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The Princess Province
Alberta experiences cold winters, fed by chilling arctic winds from the north. Warmer chinook (western) winds periodically sweep through the province in wintertime, drying things out and raising temperatures. Summers in Alberta are usually warm. The sky is often sunny during both winter and summer. Northern Alberta gets around 18 hours of daylight in the summertime but tends to be cooler than the southern part of the province. In July, the average temperature is 16°C (60°F) in northern Alberta and 21°C (70°F) in southern Alberta. Winter temperatures are much colder in both regions, averaging -27°C (-16°F) in the northern region and -12°C (10°F) in the southern region.
Alberta has an area of 661,848 square kilometres (255,541 sq miles), making it Canada’s fourth largest province. The westernmost of Canada’s three Prairie Provinces (Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta), Alberta is the only one that contains all three of Canada’s main geographic regions: the Canadian Shield, the High Plains, and the Rocky Mountains. The Canadian Shield, an ancient ring of rock that covers much of North America, can be seen above ground in the northeastern part of Alberta. The High Plains region, where Calgary, Edmonton, and other large cities are located, covers the south and central portions of the province. This region has fertile farmland, on which ranchers raise cattle and farmers grow wheat and canola. Southeastern Alberta is often known as the “badlands,” because wind, rain, and the Red Deer River have eroded the rock to form strange formations called hoodoos. Hoodoos are tall pillars of rock shaped like toadstools that grow out of the cliffs and gullies in the area. The badlands are also known for dinosaur fossils, found in layers of rock that have been eroded by wind and rain over the centuries. The Rocky Mountains region runs along Alberta’s southwestern border and includes both the highest point in the province, Mount Columbia, at 3,747 metres (12,294 ft), and the highest town in Canada, Lake Louise, at 1,540 metres (5,052 ft).
White Goat, Siffleur, and Ghost River are Alberta’s three designated wilderness areas and are strictly protected from development. Hunting, fishing, and horse riding are not permitted, and only foot traffic is allowed. Many caribou, grizzly bears, mountain goats, and bighorn sheep are found in these beautiful wilderness areas.
Forest management officials are trying to reach a balance between the concerns of the logging industry and the preservation of water and protection of wildlife. The forest industry brings in billions of dollars each year and provides jobs for tens of thousands of Albertans. At the same time, the process of clear-cutting, or cutting down all the trees in a specific area, creates several environmental problems. One of the biggest problems is the reduction of species of trees in an area. A possible healthier alternative is selection management, in which individual trees are cut and small clearings are left to be naturally reseeded by the surrounding trees.
Water shortages have long been a concern, particularly in southern Alberta, where the rivers have been drying up for the past several decades. On top of this problem, water consumption has also increased because many people have moved to Alberta in response to better economic opportunities within the province, swelling the population. Researchers are trying to figure out how to bring some of the northern water supply to the southern regions of the province, where most of the people live. The provincial government is also encouraging Albertans to reduce their water usage over the next several years.
((still a wip ;v; ))