Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: north east of Calgary

A banded cliff wall being eroded in typical fashion at Horseshoe Canyon, near Dumheller, Alberta. We were surrounded by rock walls like this one when we spent a few hours on July 14th exploring the walls and the floor of the canyon. Most people tend to stand on the canyon rim, breathing in the spectacular view, but the hike down in the canyon reveals all sorts of interesting things. Last summer, we even found a family of Great Horned Owls down in the Canyon.

This is where I spent the day, yesterday. Rosedale is a community in southern Alberta, located on Highway 56, 107 kilometres (66 mi) northeast of Calgary, at the confluence of Rosebud River and Red Deer River. It is 8 km southeast of Drumheller and this whole area is part of the Canadian Badlands - home of the dinosaurs. The owners of a very beautiful home perched at the top of one of the hills generously allowed us to wander the area, recording all species of plants, birds, flowers, insects, etc. that we came across. Part of this family's land is under The Nature Conservancy of Canada. How we appreciate those who do everything they can to help preserve beautiful land, protecting it from development, keeping it safe for all of us and for future generations. We first explored the hilll in the foreground and then, after lunch, climbed the hill across the gravel road, on the right hand side of the photo, continuing down the valley. Thank you to the Browns for welcoming us and letting us botanize here, and for making coffee for us before we returned to Calgary. It tasted so good, especially after our long day! I've placed the photo on my map just at Rosedale, to give an idea of where Rosedale is located. I don't have the exact location for where we were.

This is where we spent the day botanizing on Saturday, 21st August - Horshoe Canyon, near Drumheller, in the Badlands of Alberta. To the north east of our city, there are endless miles of flat prairie. Then, suddenly, one comes across the amazing Badlands - our own mini Grand Canyon! This is one of the best-known sites in the Canadian Badlands, located 17 kilometres west of Drumheller on Highway 9. Horseshoe Canyon is about 145 km (88 miles) from Calgary. It takes between 1½ hours and 2 hours to drive there from Calgary. This shot was taken just before I reached the top rim after a day of plant search. Unfortunately, the invasive Creeping/Canada Thistle was growing here in abundance. "Horseshoe Canyon is an isolated pocket of badlands amidst the Alberta prairie. Apart from its aesthetic value, Horseshoe Canyon also represents three unique habitats or ecosystems: the prairie, the wooded coulee slopes and the badlands." www.natureconservancy.ca/site/PageServer?pagename=ab_ncc_... www.tyrrellmuseum.com/

This was a new plant found two days ago, on our climb down into Horseshoe Canyon, near Drumheller, north east of Calgary. The whole, solitary plant (a dense, spike-like cluster), was maybe three inches tall and this is a macro of just a few of the very tiny flowers in the cluster. This is native to North America. In a United Nations Environment Programme, World Conservation Monitoring Centre, for Dinosaur Provincial Park, also in the Badlands of Alberta, the following was reported: "Threatened species, or those at the limit of their biogeographic range, include Orobanche ludoviciana ..."

A macro photo of this tiny-flowered plant, found on Saturday, when several of us spent the day botanizing Horseshoe Canyon in the Badlands of Alberta. This place is a 1 1/2 to 2 hour drive, north east of Calgary. I don't remember seeing this plant before and found that it's quite pretty when seen magnified this way. www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/crops/facts/ontweeds/prostra...

This was a fascinating thing to see down at the bottom of Horseshoe Canyon, in the Badlands of Alberta, north east of the city. Several of us spent the day on 21st August botanizing the amazing area. This spider web was so different and very intricate, constructed down in the grass. Too bad the little (?) owner didn't show itself - maybe camera shy?

A friend happened to notice this little Nuttall's Cottontail on Saturday, when several of us drove north east of the city to Alberta's wonderful Badland area. We spent the day botanizing Horseshoe Canyon and this little rabbit was at the canyon bottom, tucked into a "cave" caused by erosion of the hillside. I think perhaps he felt that we couldn't see him? : ) I've only ever seen one of the Rabbits maybe three or four times before, so this was a real treat. Thanks, Susan!

