Alberta is a province in western Canada with an area 661,190 km² (260,000 mi²). It is bounded to the south by the United States boundary line, 49° north. Eastwards at 110° west it borders the province of Saskatchewan. At 60° north it is separated from the Northwest Territories. To the west by the line of peaks of the Rocky Mountains range, which runs northwesterly, and divides it from British Columbia. Motto: Multis E Gentibus Vires (From many peoples, strength) Other Canadian provinces and territories Capital Regina Largest city Saskatoon Lieutenant-Governor Lynda M. Haverstock Premier Lorne Calvert (NDP) Area 651,036 km² (7th) • Land 591,670 km² • Water 59,366 km² (9. ... Motto: None Other Canadian provinces and territories Capital Yellowknife Largest city Yellowknife Commissioner Tony Whitford Premier Joe Handley (Consensus government - no party affiliations) Area 1,346,106 km² (3rd) Land 1,183,085 km² Water 163,021 km² (12. ... White Goat Wilderness Area, Alberta, Canada The Rocky Mountains, often called the Rockies, are a broad mountain range in western North America. ... Motto: Splendor Sine Occasu (Splendour without diminishment) Other Canadian provinces and territories Capital Victoria Largest city Vancouver Lieutenant-Governor Iona Campagnolo Premier Gordon Campbell (BC Liberal) Area 944,735 km² (5th) • Land 925,186 km² • Water 19,549 km² (2. ...

Terrain

Alberta is a fertile province, as the eastern and southern portions its surface consists chiefly of plains that are almost entirely treeless. As the slopes of the Rocky Mountains to the west are reached more trees are found, until in the foothills of the mountains bodies of forest timber occur. Trees also become more numerous in the northern part of the province, until in the region north of the North Saskatchewan River forests are again met with. From the southern boundary line for 2.5° north the prairie is dry, but of good soil, which grows excellent crops when irrigated. North of this region the surface of the province is of most fertile soil, the ordinary rainfall sufficing for agriculture. Alberta also has large oil reserves, especially in the Athabasca Tar Sands in the north of the province. Motto: Fortis et Liber (Strong and free) Other Canadian provinces and territories Capital Edmonton Largest city Calgary Lieutenant-Governor Norman Kwong Premier Ralph Klein (PC) Area 661,848 km² (6th) • Land 642,317 km² • Water 19,531 km² (2. ... White Goat Wilderness Area, Alberta, Canada The Rocky Mountains, often called the Rockies, are a broad mountain range in western North America. ... The North Saskatchewan River is a glacier-fed river flowing east from the Canadian Rockies to Lake Winnipeg. ... Tar sands in Alberta The Athabasca Tar Sands is a large deposit of tar sands in north-western Canada located mainly in the province of Alberta and, to a much lesser degree Saskatchewan. ...

The appearance of the prairie section of the province is that of undulating meadows, wit

 rounded sloping ridges covered with shorter grasses, which serve for the support of large herds of beef cattle. The wooded portions of the terrain are dotted with clumps and belts of trees of moderate size, giving them a park-like appearance. In winter it is continuously very cold, but this is occasionally reduced by warm winds from the west, known as the Chinook. 

Beef A salt beef with mustard bagel Beef is meat obtained from a bovine. ... Binomial name Bos taurus Linnaeus, 1758 Cattle (called cows in vernacular usage) are domesticated ungulates, a member of the subfamily Bovinae of the family Bovidae. ... Chinook has several meanings: The Chinookan nation of Native Americans of the Pacific Northwest, which inhabited the lower Columbia River valley in what is now Washington, Oregon, and British Columbia. ...

Mountains

Within a hundred kilometres of the mountains there is constantly in view, in clear weather, a line of snowy peaks along the western horizon. This continues for hundreds of kilometres northwestward. The Canadian Rockies are ascended by a gradual approach from the east, but are exceedingly abrupt on their transalpine slope in British Columbia. The peaks of these mountains are majestic, many of them reaching a height of more than three km above the sea. Among the more notable of these are: Wilcox Pass The Canadian Rockies comprise the Canadian segment of the North American Rocky Mountains range. ...

• Mount Robson, 12,973 ft. (3954m)
• Mount Columbia, 12,294 ft. (3747m)
• Mount Assiniboine, 11,850 ft. (3559m)
• Fyell 12,000 ft. (3603m)
• Mummery 12,000 ft. (3603m)
• Mount Temple 11,624 ft. (3543m)
• Geikie 11,000 ft. (3303m)
• Mount Brown 9,050 ft. (2717m).

