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Alberta is the most populous Prairie province. The province, and the world-famous Lake Louise in the
Rocky Mountains, were both named after Princess Louise Caroline Alberta, fourth daughter of Queen
Victoria. Alberta has five national parks, including Banff National Park, established in 1885. The rugged
Badlands house some of the world’s richest deposits of prehistoric fossils and dinosaur finds. Alberta is
the largest producer of oil and gas, and the oil sands in the north are being developed as a major energy
source. Alberta is also renowned for agriculture, especially for the vast cattle ranches that make Canada
one of the world’s major beef producers.
Alberta
The West Coast
British Columbia is known for its majestic mountains and as Canada’s Pacific gateway. The Port of
Vancouver, Canada’s largest and busiest, handles billions of dollars in goods traded around the world.
Warm airstreams from the Pacific Ocean give the B.C. coast a temperate climate.
British Columbia (B.C.), on the Pacific coast, is Canada’s westernmost province, with a population of
four million. The Port of Vancouver is our gateway to the Asia-Pacific. About one-half of all the goods
produced in B.C. are forestry products, including lumber, newsprint, and pulp and paper products—the
most valuable forestry industry in Canada. B.C. is also known for mining, fishing, and the fruit orchards
and wine industry of the Okanagan Valley. B.C. has the most extensive park system in Canada, with
approximately 600 provincial parks. The province’s large Asian communities have made Chinese and
Punjabi the most spoken languages in the cities after English. The capital, Victoria, is a tourist centre and
headquarters of the navy’s Pacific fleet.
British Columbia
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