Wawaskesy National Park was created near the South Saskatchewan River

South Saskatchewan River

The South Saskatchewan River is a major river in Canada that flows through the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan....

, north of the town of Medicine Hat

Medicine Hat, Alberta

Medicine Hat, known to locals as "The Hat", is a city of 61,097 people located in the southeastern part of the province of Alberta, Canada. It is enclaved within Cypress County along with the nearby Town of Redcliff, although neither is part of the county....

 in southeastern 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...

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

, in 1922, closed in 1938, and delisted in 1947.

Beginning in 1915 the 65 km² (25.1 sq mi) of land that formed Wawaskesy National Park had been designated the Canyon Antelope Reserve, to protect Pronghorn

Pronghorn

The pronghorn is a species of artiodactyl mammal endemic to interior western and central North America. Though not an antelope, it is often known colloquially in North America as the prong buck, pronghorn antelope, or simply antelope, as it closely resembles the true antelopes of the Old World and...

 (sometimes referred to as antelope). The area was one of many pronghorn reserves created in Alberta and Saskatchewan at that time.

Wawaskesy National Park was one of several national parks created in the 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...

 expressly to protect and regenerate dangerously low populations of bison

Bison

Members of the genus Bison are large, even-toed ungulates within the subfamily Bovinae. Two extant and four extinct species are recognized...

 and Pronghorn. Other 'regeneration' parks, also delisted in 1947, included Buffalo National Park

Buffalo National Park

Buffalo National Park was created near the town of Wainwright in east central Alberta on June 5, 1909, closed in 1940, and delisted in 1947 when the land was transferred to the Department of National Defence. The park land now comprises the majority of Canadian Forces Base Wainwright...

 and Nemiskam National Park

Nemiskam National Park

Nemiskam National Park was created north of the former community of Nemiskam in south central Alberta, Canada, in 1922. The park was closed and delisted in 1947. The first Park Superintendent was Edgar McHugh...

 (both in Alberta) and Menissawok National Park

Menissawok National Park

Menissawok National Park was a national park established in 1922 southeast of the town of Maple Creek, Saskatchewan, in the southwest part of the Canadian province. It closed in 1930, and was delisted in 1947...

 in 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....

.

Wawaskesy is a Cree

Cree language

Cree is an Algonquian language spoken by approximately 117,000 people across Canada, from the Northwest Territories and Alberta to Labrador, making it the aboriginal language with the highest number of speakers in Canada. It is also spoken in the U.S. state of Montana...

 First Nations

First Nations

First Nations is a term that collectively refers to various Aboriginal peoples in Canada who are neither Inuit nor Métis. There are currently over 630 recognised First Nations governments or bands spread across Canada, roughly half of which are in the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia. The...

 word.

With the rebound of pronghorn herds in southern Saskatchewan and Alberta, Wawaskesy was closed in 1938 and the land was used by area farmers. In 1941 the land was transferred to the Dominion of Canada and included in the Suffield Block

Suffield Block

The Suffield Block is an area located within Cypress County, southern Alberta, Canada approximately bounded by Highway 884 on the west, Highway 555 on the north,the South Saskatchewan River on the east and the Trans-Canada Highway on the south...

 for military use. On the 19th of June, 2003, a portion of the Suffield Block, including areas formerly within Wawaskesy National Park, were designated the Suffield National Wildlife Area

Suffield National Wildlife Area

Suffield National Wildlife Area is a National Wildlife Area located within the boundaries of CFB Suffield in Alberta, Canada.SNWA was formally created on the 19th of June, 2003 when it was officially gazetted under Canada Wildlife Act Regulations. The Department of National Defence was delegated...

.