Natural Resources

NATURAL RESOURCES

Natural Gas | Oil | Coal | Clay | Public Grazing Land | Water | Sunshine | Links of Interest

The region is blessed with many natural resources

Natural Gas

Gas exploration, drilling and pipeline construction provide continued employment throughout the region in direct and indirect commerce, injecting millions of dollars into the economy.

The area is networked by flowlines moving natural gas to processing facilities. Petro-Canada will be constructing a pipeline from the Palliser region to Saskatchewan which will add to an existing pipeline near Medicine Hat.

Oil

Oil drilling and well maintenance, hand in hand with natural gas activity, also accounts for employment and direct economic benefit.

Independent and international oil companies own and maintain oil reserves in the Palliser region, including EnCana Corp, the giant company resulting from the merger of PanCanadian Energy Corp. and Alberta Energy Corp, which is also involved in extensive gas well drilling. Hundreds of oil services and trucking companies operate throughout the region.

Coal

The Sheerness coal mine, located approximately 200 km northeast of Calgary near Hanna in Special Areas 2, supplies coal to the Sheerness Generating Station, jointly owned by TransAlta Corporation and ATCO Electric.

The Coal Association estimates the coal reserves in Alberta 's eight operating mines will last more than 800 years at current rates of use. This coal has low sulfur content, producing less greenhouse gas emissions than coal from other parts of Canada.

Coal-powered generators account for about 60 per cent of the electricity in Alberta.

Clay

Clay beds near Medicine Hat/Redcliff have given rise to one of the largest brick and masonry suppliers in Western Canada with exports to Alaska, California, New York and Japan.

These clay beds suitable for brick and stoneware, extend to other areas of the southeast corner of Palliser, notably Dunmore and the Cypress areas.

Public Grazing Land

There are thousands of acres of government controlled community pastures which provide supplemental grazing for small farm or ranch operators in the Palliser region.

There are also huge provincial grazing reserves. Besides forage for beef cattle, the grazing reserves provide habitat for wildlife and fish, a source of water, and opportunities for recreation and research.

Some grazing reserves in the region are

Bow Island Provincial Grazing Reserve covering 39,093 acres of both flat and gently rolling land.
Pinhorn Provincial Grazing Reserve along the U.S. border directly south of Medicine Hat encompasses 76,681 acres of rolling native grasslands, divided by steep coulee banks.
The Sage Creek Provincial Grazing Reserve is located in the dry mixed grass subregion of the grassland natural 32 km from the village of Manyberries.
The Seven Persons Provincial Grazing covers about 6,605 acres of land within the dry mixed grass subregion of the grassland natural region. The reserve is crossed by canals of the St. Mary River Irrigation District.

Water

The main source of water in the region is the South Saskatchewan River Basin. It is estimated that about 30% of employment in southeastern Alberta is linked to irrigation through primary agriculture and the support of the agricultural processing and value added sector.

There are two major irrigation systems in the Palliser region supplying water to a variety of crops in the southeastern part of the region

St. Mary River Irrigation District
The Eastern Irrigation District
There are also smaller irrigation systems and private systems pumping from the Red Deer River on the north side for forage crops

Recreational areas that benefit from irrigation include

Bow Island Golf Course
Connaught Golf Course
Cottonwood Coulee Golf Course
Echodale (City of Medicine Hat )
Forty Mile Park
Golden Sheaf Park
Paradise Valley Golf Course
Southridge (City of Medicine Hat )

For further information about irrigation in the Palliser Region, visit The Alberta Irrigation Project.
Agriculture and Agri Food Canada provide Groundwater Assessment Reports from the Palliser Region and the whole of Alberta.

Sunshine

In 2005 Environment Canada declared Medicine Hat the sunniest city in Canada. The region offers dry, hot summers and cooler, sunny winters interspersed with warm Chinook winds.

An average of 2,512 hours of sun per year-compared to 2,394 days for Calgary; 2,303 for Edmonton; 2,038 for Toronto; 1,919 for Vancouver .

The growing season is over 120 days

Links of Interest

Alberta 's Abundant Energy, Proven Innovation Brochure

Alberta Geological Survey