Where is Saskatchewan located in Canada?

Saskatchewan is one of Canada's Prairie Provinces and is located between the 49th and 60th parallels of latitude. It is one of two Canadian provinces without a saltwater coast and the only one with entirely artificial boundaries. Saskatchewan is bounded on the west by longitude 110° west of Greenwich, and its eastern limit is longitude 102° W. The province's southern half is an extension of the Great Plains, with elevations rarely exceeding 2,000 feet (610 meters) above sea level. Saskatchewan is Canada’s fifth-largest province.

What is the capital city of Saskatchewan?

The capital of Saskatchewan is Regina. Regina is the province's second largest city, located on Wascana Creek. It became the capital in 1905. Regina is an important transportation, manufacturing, and distribution center for a large agricultural area. The city's focus is Wascana Centre, a park-like development around Wascana Lake, featuring important civic buildings like the Legislative Building and the Royal Saskatchewan Museum.

What are some important natural features in Saskatchewan?

Saskatchewan, one of Canada's Prairie Provinces, boasts diverse natural features. The northern third of the province is part of the Canadian Shield , characterized by rocky outcrops, lakes, and rivers shaped by glacial activity. The southern two-thirds are plains, with the Cypress Hills in the southwest being the highest point, reaching 4,567 feet (1,392 meters). The province has abundant water resources, with approximately one-eighth of its surface covered by water, including portions of Lake Athabasca and Reindeer Lake . The Saskatchewan River is the largest river system, draining into Lake Winnipeg. Plant life ranges from subarctic woodland in the northeast to mixed prairie and dry mixed prairie in the south.

What is the main industry in Saskatchewan?

Since the late 19th century, agriculture has been a mainstay of Saskatchewan’s economy. Saskatchewan has a large percentage of Canada’s farmland and the largest average farm size of any province. Although wheat remains a major crop, the production of canola (rapeseed) and specialty crops such as mustard, peas, and lentils has increased. In some regions, livestock raising is prominent. Saskatchewan also has a wide variety of mineral resources, including oil, potash, and uranium. Saskatchewan is one of the world’s largest producers and exporters of potash, which is mainly used for fertilizer.

How have Indigenous peoples shaped Saskatchewan's culture and history?

The First Nations and Métis have significantly shaped Saskatchewan's culture and history. Originally the area was exclusively American Indian, but French and British elements were added in the 18th and early 19th centuries. The Métis were granted legal recognition as a native group by the Canadian government at the start of the 21st century. First Nations people were involved in the fur and provisioning trade with the coming of the Europeans. In 1885, national authorities sent troops to quell the second Riel Rebellion, an uprising of Métis seeking rights to western lands. The Numbered Treaties (1871–1921) became the legal foundation for interactions between Indigenous peoples and the Canadian government. These treaties involved the cession of Indigenous land in exchange for reserves and governmental provisions. Gabriel Dumont, hunt chief of the Saskatchewan Métis, called a meeting in 1873 to form a new government for the Métis settlement of St. Laurent on the South Saskatchewan River.

Saskatchewan

Images

The official seal of the Province of Saskatchewan.

Map of Saskatchewan, Canada, showing major cities and towns, provincial boundaries with Alberta and Manitoba, and international borders with the United States to the south. The map highlights the locations of the provincial capital, Regina, and other key cities such as Saskatoon, Prince Albert, and Moose Jaw. An inset locator map in the upper right shows Saskatchewan's position within Canada. Lakes, rivers, and political subdivisions are also marked.

Physical map of Saskatchewan highlighting major lakes, rivers, and parks. International and provincial boundaries are marked, with neighboring Alberta, Manitoba, Montana, and the United States shown. Key features include Lake Athabasca, Reindeer Lake, Prince Albert National Park, and the Cypress Hills. An inset locator map displays Saskatchewan's position within Canada.

Precambrian bedrock of the Canadian Shield

At a Glance

Saskatchewan summary

Saskatchewan

province, Canada

Written by

Marilyn LewryAll

Fact-checked by

Britannica Editors

Last updated

Nov. 13, 2026 •History

News •

Wapiti Regional Library closing 6 rural branches in Sask. • Nov. 12, 2026, 10:08 AM ET (CBC)

Rising campus housing costs impacting life at USask, student says • Nov. 11, 2026, 7:20 AM ET (CTV News)

Moe, NDP spar on SGI-SaskTel joint head office proposal • Nov. 10, 2026, 6:39 PM ET (CTV News)

'We feel the pain': Saskatchewan Polish community mourns Krakow shooting • Nov. 8, 2026, 8:43 PM ET (CBC)

Winds of up to 100 kilometres per hour expected across Sask. • Nov. 7, 2026, 1:54 PM ET (CBC)

