SPRING VALLEY, Sask. – There’s not a lot left of Spring Valley, but that’s not stopping area residents from a project to boost interest in their region.
The Spring Valley and District Interpretive Centre is located in the former high school, which later served as a community hall.
Located on four acres on a hill overlooking the village, the centre will focus on the natural and human history of the Cactus and Dirt Hills.
Board member Elaine Scheller said the centre should be operational this summer. The idea is to use the building as a starting point for tours of the area in co-operation with local landowners.
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The area’s attractions include unique geological formations that have been studied by scientists from around the world.
For example, Oro Lake on the south side of the hills was formed by glacier melt between 10,000 and 12,000 years ago.
“The locals always just thought of it as a glorified slough,” Scheller said.
But it is one of only three prairie lakes that has never gone dry and is saltier than the Dead Sea.
The hills are among the highest ice-pushed hills in the world, according to James Aber, a geology professor at Emporia State University in Kansas, who has studied the Missouri Coteau and has a special interest in glaciotectonics.
The area also boasts a long human history, with thousands of signs of First Nations and several large ranches.
The North-West Mounted Police trekked through on their way to Fort McLeod, Alta., in 1874. The Wood Mountain to Fort Qu’Appelle trail also goes through the area.
Birdwatchers and wildlife enthusiasts also like to spend time in the region.
Scheller said volunteers will staff the centre, which will contain maps and information about the area.
“We would like to develop a self-guided tour,” she said.
The board believes it can capture a portion of the tourists who are going to the Claybank Brick Plant national historic site on the northeast edge of the range. The road through Spring Valley is also a major shortcut for people heading to the southwest.
The centre is registered as a non-profit corporation and has been operating on membership and private donations but recently acquired funding from two organizations to help repair the building.
For more information, contact Scheller at 306-475-2640.
– BRIERE
