Alberta Facts
Prime Minister of Canada - The Right Honourable Stephen Harper, leader of the Conservative Party of Canada.
Minister of Alberta Economic Development (responsible for tourism) - Honourable Clint Dunford.
Capital of Alberta - Edmonton
Capital of Canada - Ottawa, Ontario
Area of Alberta - 661 185 sq. km (255 303 sq. miles); Alberta is the fourth largest province in Canada.
Coordinates - Between 49 and 60 degrees north latitude and between 110 and 120 degrees west longitude.
Width & Length - North to South - 1223 km (764 mi.), East to West - 660km (412 mi.).
Terrain - Land accounts for 97% of the area with the remainder made up of numerous lakes, rivers and streams. The general geographical areas are prairies, parkland (mixed forests and plains), forests and mountain regions.
Climate - The province is characterized by low humidity and considerable contrasts between areas and seasons. Average temperatures range from 15C to 23C (60F to 73F) in July and -8C to -25C (18F to -13F) in January. Alberta receives more days of sunshine than any other province in Canada.
Population of Alberta - 2 907 882 (official 2001 population). Just over 9% of Canada’s population resides in Alberta.
Population of Canada - 30 007 094 (estimate 2001)
Alberta Resources/Industries - Alberta's major industries are energy, business and commercial services, transportation and utilities, finance and real estate, retail and wholesale trade, and manufacturing. Over the past decade, the economy has experienced rapid growth in such industries as petrochemicals, forest products, food processing, machinery, electronics and telecommunications, tourism, and business services. Tourism generates over $4 billion in revenues each year.
Highest Mountain in Alberta - Mt. Columbia 3747 m (12,294 ft)
Lowest Point in Alberta - Where the Salt River enters the Northwest Territories in northeast Alberta 183.0m (600.0 feet)
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New Official Grass Emblem for Alberta Alberta is celebrating the addition of a new provincial emblem - Rough Fescue grass. The addition of this new emblem was coordinated by the Prairie Conservation Forum. The Forum consulted a range of Alberta scientists and resource managers to identify five candidate grasses for Albertans to vote on through a mail-in or online ballot. Rough fescue (Festuca scabrella) was the winner selected by Albertans, with the other choices being: blue grama grass, green needle grass, june grass, and western wheat grass. |
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Provincial Flower - Wild Rose, rosa acicularis. The wild rose was chosen in the Floral Emblem Act of 1930. |
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Provincial Flag - Under the Flag Act (passed at the 1968 Session of the Alberta Legislature) a blue flag, with the Coat of Arms of the Province in the centre, was appointed and declared as the Flag of Alberta. This Act was proclaimed by Order of the Lieutenant Governor in Council on June 1, 1968. |
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Provincial Coat of Arms - On May 30, 1907, a Royal Warrant assigned the Coat of Arms of the Province of Alberta. Topped by a red St. George's Cross on a white background, the Coat of Arms features blue in back of a range of snow covered mountains with green hills, a prairie and a field of wheat in front. On July 30, 1980, the arms had a Crest, Motto and Supporters added by Royal Warrant. The Crest has a Royal Crown on top of a beaver sitting on a helmet with a silver and red wreath. |
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Motto: FORTIS ET LIBER (Strong and Free) to be borne and used together with Arms of the Province upon seals, shields, banners, flags, or otherwise according to the Laws of Arms. |
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Supporters: Gold lion (symbol of power) and pronghorn antelope (symbol of natural riches). The compartment (base of the Coat of Arms) is a grassy mount with wild roses. |
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Alberta Tartan - The colours of the Alberta Tartan represent the green of its forests, the gold of its wheat fields, the blue of its clean skies and sparkling lakes, the pink of its wild rose, and the black of its coal and petroleum. |
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Provincial Bird - Great Horned Owl, bubo virginianus |
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Provincial Mammal - Rocky Mountain Big Horned Sheep |
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Provincial Fish - Bull Trout, salvelinus confluentus |
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Provincial Tree - Lodgepole Pine, pinus contorta variety latifolia |
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Provincial Stone - Petrified Wood |
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Provincial Colours - Blue and Gold (deep yellow) |
First Foremost Finest
- Canada's largest mountain national park - Jasper National Park
- Canada's first/oldest national park - Banff National Park
- World's largest shopping and entertainment complex - West Edmonton Mall
- World's first international "Peace Park" - Waterton Lakes/Glacier National Park
- World's second largest/Canada's largest national park - Wood Buffalo National Park
- Largest ski area in Canada - Lake Louise
- World's largest Ukrainian Easter Egg (Pysanka) - Vegreville
- Second largest glacier fed lake in the world - Maligne Lake (Jasper National Park)
- One of the world's most photographed lakes - Moraine Lake (Banff National Park)
- North America's largest outdoor music festival - Big Valley Jamboree (Camrose)
- World's largest Tyrannosaurus Rex - Drumheller
- One of the most scenic highways in the world - Icefields Parkway
- Canada's largest public display of live reptiles - Reptile World (Drumheller)
- World's largest herd of free roaming bison - Wood Buffalo National Park
- North America's largest, oldest and best preserved buffalo jump site - Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump
- World's largest oil sands development - Suncor/Syncrude Oil Sand Plant (Fort McMurray)
- Only city in Canada found within two provinces - Lloydminster
- Largest museum in Western Canada - Glenbow Museum (Calgary)
- Bird capital of Canada - McLennan
- North America's largest theatre festival - Fringe Festival (Edmonton)
- Second largest zoo in Canada - Calgary Zoo (Calgary)
- One of the richest dinosaur finds in the world - Dinosaur Provincial Park
- Home of Iceland's greatest poet - Stephansson House (Markerville)
- World's largest Olympic museum - Olympic Hall of Fame (Calgary)
- World's largest cable suspended roof "reverse hyperbolic paraboloid" - Olympic Saddledome (Calgary)
- North America's first covered speed skating oval - Olympic Speed Skating Oval (Calgary)
- The richest show jumping contest in the world - The Masters (Calgary)
- One of North America's largest collections of antique and classic cars, trucks and planes - Reynolds Alberta Museum (Wetaskiwin)
- Greatest outdoor show on earth - Calgary Stampede (Calgary)
- World's first and only U.F.O. landing pad - St. Paul
- More park land per capita than any other North American city - Edmonton
- World's first Indoor bungy jump - West Edmonton Mall (Edmonton)
- World's tallest teepee - Medicine Hat
- North America's largest collection of horse drawn vehicles - Remington Alberta Carriage Centre
