PRESENTS
Alberta
Quick Fact Sheet
Alberta Coat of Arms
Alberta Flag
| Capital City: | Edmonton |
| Date Entered Confederation: | September 1, 1905 |
| Area: | 661,190 Sq Km |
| Population: | Click Here for Population Page |
| Motto: | Strong and Free |
| Known As: | Wild Rose Province |
| Provincial Flower: | Wild Rose |
| Provincial Animal: | Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep |
| Provincial Bird: | Great Horned Owl |
| Provincial Tree: | Lodgepole Pine |
| Lieutenant Governor: | Hon. Selma Lakhani |
| Premier: | Hon. Danielle Smith |
| Political Party: | United Conservative Party |
| Main Products: | Agricultural: Wheat, rapeseed, barley, cattle, hogs, timber. Manufactured: Food and beverages, petroleum refining, metal fabricating, wood industries, chemicals. Mined: Crude petroleum, natural gas, sulfur, coal. |
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 1,217 km from north to south and between 293 and 650 km in width from west to east. The province is nearly equal in size to the state of Texas.
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 m 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% 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.
Although cold air covers the whole province in winter, it is frequently replaced in the southwest by a mild, warm wind, the "chinook", funnelling through the mountains from the Pacific Ocean.
(Text courtesy Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade)
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