The forests are comprised of a mix of coniferous and deciduous stands , the common tree types being spruce, pine and aspen. Another predominant land cover type in this area is the bog or wetland found in depressions. The images also show an area that was burned by a forest fire . Intense logging and oil extraction activities are quite evident at both dates of imaging. Look closely and you will see several different cutover patterns, the result of changing logging practices over the past few decades.
Oil extraction is evident from the many pumping stations and pipeline tracts.
Starting at the top left corner of this image and extending north for an estimated 154,094 hectares in total, a devastating forest fire during the spring of 1998 became one of the largest in Alberta's history. It took about three weeks to bring the fire under control. Its origin was determined to be lightning and during the fire event, the nearby town of Swan Hills was evacuated twice.