The Land

Located in the prairie region of Canada, Saskatchewan is bordered by Manitoba, Alberta, the Northwest Territories and the United States, and is the only Canadian province with entirely man-made boundaries.

The province is rectangular in shape and is 651 900 km2 in area. Half of it consists of forests, one-third of cultivated lands, and one-eighth is covered with water. The northern zone rests on a formation of Precambrian rock characteristic of the Canadian Shield. As a result, there are numerous (over 100 000) lakes, rivers, bogs and rocky outcroppings. The southern part of the province is relatively flat, with occasional valleys created by erosion from the glacial era. This prairie zone is where most of the people live.

Camel caravans might not seem out of place in certain parts of Saskatchewan. Athabasca Provincial Park has sand dunes 30 metres high and semi-arid vegetation. Nowhere else in the world are dunes found this far north.

The name Saskatchewan comes from the Cree word "kisiskatchewanisipi," which means "swift-flowing river." The province has four major rivers: the Assiniboine, the North Saskatchewan, the South Saskatchewan and the Churchill. The whole province enjoys a hot, dry summer but the town of Estevan is the undisputed "sunshine capital" of Canada, enjoying 2 540 hours of sunshine per year.