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The Land
The westernmost of Canada's three Prairie provinces, Alberta lies
between the 49th and 60th parallels, at virtually the same latitude as
the United Kingdom. Alberta is 1 223 kilometres from north to south
and between 293 and 660 kilometres in width from west to east. Nearly
equal in size to the state of Texas, the province covers an area of some
661 190 km2.
Roughly half of the southwestern section of the province is dominated
by mountains and foothills - striking reminders of the glaciers that,
over millions of years, formed, moved and receded in the area. Peaks of
the Rocky Mountains located in Alberta range from 2 130 to 3 747
metres in elevation.
The foothills, which form a gentle link between mountain and prairie
landscapes, feature heavily forested areas and grasslands used for
grazing cattle. Beneath their surface, the foothills contain some of the
province's richest deposits of sour gas and coal.
The remainder of the province - approximately 90 percent of the land
area - forms part of the interior plain of North America. The plains
include the forested areas that dominate the northern part of the
province and the vast stretches of northern muskeg that overlay much of
Alberta's oil and gas deposits and oil sands.
Alberta has what is known as a continental climate. It is
characterized by vivid seasonal contrasts in which long, cold winters
are balanced by mild to hot summers and an unusually high number of
sunny days, no matter what the season. Although cold air covers the
whole province in winter, it is frequently replaced in the southwest by
a mild wind, called the "Chinook," which funnels through the
mountains from the Pacific Ocean.
The History
The Aboriginal people, whose ancestors are thought to have crossed
the Bering Sea from Asia thousands of years ago, were the first people
to live in what is now Alberta. The Blackfoot, Blood, Piegan, Cree, Gros
Ventre, Sarcee, Kootenay, Beaver and Slavey peoples, speaking a variety
of Athapaskan and Algonquian languages, were the sole inhabitants of
what was then a vast wilderness territory.
The early Albertans, particularly the woodland peoples of the central
and northern regions, became valuable partners of the European fur
traders who arrived in the 18th century. The first European explorer to
reach what is now Alberta was Anthony Henday, in 1754.
Peter Pond, of the North West Company, established the first
fur-trading post in the area in 1778. The Hudson's Bay Company gradually
extended its control throughout a huge expanse of northern North America
known as Rupert's Land and the North West Territory, including the
region occupied by present-day Alberta. From that time, the region was
fought over by the Hudson's Bay Company and the North West Company, each
of which built competing fur-trading posts. The rivalry ended only in
1821, when the two companies merged.
Expeditions led by Henry Youle Hind and John Palliser found parts of
the region to have exceptionally good land for farming, especially the
fertile belt north of the Palliser Triangle, a particularly arid zone.
As a result of these findings, the British decided not to renew the
licence of the Hudson's Bay Company and, in 1870, the North West
Territory was acquired by the Dominion of Canada and administered from
the newly formed province of Manitoba.
Upon completion of the railway in 1886, the population started to
grow quickly. Other factors that helped swell the population were the
discovery of new strains of wheat particularly suited to the climate of
the Canadian Prairies, the lack of new farmland in the United States,
and the end of an economic depression throughout North America.
On September 1, 1905, Alberta, named for Princess Louise Caroline
Alberta, fourth daughter of Queen Victoria, became a province of Canada
with Edmonton as its capital city. The province of Alberta was created
by joining the District of Alberta with parts of the districts of
Athabasca, Assiniboia and Saskatchewan.
The People
Tracing the roots of Alberta's nearly 3 million people is an exercise
that begins with Aboriginal people and leads to virtually every corner
of the globe. Aboriginal people formed the bulk of the area's population
until the 1880s, when they were outnumbered by the influx of Europeans.
In 1881, there were barely more than 1 000 non-Aboriginal people in
the area that was to become the province of Alberta. Ten years later, 17
500 people occupied the territory. Immigrants from many countries came
in response to the Canadian government's aggressive efforts, between the
1890s and the 1920s, to promote immigration and encourage agricultural
development. By the end of the immigration push in 1921, there were 584 454
Albertans.
After the Second World War, the pattern changed. From the 1960s on,
immigrants have come from all over the world, including the Pacific Rim,
Asia and the Caribbean. Today, roughly 44 percent of Albertans are of
British descent; other large ethnic groups include the German,
Ukrainian, French, Scandinavian and Dutch. In 1996, approximately 120 000
people were of Aboriginal or Métis origin. Smaller numbers of people,
tracing their heritage to virtually every country in the world, make up
the remaining 24 percent of the population. English is the language of
the vast majority of Albertans, and most religious faiths are
represented. Approximately 80 percent of Albertans live in urban areas,
and more than half live in the two main cities of Edmonton, the
province's capital, and Calgary.
The Economy
Alberta has one of the world's most productive agricultural
economies, producing about 25 percent of the value of Canada's annual
output. Approximately 22 million hectares of cultivated and uncultivated
land are used as pasture and forage for livestock. While wheat remains
the primary crop, the production of new crops continues to expand as the
industry diversifies. The province maintains the largest livestock
population in Canada.
Long known as Canada's "energy province," Alberta has more
than 65 percent of the country's reserves of conventional crude oil,
over 80 percent of its natural gas, and all of its bitumen and oil-sands
reserves.
Over one-half of the province of Alberta, or approximately 350 000
km2, is covered by forests. Of the total forest area, 216 000
km2 are classified as commercially productive forest land and
contain both hardwood and softwood species.
Food and beverage processing remains the largest manufacturing
industry in Alberta in terms of both sales and employment.
Petrochemicals and plastics, forest products, metals and machinery and
refineries have become major success stories in contributing to
Alberta's diversification efforts over the last several years. Many
industrial products - including aerospace and transportation equipment,
as well as industrial and speciality chemicals - are also being
manufactured in Alberta.
The service sector accounts for more than 60 percent of Alberta's
gross domestic product. More than two- thirds of Alberta's employment is
found in such industries as business and financial services,
transportation, retail trade, health and education services and tourism.
The province offers a multitude of attractions to visitors, and
particularly prides itself on the magnificent Rocky Mountains,
especially the celebrated Jasper and Banff national parks.
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