Valhalla Centre

History

The hamlet was founded in 1912 by Scandinavians that moved north from Edson. It was named by Reverend Halvar N. Ronning after Valhalla, Odin's hall in Norse mythology. The first post office was established in 1916. The settlement grew around a creamery until 1945. The Melsness Mercantile building was built in 1925, and functioned as a store and post office until 1951. Today it hosts a museum dedicated to the Scandinavian heritage of the area, and was declared a Provincial Historic Site.

Most-observed species

• Mallard

  Anas platyrhynchos Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  139
• Canada Goose (canadensis Group)

  Branta canadensis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  131
• Trumpeter/Tundra Swan

  Cygnus buccinator Richardson, 1831 · Aves
  100
• Red-winged Blackbird

  Agelaius phoeniceus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  97
• Black-billed Magpie

  Pica hudsonia (Sabine, 1823) · Aves
  91
• Common Raven

  Corvus corax Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  85
• American Coot

  Fulica americana Gmelin, 1789 · Aves
  78
• Lesser Scaup

  Aythya affinis (Eyton, 1838) · Aves
  76

Most recent

• M 4.5 — 2024-10-24
  34 km SSE of Grande Prairie, Canada