mytouristinfo.com | ALBERTA | AB

ALBERTA INFORMATION

ALBERTA
The westernmost of the Prairie provinces of Canada, bounded on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Saskatchewan, on the south by the state of Montana, and on the southwest and west by British Columbia. Alberta is a wholly inland territory.

The province is called Sunny Alberta because it has more hours of sunshine a year than any other province. Alberta entered the Dominion with Saskatchewan on September 1, 1905, as the eighth and ninth provinces. With its extensive, fertile prairie lands, Alberta long had an economy dominated by agriculture. Since the 1950s, however, mineral extraction has become a leading sector of the economy. Alberta is now Canada's largest producer of petroleum and natural gas. The province is named for Princess Louise Caroline Alberta, who was the wife of a Canadian governor-general and a daughter of Queen Victoria.

Land and Resources
Alberta, with an area of 661,190 sq km (255,286 sq mi), is the fourth largest province in Canada; about 10% of the land area is owned by the federal government. The province is roughly in the shape of a rectangle lacking its southwestern corner; its extreme dimensions are about 1220 km (about 760 mi) from north to south and about 650 km (about 400 mi) from east to west. Alberta's highest point, Mount Columbia (3747 m/12,294 ft), is in the Rocky Mountains along the southwestern border; the lowest, 170 m (557 ft), is in Wood Buffalo National Park in the northeast.

Physical Geography
The Rocky Mountains and foothill region in the southwest is Alberta's most striking relief feature. The mountains that make up this region have been heavily glaciated and provide some of Canada's most spectacular scenery. Numerous remnant glaciers dot the uplands. Soils here are thin or nonexistent. The northeastern section of the province is occupied by the edge of the Canadian Shield, a generally hilly but low-lying area. In the southeast the Cypress Hills constitute a bedrock upland rising to about 610 m (about 2000 ft) above the surrounding plains. This is one of the few apparently unglaciated regions of the southern prairies.
The remaining three-quarters of the province lies within the glaciated northern Interior Plains of North America. This area has a certain uniformity throughout, imposed by the effects of continental glaciation on the natural landscape. Former glacial lake basins, till plains, end moraines, sandy outwash plains, and areas of rolling till provide a great deal of variety in the surface landforms. The Alberta Plain in the south is a gently rolling grasslands region, trees being confined to the river valleys; the soils of this region are notably fertile. The Alberta Plateau, to the north, is a forested region; it is bounded on the east by the Saskatchewan Plain, which contains great oil sand deposits.

Rivers and Lakes
Alberta's two longest rivers, the Peace and the Athabasca, flow from the Rockies north to the Arctic Ocean. Perhaps more important in human terms are the various mountain streams that unite to form the North and South Saskatchewan rivers, for they flow east across the province's more heavily settled agricultural regions into Saskatchewan and eventually to Hudson Bay. In the extreme south, the Milk River and its tributaries flow south into the Mississippi Basin. The province's largest lakes, Claire and Athabasca, are located in the north, but numerous smaller lakes are also found in the region.

Climate
Alberta has a continental climate, with cold winters and mild summers. In the northern and central regions the average annual temperature is 1.7° C (35° F); south of Calgary the average annual temperature is 4.4° C (40° F), except in the Rocky Mountains, where it is about -1.1° C (about 30° F). Winter temperatures in the southwest, modified by frequent chinooks (warm winds that descend the Rocky Mountains), are the mildest in the Prairie provinces. Summer temperatures, while generally cooler than in southern Saskatchewan and southern Manitoba, provide adequate heat for grain production. The maximum temperature recorded in Alberta is 43.3° C (109.9° F), in 1931 at Bassano Dam in the south; the minimum, -61.1° C (-78° F), in 1911 at Fort Vermillion.
Because the Rocky Mountains prevent many of the moist air masses from reaching the province, the average annual rainfall is only about 430 mm (about 17 in). Winters are dry; much of the annual precipitation comes in the summer. Summertime thunderstorms are often severe, and south-central Alberta has a reputation as one of the worst hailstorm belts of North America.

