Alberta

The province of Alberta is the second westernmost province in Canada. In the year 2010, the estimated population was 3.7 million which made it the most heavily populated of the 3 Prairie Provinces. On September 1, the year 1905, the province of Alberta and the neighboring Saskatchewan became established officially as provinces.

Alberta is bounded by Saskatchewan towards the east and lovely British Columbia forms the western border. Towards the north lie the Northwest Territories and the U.S. State of Montana lies to the south. Alberta is 1 amongst just 2 landlocked provinces and it is 1 among 3 Canadian territories and provinces to border one U.S. state.

The capital city of the province of Alberta is Edmonton. The city of Edmonton is situated near the geographical centre of the province. Edmonton is the primary service hub and supply for Canada's oil sands and other northern resource industries. The city of Calgary is one more big city which is approximately 300 kilometres and 190 miles towards the south. Both of these two metropolitan areas have exceeded 1 million people based on the latest census estimates.

The province of Alberta has among the strongest economies in the country, due in large part to the petroleum business. technology and agriculture sectors play an important role in the economy of the province. The GDP per capita in the year 2007, was the highest among any province in Canada at $74,825. This number was higher compared to the national average of $46,441 by 61% and compared to some of the Atlantic Provinces it was twice as much. The census of 2006 recorded the median annual family income after taxes to be $70,986 in the province of Alberta as opposed to the Canadian average of $60,270.

The province's most urbanized region is the corridor between Calgary and Edmonton, that makes up one of the densest areas within the nation. The region covers over four hundred kilometers from its northern boundary to the south. The Calgary-Edmonton Corridor had a population during 2001 of 2.15 million which was seventy-two percent of Alberta's populationthe population of Albertathe province of Alberta. This is among the fastest growing locations within the nation. According to the Fraser Institute, Alberta is rated as the freest economy within the country and together with its economic freedom; it is the 2nd freest economy amongst Canadian provinces and U.S. states.

Alberta is the largest producer of synthetic crude, conventional crude oil, natural gas and gas products within the nation. In addition, the province of Alberta rates as the second biggest exporter of natural gas and the fourth largest producer. Two of the top producing petrochemical plants in North America are situated in north-central and central Alberta. There are also world class polyethylene and vinyl manufacturers who make products in Edmonton and Red Deer and ship to all over the globe. The raw materials for a big petrochemical industry situated to the east of Edmonton are provided by Edmonton's oil refineries.

The Athabasca oil sands have projected unconventional oil reserves that approximately equal the conventional oil reserves situated within the rest of the globe. This amount is projected to be roughly 254km3 or 1.6 trillion barrels. There are extraction methods which are new and are being developed within Albertathe province of Alberta like the steam assisted gravity drainage method. This development has made bitumen and synthetic crude oil able to be produced at prices similar to those of conventional crude.