Canada: All About Alberta

Alberta is a western Canadian province, the sixth largest in the country, with 661,848km2 and the fourth most populous. It is part of the Prairie region. Its capital is Edmonton while Calgary is its largest city. The vast majority of Albertans are urban citizens and more than half of them live in these two cities. The eastern part of the province is occupied by the Great Plains while the western part of the province sees the Rocky Mountains rise. Mount Columbia, the second highest peak in the Canadian Rockies, is located in the province of Alberta like all of Banff and Jasper National Parks. It is also home to a major biosphere reserve in North America, protected within Waterton Lakes National Park. Created from the present Northwest Territories, it became the 8th province of Canada on September 1, 1905. Today, it attracts many immigrants. It is the country's richest province in hydrocarbons, supplying 70% of the oil and natural gas exploited on Canadian soil.