This was one of the many plants we found in bloom on the floor of Horseshoe Canyon on Saturday. Several of us went north east of the city to the Badlands near Drumheller and spent the day botanizing Horseshoe Canyon. I very rarely see Blue Lettuce, but I love the small flowers.

We were watching this little green Stink Bug (also called a Shield Bug), part way up the trail at Horseshoe Canyon a few days ago. This area is a 1 1/2 to 2 hour drive north east of Calgary, to the Badlands near Drumheller. Famous Dinosaur country : ) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentatomoidea

I'd never seen Russian Thistle up close before. The flowers are small, inconspicuous, green-white or pink, and are usually solitary in the leaf axils. Photographed this plant on the canyon floor at Horseshoe Canyon, Badlands of Alberta near Drumheller. www.agf.gov.bc.ca/cropprot/weedguid/russthis.htm

We noticed a number of these beautifully round mounds of crumbled sand and rock, when we explored Horseshoe Canyon in the Badlands north east of Calgary, mid-June. I don't know what kind of Ant made these tiny holes and mounds, but they were so round and perfect. This one was maybe a couple of inches in diameter. Got home about an hour ago, after a lovely (though a little too warm for me) day botanizing part of the beautiful land belonging to Angela Cumberland and Patrick Brennan. This lies to the north west of the city and was a mix of forest, open meadows and a "bog". This family very generously supplied a delicious Chili and salad lunch for us, too! What an absolute treat - and many thanks from all of us!! Hope you will find the eventual list of flora and fauna observed today interesting and useful : ) Thanks so much for allowing us to explore your property! Oh, and on the way home, we stopped in Cochrane for one of their famous ice-creams ; )

Such a treat to come across two of these tiny Boreal Chorus Frogs when we botanized Horseshoe Canyon on 13th June. They were both down on the floor of the canyon. Horseshoe Canyon is a 1 1/2-2 hour drive north east of Calgary, across the prairie grasslands until suddenly one comes across the Badlands, our very own mini Grand Canyon : ) www.srd.alberta.ca/BioDiversityStewardship/WildSpecies/Am...

This was a new plant for us when we botanized Horseshoe Canyon, near Drumheller on 13th June. I know - it's "just" another small, yellow flower, LOL!!! "Plants are perennial, and tufted from a branching woody structure (caudex) atop a rather thin taproot. The thread-like leaves are branched, lie below the flower heads, and are covered with tiny resin glands. Mature plants usually have about 5-20 stems that each have 1-5 yellow flower heads about 3/4-inch wide. Fruits are tiny achenes about 1/8-inch long. These "rubber plants" probably were so called because the Amerindians of New Mexico made chewing gum from the bark and roots. Colorado rubber plant is a member of the sunflower family (Asteraceae) of which there are about 15,000 species worldwide. The generic name was compounded from the Greek humen "membrane" and oxys "sour", likely in allusion to the translucent scales at the base of the flowers and the sour or bitter taste of several of the species. Theodore Cockerell (1866-1948) published the first acceptable scientific description of the plant in 1904, long after its discovery by Sir William Jackson Hooker (1785-1865), who named the species in honor of the famous Scottish biologist and arctic explorer Sir John Richardson (1787-1865). Professor Cockerell was an intrepid student of the natural history of Colorado and New Mexico." www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/plants/wildflwr/species/hymer...

This is where seven of us spent the day yesterday, botanizing the slopes and floor of the spectacular Horseshoe Canyon, near Drumheller, Alberta. To the north east of our city, there are endless miles of flat prairie. Then, suddenly, one comes across the amazing Badlands - our own mini Grand Canyon! This is one of the best-known sites in the Canadian Badlands, located 17 kilometres west of Drumheller on Highway 9. The buildings and trees on the far distant rim give an idea of the size of this portion of the canyon. Horseshoe Canyon is about 145 km (88 miles) from Calgary. It takes between 1½ hours and 2 hours to drive there from Calgary. "Horseshoe Canyon is an isolated pocket of badlands amidst the Alberta prairie. Apart from its aesthetic value, Horseshoe Canyon also represents three unique habitats or ecosystems: the prairie, the wooded coulee slopes and the badlands." www.natureconservancy.ca/site/PageServer?pagename=ab_ncc_... www.tyrrellmuseum.com/