Seebe, Alberta facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Seebe
Designated place
Seebe Location in MD of Bighorn Show map of MD of Bighorn Seebe Location in Alberta Show map of Alberta
Country	Canada
Province	Alberta
Region	Alberta's Rockies
Census division	15
Municipal district	Municipal District of Bighorn No. 8
Government
• Type	Unincorporated
Area
• Land	0.03 km2 (0.01 sq mi)
Population  (2016)
• Total	0
Time zone	UTC−07:00 (MST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−06:00 (MDT)
Area code(s)	403, 587, 825

Seebe is a place in Alberta, Canada, that used to be a small community. It is now considered a ghost town because no one lives there anymore. Seebe was once a town built for the workers of the Calgary Power Company Ltd. It officially closed on August 31, 2004.

The name Seebe comes from the Cree word for "river."

Exploring Seebe's Location and Landscape

Seebe is located in the Municipal District of Bighorn No. 8 in Alberta. It sits on the south side of the Bow River, right next to the Seebe Dam. It is about 0.5 kilometres (0.3 miles) east of Alberta Highway 1X. It is also 2 kilometres (1.2 miles) north of the Trans-Canada Highway (Highway 1). Another 2 kilometres (1.2 miles) south is Alberta Highway 1A.

Rivers and Waterfalls Near Seebe

Seebe is located just downstream from where the Bow River and the Kananaskis River meet. This meeting point is at Kananaskis Falls. About 3 kilometres (1.9 miles) further downstream is Horseshoe Falls (Alberta).

Amazing Views from Seebe

From Seebe, you can see many beautiful natural sights. To the north, you can see the impressive face of Yamnuska Mountain. To the south, there are views of Pigeon Mountain and the Kananaskis Valley. Looking west, you can see Loder Peak and the Bow Valley. To the east, the landscape opens up to the wide prairie grasslands and the Bow Valley.

Understanding Seebe's Ground and Rocks

The ground beneath Seebe is made up of layers of different rocks. These include shale, sandstone, and limestone. On the surface, you'll find areas covered by glacial till, which is rock and soil left behind by glaciers. There is very little topsoil in these areas. You can also see drumlins, which are small, oval-shaped hills formed by glaciers. There are also small areas of fertile soil near the rivers, called alluvial deposits. The rock layers are tilted because they are close to the Rocky Mountains. This tilting is why there are waterfalls on the Bow River, which makes it a good spot for generating hydroelectric power.

A Look Back at Seebe's Past

In the early 1900s, the city of Calgary was growing, and electricity was becoming very important. Because of this, the Calgary Power Company Ltd. was created.

Building Dams for Power

In 1911, the company built a hydro-electric dam at Horseshoe Falls. Later, in 1929, another hydro plant and dam were built at the Kananaskis Falls. This dam is now located on Highway 1X. This highway connects the Trans-Canada Highway (Highway 1) with Highway 1A.

Seebe: A Power Control Center

As Calgary continued to grow, the Calgary Power Company Ltd. also expanded. They built more hydro dams along the Bow River. Seebe became a very important place for controlling these operations. From Seebe, workers could remotely control the flow of water from many different rivers and lakes. This included water from the Spray, Ghost, Kananaskis, Lake Minnewanka, and other areas. This control helped them produce electricity very efficiently.

The control center at Seebe could also bring in more power from coal-fired plants. These plants were located in the Wabamun area, west of Edmonton. Seebe was once the main operations hub for the company, even though the head office was in Calgary.

Life in the Seebe Community

The community of Seebe had a company store and a post office. These were located right next to the Kananaskis plant. There were also several homes nearby for the workers. Two more homes were at the Horseshoe plant. However, most of the houses were located about 1 kilometre (0.6 miles) downstream from the Kananaskis plant. This was also about 2 kilometres (1.2 miles) upstream from the Horseshoe plant.

The One-Room Schoolhouse

As the community grew, a one-room school was opened in 1918. This school was called the Seebe School. It was the very last one-room school still operating in Alberta when it closed in 1996. Students from nearby ranches, forestry workers' families, and government employees also attended this school.

Land Leased from the Nakoda People

Calgary Power leased an area of about 300 acres (1.2 square kilometres) from the Stoney Tribe. This tribe is part of the Treaty Seven Nations and is now known as the Nakoda people. This leased area included the former townsite and the dams. The lease area was bordered by the Kananaskis River to the west. The Canadian Pacific Railway line was to the south. The Bow River was to the north. To the east, the boundary was about 1 kilometre (0.6 miles) downstream from the Horseshoe plant. This land was used by the community for fun activities like recreation, horse pasture, bird watching, fishing, and camping.

Seebe During World War II

During the Second World War, a prisoner-of-war camp called Camp 130 was located in Seebe. It was also known as the Kananaskis Prisoner Of War camp. This camp operated from September 29, 1939, to January 28, 1946. Locals sometimes called it "Camp Kan-A-Nazi." Seebe's camp was small and could hold up to 200 prisoners of war (POWs).

Seebe in Recent Times

In 2003, parts of the movie Open Range, starring Kevin Costner, were filmed near Seebe. The filming took place on the Stony Indian Reserve, which is directly across the Bow River from Seebe. At that time, Seebe was still a small community. It had a small general store, a café, and a post office, all in one building. There were also employee houses and a dormitory for AltaEnergy workers, but these were private. Seebe was closed down a couple of years later, and many of the houses were sold and moved away.

In 2006 and 2007, there was a plan to rebuild the townsite as a new community. The idea was to keep the name Seebe and have about 5,600 people living there once it was fully built.

Near Seebe, on Alberta Highway 40, there is a research station. This station is part of the University of Calgary and focuses on ecology and environmental science. It is located at Barrier Lake.

Population Changes in Seebe

According to the 2016 Census by Statistics Canada, Seebe had a population of 0 people. This means no one was living in any of its private homes. This number was the same as its population in 2011, which was also 0. Seebe has a land area of 0.03 square kilometres (0.012 square miles).

In the 2011 Census, Seebe also had a population of 0 people. This was no change from its population of 0 in the 2006 Census. At that time, its land area was 0.06 square kilometres (0.023 square miles).