Flag of SaskatchewanRegions of Saskatchewan map used on Wikivoyage.
The regional designations vary widely within the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. With a total land area of 651,036 square kilometres (251,366 sq mi), Saskatchewan is crossed by major rivers such as the Churchill and Saskatchewan and exists mostly within the Hudsons Bay drainage area. Its borders were set at its entry into Confederation in 1905, and Saskatchewan is one of only two landlocked provinces (the other is Alberta) and the only province whose borders are not based on natural features.
As the fifth largest province by area (and sixth largest by population), Saskatchewan has been divided up into unofficial and official regions in many ways. As well, it is part of larger national regions.
Unofficial regions
Parts of Saskatchewan have been given formal and informal names, including
Ghost Town Trail, region of largely abandoned communities spanning across the southern part of the province and centred around Highway 13.[1]
Medicine Line, along the border between Canada and the United States (from the Lake of the Woods to the continental divide), named so by Native Americans because of its ability to prevent U.S. soldiers from crossing it.[2]
Perogy Belt (or Garlic Belt), across Central Saskatchewan, especially around the Canora and Yorkton areas, and part of the larger region that spreads from Central Alberta to Southern Manitoba, nicknamed for its abundance of people of Ukrainian descent.[3]
The province is regularly divided into three regions of Northern, Central, and Southern Saskatchewan, the latter two of which include the subregions of East-Central, Southeast, Southwestern, and West-Central Saskatchewan.[5][6][7] Along with these regions, the terms Northwestern and Northeastern Saskatchewan may be used to refer to the furthest north reaches of Central Saskatchewan; or, less often, they may be used to divide Northern Saskatchewan into two.
Northern Saskatchewan, the northern half of the province, mostly uninhabited, with its southern boundary often defined near Prince Albert and the start of the boreal forest.
Central Saskatchewan, the part of the province located between Northern and Southern Saskatchewan, including Saskatoon and the most densely populated parts of the province, with its northern boundary often defined at the boreal forest tree line and its southern boundary at Lake Diefenbaker and the Qu'Appelle Valley.
Southeast Saskatchewan, the southeastern corner of the province, centred around Estevan and Weyburn and often including the Regina and Qu'Appelle Valley areas.
Until 2017, the province was divided into 13 health regions.[8] As of December 4, 2017, it is considered defunct, as all health regions in Saskatchewan have been replaced by the Saskatchewan Health Authority.[9]
Athabasca Health Authority, in the far north of the province, including Stony Rapids.
Cypress Regional Health Authority, centred around Swift Current and including the southwestern corner of the province.
Five Hills Regional Health Authority, centred around Moose Jaw and including the Big Muddy Badlands to the U.S. border.
Heartland Regional Health Authority, in the west-central part of the province.
Keewatin Yatthé Regional Health Authority, in the western half of Northern Saskatchewan, including Buffalo Narrows and La Loche.
Sunrise Regional Health Authority, centred around Yorkton and including surrounding areas.
Sun Country Regional Health Authority, centred around Estevan and including the southeastern corner of the province.
Library districts
Saskatchewan’s public library system includes three municipal library systems, seven regional library systems, one northern library federation, and a provincial library.[10]
Chinook Regional Library, serving the southwestern part of the province, including Swift Current.
City of Prince Albert Public Library Board, serving the city of Prince Albert.
Lakeland Regional Library, serving the Battlefords and surrounding areas.
The province is divided into nine districts for sport, culture, and recreation purposes, each of which are headed by a volunteer, non-profit organization.[12] Two of the districts (Regina and Saskatoon) represent the provinces main urban centres, while the other seven districts represent a mix of urban and rural areas. These districts are used, for example, as the teams for the Saskatchewan Games.[13]
Statistics Canada has divided Saskatchewan into 18 census divisions for statistical purposes; although, they do not reflect the organization of local government nor any common regions in the province.[15]
Economic regions
Statistics Canada has divided Saskatchewan into X economic regions, meant to reflect the province’s hubs of economic activity and their surrounding areas.[16]
Saskatchewan is home to four of Canada’s 15 ecozones, as defined by the 2017 Ecological Land Classification.[22] These ecozones are further divided into numerous ecoprovinces, ecoregions, and ecodistricts.[22]
Being in the centre of North America, Saskatchewan is far removed from the moderating effects of any large body of water and therefore has a temperate continental climate, Köppen climate classification types BSk, Dfb and Dfc.[23]
^Bachusky, Johnnie (2011). Lesley Reynolds (ed.). Ghost Town Stories of the Red Coat Trail: From Renegade to Ruin on the Canadian Prairies. Heritage House. ISBN978-1-926936-20-8. OCLC798827407.
^Rees, Tony (2007). Arc of the Medicine Line-Mapping the World's Longest Undefended Border Across the Western Plains. Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press. p. 5. ISBN978-0-8032-1791-1.
^Barry, Bill (2001). Ukrainian people places: The Ukrainians, Germans, Mennonites, Hutterites and Doukhobors and the names they brought to Saskatchewan.
