Alberta can be divided into four major natural regions: the Rocky Mountains and foothills, which form part of the larger Cordilleran Region; the Alberta Plain; the Saskatchewan Plain, which with the Alberta Plain forms part of the larger Interior Plains region; and a small section of the Canadian Shield.

The Rocky Mountains form an irregular belt of rugged crags and towering peaks along the southwestern boundary of the province. Many of them are more than 3,300 m (11,000 ft) high and covered with snow for most of the year. The highest peak is Mount Columbia, which rises 3,747 m (12,293 ft) above sea level. The lower slopes are heavily forested. A chain of rolling foothills about 80 km (about 50 mi) wide parallels the Rockies on the east. In the north these foothills are covered with forest, but the grassy slopes of the south provide good grazing for beef cattle.

The Alberta Plain, or Third Prairie Level, lies east of the foothills and varies in elevation between 600 and 1,200 m (2,000 and 4,000 ft) above sea level. It is part of a vast plain averaging 645 km (400 miles) in width that extends southward to Texas. Rising above the plain in many places are numerous hills, including the Cypress Hills and the Milk River Ridge in the south, and the Caribou and Birch mountains in the north. Deep valleys cut by the Peace and Athabasca rivers, the North and South Saskatchewan, and their tributaries cross the region.

The southern part of the Alberta Plain, which extends from the Alberta-Montana border to the Red Deer River, is a treeless, grass-covered, rolling prairie. In the eastern section of the plain, between the Red Deer River and the North Saskatchewan River, lies the Parklands, or Aspen Grove Belt. It is a grassy region with isolated stands of poplar, spruce, and willow trees, and deep, fertile soil. The northern section of the plain, beyond the North Saskatchewan River, is heavily forested except for large tracts of grasslands.

The Alberta Plain slopes southwest to northeast and falls off rapidly into a wedge-shaped portion of the Saskatchewan Plain, also known as the Second Prairie Level, which extends into Alberta. This plain is lower in elevation than the Alberta Plain, from which it is separated by a belt of hills. In the Athabasca River valley are the oil sands that contain one of the largest oil reserves in the world.

The extreme northeastern corner, which covers less than 3 percent of Alberta’s total area, is part of the Canadian Shield, or Laurentian Plateau. It is the lowest land area in the province, 150 to 300 m (500 to 1,000 ft) above sea level. It is mostly forested, with stretches of swamp or bogs called muskegs.

All the large rivers flowing through Alberta originate in the Rocky Mountains. The forested region of northern Alberta is drained by the Peace and Athabasca rivers, which form part of the Mackenzie river system and flow northward to the Arctic Ocean. The rest of Alberta, with the exception of two small areas, is part of the huge Saskatchewan river system, which drains most of the Canadian prairies. Both the North Saskatchewan and the South Saskatchewan rivers rise in the Rocky Mountains and flow eastward across the plains. In the province of Saskatchewan they unite as the Saskatchewan River, which flows into Lake Winnipeg, which in turn drains to Hudson Bay. Tributaries of the North Saskatchewan River include the Brazeau, the Battle, the Clearwater, and the Vermilion rivers. The rivers that feed the South Saskatchewan River include the Red Deer, the Bow, the Belly, the Saint Mary, and the Oldman.

A small section of eastern Alberta, between the North Saskatchewan and Athabasca rivers, is drained by the Beaver River, a tributary of the Churchill River. A section of the Milk River, part of the Missouri-Mississippi river system, arcs across the extreme southern portion of Alberta.

There are many lakes in central and northern Alberta. Lake Claire, 1,436 sq km (554 sq mi) in area, is the largest lake wholly within Alberta. Lake Athabasca, which covers 7,935 sq km (3,064 sq mi), straddles the Alberta-Saskatchewan border. Other well-known lakes are Lesser Slave Lake, Lac La Biche, and Lake Louise.

Real Estate: ( Alberta: Banff - Calgary - Canmore - Cold Lake - Edmonton - Grande Prairie - Lethbridge - Sherwood Park ) - British Columbia - Montana

Government of Alberta
University of Alberta
Alberta Research Council

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