Southern Alberta
The province’s second city is situated at the western end of the Great Plains in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. It is probably the fastest growing city in Canada, and hosted the 1988 Winter Olympics. The heart of the city is a pedestrian mall with excellent shopping and restaurants; the Glenbow Museum, art galleries and theatres are nearby. The Calgary Zoo and Prehistoric Park is one of the best in North America. Heritage Park offers a chance to explore an authentic Alberta frontier town as it was 80 years ago. There are panoramic views of the Rocky Mountains from the Calgary Tower.
The historic site of Cochrane Ranche, established in 1881, sits 30km (19 miles) west of Calgary. By 1888, operations had expanded to such an extent that the ranch billed itself as ‘the largest ranch in the Dominion’. The site is now an historic landmark. On Alberta’s southwestern border with the USA is Waterton Lakes National Park, joined to Glacier National Park in Montana to form the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park. Scenic views of the stunning lake and scenery can be experienced on a cruise boat tour around the lake. Visitors should note that the park is a natural habitat for many species of wildlife, including bears; and that caution, particularly with bears, should be exercised. The Canadian Heritage National Parks Department publishes leaflets on safety precautions in backcountry areas. For details, contact one of the travel authorities under Canada’s Contact Addresses section. In south-central southern Alberta, the remains of dinosaurs first discovered in 1874 in the banks of the Red Deer River, can be seen on the 48km- (30 mile-) Dinosaur Trail near Drumheller. A few minutes from the downtown area is the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology, with hands-on exhibitions, ongoing site work and one of the world’s largest collections of dinosaur remains. Southwest of Drumheller, the Dinosaur Provincial Park continues this theme with reconstructed skeletons of duck-billed dinosaurs. To the south of Calgary, 50km (36 miles) south of Lethbridge, Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump is among the largest and best-preserved jump sites in the world; it was used by the native people for more than 10,000 years to drive thousands of buffalo to their deaths, thus providing them with food, shelter and clothing. The top of the cliff provides an unparalleled view of the surrounding prairie.
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