History
Red Deer River History
| Date | Event |
| 2004 | The Special Areas water Supply Project receives widespread opposition in Alberta. At a cost of $200 million to the taxpayer, the project would divert water from the Red Deer River for irrigation purposes. This would represent an Inter-basin transfer from the Red Deer basin to the North Saskatchewan basin, currently not allowed under the 1999 Water Act. The proposed project also flies in the face of recent commitments in the Alberta government's 2003 Water for Life: "The Government of Alberta is committed to the wise management of Alberta's water quantity and quality for the benefit of Albertans now and in the future." The strategy notes "During all stages of the consultation on the water strategy, Albertans stated again and again that water conservation... is a fundamental component of any provincial water strategy." |
| 1995 | Dinosaur Provincial Park was established with the goal to protect the fossil bone beds of the Cretaceous period. The imposing landscape and deep river valley with riparian forests and cottonwood trees makes this earn its UNESCO World Heritage Site designation. |
| 1884 |
Joseph Tyrrell discovered a dinosaur head while evaluating coal deposits. With this discovery he defined the future significance of the Red Deer River valley. |
| 1800’s |
Since the mid 1800’s, the lower part of the river was a source of coal mining. The coal seams are exposed right along the river and coulees. |
| prehistory |
The Red Deer River was particularly important to aboriginal survival in prehistoric times. To date 1500 archaeological sites have been recorded, including tepee rings and medicine wheels. Of these, 26 are of significance. Buffalo Jump, east of Trochu, is the highest buffalo jump in Alberta used by the native people intermittently over the past 700 to 3000 years. The Alkali Creek area includes cairns once used to watch bison herds on the terraces. |
