Western Canada

Western Canada inlcudes four great provinces including British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. These four provinces have lots of information to be found about them and this post gives you a glimpse of some of the geographical features of each of these provinces.

British Columbia:
When looking for the province of British Columbia one would want to look on the west coast of Canada. British Columbia is actually the third largest province and the province that is furthest west. The west coast of British Columbia is bordered by the Pacific Ocean giving this province vast amounts of water access. British Columbia has many islands off it's coast one being Vancouver Island. Victoria is the capital of British Columbia and is located on Vancouver Island. British Columbia has a population of over 4.2 million people from a census in 2005. The northwest coast of British Columbia is the home to many natives. British Columbia is a common place for immigrants to come since they have about 35,000 immigrants arrive each year from all around the world. The most important industries to this province are mining, fisheries, agriculture, energy, transportation, and forestry. The Land regions in British columbia consists of a large belt of mountain ranges. Cordillera is the name isued to describe this large area of mountains. British Columbia is broken up into six main land regions consisting of the Insular Mountains, the Lower Fraser Valley, the Coast Mountains, the Interior Plateau, the Eastern Mountains and the Transmontane Plains. The majority of rivers in British Columbia drain into the Pacific Ocean. The famous Columbia River can also be found in British Columbia and eventually flows into Washington. This is a slight run down of the main aspects of British Columbia's geography. See website below for a clear map.

http://www.canadamaps.info/maps/britishcolumbiapoliticalmap.jpg

Sources:
http://www.saskschools.ca/~gregory/canada/facts/bc.html
"British Columbia: Land and Climate." The World Book Encyclopedia. 1998th ed. Chicago: World Book Inc., 1998.

Alberta:
Alberta is located in Western Canada to the east of British Columbia and to the west of Sasketchewan. The capital of this province is Edmonton, another major city being Calgary. The population in Alberta is around 3,306,000 people. The Rocky Mountains are one of Alberta's most unique features. Although, the areas that are not covered in the beautiful mountain ranges are made of great plains or prairies. Most plains are thought of as extremely flat chunks of land but that isn't the case in Alberta due to glaciers that once covered the land. Not only does Alberta have the prescence of mountains, the badlands are also located in Alberta. This is another uinque feature to this province. These badlands can be found in the southeast region of Alberta. The two largest lakes in Alberta are Lake Claire and Lake Athabasca, some important rivers include the Peace River and the Athabasca River. The source to these two main rivers can be found in the Rockies and flow north into the Artic Ocean. Alberta has four main land regions including the Candian Shield, the Saskatchewan Plain, the Alberta Plain, and the Rocky Mountains and foothills. See website below for a map of Alberta.

http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/travel/dg/maps/b7/750x750_alberta2_m.gif

Sources:
http://www.gov.ab.ca/home/index.cfm?Page=8
"Alberta: Land and Climate." The World Book Encyclopedia. 1998th ed. Chicago: World Book Inc., 1998.

Saskatchewan:
The province of Saskatchewan is the fifth largest province in Canada. This province can be found east of Alberta and west of Manitoba. The capital of Saskatchewan is Regina and another major city in the area is Saskatoon. The population of Saskatchewan is nearing 989,000 people. This interesting province is made up of a lot of plains. The name "Saskatchewan" comes from a Cree word that means "swift flowing water." This creative name refers to the great river in Saskatchewan called the South Saskatchewan river that has been an extremely influential waterway throughout history. The other main river is the Saskatchewan River which is made of waters frmo the Rocky Mountains that are in Alberta. This province doesn't have many rivers and lakes of great importance although those two are very important for the people of Canada for various reasons. The land of Saskatchewan is divided into four main land regions including the Canadian Shield, the Manitoba Lowland, the Saskatchewan Plain, and the Alberta Plain. Click the link below to see a visual of Saskatchewan:

http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/travel/dg/maps/40/750x750_saskatchewan_m.gif

Sources:
http://interactive.usask.ca/ski/factfig/geography.html
"Saskatchewan: Land and Climate." The World Book Encyclopedia. 1998th ed. Chicago: World Book Inc., 1998.

Manitoba:
Manitoba is another province located in Western Canada, although it the eastern most province in that region. Manitoba's neighbor to the west is Saskatchewan and to the east is Ontario. To the north they have Nunavut and their northeast shoreline is the industrious Hudson Bay. The capital of Manitoba is Winnipeg which is located in the southern portion of Manitoba. The population of Manitoba is about 1,179,700 people. This province is divided into four main land regions including the Hudson Bay Lowland, the Canadian Shield, the Manitoba Lowland, and the Saskatchewan Plain. The Manitoba Escarpment is a term used to describe the Duck, Procupine, and Riding Mountain ranges that are all located in Manitoba. Manitoba has many lakes within its province resulting in about 100,000 of them. The two largest lakes are Lake Winnipeg and Lake Winnipegosis. Three main rivers including the Red, Saskatchewan, and Winnipeg flow into Lake Winnipeg causing the lake to be a delta for some major rivers. See map below to learn more about Manitoba's location:

http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/travel/dg/maps/aa/750x750_manitoba_m.gif

Sources:
http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/world/A0859466.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page (for all flag images)
"Manitoba: Land and Climate." The World Book Encyclopedia. 1998th ed. Chicago: World Book Inc., 1998.

Calgary, Alberta is a fine choice for anyone looking for a fun and interesting stop during their travels. Be one of the 5 million guests who enjoy all that Calgary has to offer annually. This city of over 3 million people Calgary has many great opportunities to offer their tourists and even habitants of the city. Three different itineraries are included on the online source of www.tourismcalgary.com. One idea is to experience Calgary's transit system. This includes the Calgary Zoo, Grain Academy Museum for fun and intellectual value. Shopping in this area can also be done and the Chinook Centre is suggested among a few other shopping areas. The unique part of this destination is that you use Calgary's bus system or the LRT, which stands for the light rail train. These two systems are very important to the city of Calgary so it allows tourists to experience it for themselves. Lets take a slightly deeper look into the "Calgary Stampede" which is a popular event. The Calgary Stampede occurs for ten days in July annually where the "Old West" is recreated. Activities include rodeos, rides, Grandstand shows, chuck wagon rides, etc. This is the perfect extravaganza for anyone that wishes that the cowboys still ruled the west. This itinerary is perfect for anyone that's hoping to get a little taste of southern hospitality and fun while visiting Calgary.

Another option is what they call a "Downtown Excursion." Some highlighted stops on this trip would be the Devonian gardens, Glenbow Museum, and the Calgary Police Service Interpretive Centre. Many activities can be found downtown to help visitors appreciate the true greatness of Calgary, one of which is the Art Gallery of Calgary, full of contemporary art. Another good choice is “Art Central” that is especially important for all artists and art lovers. Art Central includes artist’s studios, galleries, arts and crafts boutiques and even places to dine. The architecture of Calgary's downtown is worth the trip itself. One may find historical sandstone buildings that have been there for over a century including The Stephen Avenue Walk National Historic District. These are just two of many options when wondering where to begin when planning your visit to Calgary. A visit to Calgary is highly recommended, I hope to get there soon myself!

Sites Used:
http://lodging4vacations.com/calgary/1111calgaryview.jpg
http://www.calgary.ca/portal/server.pt?
http://www.tourismcalgary.com/

Bottom two sites may also be found helpful when planning your own trip!