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The Foothills Fescue Subregion

Milk River ValleyThe Foothills Fescue Subregion occurs largely on morainal, glaciolacustrine and outwash deposits along the lower flanks of the Foothills Geologic Belt, the Porcupine Hills and onto the adjacent plains area. They occur primarily as a narrow band between the Mixedgrass Subregion and the Foothills Parkland Subregion, although in some areas Foothills Grassland merges directly into the Montane Subregion of the Rocky Mountain Region. There are disjunct areas on the lower slopes of the Sweetgrass Hills and on unglaciated loess deposits on the plateau of the Cypress Hills and immediately adjacent plains. The largest area of this latter type is on the Milk River Ridge.

Elevations in this subregion are much higher than in the other two Cypress Hills grassland subregions. These range up to 1400 metres in parts of the Cypress Hills. A small portion of this subregion, in the Milk River Ridge - Cypress Hills areas, drains into the Milk River system. The rest is part of the Saskatchewan River system.

Information provided by and printed with the permission of Alberta Community Development, Parks and Protected Areas.

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