Sandcastles - Sunken Hill - Snakebite Coulee
Sandcastles - (pictured above)

These unique formations have changed little since first noticed in the early 1900s. Indian tee pee rings have been identified on this plateau and rock hunters may find remnants here.

Prairie Falcons nest on the south bank and Bull Snakes have been sighted here. They are useful for catching mice but harmless to humans. This would be the eastern boundary of their habitat. Coral has been found here in the 60s and 80s and mussel shells, amenites and oyster shells can be found along the lakeshore to the south and east. Click here for map

Sunken Hill

In 1949 John Minor Sr. and his wife drove across this plateau to check the cattle. Three days later a rider on horseback checked the cattle again and found that this hill had slipped down to its present level. The car tracks could be seen ending on one cliff, appearing on the grass of the sunken hill and reappearing again on the other side of the cliff. A natural gas pocket, underground lake, or quicksand could be the cause of the slide. Cracks in the coulee can still be seen along the sides of the hill.

Golden Eagles are known to have nested here to the north. Mule deer, whitetail deer, anetelope, elk and sharptail grouse are abundant here. Click here for map
 

Snakebite Coulee

The Snakebite Coulee got its name from the fact that, in one of the early settlement years, an Indian had been bitten by a snake in the coulee. He didn’t die, but he was very, very sick.

Snakes were very numerous in the early days and were regarded favorably because they subsisted on gophers, mice, grasshoppers and other insects. Not so favorable was the fact that they would persist in getting into cellars and had to be shot.

The Snakebite Coulee was a favorite rendezvous for summer picnics and was appreciated by farmers and cattlemen alike because it wasn’t grazed in the summertime and proved very good grazing for fall and winter pastures. In mild winters some cattle stayed in the coulees all winter and were in good condition in the spring.

Magnesium Sulphate Lake

A unique lake is located in the Beechy pasture, about 20 miles north and west of Beechy. Though saline lakes are located in many areas of Saskatchewan, most contain primarily sodium sulphate. This lake is unique with most of the mineral content being magnesium sulphate. The mineral is contained in the brines in the lake as well as in a permanent bed varying from 3 to 20 inches in depth, and in individual crystals in the mud layer under the crystal bed. Total magnesium sulphate in the lake is estimated at 300 to 500 thousand tonnes.

Magnesium sulphate is commonly known as Epsom Salt and is used in traditional applications such as bath salts as well as for fertilizer and in various industrial applications. Touchwood Resources harvests some of this crystal each year and refines it for industrial and fertilizer use. Coteau Hills Natural Epsom Salts prepares a specialty product and packages it for bath salts.