Battalion Park
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| Established | 3 November 1991 |
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| Location | Calgary, Alberta, Canada on Signal Hill |
| Type | geoglyphs |
Battalion Park is a geoglyph site in south west Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It is located on Signal Hill, overlooking the Sarcee Nation, as well as lands formerly known as Camp Sarcee and later Sarcee Training Area, a military reserve used by the Canadian Forces from before the First World War up until the 1990s. The park extends over an area of 93 hectares (230 acres), north of the Elbow River. Its heritage value is associated with its dedication to the heroic efforts of Albertan soldiers during World War I. The site contains four geoglyphs, numbered 137, 113, 151, and 51. The large, whitewashed stones, totaling 16,000 in all, form the centrepiece of the park. Arranged on the side of the hill, and visible from various parts of the city, they represent the battalions numbered 137, 113, 151, and 51.
The 93 hectares (230 acres) park on Signal Hill overlooks the Sarcee Nation. It is situated to the north of the Elbow River, beside the Westhills shopping complex, on the city's western outskirts.
The Sarcee Indian Reserve leased a part of their land in the summer of 1914 to the Canadian militia to enable them to establish a prospective training site for military personnel. It was then known as Sarcee Camp (as it overlooks the Sarcee Nation), as it was an exclusive area in Alberta to provide training to the soldiers who were to be assigned to fight during World War I. The military reserve was used by the Canadian Forces from before World War I up until the 1990s. In all, 45,000 men were trained at the military camp. With this strength, the camp was the largest military training establishment in Canada during the war time. The 30 various units, housed in tents, included trainees drawn from various parts of the province. From Fort Calgary, it took a day's ride to approach the camp.
Army engineers mapped the area. Each unit established its identity within its prescribed area by using stones that were hauled in sacks by hand from the river by soldiers as part of their training programme, over a distance of 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) during off-duty hours. Several military units collaborated in collecting the stones to create the battalion numerals. They were gathered from the river and carried it to the site as part of the training exercies. Among those who did so were the four battalions of the Canadian Expeditionary Force (Members of the Calgary, Lethbridge, Central Alberta, and Edmonton battalions) who were trained in the area.
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