GeographyAlberta

Albertain western Canada. Area 661,190 km² (260,000 mi²) Itbounded tosouth byUnited States boundary line, 49°. Eastwards at 110° westbordersprovinceSaskatchewan. At 60° north itseparated fromNorthwest Territories. Towest bylinepeaks ofRocky Mountains range, which runs northwesterly,dividesfrom British Columbia.

Tablecontents

1 Terrain
2 Mountains
3 Water
4 Climate

Terrain

Alberta isfertile province, aseasternsouthern portions its surface consists chieflyplains thatalmost entirely treeless. Asslopes ofRocky Mountains towestreached more treesfound, until infoothills ofmountains bodiesforest timber occur. Trees also become more numerous innorthern part ofprovince, until inregion north ofNorth Saskatchewan River forestsagain met with. Fromsouthern boundary line2.5° northprairiedry, butgood soil, which grows excellent crops when irrigated. Norththis regionsurface ofprovince ismost fertile soil,ordinary rainfall sufficingagriculture. Alberta also has large oil reserves, especially inAthabasca Tar Sands innorth ofprovince.

The appearance ofprairie section ofprovincethatundulating meadows,rounded sloping ridges coveredshorter grasses, which serve forsupportlarge herdsbeef cattle. The wooded portions ofterraindottedclumpsbeltstreesmoderate size, giving thempark-like appearance. In winter itcontinuously very cold, but thisoccasionally reduced by warm winds fromwest, known asChinook.

Mountains

Withinhundred miles ofmountains thereconstantlyview,clear weather,linesnowy peaks alongwestern horizon. This continueshundredsmiles northwestward. The Rocky Mountainsascended bygradual approach fromeast, butexceedingly abrupt on their transalpine slopeBritish Columbia. The peaksthese mountainsmajestic, manythem reachingheightmore than two miles abovesea. Amongmore notablethese are:

Mount Robson, 12,973 ft. (3954m)
Mount Columbia, 12,294 ft. (3747m)
Assiniboine, 11,850 ft. (3559m)
Fyell 12,000 ft. (3603m)
Mummery 12,000 ft. (3603m)
Mount Temple 11,658 ft. (3501m)
Geikie 11,000 ft. (3303m)
Mount Brown 9,050 ft. (2717m).

Historically travel through these mountains was difficult,alpine passes became very important. The most noted ofAlberta passes are:

The Crowsnest Pass, nearsouthern boundary line, through whichbranch ofCanadian Pacific Railway runs.
The Kicking Horse Pass, through whichmain line ofCanadian Pacific Railway was built; 80 miles (130 km) fromeastern endthis pass isgateBanff National Park, withfamous watering-placeBanff as its centre.
The Yellowhead Pass, running west fromAthabasca River; this pass was discovered by John Palliser (1858), was crossed by Lord MiltonDr W. B. Cheadle (1861),by Sandford Fleming (1871-1872) inOceanOcean expedition;
Peace River PassBritish Columbia. By this pass Alexander Mackenzie made his voyage.

Water

Withexception ofsouthern section,provinceAlberta may be saidbe well watered. Rising from numerous valleys onAlberta declivity ofRocky Mountains betweeninternational boundary line52° northstreams which uniteformBelly River,farther northBow River. Running eastward these two rivers unite about 112° west,flow on undername ofSouth Saskatchewan River. North52° north many small streams uniteformRed Deer River, which flowing southeastward joinsSouth Saskatchewan near 110° west. Between 52°53° north risesgreat river,North Saskatchewan. It receivessouthern tributary,Battle River, which joinsabout 108° west. Pursuing their courses eastwardNorthSouth Saskatchewan rivers unite inSaskatchewan River (Cree, rapid-flowing river), which finds its wayLake Winnipeg,thence by wayNelson River Hudson Bay. Itone ofmightiest rivers ofcontinent.

At Mount Athabasca, therean unusual occurrence wherewater flows either toPacific ocean onwestern slope,Arctic ocean onnortheast, andAtlantic Ocean onsoutheast.

Innorthern part ofprovince, between 53°54° north, allwatersAlberta flow towardArctic Ocean. Starting at Mount Athabasca,Athabasca River runs northempties into Lake Athabasca near 58° north. North56° north flows throughfromRocky Mountains asPeace River. After descending northeastwardwithinfew milesLake Athabasca, itmet bystream emerging from that lake. The united river carrying downwaters ofAthabasca slopecalledSlave River, which, passing through Great Slave Lake, emerges asgreat Mackenzie River, which falls intoArctic Ocean. Alberta thus gives rise totwo great rivers,Saskatchewan andMackenzie.

Whilenumberfresh-water, orsome cases brackish, lakes each less than 260 km² (100 mi²)extentsituatedAlberta, twomore considerable sizefound. TheseLake Athabasca, 7898 km² (3085 mi²)extent,whichpartinprovinceSaskatchewan, andother Lesser Slave Lake some 1550 km² (600 mi²)area.

Climate

As Alberta extends1200 km (750 miles) from northsouth, itnatural thatclimate should vary considerably between parallels49°60° northalso between 110°120° west. Italso further influenced bydifferent altitudes abovesea ofseveral parts ofprovince. Dividingprovince into three equal parts400 km. each from northsouth, these may be called (A)south, (B)centre, (C)north. The following data may be considered:

CLIMATIC TABLE
Climate Places AboveSea Mean Winter Temp

(A) Moderatechangeable Medicine Hat, lat. 50° N. 2171 ft. 651 m 14.3°F -9.8°C

Calgary, lat. 51° 3432 ft. 1049 m 15.4°F -9.2°C

Banff, lat. 51.5° 4515 ft. 1355 m 15.9°F -8.9°C.

(B) Steady Edmonton, lat. 53.5° 2210 ft. 663m 10.3°F -12.1°C

(C) Severe Fort Chipewyan, lat. 59° N. 600 ft. 180 m 7.2°F -13.8°C

CLIMATIC TABLE
Climate	Places	AboveSea	Mean Winter Temp
(A) Moderatechangeable	Medicine Hat, lat. 50° N.	2171 ft. 651 m	14.3°F -9.8°C
Calgary, lat. 51°	3432 ft. 1049 m	15.4°F -9.2°C
Banff, lat. 51.5°	4515 ft. 1355 m	15.9°F -8.9°C.
(B) Steady	Edmonton, lat. 53.5°	2210 ft. 663m	10.3°F -12.1°C
(C) Severe	Fort Chipewyan, lat. 59° N.	600 ft. 180 m	7.2°F -13.8°C

Climate (A) allows,what isgreat ranching district, cattlerun at large throughwhole winter. Throughmountain passes come at times dry winds fromPacific coast, which lick upsnow infew hours. These windsknown as Chinook winds. While elevatingtemperaturebring more moisture into the airproducechange not entirely desirable.

Climate (B) issteady winter climateEdmonton district. This while averaginglower temperature than (A)not so subjectchange;retainssnowsleighing, which isboon tofarmer. This climate is much less influenced byPacific winds than (A).

Climate (C), thatFort Chipewyan, havingmean winter temperature4.6°C lower than Calgary, isdecidedly sub-arctic climate. It isregionwinterconstant icesnow, but its lower altitude gives itsummer climate withmean temperatureonly 0.9°C less than Calgary,1.0°C less than Edmonton.