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Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump

Destinations:  Calgary  |  Banff  |  Lake Louise  |  Icefield Parkway  |  Jasper  |  Northwest Territory  |  NW Alberta  |  Fort McMurray  |  Edmonton  |  Drumheller  |  Fort MacLeod  |  Buffalo Jump

Picture pages:  Buffalo Jump  |  Interpretive Center This is a UNESCO World Heritage site.  It is the world's oldest, largest, and best-preserved buffalo jump known to exist.  There is a wonderful Interpretive Center.  Why the name:  About 150 years ago, according to legend, a brave wanted to witness the plunge of countless buffalo as his people drove them to their deaths over the sandstone cliffs.  Standing under the shelter of a ledge, like a man behind a waterfall, he watched the great beasts fall past him.  The hunt was unusually good that day. As the bodies mounted, he became trapped between the animals and the cliffs.  When his people came to do the butchering, they found him with his skull crushed by the weight of the buffalo carcasses.  Thus they named the place "Head-Smashed-In."  It was designated a National Historic Site in 1968 and UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1981. We drove back to Calgary to rest for our return flight home the next day.  We traveled over 5000 km in the 2 weeks we spent in Alberta and the Northwest Territory. The End