Nature
The park comprises 17.80 square kilometres (4400 acres) of coulee and prairie habitat, and boasts a diverse variety of birds and animals.
Bird species include prairie falcon, great horned owl, short-eared owl, American kestrel, cliff swallow and the introduced ring-necked pheasant and grey partridge.
The prairie surrounding the park is a habitat for pronghorn antelope, and other species inhabiting the park include mule deer, northern pocket gophers, skunks, raccoons, yellow-bellied marmots, and bobcat. Tiger salamanders, boreal chorus and leopard frogs, and plains spadefoot toads represent the amphibians, and garter snakes, bull snakes and prairie rattlesnakes can be found.
The coulee environment is optimal for tree species such as balsam poplar and narrow leaf cottonwood. Peach leaf willow and plains cottonwood are also found here. A large number of shrubs grow here, including chokecherry, juniper, saskatoon, sandbar willow, and two varieties of wild rose. Some of the most northern species of cactus, including Opuntia (prickly pear) and Pediocactus (pincushion) are found in the park as well.
Read more about this topic: Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park
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