Abstract
Original Dominion Land Survey (DLS) township maps from the 19th century provide information to characterize pre-settlement surface conditions in the Canadian Prairies. Surveyors produced maps and detailed notes of landscape features such as wetlands, prairie, woodlands, water bodies and the locations of springs. Using these maps, stored in the Provincial Archives of Manitoba (PAM), historic wetlands and vegetation cover for a portion of the Red River basin in southern Manitoba were reconstructed and mapped with a Geographic Information System (GIS). To date, 100 townships, covering approximately 9,400 km2 have been captured in the GIS and analyzed into the categories of wetland, prairie, woodland, scrub and water. Wetlands represented 1,098 km2; prairie approximately 6,800 km2; woodland just over 1,000 km2; scrub about 500 km2; and water 3.2 km2. Applying these categories, a preliminary map of the pre-settlement landscape has been generated. The use of environmental reconstruction techniques, including written or graphic documentary evidence provides baseline information to improve understanding of environmental changes and causes of these changes.
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Schedule a callMore From: Canadian Water Resources Journal / Revue canadienne des ressources hydriques
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