What Alberta is known for

Alberta has an estimated 4.4 million residents living within the province limits. That makes it the fourth most populated province in all of Canada. Over one million of these people live in the city of Calgary alone. Roughly 80% of the population is of English descent and about 6% have First Nation and other Aboriginal descent. The other 14% have descent from different parts of the world, with the most common being Chinese, South Asian, and Filipino. English is the most commonly spoken language, about 80%, and the next most spoken language is Chinese, at about 3% in total. About 60% of people in the province identify with a Christian denomination. Approximately 32% of people do not identify with any denomination of religion at all.[7]

Banf National Park is perhaps the most popular national park located within Alberta. The park consists of many mountains, such as Mt Rundle, Mt Temple, and Vermillion Range. These peaks and mountains have ideal conditions for winter sports including skiing, snowboarding, and hiking. Lake Louis, found inside the national park, is one destination where guests can take part in water-based activities, such as lake tours and fishing. The Banff Hot Springs are also available to visitors until the late evenings at all times of the year. They were founded in 1883 when three rail workers found a stream of hot water flowing out of what is now known as Sulphur Mountain. Dogsledding is an activity available at the national park and can be another way for guests to tour the area.[3]

Similar to most of Canada, ice hockey is a popular sport in Alberta. The Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers have stadiums in their respective cities and sell tickets for people that want to view their hockey games live. The season for hockey tends to run from October to April and typically has a total of 82 games per team, half of them played at home and the other half away.[12]

Calgary is known for hosting a significant event and celebration called The Calgary Stampede. The Calgary Stampede is held annually every year in early July. For ten days, visitors are able to watch a number of outdoor spectacles take place at stadiums Calgary Stampede Grandstand and Scotiabank Saddledome. The Calgary Stampede is centered on the roots of cowboys and The Wild West, with many people often wearing cowboy hats, boots, and the like. Many pros, both local and from afar, will compete in bull riding, horse riding, and other competitions and activities. Also available for visitors is a fair that has carnival rides, games, food vendors, and a firework show at the end of one of the days.[8]

Geography

Alberta is flanked by two provinces, Saskatchewan to the east and British Columbia to the west. North of Alberta, one can find the Northwest Territories. On the south, it shares borders with the state of Montana, which is in The United States. A portion of the Rocky Mountains is located in the southwestern part of the province. On the southeastern side of Alberta is an open expanse of prairies and plains. Central and northern Alberta tend to be dense forests and hills. Snow is a common occurrence in the province during the colder times of the year, and it is even more common at higher elevations.[1]

Canada typically has a cooler climate with moderate summers and colder winters. Alberta follows this trend, with June through September being the warmer months of the year and November through March being the colder months. July tends to be the hottest month of the year for Calgary and has an average high of 74 degrees Fahrenheit, about 23.3 degrees Celsius. On the other hand, January tends to be the coldest month and attains an average high of 31 degrees Fahrenheit, about -0.5 degrees Celsius. This makes the best time for visitors to spend time in the area for warm-weather activities to be early July through mid-August. The city with the lowest average precipitation is Brooks, which is about 301 millimeters, about 12 inches, and the city with the highest average precipitation is Wetaskiwin, which is about 497 millimeters, about 20 inches.[2]

There is a wide variety of flowers and plants that can be found growing within the Alberta limits. In areas like Drumheller, prickly pear cactus is a common native cactus. Yarrow is a common flower and has a wide variety of colors that can grow. While white is the natural color of yarrow growing in the wild (sometimes they may grow slightly pink), seeds for different colors can be acquired. There are a variety of trees and shrubs that are acclimated to the typical, hardy, and cold weather of Alberta. Willow and dogwood trees grow easier in the region.[10]

Many of the animals in Alberta have heavier fur coats to keep them warm in Canada's, overall, colder climate, especially higher up in the mountains. Several of the more common animals that are found in Alberta include deer, caribou, rocky mountain bighorn sheep, and more. Owls, Canadian geese, wild turkeys, and eagles fly in many parts of the region. Moose live in almost every part of Canada, and Alberta is no different. Grizzly bears and black bears can be found in the foothills and forested areas. Wolves, pine martens, cougars, and lynx, are a few other predators that inhabit places in Alberta.[9]

History

Native American groups are known as the first inhabitance in the region of what is now known as Alberta. Also called First Nations, these groups are said to have been living in the area for up to 10,000 years, potentially even longer. European explorers didn't travel through the territory until the 1750s, which was due to the fur trade expansion that was occurring across western North America. There were two large companies that expanded the most during that time period, the Hudson's Bay Company and the North West Company. These organizations began putting up trading posts along many of the rivers, including the Athabasca, North Saskatchewan, and Peace.[5] 



In 1905, the region that is now known as Alberta entered into the Confederation and became a part of Canada. It joined the Confederation at the same time as the Saskatchewan Province. Soon after, Edmonton became the capital, as it was a big distribution center, and Calgary became a big city as well when oil was discovered at Turner Valley in 1914.[5]



The oil discovery at Turner Valley was only the beginning for Alberta. Fort McMurray, Lloydminster, and the Cold Lake Regions also saw a boom in the oil industry. Where it stands now, Alberta produces a majority of Canada's oil and natural gas. It also provides nearly half of the country's coal alone. There are other resources that come from within the region. Minerals collected include salt, limestone, sand, gravel, and, sulfur.[11]



Alberta also has a strong service industry. It is estimated that roughly half of the workforce in the province has a job that is the service industry. The city of Calgary, specifically, has seen growth as a financial center and has several corporation headquarters in the area. Due to the flexible industry, unemployment rates in the province were among the lowest in the country as a whole near the end of the 20th century and through to the beginning of the 21st century.[11]



There are a number of companies that have their headquarters based inside Alberta's territory limits. Due to the oil, natural gas, and other resources that are naturally found in the province, energy sectors are common, producing many different forms of power. Enbridge Inc. ranked 9th in the FP500, which means Financial Post, in 2017 and 8th in 2016. Another company that works closely with energy-based resources is called Husky Energy. Husky Energy ranked 25th in 2017 on the FP500.[6]