Pekisko, Alberta


Pekisko is an unincorporated community in southern Alberta, Canada. It is located in the Municipal District of Foothills No. 31, west of the junction of Cowboy Trail and Highway 540, south of High River and south of Longview.
It lies in the Canadian Rockies foothills, north of the Highwood River, at an elevation of, and is the centre of the Pekisko Rangeland, an area of livestock grazing and agriculture. Oil and gas is an increasing part of the economy.
The name Pekisko originates from the Blackfoot language i ta pisko, meaning rolling foothills.
The Pekisko Formation of the Rundle Group was named after this community. A hybrid of Pisum sativum was also named Pekisko after this area.

Pekisko area ranches

The Pekisko is ranching country and two famous ranches operated there for decades: the Bar-U Ranch, owned by Calgary Stampede founder George Lane, and the EP Ranch.
After touring Canada in 1919, the Prince of Wales bought the Bedingfeld cattle ranch, which had been founded in 1886 by Mrs. Bedingfeld, a widow of a British army officer who died in India. The ranch became known as the Prince of Wales Ranch or the E.P. Ranch. The E.P. brand used on the ranch stood for "Edward Prince". The prince briefly became King of the United Kingdom and King of Canada in 1936.
In 1925, the cowboy movie star Hoot Gibson was filmed in scenes at the E.P. Ranch as part of the Hollywood movie The Calgary Stampede.

Geography

Climate