Plants and Animals
Grasslands are found in the southeastern part of the province. Mixed grasses and a variety of flowering plants, such as vetch, anemone, and flowering cinquefoil, are found here. To the north and west the grasslands grade into a parkland, containing stands of aspens, which eventually give way to mixed and coniferous forests. The entire northern half of Alberta is forest-covered; the principal tree species are spruce, pine, fir, aspen, larch, and poplar. Commercial forests cover about 39% of the total land area. In the mountains, coniferous forest gives way with increasing elevation to alpine vegetation. The provincial flower, the wild rose, is found in most areas.
Larger mammals found in the province include grizzly and black bear, moose, caribou, and elk, in the north and the mountainous regions. White-tailed and mule deer and coyote are numerous in the southern and central areas. Mountain goat and bighorn sheep are found in the Rocky Mountains. Migratory waterfowl, as well as the prairie chicken, partridge, and pheasant, are abundant in Alberta in the summer and fall. Mountain streams and the larger lakes support a large sports fishery and a small commercial fishing industry. Among the most important species are trout, walleye, goldeye, whitefish, and northern pike.

Population
According to the 1991 census, Alberta had 2,545,553 inhabitants, an increase of 7.6 percent over 1986. The average population density in 1991 was 4 people per sq km (10 per sq mi). The distribution of population, however, was very uneven; more than 60% of the province's inhabitants lived in the two largest metropolitan areas, and most of the northern half of the province had a population density of less than 1 person for every 3 sq km (less than 1 per sq mi). English was the only mother tongue of about 85% of the population; French, for a little more than 5%. Approximately 15% of the population was foreign born, consisting largely of people from Great Britain and the United States, but also from countries of northern and eastern Europe. More than 68,000 Native Americans lived in Alberta, mostly on reservations; the principal Native American groups included the Cree, Blackfoot, Blood, and Piegan. More than 40,000 Métis, or persons of mixed Native American and European ancestry, also resided in the province. The United Church of Canada and the Roman Catholic Church were the largest religious groups. About 80% of all Albertans lived in areas defined as urban and the rest in rural areas. The province's biggest cities are Calgary and Edmonton, the capital; the next largest cities—Lethbridge, Red Deer, and Medicine Hat—are much smaller.

Cultural Institutions
Most of Alberta's noteworthy museums and other cultural facilities are in either Edmonton or Calgary. The Provincial Museum and Archives; Edmonton Art Gallery, with a collection of Canadian art; the Space Sciences Centre; Muttart Conservatory, with extensive botanical displays; the University of Alberta Museum and Art Gallery; the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra; and the Edmonton Opera Company are all located in Edmonton. Calgary is the home of the Glenbow Museum, the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, and Theatre Calgary (both located in the Calgary Centre for Performing Arts), the Southern Alberta Opera, and Dinosaur Park. Three additional museums of note include the Luxton Museum, with exhibits exclusively on Native American themes; the Banff Park Museum, which displays stuffed animals and birds from the surrounding area; and the Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies, emphasizing local history and culture, all in Banff. Also of interest are the Nikka Yuko Japanese Garden, in Lethbridge; and the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Paleontology, featuring exhibits on the region's geological history, in Drumheller.

Historical Sites
For the most part, the historical points of interest in Alberta commemorate the province's early traders and settlers. Rocky Mountain House National Historic Site, in Rocky Mountain House, contains trading posts owned by the North West Company and by its rival, the Hudson's Bay Company. Other sites of note are Heritage Park, in Calgary, an area of preserved historic buildings; Fort Edmonton Park, in Edmonton; Fort Whoop-up, a reproduction of the early fort, in Lethbridge; and Fort Macleod, a replica of Alberta's first North West Mounted Police post established in 1874, in Fort Macleod.

Sports and Recreation
Alberta's national parks, provincial parks, and numerous rivers and lakes offer ideal conditions to sightseers and sports enthusiasts. Alberta has the largest area of national parks of any Canadian province. These include Banff National Park (Canada's first national park), Elk Island National Park, Jasper National Park, Waterton Lakes National Park, and Wood Buffalo National Park.

Forestry & Fishing
Annual income from forestry and fishing in Alberta is relatively small. Although 39% of the land area of the province is covered by commercial forest, Alberta supplies only 6% of the total Canadian output of lumber. Pulp and paper production is also small, accounting for only 2% of the total national output by value.
The annual commercial fishery production is about 2,200 metric tons. Whitefish account for a dominant share of both the volume and the value of the annual catch. The province stocks more than 200 lakes, mainly with rainbow trout.

