West Central Saskatchewan

West Central Saskatchewan is a region of Saskatchewan, Canada.

Communities

 * — the province's largest city, and its economic and cultural hub
 * — twin communities of North Battleford and Battleford at the confluence to the Battle and North Saskatchewan Rivers
 * — a city that straddles the border between Saskatchewan and Alberta
 * — New York is big, but this is Biggar
 * — a good stopping point midway between Saskatoon and Regina
 * — known for its rodeo and gopher races
 * — a service centre to the oil and gas industry and agriculture production
 * — small agricultural community known for its historic court house
 * — host of the annual Bunnock (bone thorwing game) World Championship
 * — jumping off point to the first and only African-American farming community in Saskatchewan
 * — small agricultural service centre located that's "The Heart of the Wheat Belt"
 * — a base for visiting the site of the historic Battle of Batoche during the Northwest Rebellion of 1885
 * — a small agricultural service centre

Other destinations

 * - a recreational site at the heart of Saskatchewan's only UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. The park offers camping, hiking, boating, and swimming in a saltwater lake.
 * - a recreational site at the heart of Saskatchewan's only UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. The park offers camping, hiking, boating, and swimming in a saltwater lake.
 * - a recreational site at the heart of Saskatchewan's only UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. The park offers camping, hiking, boating, and swimming in a saltwater lake.

Understand
West Central Saskatchewan is most made up of flat Prairie land, but also serves as a transition between the dry grasslands to the south and boreal forests of the north. The region is bisected by both the South Saskatchewan and North Saskatchewan Rivers.

Its economy is primarily associated with agriculture. Saskatchewan grows a large portion of Canada's grain and canola (for cooking oil). Other grains such as flax, rye, oats, peas, lentils, canary seed, and barley are also produced in the province. Beef cattle, and oil and natural gas production are also very important industries.

Saskatoon, the main city, is home to a university, and agriculture, information technology, and environmental, life sciences and agricultural biotechnology industries.

Climate
West Central Saskatchewan typically has warm summers and long, cold winters, and gets more sunlight per year than is typical for Canada.

Time zones
Most of the region observes Central Standard Time (CST) (GMT−06:00) year-round, similar to the rest of the province; except for Lloydminster and the surround area which observes Mountain Time year-round and changes its clocks forward to Mountain Daylight Time each summer. Because of this, the time is the same during the summer months (matching neighbouring Alberta) but different during the winter months.

By air
Fly into Saskatoon John G. Diefenbaker Airport with Air Canada, Air Canada Express or WestJet.

By car
The Yellowhead Highway (Highway 16), part of the Trans-Canada Highway, is the major east-west highway; it enters the region from the west side at the Alberta border from Edmonton and exits the region into East Central Saskatchewan on-route to Winnipeg; alternatively, Highway 7 enters the region from the west side at the Alberta border from Calgary. Highway 11 (Louis Riel Trail) is the main north-south route that enters the region from Regina and continues to Northern Saskatchewan. There are many other highways that travel throughout the region.

By bus

 * Routes stopping in region:
 * Between Edmonton and Regina via Saskatoon
 * Between Saskatoon and Prince Albert

By train
Via Rail provides trains to Saskatoon from Edmonton and points further west, and from Winnipeg and eastern Canada.

See

 * Saskatoon is the region's urban centre, with museums, an art gallery, and beautiful riverside trails.
 * Batoche National Historic Site near Rosthern was the site of the Battle of Batoche, an important event in Canadian history.
 * Fort Battleford National Historic Site in Battleford features five original North-West Mounted Police buildings.
 * The World's Largest Coffee Pot in Davidson is one of many large roadside attractions throughout Canada.

Do
Saskatoon draws visitors in with many festivals in the summer: Jazz, Folk music, fringe theatre, food, Shakespeare, and children's fun.

Pike Lake Provincial Park and The Battlefords Provincial Park provide a wide range of recreational opportunities.

Eat
The region is known for its saskatoon berries, after which the city is named. Also called serviceberries, or western juneberries, they are used in saskatoon berry pie, jam, wines, cider, and beers, or are sweetened and dried and used like dried cranberries.