Audio Excerpt

Brrrr for this question you'll need to throw on your parka! Although it may be warm in Saskatchewan today, well unless you ventured out into the prairie winter, which… ugh gives me shivers just thinking about... Anyways about 14,000 years ago it was literally freezing! The last continental ice sheet swept across Saskatchewan and stalled right where you are now. 

 

If you look to the North-East you’ll see the Qu’Appelle Valley! Large valleys formed when the glaciers melted as the melting ice water cut deep into sediments made by previous glaciations. These valleys are home to many coulees. Wait, what the heck is a coulee? Any idea? Is it,

 

A) a tee-pee that uses a rock face as a wind blocking wall 

B) a natural beverage cooler…  get it… coulee..

C) or c, a deep ravine?

 

So is a coulee, a) rock tee-pee, b) beverage cooler, c) deep ravine?

 

The answer is... C! A coulee is a deep ravine! Although I suppose if you put a beverage in it, it would probably get cold! These vast valleys don't only provide stunning views today, they also benefited people in the past as they provided a constant supply of tasty fish, deer and game. Coulees in the valley also provided shelter and fuel for settlers, not to mention some astonishing scenery!

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