Jasmine Directory

If you head west from Saskatchewan, you'll discover the province of Alberta. It's a landlocked province that borders that U.S. state of Montana. Alberta is known for its large urban areas, especially the cities of Edmonton and Calgary and their surrounding environs.

Those metropolitan areas are home to much of the province's population. Both cities host a number of festivals each year, including Stampede, a big rodeo festival in Calgary. Ranching and the oil industry are big parts of Alberta's economy, which is one of the strongest economies in Canada, supporting the highest GDP per capita in the country.

Because the region has four quite distinct climates, it's home to a wide variety of plants and animals. While the representative animal of the province is the big horn sheep, which can be found in the Rocky Mountains on the southwestern border, coyotes, bobcats, grizzly bears, and black bears can all be found within Alberta.

Alberta is also a favorite stopping place for a variety of migratory birds including pelicans, swans, and geese.

A good number of dinosaur fossils, especially from the Late Cretaceous period, have been found in Alberta, making it an important location in the field of paleontology.