The Athabasca Sand Dunes Provincial Park was created to protect the Athabasca sand dunes, a unique boreal shield ecosystem located in the far-north Northern Saskatchewan Administration District. The Athabasca sand dunes are the most northerly active sand dune formations on Earth. It first came to attention that it should be a protected area in 1969, finally becoming the Athabasca Sand Dunes Provincial Wilderness Park on August 24, 1992.