Map of North America highlighting the province of Saskatchewan in central Canada, with its capital Regina marked. The map shows surrounding countries, major bodies of water, and the location of Ottawa, the national capital. — Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan, province of Canada, one of the Prairie Provinces. It is one of only two Canadian provinces without a saltwater coast, and it is the only province whose boundaries are all wholly artificial (i.e., not formed by natural features). It lies between the 49th and 60th parallels of latitude, it is bounded on the west by longitude 110° west of Greenwich, and its eastern limit, with minor adjustments, is longitude 102° W. Its southern half is largely an extension of the Great Plains of central North America, rarely rising 2,000 feet (610 metres) above sea level. It measures 760 miles (1,223 km) from south to north, tapering from a width of 393 miles (632 km), where it abuts Montana and North Dakota in the United States, to 277 miles (446 km), where it meets the Northwest Territories. Saskatchewan is Canada’s fifth largest province in area and sixth in population. Saskatchewan’s landscape makes its inhabitants conscious of the sky, and the changing patterns of light and shadow on clouds, which commonly offer magnificent sunrises and sunsets, are as much a part of the scenery as any contour of the earth. Economically, the province has always been heavily dependent on the exportation of its agricultural and mineral products and is thus peculiarly sensitive to fluctuations in world markets beyond its own or even Canada’s control. Area 251,367 square miles (651,036 square km). Pop. (2021) 1,132,505; (2025 est.) 1,266,959.

Land

Relief

The most important division of the land in Saskatchewan is between the northern one-third of the province, which is part of the Canadian Shield, and the plains, which cover the southern two-thirds. The Canadian Shield is an area of mostly igneous and metamorphic rocks of Precambrian age (about 540 million to 4 billion years old); hence, it is often referred to as the Precambrian Shield. The plains comprise a wedge-shaped succession of sedimentary rocks, the oldest of which abut the shield margin while the youngest occur in the Cypress Hills in the southwestern portion of the province. The highest elevations in Saskatchewan are also found in the Cypress Hills, peaking at 4,567 feet (1,392 metres) above sea level. These hills—the only part of Saskatchewan that escaped glaciation—contain unique plant and animal life. The lowest point in the province, 699 feet (213 metres), is in the extreme northwest.

Quick Facts

1 of 3

See article: flag of Saskatchewan

2 of 3

Seal of Saskatchewan

3 of 3

Saskatchewan floral emblem

Capital:: Regina

Population:: (2021) 1,132,505; (2025 est.) 1,266,959

Date Of Admission:: 1905

Provincial Motto:: "Multis e gentibis vires (From many peoples, strength)"

Provincial Flower:: western red lily

Continental glaciation greatly influenced Saskatchewan’s landscape, scouring and molding the northern shield to produce a landscape of rocky outcrops, lakes, and rivers. Glacial deposits on the shield tend to be thin and discontinuous. The southern plains are covered with a veneer of sediments laid down by ice sheets and their subsequent meltwaters. The most important agricultural regions occur in areas of finer-grained sediment, while rolling hills of hummocky moraine and other coarser-grained sediments are primarily used for ranching. Cut into the plains are many spectacular river valleys, including those of the North and South Saskatchewan rivers and the Qu’Appelle River. Many of these river valleys were carved by meltwaters during the retreat of the ice sheets.

Drainage

Some one-eighth of Saskatchewan’s surface area is covered by water, including Lake Wollaston and large portions of Lake Athabasca and Reindeer Lake. Water flowing through the province’s rivers drains variously to the Atlantic and Arctic oceans and to the Gulf of Mexico. Most of Saskatchewan’s waters flow from west to east, its great rivers (which provided the first transportation routes) rising in the Rocky Mountains and emptying ultimately into Hudson Bay. The northwestern portion of the Precambrian Shield, however, drains into Lake Athabasca and then to the Beaufort Sea via the Mackenzie River. The extreme southwestern portion of Saskatchewan, including the Frenchman River, is part of the Missouri River drainage basin that empties into the Gulf of Mexico.

By clicking “Sign Up”, you consent to the Britannica Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

Soils

Saskatchewan’s soils can be broadly divided between the forest soils of northern regions and the grassland (prairie) soils of the south. The former tend to be thin and acidic, light in colour, and infertile. Poorly drained peat and mineral soils are also common in northern Saskatchewan. Grassland soils vary in colour from very dark (almost black) in the more humid central zones to dark brown over much of the southern prairie and lighter brown in the drier southwest regions. Climate is a major determinant of soil type. The black and dark brown soils are the most fertile and support the majority of agricultural production.

Climate

Climate is a major limiting factor for agriculture, restricting it to the area south of 55° N latitude. Even within this zone, there are as few as 80 to 100 frost-free days annually. Temperature variations are extreme; January temperatures have fallen below the mid −60s F (about −53 °C) in settled parts, and in July temperatures of more than 100 °F (about 41 °C) have been recorded. The normal mean daily reading for the arable regions ranges from −5 to 10 °F (about −21 to −12 °C) in January and from the mid-50s to the mid-60s F (about 13 to 18 °C) in July. In other words, Saskatchewan has a variable climate with cold winters and warm to hot summers. Because the province lies in the continental interior, precipitation is low, averaging from about 10 to 20 inches (about 250 to 510 mm) each year. Most winter precipitation falls as snow, which ranges from about 30 inches (about 750 mm) in the southwest to more than 60 inches (about 1,500 mm) in the north-central area. Drought years are not uncommon.

Saskatchewan

News •

Land

Relief

Drainage

Thank you for signing up!

Soils

Climate