Palliser's Triangle, or the Palliser Triangle, is a largely semi-arid steppe

Steppe

In physical geography, steppe is an ecoregion, in the montane grasslands and shrublands and temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biomes, characterized by grassland plains without trees apart from those near rivers and lakes...

 region in the Prairie Provinces of Western Canada

Western Canada

Western Canada, also referred to as the Western provinces and commonly as the West, is a region of Canada that includes the four provinces west of the province of Ontario.- Provinces :...

 that was determined to be unsuitable for agriculture because of its unfavourable climate. The soil in this area is dark brown or black in color and is very nutrient-rich. The semi-arid conditions, however, initially made this area difficult to farm. The triangular-shaped area is located mostly in southern Alberta

Alberta

Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...

 and Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....

.

History

The area was named after John Palliser

John Palliser

John Palliser was an Irish-born geographer and explorer. Born in Dublin, Ireland, he was the son of Colonel Wray Palliser and a brother of Major Sir William Palliser , all descendants of Dr William Palliser, Archbishop of Cashel .From 1839 to 1863, Palliser served in the Waterford Militia,...

, the leader of the 1857–1859 survey expedition

Palliser Expedition

The British North American Exploring Expedition, commonly called the Palliser Expedition, explored and surveyed the open prairies and rugged wilderness of western Canada from 1857 to 1860. The purpose was to explore possible routes for the Canadian Pacific Railway and discover new species of plants...

 to Canada's west, who first remarked on this area. Palliser discovered it was a dry land with no trees; thus, he thought it would be unsuitable for growing crops. A few years later John Macoun

John Macoun

John Macoun was an Irish-born Canadian naturalist.- Early life :Macoun was born in Magheralin, County Down, Ireland in 1831, the third child of James Macoun and Anne Jane Nevin. In 1850 the worsening economic situation in Ireland led his family to emigrate to Canada, where he settled in Seymour...

, a government official, argued that it would be good for growing wheat

Wheat

Wheat is a cereal grain, originally from the Levant region of the Near East, but now cultivated worldwide. In 2007 world production of wheat was 607 million tons, making it the third most-produced cereal after maize and rice...

 and advertised it as such to immigrant farmers. The triangle began to be settled and farmed at the start of the 20th century.

Ranching

For many years this area was very attractive to ranching. The sandy soil, grassy land cover, and dry weather supported cattle grazing

Grazing

Grazing generally describes a type of feeding, in which a herbivore feeds on plants , and also on other multicellular autotrophs...

. Many U.S. ranchers would bring herds north to graze in the triangle. By 1912, however, much of the land was overgrazed

Overgrazing

Overgrazing occurs when plants are exposed to intensive grazing for extended periods of time, or without sufficient recovery periods. It can be caused by either livestock in poorly managed agricultural applications, or by overpopulations of native or non-native wild animals.Overgrazing reduces the...

.

Grain production

For a time yields were high, but a combination of the dry conditions and poor agricultural practices turned the area into a Dust Bowl

Dust Bowl

The Dust Bowl, or the Dirty Thirties, was a period of severe dust storms causing major ecological and agricultural damage to American and Canadian prairie lands from 1930 to 1936...

 in the 1930s, helping plunge Canada into the Great Depression. Modern farming techniques and a series of rainy years helped to reestablish the area as an important farming region; however, farming has always been precarious, and to this day the area's farmers often receive large government subsidies to deal with drought conditions.

See also

• Canadian Prairies
  Canadian Prairies
  The Canadian Prairies is a region of Canada, specifically in western Canada, which may correspond to several different definitions, natural or political. Notably, the Prairie provinces or simply the Prairies comprise the provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba, as they are largely covered...
  
  
• Great Plains
  Great Plains
  The Great Plains are a broad expanse of flat land, much of it covered in prairie, steppe and grassland, which lies west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains in the United States and Canada. This area covers parts of the U.S...
  
  
• Shortgrass prairie
  Shortgrass prairie
  The shortgrass prairie ecosystem of the North American Great Plains is a prairie that includes lands from the eastern foothills of the Rocky Mountains east to Nebraska and Saskatchewan, including rangelands in Alberta, Wyoming, Montana, North, South Dakota, and Kansas, and extending to the south...
  
  
• Prairie
  Prairie
  Prairies are considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the dominant vegetation type...
  
  
• Geography of Alberta
  Geography of Alberta
  Alberta is a Canadian province. Located in Western Canada, the province has an area of and is bounded to the south by the U.S. state of Montana along 49° north for ; to the east at 110° west by the province of Saskatchewan for ; and at 60° north the Northwest Territories for...
  
  
• Geography of Saskatchewan
  Geography of Saskatchewan
  The geography of Saskatchewan , is unique among the provinces and territories of Canada in some respects. It is one of only two landlocked regions and it is the only region whose borders are not based on natural features like lakes, rivers or drainage divides...
  
  
• Steppe
  Steppe
  In physical geography, steppe is an ecoregion, in the montane grasslands and shrublands and temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biomes, characterized by grassland plains without trees apart from those near rivers and lakes...
  
  
• Dust Bowl
  Dust Bowl
  The Dust Bowl, or the Dirty Thirties, was a period of severe dust storms causing major ecological and agricultural damage to American and Canadian prairie lands from 1930 to 1936...
  
  
• Semi-arid climate