The province of Alberta is the sixth largest subdivision of Canada, with an area
of 661,848 km2, and the fourth most populous with 4.1 million
inhabitants. The capital is Edmonton and Calgary is the largest city. More than
half of Albertans live in one of them. There are 19 municipalities in Alberta
that have been granted city status. English is the official language of the
province.
Alberta is the most westerly of Canada’s three Prairie Provinces (the others are Manitoba and Saskatchewan). These provinces are partially covered by grasslands, plains, and lowlands, mostly in the southern regions.
To the north of Alberta, the 60th parallel forms its boundary with the Northwest Territories, to the east, the 110th meridian forms the boundary with Saskatchewan, to the south, the 49th parallel forms the international border with the U.S. state of Montana, and to the west, the boundary with British Columbia is formed by the 120th meridian and the crest of the Rocky Mountains. The province extends 1,223 km north to south and 660 km east to west at its maximum width. Its highest point is 3,747 m at the summit of Mount Columbia in the Rocky Mountains. The largest river is the Peace River, which originates in the Rocky Mountains of northern British Columbia and flows through northern Alberta and into the Slave River, a tributary of the Mackenzie River.
Alberta became a Canadian province in 1905, named after Princess Louise Caroline Alberta, the fourth daughter of Queen Victoria and wife of the Marquis of Lorne, Governor General of Canada between 1878 and 1883.
Alberta is renowned for its natural beauty and rich nature reserves. It is home to six UNESCO World Heritage Sites: the Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks, Dinosaur Provincial Park, Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump, Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park, Wood Buffalo National Park and Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park. Other popular sites include Banff National Park, Elk Island National Park, Jasper National Park, Waterton Lakes National Park, and Drumheller.
