The Scenic Geology of Alberta: A Roadside Touring and Hiking Guide (by Dale Leckie, Broken Poplars, 2021). From the Buffalo Head Hills near Peace River (where volcanic kimberlite pipes brought deep-buried diamonds to the surface), to the Red Deer River Valley (where a 13-metre-thick layer of volcanic ash recalls a long-ago eruption that blocked out the sun), to Cold Lake (where glaciers bulldozed bedrock to create the big lakes and nearby hills), geologist Dale Leckie takes the reader on a tour of the “landscape gems… along Alberta’s highways and roads.” Lavishly illustrated, with easy to understand maps, this is a guidebook for curious travellers from Swan Hills to Milk River.
Popular Day Hikes: The Castle and Crowsnest (by Andrew Nugara, Rocky Mountain Books, 2021). Of all the beautiful mountain landscapes in Alberta for which tourist guidebooks are available, perhaps no region is more politically contentious than the high country around Crowsnest Pass—where coal mines are proposed and off-highway-vehicle fans object to limits on their “freedom.” You won’t find much mention of those controversies in this slim guidebook for hiking in the Crowsnest and the new Castle Provincial Park, but you will find good maps and great photos of mountain hikes, and—one hopes—inspiration to get out there on foot to see the gorgeous, often-threatened land for yourself.
