Alberta ( ) is one of Canada's prairie provinces. It became a province on September 1, 1905.
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Alberta ( ) is one of Canada's prairie provinces. It became a province on September 1, 1905.
Alberta is located in western Canada, bounded by the provinces of British Columbia to the west and Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Territories to the north, and the U.S. state of Montana to the south. Alberta is one of three Canadian provinces and territories to border only a single U.S. state (the others being New Brunswick and Yukon). It is also one of only two Canadian provinces that are landlocked (the other being Saskatchewan).
The capital city of Alberta is Edmonton, located just south of the centre of the province. Roughly 300 km south of the capital is Calgary, Alberta's largest city and a major distribution and transportation hub as well as one of Canada's major commerce centres. Additionally, Calgary houses more company head offices than any other city in Alberta . Edmonton is the primary supply and service hub for Canada's oil sands and other northern resource industries. According to recent population estimates, these two metropolitan areas have now both exceeded 1 million people. Other municipalities in the province include Red Deer, Lethbridge, Medicine Hat, Fort McMurray, Grande Prairie, Camrose, Lloydminster, Brooks, Wetaskiwin, Banff, Cold Lake, and Jasper.
Since December 14 2006, the Premier of the province is Ed Stelmach, Progressive Conservative.
Alberta is named after Princess Louise Caroline Alberta (1848–1939), the fourth daughter of Queen Victoria and her husband, Prince Albert. Princess Louise was the wife of the Marquess of Lorne, Governor General of Canada from 1878 to 1883. Lake Louise, the village of Caroline, and Mount Alberta were also named in honour of Princess Louise.
Geography
main: Geography of Alberta Alberta covers an area of , an area about 5% smaller than Texas or 20% larger than France. This makes it the fourth largest province after Quebec, Ontario, and British Columbia. To the south, the province borders on the 49th parallel north, separating it from the U.S. state of Montana, while on the north the 60th parallel north divides it from the Northwest Territories. To the east the 110th meridian west separates it from the province of Saskatchewan, while on the west its boundary with British Columbia follows the 120th meridian west south from the Northwest Territories at 60°N until it reaches the Continental Divide at the Rocky Mountains, and from that point follows the line of peaks marking the Continental Divide in a generally southeasterly direction until it reaches the Montana border at 49°N.
The province extends north to south and east to west at its maximum width. Its highest point is at the summit of Mount Columbia in the Rocky Mountains along the southwest border, while its lowest point is on the Slave River in Wood Buffalo National Park in the northeast.
With the exception of the southeastern section, the province has adequate water resources. Alberta contains numerous rivers and lakes used for swimming, water skiing, fishing and a full range of other water sports. There are three large lakes and a multitude of smaller lakes less than 260 km² each. Part of Lake Athabasca (nts: 7898 km²) lies in the province of Saskatchewan. Lake Claire (nts: 1436 km²) lies just west of Lake Athabasca in Wood Buffalo National Park. Lesser Slave Lake (nts: 1168 km²) is northwest of Edmonton. The longest river in Alberta is the Athabasca River which travels from the Columbia Icefield in the Rocky Mountains to Lake Athabasca.
