The province is bordered to the east by the province of Saskatchewan, to the west by the Rocky Mountains and British Columbia,
to the north by the Northwest Territories and to the south by the state of Montana in the United States.

  The earliest inhabitants of Alberta were the Indians (native canadians, or aboriginal people, in "politically-correct-speak"). Theindividual nations, such as the Cree, Blackfoot, Assiniboine and Sarcee, had only the indigenous animals to contend with until
missionaries and fur traders appeared from Europe in the eighteenth century. Wrangling between the French and British
(a continuing theme in Canadian history) kept Alberta from being fully exploited at first, but with the creation of trading posts near Edmonton and up north the squabbling subsided somewhat.

  When Canada was formed in 1867, Alberta was still very much the uncontrolled frontier. It was not until 1874 that the North West
Mounted Police (precursors to the modern Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP)) established their prescence in the area and started controlling the activities of the whisky traders who had been fleecing the local native population.

With the completion of the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1885, and the increasing flow of people into the area, a territorial
government was created in 1875. Several years later the region overlooked by the territorial government was split into four portions,
one being named after Princess Louise Alberta, daughter of Queen Victoria and Albert.

  Alberta became a full-bore province of Canada in 1905, when it joined confederation. It's primary industries are natural resourcebased. Trapping opened up the area, and agriculture followed (still remaining a strong point for the Alberta economy). Oil was discovered at Turner Valley in 1914 and has been a center for growth since then (give or take a "bust" in the 1980s). Forest related industries are growing increasingly important, but run the risk of impacting the tourism industry (the third largest industry in Alberta).