Western Canada.

GMT - 7 (GMT - 6 in summer). Summer officially lasts from the first Sunday in April to the Saturday before the last Sunday in October.

661,848 sq km (255,541 sq miles).

3.4 million (2006).

5.1 per sq km.

Edmonton. Population: 1 million (2005 estimate).

Alberta is the most westerly of the ‘prairie and plains' provinces, bordered to the west by British Columbia and the Rockies, to the southeast by the badlands and prairie, while in the north, along the border with the Northwest Territories, there is a wilderness of forests, lakes and rivers. Mount Columbia on the western Rocky Mountains border is the highest point, rising to 3,747m (12,293ft). Alberta also has permanent icefields, covering 340 sq km (122 sq miles). They release meltwaters which supply the Mackenzie River flowing into the Arctic Ocean, and the Saskatchewan River flowing into Hudson Bay.

Although Canada is officially bilingual (English and French), English is more commonly spoken in Alberta.