Seebe, Alberta

Seebe /ˈsiːbiː/ is a former hamlet in Alberta, Canada, within the Municipal District of Bighorn No. 8. It is a former Calgary Power Company Ltd. employee townsite that was closed on August 31, 2004.

The name Seebe comes from the Cree word for river.

Geography and Geology

Seebe is located on the south side of the Bow River, adjacent to the Seebe Dam. It is 0.5 kilometres (0.31 mi) east of Highway 1X, 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) north of the Trans-Canada Highway (Highway 1) and 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) south of Highway 1A.

Seebe is just downstream from the confluence of the Bow and Kananaskis Rivers at Kananakis Falls. Horseshoe Falls is 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) downstream. Seebe has great vistas of the imposing face of Yamnuska Mountain to the north, Pigeon Mountain and the Kananaskis Valley to the south, Loder Peak and the Bow Valley to the west, and opening onto the prairie grasslands and the Bow Valley to the east.

The underlying substrate in the area is sedimentary interbedded shale, sandstone and limestone. At the surface, there are great areas of glacial till with very little topsoil, drumlins, and small pockets of fertile alluvial deposits. The interbedded bedrock is tilted, being part of the disturbed zone adjacent to the Rockies, thus, the falls on the Bow River, and the potential for hydro electric power generation.