Calgary is the largest city in the province of Alberta, Canada.
It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills
and high plains, approximately 80 kilometres (50 mi) east of the
front ranges of the Canadian Rockies. The city is located in the
Parkland region of Alberta. Calgary is the third largest civic
municipality, by population, in Canada. As of the 2007 civic census,
Calgary's population was 1,019,942. The metropolitan population
(CMA) was 1,079,310 in 2006 making Greater Calgary the fifth largest
census metropolitan area in the country. Because it is located 298
kilometres (178.8 mi) due south of Edmonton, statisticians define
the narrow populated area between these cities as the
"Calgary-Edmonton Corridor"Calgary is the largest Canadian
metropolitan area between Toronto and Vancouver. A resident of
Calgary is known as a Calgarian.
Calgary is well-known as a destination for winter sports and
ecotourism with a number of major mountain resorts near the city and
metropolitan area. Economic activity in Calgary is mostly centered
on the petroleum industry; however, agriculture, tourism, and
high-tech industries also contribute to the city's fast economic
growth. Calgary holds many major annual festivals which include the
Calgary Stampede, the Folk Music Festival, the Lilac Festival, One
Yellow Rabbit High Performance Rodeo — Calgary's International
Festival of the Arts, Wordfest: Banff-Calgary International Writers
Festival, One World Festival (GlobalFest), and the second largest
Caribbean festival in the country (Carifest). In 1988, Calgary
became the first Canadian city to host the Olympic Winter Games, and
one of the fastest long track speed skating ice rinks in the world
was built at the University of Calgary to accommodate these Games. |
