Peace River

History

After the last glacial ice sheets melted from the northern parts of the Canadian prairies, an ice-free corridor allowed people from Asia to make a way deep into the Americas. When the Ice Age ended, many of these groups moved back north following the large herds of grazing animals which were, in turn, following the grasses northward in the warming climate. In the Peace River area, the two major language groups were the Athapaskan and the Algonquian. In 1670, following the arrival of the Hudson's Bay Company in Eastern Canada, guns began making their way westward as trade goods and the Algonquian speaking Cree began pushing the Athapaskan speakers Dunne-za or Beaver further west. The Beaver in turn pushed the Sekani deep into the Rocky Mountain Trench in the mid-18th century. A truce was eventually agreed to by the Cree and the Beaver and the great river they called Unchagah (the Peace River) became the boundary between their hunting territories. The North West Company pushed westward in the late 18th century in an attempt to reach the Pacific Ocean, creating rivalry with the other major fur-trading company, the Hudson's Bay Company. *1792: Alexander MacKenzie established Fort Fork on the eastern bank of Peace River just south of its confluence with the Smoky River. *1818, the HBC opens the first Fort St. Mary's at the forks of the Peace and the Smoky, it lasted for only one season *1820, the HBC built Fort St. Mary's III on the west side of the Peace River, directly across from the mouth of the Heart River (in the present day Town of Peace River). This was the third and final relocation of Fort St. Mary's *1886: The Anglican Church sets up the first mission on Shaftesbury Trail. *1888: The Roman Catholic Church sets up St. Augustine mission on Shaftesbury Trail.…

Geography

Physiographically, the Town of Peace River lies within the Peace River Formation, a stratigraphical unit of middle Albian age in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin. The area developed on sediments of the former lake bottom of Glacial Lake Peace, which covered most of the areas in the region that were below 610 m in elevation. The specific landform in which the town is situated is the Peace River Lowland which was incised by the Peace River and its tributaries right through the area's former glacial lake sediments and into the Cretaceous bedrock. The Peace River Lowlands is flanked by the Buffalo Head Hills to the east and the Whitemud and Clear Hills to the west. The general area is categorized ecologically as aspen parkland with mixedwood stands understory. There is a variety of wetland habitats in the area with several being quite marshy with shallow water, soft bottoms, and abundant aquatic vegetation. Some of the lakes and sloughs are used by various waterfowls, both migrating and resident, for nesting. The parkland also supports a host of terrestrial and aquatic animals. It is also Canada's most northerly agricultural region. The Greene Valley Provincial Park lies just east of the town in the Northern Sunrise County and the Peace River Wildland Provincial Park is to the south on the east bank of the Peace River. These parks and the rest of the river valley, including some river islands, provide habitat for wildlife such as moose, deer, bear, coyotes, bats, reptiles, birds and numerous fish species. Maintaining natural areas in the river valley and limiting use to suitable recreational use has minimized impacts to wildlife habitat. Historically, the town has been the subject of flooding. However, the town has developed a continuous dike system to prevent…

Most-observed species

• Black-capped Chickadee

  Poecile atricapillus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  548
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  376
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  342
• Common Raven

  Corvus corax Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  302
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  242
• Black-billed Magpie

  Pica hudsonia (Sabine, 1823) · Aves
  236
• Canada Goose (canadensis Group)

  Branta canadensis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  233
• Hairy Woodpecker

  Leuconotopicus villosus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  212

Most recent

• M 4.2 — 2023-03-16
  Alberta, Canada
• M 4.7 — 2023-03-16
  44 km ESE of Peace River, Canada
• M 4.6 — 2023-03-16
  Alberta, Canada
• M 4.3 — 2022-11-30
  Alberta, Canada
• M 3.9 — 2022-11-30
  42 km ESE of Peace River, Canada
• M 4.3 — 2022-11-30
  42 km ESE of Peace River, Canada