Tourism
Alberta ranks second only to British Columbia among the four western Canadian provinces in income derived from tourism. Each year between 3 and 4 million nonresident tourists generate more than Can. $1.8 billion for Alberta's economy. Located in the province are five national parks containing some of the world's most spectacular scenery; Banff and Jasper national parks lead all others in the country in terms of the number of visitors. In addition to federally operated parks, Alberta has 115 provincial parks; most are wilderness areas with camping facilities.

Transportation
In the late 1980s Alberta had about 171,200 km (about 106,380 mi) of highways and roads, of which about 35,165 km (about 21,850 mi) were paved. The highway network is densest in the northern-southern corridor between Edmonton and Calgary. The Alaska Highway passes through the Peace River agricultural area, and the Mackenzie Highway provides the main land contact with the Northwest Territories. Alberta has about 4,455 km (about 2770 mi) of operated mainline railroad track and is served by the two Canadian transcontinental railroads. Major airports are at Calgary and Edmonton.

History
The area that is now Alberta was first explored by French fur traders about 1750. Settlement began with the establishment of trading posts in the 1780s and '90s. From 1821 the region was controlled by the Hudson's Bay Company. In 1870 the new Dominion of Canada bought the company's lands and organized them as the Northwest Territories. Soon the Canadian government sent in the North West Mounted Police to keep order; they concluded treaties with the Native Americans.
In 1882 the Territories were subdivided into administrative districts. Canada's governor-general, the marquis of Lorne (later the 9th duke of Argyll), Sir John Douglas Sutherland Campbell, named the new district of Alberta after his wife, Princess Louise Caroline Alberta, daughter of Queen Victoria. Alberta was linked to the rest of Canada by the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1883. Settlement remained sparse until new Canadian prosperity after 1896 spurred immigration. Between 1901 and 1911 the population rose from 73,000 to 374,295. As the population grew, the federal government extended the boundaries of the district east and north and, on September 1, 1905, made it a province.
Alberta was at first overwhelmingly agricultural. In the south, ranching predominated; farther north, the principal crop was wheat. Raising, marketing, and transporting agricultural products dominated both provincial and federal politics under a Liberal administration. Albertans, however, began to distrust the urban east and the established Liberal and Conservative parties. In 1921, Alberta elected a farmers' government drawn entirely from the United Farmers Party of Alberta. The Great Depression after 1929 hit the province hard. Wheat prices collapsed, and much of the population found itself on relief. In 1935, Alberta turned to the new Social Credit party, headed by the charismatic radio evangelist William Aberhart. His party, radical in monetary theory, turned out to be conservative in practice, largely because of constitutional limitations on its actions.
World War II (1939-1945) was an economic turning point for Alberta. War industries were attracted to Edmonton and Calgary, near which oil had been found. In 1947 a new oil discovery at Leduc made the province a major oil and gas producer. The Social Credit party, which was led by Aberhart's successor, E. C. Manning, occupied itself with transporting oil and natural gas to markets located in the east. In 1958 a gas pipeline to eastern Canada was completed. As industries boomed, the farm population fell from 51 percent in 1931 to only 21 percent in 1961. Average income soared, particularly after world oil prices increased in 1973.
Premier Manning retired in 1968. Three years later the Progressive Conservatives, led by Peter Lougheed, for the first time were able to form Alberta's government. Lougheed's “Alberta-first” policies, stressing industrial development, sometimes led to confrontations with the federal government. Oil-based prosperity fostered a boom during the 1970s, but the recession of the early 1980s and the subsequent collapse of oil and grain prices hurt the province. Donald Getty, Longheed's successor, easily won a majority in the 1986 election, but had more difficulty in winning in 1989. Largely because of increasing dissatisfaction among Albertans with the power of central Canada in national affairs, Getty was a major participant in the country's constitutional crisis, campaigning vigorously for Senate reform. Getty announced his impending retirement as premier and party leader in September 1992, and Ralph Klein was chosen in December to succeed him.