Alberta Register of Historic Places

Hetherington Erratics Field

Fort Macleod, Near

Other Names:

Chester's Field
Chester's Field Erratic

Statement of Significance

Description of Historic Place
The Hetherington Erratics Field is situated roughly 17 kilometres south-west of Fort Macleod. The site comprises roughly 58 hectares of land and features a collection of large and small glacial erratics scattered over the summit and eastern slope of a hillside.

Heritage Value
The heritage value of the Hetherington Erratics Field lies in the insights it provides into prehistoric glacial flows and the migrations of the early inhabitants of North America.

The Hetherington Erratics Field is one of several major sites located within the Foothills Erratics Train, a long, narrow chain of erratics (glacially-transported rocks) stretching from Jasper south to Montana. Geologists believe that a rockslide in the mountains of the Jasper area dropped large quartzite boulders onto the surface of the passing Athabasca valley glacier during the last ice age. The glacier initially moved eastward before being deflected to the south by the massive Laurentide Ice Sheet. As the glacier flowed south, it deposited a wealth of boulders along its path, including the mammoth "Big Rock" Erratic at Okotoks. The Hetherington Erratics Field is situated at a point in the Foothills Erratics Train where the belt of glacially transported rocks bottlenecks, narrowing from several kilometres to a single kilometre wide. It appears that a steep hillside prevented the boulders from being distributed further west. The site contains roughly twelve large erratics plus dozens of smaller glacially-transported rocks. The larger erratics feature polished corners and substantial surrounding depressions, evidence of their use as rubbing stones by buffalo and, more recently, by cattle. The site offers vital insights into the direction of the glacial flows of the Cordilleran and Laurentide Ice Sheets. It also provides compelling evidence about the period in which an ice-free corridor appeared on the eastern slopes of the Rockies and in the Foothills. Emerging at the end of the last ice age, roughly 10,000 years ago, this corridor is believed to have been one of the primary passageways used by the earliest inhabitants of North America to penetrate the interior of the continent.

Source: Alberta Culture and Community Spirit, Historic Resources Management Branch (File: Des. 793)

Character-Defining Elements
The character-defining elements of the Hetherington Erratics Field include such features as:
- mass, form, and scale of the erratics;
- cracks in the erratics;
- spatial arrangement of the erratics;
- polished surfaces of the erratics and surrounding depressions;
- distinctive circular depressions under larger, exposed erratics;
- stony soil in the vicinity of the erratics;
- information potential for further insights into glacial flows and the migrations of early North Americans.

Location

Street Address:
Community:	Fort Macleod, Near
Boundaries:	NE 15-7-26-W4
Contributing Resources:	Landscape(s) or Landscape Feature(s): 1

ATS Legal Description:

Mer	Rge	Twp	Sec	LSD
4 4 4 4	26 26 26 26	7 7 7 7	15 15 15 15	09 10 15 16

PBL Legal Description (Cadastral Reference):

Plan	Block	Lot	Parcel

Latitude/Longitude:

Latitude	Longitude	CDT	Datum Type
49.563905	-113.440193	Secondary Source	NAD83

UTM Reference:

Northing	Easting	Zone	CDT	Datum Type

Recognition

Recognition Authority:	Province of Alberta
Designation Status:	Provincial Historic Resource
Date of Designation:	1978/09/15

Historical Information

Built:	N/A
Period of Significance:	N/A
Theme(s):	Expressing Intellectual and Cultural Life : Science Peopling the Land : People and the Environment
Historic Function(s):	Environment : Nature Element
Current Function(s):
Architect:
Builder:
Context:	N/A

Additional Information

Object Number:	4665-0117
Designation File:	DES 0793
Related Listing(s):
Heritage Survey File:	HS 18987
Website Link:
Data Source:	Alberta Culture and Community Spirit, Historic Resources Management Branch, Old St. Stephen's College, 8820 - 112 Street, Edmonton, AB T6G 2P8 (File: Des. 793)