Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump is a strong contender for the oddest named World Heritage Site I've visited, though its name makes sense after learning its history. On a cliff in western Alberta, this site was historically used by the Blackfoot Nation, who lived a nomadic life on North America's Great Plains, to secure food, clothing, and tools for their people by driving buffalo en masse over the cliff's edge to fall to their death. In today's world, buffalo jumps seem rather cruel, but the Blackfoot (like most other Indians) used every part of the buffalo that died. I visited Head-Smashed-In at the end of June 2018, and as I walked up to the visitor center, I took note of the prairie grasses below the cliff's edge where many buffalo must have met their unfortunate end. The visitor center, which was built into the cliff, told the story of the Blackfoot and their buffalo drives well, and I spent a lot of time in the museum reading about the life of Plains Indians. Afterwards, like others, I took an hour walk outside on trails along the site of the buffalo drive to the cliff's edge, and down to the prairie below. I felt I learned a lot about First Nations life on the plains, and I've enthusiastically recommended this site to family and friends traveling in Alberta.

Logistics: Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump is approximately two hours south of Calgary and a half hour west of Fort Macleod, and requires private transportation to get to the site.