Thursday, September 01, 2005

Happy Birthday, Alberta

On September 1, 1905, both Alberta and Saskatchewan became provinces of Canada, making today our 100th birthday. For the occasion, I present you with fun and useless facts about Alberta!

The Official Bird is the Great Horned Owl.

The Official Flower is the Wild Rose.

The Official Tree is the Lodgepole Pine.

The Official Stone is Petrified Wood. (I find this hilarious!!)

The Official Mammal is the Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep.

Our Motto is Fortis et Liber (Strong and Free).

At 61,185 square km or 255,303 squares miles, Alberta is the fourth largest province.

Our population is approximately 3.2 million.

Alberta was named after Princess Louise Caroline Alberta of Britain, daughter of Queen Victoria and wife of a Canadian Governor-General.

Alberta is the second largest producer of wheat in Canada.

Alberta is Canada's largest producer of petroleum and natural gas.

We usually have more hours of sunshine than any other province.

We have the world's largest shopping and entertainment complex - West Edmonton Mall in Edmonton (the capital city).

We have the world's largest Ukrainian Easter Egg (Pysanka) in Vegreville.