates only in Lot M.
• Lot M also accommodates buses/coaches, and is right in front of the Alberta Water and Environmental Science Building (AWESB).
• On Friday evening and Saturday parking is free for all, butwe recommend you park in Lot E, as this is closest to the conference venues.

Driving times:

• Driving time from the Lethbridge Lodge/Days Inn  to the University of Lethbridge is ~10 min.
• From hotels on Mayor Magrath Drive the drive is ~20 min.

4 FIELD TRIPS IN LETHBRIDGE AND ENVIRONMENT

Geoarchaeology: Sundial Medicine Wheel and Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump (all day)

Tour contact: Dr Shawn Bubel (bubest@uleth.ca)
Time: 10:00 am-4:30 pm, Meet at Registration Table in AWESB at 10 am on Friday
Cost: $50 (incl. transportation and entrance fee for Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump. Lunch at the cafeteria at the Interpretative Center is not included.)
Limit: 48 participants

If the weather cooperates, Shawn Bubel will take you off the beaten track to the Sundial Medicine Wheel, one of the most impressive ceremonial sites on the northwestern Great Plains. This archaeological site has a central cairn, two stone circles surrounding it, and a pathway leading to the center. It is on the highest of several knolls that dot the upland area east of Carmangay. If conditions are clear, we will be able to see Chief Mountain from it. The site is remarkably well-preserved and remains much as it was thousands of years ago, though it experienced several phases of construction. On the way to the site we will travel through glacial (hummocky) terrain, and will see erratics and a large spillway. From there we will travel to Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump, a UNESCO World Heritage site. We will enjoy lunch at the cafeteria (they have bison burgers and other lunch options) and tour the interpretive center and the jump site. We will likely travel together on a school bus since we need a high-clearance vehicle and want to be sure no one gets lost out there!

Urban Geography: Cultural and Economic Landscape of Downtown Lethbridge (morning) - TRIP HANDOUT

Tour contact: Ian MacLachlan (maclachlan@uleth.ca)
9:30-12:00 am, 9:30-12:00 am, meet behind the Lethbridge Lodge at the west end of 4th Ave S at 9:30 am.

Ian MacLachlan has been leading field trips through the downtown area of Lethbridge for over twenty years and how the city has changed in that time! Eatons and the Marquis Hotel have closed, the brewery is gone, and alongside Alberta’s leading destination university, the west side of the city is home to nearly 38 percent of the city’s population.  This field trip offers the opportunity to take a 6-7 kilometer stroll through one of the most interesting cities in Canada’s Prairie West, observing a fascinating blend of heritage preservation and economic stability in an urban landscape that is in constant flux and currently guided by the award-winning “Heart of the City” downtown revitalization project. Here and there along the way we’ll pause and chat with some of the community leaders in the planning of the city’s commercial core. We shall carpool between the registration desk on campus and the Galt Museum parking lot.

Historic Geography: Tour of Fort Whoop-Up National Historic Site (afternoon)

Tour contact: Dr Dan Johnson (dan.johnson@uleth.ca)
Time: 2:00-4:30 pm, Meet at at Fort Whoop-Up in Indian Battle Park at 2 pm. This is in the Oldman River floodplain behind the Lethbridge Lodge. Follow 3rd Ave S to the bottom. This is a short 1.1 km walk from the Lodge.
Cost: Normal admission is $7 for adults and $5 for students and is payed at the entrance to the Fort. We are trying to arrange discounts.

Formally trained as an entomologist and range ecologist and informally as student of the natural and cultural landscape, Dan Johnson will lead a field trip to Fort Whoop-Up, one of the most notorious whiskey trading posts of the Northwest Territories.  "Nestled in the coulees of Indian Battle Park, near the Oldman River, lies Fort Whoop-Up, the famous frontier trading post.  It all started in 1869, when American fur traders brought a wagon train of whiskey and other trade goods north. They established a stockade, later known as Fort Whoop-Up, and made a ton of profit before the Mounties showed up to rein in the whiskey business. Today, the fort still trades with the aboriginal Blackfoot tribes of Southern Alberta, supplying many ceremonial goods, hides, sweetgrass, and other items.” (Quoted from http://www.fortwhoopup.com/) We shall carpool over to the fort from the university.

Agricultural Geography: Lethbridge Research Centre Tour (afternoon) - TRIP HANDOUT

Tour Contact: Dr Anne Smith (Anne.Smith@AGR.GC.CA)
Time: 1:30-4:00 pm, Meet at Registration Table in AWESB at 1:15 pm on Friday, we will leave at 1:30 pm promtly.
Cost: no cost (car pooling or school bus)

The Lethbridge Research Centre (LRC) is one of the largest facilities within Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada's national network. The centre was established in 1906 in an ideal location to address issues related to sustainable crop production systems under dry land and irrigated conditions, environmental issues associated with a semi-arid climate, and beef production systems. The centre also leads research in the development of bioindustrial platforms, particularly for triticale, and biocontrol.