Historically travel through these mountains was difficult, and alpine passes became very important. The most noted of the Alberta passes are: Mount Robson (or Robson Peak) is the highest point in the Canadian Rockies. ... Mount Columbia is the highest point in Alberta, Canada and the second highest peak in the Canadian Rockies. ... Mount Assiniboine, also known as Assiniboine Mountain, is a mountain located in eastern British Columbia, Canada. ... Mount Temple is a mountain in Banff National Park of the Canadian Rockies. ... Mount Brown can refer to: Mount Brown (Alberta) in Alberta, Canada Mount Brown (Antarctica) in Antarctica Mount Brown (British Columbia) in British Columbia, Canada This is a disambiguation page — a list of articles associated with the same title. ...

1. The Crowsnest Pass, near the southern boundary line, through which a branch of the Canadian Pacific Railway runs.
2. The Kicking Horse Pass, through which the main line of the Canadian Pacific Railway was built; 80 miles (130 km) from the eastern end of this pass is the gate of Banff National Park, with the famous watering-place of Banff as its centre.
3. The Yellowhead Pass, running west from the Athabasca River; this pass was discovered by John Palliser (1858), was crossed by Lord Milton and Dr W. B. Cheadle (1861), and by Sandford Fleming (1871-1872) in the Ocean to Ocean expedition;
4. Peace River Pass in British Columbia. By this pass Alexander Mackenzie made his voyage.

Freight train, Crowsnest Pass. ... The Kicking Horse Pass (elevation 1627 m) is a mountain pass across the Continental Divide of the Canadian Rockies near the border between Alberta and British Columbia, and lying within Yoho and Banff National Parks. ... Banff National Park is located in the Canadian Rockies west of the City of Calgary, and includes the town of Banff, Alberta. ... Canadian National Railways GP9 climbing in the Yellowhead Pass The Yellowhead Pass (elevation 1110 m, lat. ... Hudsons Bay Companys scow in Athabasca River, circa 1910 The Athabasca River originates from the Athabasca Glacier of the Columbia Icefield in Jasper National Park in Alberta. ... John Palliser (January 29, 1817 - August 18, 1887) was an Irish-born Canadian geographer and explorer, and brother of Sir William Palliser. ... Sir Sandford Fleming Sir Sandford Fleming (January 7, 1827 – July 22, 1915) was a prolific Canadian engineer and inventor, known for the introduction of Universal Standard Time, Canadas first postage stamp, a huge body of surveying and map making, engineering much of the Intercolonial Railway and the Canadian Pacific... Alexander MacKenzie painted by Thomas Lawrence (c. ...

Water

With the exception of the southern section, the province of Alberta may be said to be well watered. Rising from numerous valleys on the Alberta declivity of the Rocky Mountains between the international boundary line and 52° north are streams which unite to form the Belly River, and farther north the Bow River. Running eastward these two rivers unite about 112° west, and flow on under the name of the South Saskatchewan River. North of 52° north many small streams unite to form the Red Deer River, which flowing southeastward joins the South Saskatchewan near 110° west. Between 52° and 53° north rises the great river, the North Saskatchewan. It receives a southern tributary, the Battle River, which joins it about 108° west. Pursuing their courses eastward the North and South Saskatchewan rivers unite in the Saskatchewan River (Cree, rapid-flowing river), which finds its way to Lake Winnipeg, and thence by way of Nelson River to Hudson Bay. It is one of the mightiest rivers of the continent. The Bow River is a river in the Canadian province of Alberta. ... The South Saskatchewan River flows eastward from the confluence of the Bow and Oldman Rivers near Grassy Lake, Alberta. ... Red Deer River is a river is in Alberta, Canada, it is a tributary of the South Saskatchewan River. ... The North Saskatchewan River is a glacier-fed river flowing east from the Canadian Rockies to Lake Winnipeg. ... The Saskatchewan River is a major river in Canada, approximately 550 km (340 mi) long, flowing roughly eastward across Saskatchewan and Manitoba to drain into Lake Winnipeg. ... Lake Winnipeg (52°N, 92°W) is a large (24 400 km²) lake in central North America, in the province of Manitoba, Canada, at about 55 km north of the city of Winnipeg. ... The Nelson River is a river of north-central North America, in the Canadian province of Manitoba. ... Hudson Bay, Canada. ...

At Mount Athabasca, there is an unusual occurrence where the water flows either to the Pacific ocean on the western slope, the Arctic ocean on the northeast, and the Atlantic Ocean on the southeast. Mount Athabasca is located in the Columbia Icefield of Jasper National Park. ... For other meanings of Pacific, see Pacific (disambiguation). ... The red line indicates the 10°C isotherm in July, commonly used to define the Arctic region border The Arctic is the area around the Earths North Pole. ...

