Portal:Alberta

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Introduction

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Alberta /ælˈbɜrtə/ is the most populous and fastest growing of Canada's three prairie provinces. It is approximately the same size as France or Texas and had a population of 3.7 million in 2009. It became a province on September 1, 1905, on the same day as Saskatchewan. It is economically important primarily because of its vast oil reserves, and its large tertiary and quaternary economic sector.

Alberta is located in western Canada, bounded by the provinces of British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Territories to the north, and the U.S. state of Montana to the south. Alberta is one of three Canadian provinces and territories to border only a single U.S. state (the others being New Brunswick and Yukon). It is also one of only two Canadian provinces that are landlocked (the other being Saskatchewan).

The capital city of Alberta is Edmonton, located just south of the centre of the province. Roughly 300 kilometres (190 mi) south of the capital is Calgary, Alberta's largest city and a major distribution and transportation hub as well as one of Canada's major commerce centres. Edmonton is the primary supply and service hub for Canada's oil sands and other northern resource industries. According to recent population estimates, these two metropolitan areas have now both exceeded 1 million people. Other municipalities in the province include Red Deer, Lethbridge, Medicine Hat, Fort McMurray, Grande Prairie, Camrose, Lloydminster, Brooks, Wetaskiwin, Banff, Cold Lake, and Jasper.

Alberta is named after Princess Louise Caroline Alberta (1848–1939), the fourth daughter of Queen Victoria and her husband, Prince Albert. Princess Louise was the wife of the Marquess of Lorne, Governor General of Canada from 1878 to 1883. Lake Louise, the village of Caroline, and Mount Alberta were also named in honour of Princess Louise. Since October 7, 2011, the Premier of the province has been Alison Redford, a Progressive Conservative.

Alberta-flag contour.png More about...Alberta, its history and diversity


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Bobcat
The bobcat (Lynx rufus), occasionally known as the Bay lynx, is a North American mammal of the cat family, Felidae. With twelve recognized subspecies, it ranges from southern Canada to northern Mexico, including much of the continental United States. The bobcat is an adaptable predator that inhabits wooded areas, as well as semi-desert, urban edge, and swampland environments. It persists in much of its original range and populations are healthy.

With a gray to brown coat, whiskered face, and black-tufted ears, the bobcat resembles the other species of the mid-sized Lynx genus. It is smaller than the Canadian Lynx, with which it shares parts of its range, but is about twice as large as the domestic cat. It has distinctive black bars on its forelegs and a black-tipped, stubby tail, from which it derives its name.

Though the bobcat prefers rabbits and hares, it will hunt anything from insects and small rodents to deer and pronghorn antelope. Prey selection depends on location and habitat, season, and abundance. Like most cats, the bobcat is territorial and largely solitary, although there is some overlap in home ranges. It uses several methods to mark its territorial boundaries, including claw marks and deposits of urine or feces. The bobcat breeds from winter into spring and has a gestation period of about two months.

Although the bobcat has been subject to extensive hunting by humans, both for sport and fur, its population has proven resilient. The elusive predator features in Native American mythology and the folklore of European settlers.

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Wayne Gretzky
Wayne Douglas Gretzky, OC (born 26 January 1961 in Brantford, Ontario) is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey player who is currently part-owner and head coach of the Phoenix Coyotes.

Nicknamed "The Great One," Total Hockey: The Official Encyclopedia of the NHL calls Gretzky "the greatest player of all time." He is generally regarded as the best player of his era and has been called "the greatest hockey player ever" by many sportswriters,players, and coaches. He set 40 regular-season records, 15 playoff records, 6 All-Star records, won four Stanley Cups with the Edmonton Oilers, and won 9 MVP awards and 10 scoring titles. He is the only player ever to total over 200 points in a season (a feat that he accomplished four times in his career). In addition, he tallied over 100 points a season for 15 NHL seasons, 13 of them consecutively. He is the only player to have his number, 99, officially retired by the National Hockey League.

He retired from playing in 1999, becoming Executive Director for the Canadian national men's hockey team during the 2002 Winter Olympics. He also became part owner of the Phoenix Coyotes in 2000 and following the 2004-05 NHL lockout became their head coach.

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Did you know
...that Albertan politician Joseph Unwin was arrested for producing an official leaflet urging the "extermination" of opposition leader David Milwyn Duggan and Senator William Griesbach?
...DYK Archive/Nominations Start a new article
If you know of another interesting fact from a recently created or substantially expanded article, then please suggest it on the "Did you know?" talk page.

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(Bubo_virginianus)

Provincial bird of Alberta Great Horned Owl (Bubo_virginianus)

Photo credit: Patrick Coin Cotinis

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Wikipedia:WikiProject Alberta
WikiProject Alberta ···>
  1. Nominate, or vote on a new article, biography, image for the Portal that is B class.
  2. Add a feature or GA class one directly to the Portal.
  3. Add a {{WikiProject Canada |class= |importance= |ab=yes}} on Alberta related article talk pages.
  4. Assist with assessment of articles.
  5. Expand stubs.{{Alberta-stub}},{{Calgary-stub}},{{Edmonton-stub}},{{Lethbridge-stub}},{{Alberta-geo-stub}},{{Alberta-school-stub}},{{Alberta-airport-stub}},{{Alberta-protected-area-stub}},{{Alberta-politician-stub}} ,{{Alberta-road-stub}}
  6. Request photos by adding {{reqphoto|in=Alberta}}, {{reqphoto|in=Calgary}}, or {{reqphoto|in=Edmonton}} to the talk page, or uploading photos for the articles listed in Category:Wikipedia requested photographs in Alberta.

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