Community Profile
Located in the beautiful southern region of Alberta, we are blessed with an original history, warm climate, and an abundance of natural beauty. A short, picturesque drive away is Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park, which is home to the largest collection of Plains Indian writings and inscriptions. At Gold Springs Community Park visitors can fish, hunt, canoe and observe rare wildlife and plant life and just up the road in Warner is Devil’s Coulee, which boasts the first dinosaur egg discovery in Canada.
Milk River offers all the amenities of a large center, affordable housing, one of the lowest cost of living indexes in the province and a strong economy. That’s exactly why more than 892 people call the town less than 10 minutes from the U.S. border home. A close-knit community, we understand the need to provide our friends and neighbors with a friendly, clean and safe place to call home. We are also proud of the fact that our children can safely walk the streets, and that our senior citizens provide a sense of heritage and foundation for the community. Milk River is truly a community built on friends, families and small town charm.
History
The Town of Milk River area was first settled around the beginning of the 20th century. The Town of Milk River was incorporated as a village on July 1, 1916, and declared a town in 1956. Lying north of the 49th Parallel and within the area of the Mississippi-Missouri river systems, Milk River is unique in Canada. The Town of Milk River motto, “Under Eight Flags”, makes reference that, no less than eight flags representing six governments and one great company could have flown over this land.
Regional Data
Location
The Town of Milk River is settled in the County of Warner #5 next to the Milk River, for which the town is named. Milk River is only 85 kilometers (53 miles) south of Lethbridge and 20 kilometers (2.5 mi) from the border. Milk River is centrally located, accessed by two highways: Highway 4 (connected to Interstate 15) and Secondary 501.
Climate
The Town of Milk River is settled in the County of Warner #5 next to the Milk River, for which the Milk River has an average of 192 frost free days per year. It receives 34 cm of annual precipitation, 26 cm of the total coming in the form of rainfall. Annual snowfall is an average of 160 cm.
Geography
The Virgelle Member of the Milk River Formation consists of magnificent sandstone cliffs. Upper Virgelle, being softer, is characterized by the presence of impressive hoodoos. Lower Virgelle, bottom of the cliffs, is characterized by relatively dense (hard) rock on which there is native rock art.