In the northern part of the province, between 53° and 54° north, all the waters of Alberta flow toward the Arctic Ocean. Starting at Mount Athabasca, the Athabasca River runs north and empties into Lake Athabasca near 58° north. North of 56° north flows through and from the Rocky Mountains as the Peace River. After descending northeastward to within a few miles of Lake Athabasca, it is met by a stream emerging from that lake. The united river carrying down the waters of the Athabasca slope is called the Slave River, which, passing through Great Slave Lake, emerges as the great Mackenzie River, which falls into the Arctic Ocean. Alberta thus gives rise to the two great rivers, the Saskatchewan and the Mackenzie. Lake Athabasca, Canada Lake Athabasca is located in the Northwest corner of Saskatchewan and the Northeast corner of Alberta between the 58° and 60° latitudes. ... The Peace River is a river in Canada which originates in the Rocky Mountains of northern British Columbia and flows through northern Alberta. ... The Slave River is a Canadian river that flows from Lake Athabasca in northeastern Alberta and empties into Great Slave Lake. ... This page is a candidate for speedy deletion, because: it is patent nonsense. ... ...

While a number of fresh-water, or in some cases brackish, lakes each less than 260 km² (100 mi²) in extent are situated in Alberta, two of more considerable size are found. These are Lake Athabasca, 7898 km² (3085 mi²) in extent, of which a part is in the province of Saskatchewan, and the other Lesser Slave Lake some 1550 km² (600 mi²) in area. Brackish water is water that is saltier than fresh water, but not as salty as sea water. ... Lesser Slave Lake is a lake located in central Alberta, Canada, northwest of Edmonton. ...

Climate

As Alberta extends for 1200 km (750 miles) from north to south, it is natural that the climate should vary considerably between parallels of 49° and 60° north and also between 110° and 120° west. It is also further influenced by the different altitudes above the sea of the several parts of the province. Dividing the province into three equal parts of 400 km. each from north to south, these may be called (A) the south, (B) the centre, (C) the north. The following data may be considered:

Climate (A) allows, in what is a great ranching district, cattle to run at large through the whole winter. Through the mountain passes come at times dry winds from the Pacific coast, which lick up the snow in a few hours. These winds are known as Chinook winds. While elevating the temperature they bring more moisture into the air and produce a change not entirely desirable.

Climate (B) is the steady winter climate of Edmonton district. This while averaging a lower temperature than (A) is not so subject to change; it retains the snow for sleighing, which is a boon to the farmer. This climate is much less influenced by the Pacific winds than (A).

Climate (C), that of Fort Chipewyan, having a mean winter temperature of 4.6°C lower than Calgary, is a decidedly sub-arctic climate. It is the region in winter of constant ice and snow, but its lower altitude gives it a summer climate with a mean temperature of only 0.9°C less than Calgary, and 1.0°C less than Edmonton.

	Alberta
Cities	Airdrie | Brooks | Calgary | Camrose | Cold Lake | Edmonton | Fort Saskatchewan | Grande Prairie | Leduc | Lethbridge | Lloydminster | Medicine Hat | Red Deer | Spruce Grove | St. Albert | Wetaskiwin
Census Divisions	1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19
Counties and Municipal Districts	Acadia | Athabasca | Barrhead | Beaver | Bighorn | Big Lakes | Birch Hills | Bonnyville | Brazeau | Camrose | Cardston | Clear Hills | Clearwater | Cypress | East Peace | Fairview | Flagstaff | Foothills | Forty Mile | Grande Prairie | Greenview | Kananaskis | Kneehill | Lacombe | Lac Ste. Anne | Lakeland | Lamont | Leduc | Lesser Slave Lake | Lethbridge | Mackenzie | Minburn | Mountain View | Newell | Northern Lights | Opportunity | Paintearth | Parkland | Peace | Pincher Creek | Ponoka | Provost | Ranchland | Red Deer | Rocky View | Saddle Hills | Smoky Lake | Smoky River | Spirit River | Starland | Stettler | St. Paul | Strathcona | Sturgeon | Taber | Thorhild | Two Hills | Vermilion River | Vulcan | Wainwright | Warner | Westlock | Wetaskiwin | Wheatland | Willow Creek | Wood Buffalo | Woodlands | Yellowhead
See also	Culture of Alberta | Geography of Alberta | History of Alberta | Industry in Alberta | Politics of Alberta