Wetaskiwin, AlbertaThis is Alberta Alberta was named after Princess Louise Caroline Alberta, the fourth daughter of Queen Victoria. Located in Western Canada Alberta is a province of approx 3 million people. Alberta celebrates 100 years as a province in 2005. As part of the Centennial celebration, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip visited the province from May 23 to May 25 of 2005. The capital City of Alberta is Edmonton. Although Edmonton is the capital it is Calgary that is the most populous and has the largest metropolitan area. Other major cities and towns in Alberta include Banff, Fort McMurray, Grande Prairie, Camrose, Lethbridge, Red Deer, Medicine Hat, and Lloydminster Across the coutnry Alberta is the largest producer of crude oil, synthetic crude, natural gas and gas products. Two of the largest producers of petrochemicals in North America are located in central and north central Alberta . Both Edmonton and Red Deer have world class polyethylene and vinyl manufacturers that produce products shipped all over the world. Edmonton's oil refineries provide the raw materials for a large petrochemical industry to the east of Edmonton. The Athabasca Oil Sands have estimated oil reserves that exceeds that of the rest of the world. estimated to be 1.5 trillion barrels. With the increased producticity of extraction methods, bitumen and economical synthetic crude are produced at costs nearing that of conventional crude. This technology is helping Alberta grow and develop. About the Author |