Editing Exshaw (section)

== Geography ==
East of Exshaw are smaller [[company town]] communities of Kananaskis (lime plant), which is not the [[Kananaskis, Alberta (community)|recreational area]] of the same name, and [[Seebe, Alberta|Seebe]] (power dam), which is now closed but proposed for future residential redevelopment. A small [[ranch]] area, now mainly [[dude ranch]]es, is also near the hamlet. Of note is the Brewster's Kananaskis Ranch & Golf Course, which sits on the original homestead property of Bud Brewster and has remained in the family's possession since the 1880s.

A number of smaller parks with camping facilities have also developed in the east [[Bow Valley]]. Directly across the Bow River south from Exshaw is the Hamlet of Lac des Arcs although no bridge connects the two hamlets.

A dam on the [[Bow River]] is east of Seebe.

The smaller Exshaw Mountain, {{convert|1783|m|ft|abbr=off}}, is north of the hamlet, and is locally known as [[Cougar]] Mountain. Across from the community south beyond Lac des Arcs is [[Heart Mountain (Alberta)|Heart Mountain]] is easier to scale. This mountain is sometimes used as a wedding venue because of the heart shape.

Exshaw Creek, locally known and identified on the [[Alberta Highway 1A|Highway 1A]] bridge as Canyon Creek, runs through the hamlet. In 1958, [[Alan McGugan]] et al., identified a new species of the [[pelecypod]] [[Megalodon (bivalve)|''Megalodon'']] in a river cliff of Exshaw Creek and gave the new [[Specific name (zoology)|specific name]] ''M. banffensis'', for the proximity of the [[Banff, Alberta|Banff]] area.

The eastern portion of the hamlet is on the flood plain for Jura Creek. In 1937, P.S. Warren described outcrops on the banks of Jura Creek, naming these the [[Exshaw Formation]]. The Jura Creek valley is known to provide a good introduction to some Front Range geology, with the exposed formations including the Palliser ([[Devonian]]), Exshaw and Banff ([[Mississippian age|Mississippian]]). The naming of Jura Creek was from misidentified Jurassic fossils, which are actually [[Paleozoic]], not [[Jurassic]].

Grotto Creek, 3&nbsp;km west, has pictographs, including a possible "fluteplayer" [[Kokopelli]] image that may{{according to whom|date=May 2024}} be from the [[Flute Clan]] of the [[Hopi]] tradition.

The local area is known for wildlife, despite the industrial development. [[Duncan McGillivray|Duncan MacGillivray]], with explorer [[David Thompson (explorer)|David Thompson]] on his survey of the Canadian Rockies, first encountered a [[bighorn sheep]], near Exshaw, on 30 November 1800, which led to the specimens collected and subsequent scientific naming. Mount MacGillivray, to the west of Heart Mountain, is his namesake.