Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
SOUTHERN
FOOTHILLS
out to be inferior in quality and hard
to extract, troubled times set in. Local
coal fetched lower prices than that of
British Columbia, and by 1915 the fi rst
mine had closed; the others soon fol-
lowed. The municipality was declared a
Historic District in 1988.
Longview
The Bar U Ranch National Historic
Site
commemorates the contri-
bution of ranching to the development
of Canada. Until recently still a working
ranch, it is one of four ranches that once
covered almost all of Alberta. Parks
Canada and Canadian Heritage now
administer the ranch, working with the
Friends of the Bar U Ranch. Visitors can
wander freely around the ranch and
observe ranching operations, although
these are staged. “Bar U” refers to the
symbol that was branded on cattle from
this ranch. A beautiful visitor centre fea-
tures an interpretive display on breeds
of cattle, roundup techniques, branding
and quirt whips. A 15min video on the
Mighty Bar U
conveys the romance of
the cowboy way of life and also ex-
plains how the native grasslands and
Chinook winds unique to Alberta have
been a perpetual cornerstone of ranch-
ing. The centre also houses a gift shop
and a restaurant where visitors can taste
an authentic buffalo burger.
The Bellevue Mine
opened in
1903 and had been operating for seven
years without incident when it was
rocked by an underground explosion
on December 9, 1910. Afterdamp poi-
soning lead to the deaths of 30 min-
Crowsnest Pass
The area along Highway 3 between
Pincher Creek and the continental
divide is known as the Municipality
of Crowsnest Pass. A number of once
thriving coal-mining communities along
the highway are now home to a hand-
ful of sites offering an interesting his-
torical perspective on the local mining
industry. Coal was fi rst discovered here
in 1845, but it wasn't until 1898, when
the Canadian Pacifi c Railway built a
line through the pass, that the area
was really settled. Coal was the only
industry, and when the mineral turned
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