Calgary, the fifth largest city in Canada and the biggest one in Alberta province, is the place with many names. When you come to Calgary, you soon know you've arrived at a special place. You are in the "Heart of the Canadian West". You have entered the "Gateway to the Rockies". You are also at the "Oil Capital of Canada", the "City of Foothills", as well as the "Host City of the 1988 Olympic Games". As if that weren't enough, when you go to the Calgary Stampede, you can see the "Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth".

Geographic Location

Calgary has been blessed by nature. Its geographical location in the southern part of Alberta province at the junction of the Bow and Elbow rivers is one of exceptional beauty. The glorious Rockies gleam in the distance. The clear view can play tricks on the unwary. Sometimes the Rockies stand out so clearly on the horizon that they look like they are just a short walk away.
At a height above sea level of around 1139 metres, Calgary is the highest major city in Canada.

Calgary Weather

The weather experts report that Calgary gets precisely 2314.4 hours of full sunshine each year, which is more than anywhere else in Canada and that's why it is sometimes called "The Sunshine City".
Generally the soft western breezes keep the air sparklingly clear because of the city's altitude. Summer days are usually warm and dry with cool evenings. Precipitation averages 424 mm, of which 150 mm falls as snow. Chinooks - Pacific-warmed, dry winds that develop over the Rockies and can raise temperatures more than 20°C in a few hours - turn winter into spring. Typically, Calgarians welcome 20 to 25 chinooks per year.

Business and Economy

Calgary is Canada's energy capital: 87% of the country's oil and gas producers and 64% of coal companies are headquartered here. The city is also home to much of Canada's energy service industry, including many firms specializing in oil and gas technologies, petrochemical engineering, geology, and data processing.

Quick Facts about Calgary

• Population - 1,019,942 (2007)
• Land area is 721.73 square kilometres
• A North American hub - by road, rail and air
• An average age of 34 - the youngest populated city in Canada
• The second-largest head office city in Canada
• Rated the cleanest city in the world in an environmental examination of 215 cities around the globe
• Over 8,000 hectares of park land and open space are within Calgary's city limits
• More than 60% of Calgarians have a post-secondary education
• 67.4% of Calgarians have Internet access, the highest in Canada
• Crime rate is among the lowest of any major city in Canada

Activities

While each season in Calgary has its own appeal, winter and summer months overflow with things to do and see. In winter, outdoor enthusiasts flock to Calgary to partake in the pleasures of ice-skating, tobogganing, and skiing (cross-country and downhill), or to participate in the various winter festivals in the area.
Summer weather lures those who prefer canoeing, sailing, hiking, cycling, ballooning, golfing, or in-line skating. And of course, the world-famous Calgary Stampede attracts over a million visitors annually when it takes over the city for ten days in July.

Calgary Stampede

The biggest festivities take place during Stampede. That's when the entire city gets dressed up in genuine Western gear. Some folks spend a lot of money on fancy boots, shirts with snap buttons, and wide-brimmed cowboy hats. In Calgary, normally staid banks and insurance offices decorate their premises with bales of hay and wagon wheels.
Rodeo athletes come from all over the ranching world - from the US, Australia, New Zealand, and Brazil - to compete at Calgary.
Native tribes in full regalia and mounted cowboys parade through the city streets. Grown men and women shout, "Yahoo!" There's even dancing in the streets so some downtown areas are closed to traffic. The city never looks better than it does during Stampede.

It could only happen in Calgary!