The Milk River -- the north-south continental roof

The Milk River arises in Montana, loops up into Alberta and completes more than a third of its thousand mile course before turning south to flow into the Missouri River and begin the long descent to the Gulf of Mexico.

The explorers Lewis and Clark named it. They decided that the colour of this rather shallow, silty waterway resembled that of milky tea.

As the glaciers receded following the last ice age, a huge volume of water formed the Milk River Canyon.

On the Canadian side of the border, the small town of Milk River is the gateway to an astonishing and beautiful park. The traveler leaves Route 4 and turns onto Highway 801, following a normal prairie scene until the turnoff to the park.

Then on the right, a sign points to Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park (Ai'sinai'pi in Blackfoot). A short distance along, the access road descends into the deep hoodoo-filled canyon of the Milk River.