- Southern Alberta
Southern Alberta is a region located in the Canadian province of
Alberta . As of the year 2004, the region's population was approximately 272,017 [http://www.albertafirst.com/profiles/statspack/21317.html Southwest Regional. Marketplace Profile] , AlbertaFirst.com. Accessed22 December 2006 .] [http://www.albertafirst.com/profiles/statspack/21316.html Southeast Regional Marketplace Profile] , AlbertaFirst.com. Accessed22 December 2006 .] . The primary cities areLethbridge and Medicine Hat The region is known mostly for agricultural production, but other sectors, such as alternative energy, film production and tourism, are emerging.Geography
The region has a total area of approximately 75,500 km² (29,151 sq mi).
Southern Alberta is lined to the west by the
Canadian Rockies and their foothills. The rest of region is dominated by the semi-aridprairie s of thePalliser's Triangle , where farms and ranches have been built, often with the help ofirrigation . Rivers generally flow from west to east and include theOldman River ,Bow River ,Red Deer River andSouth Saskatchewan River .The environment is protected in such areas as
Waterton Lakes National Park ,Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park andWriting-on-Stone Provincial Park , while sites such asHead-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump andDinosaur Provincial Park were declaredUNESCO World Heritage Site s. The Alberta Badlands are developed in the north-east of the region, prominently along the Red Deer River. Cypress Hills, located in the east, at the border withSaskatchewan , are the highest point between theRocky Mountains andLabrador .Infrastructure
Major highways
*Highway 1
*Highway 2
*Highway 3 (Crowsnest Highway)
*Highway 4
*Highway 5
*Highway 36 (Veteran Memorial Highway)
*Highway 41 (Buffalo Trail)Health regions
*
Calgary Health Region
*Chinook Health
*Palliser Health Region Economy
In 2007, Alberta Human Resources and Employment reported the fields of finance, insurance, real estate, professions, technicians and senior managers will lead the Lethbridge–Medicine Hat region's growth with an average 2.8% real
GDP growth each year until 2011. The industries of manufacturing, energy, mining and forestry would account for 2.6% each. All ten of these fields would account for more than half of the region's domestic product. [cite news |last=Mabell |first=Dave |title=People skills key to building success |pages=E1 |language=English |publisher=Lethbridge Herald |date=2006-01-06]Politics
On a provincial level, southern Alberta is represented in the
Legislative Assembly of Alberta by MLAs elected in the ridings ofAirdrie-Chestermere ,Cardston-Taber-Warner ,Cypress-Medicine Hat , Highwood,Lethbridge East ,Lethbridge West ,Little Bow ,Livingstone-Macleod , Medicine Hat andStrathmore-Brooks .Municipalities
Cities
*Brooks
*Lethbridge
*Medicine HatTowns
*Bassano
*Bow Island
*Cardston
*Claresholm
*Coaldale
*Coalhurst
*Crowsnest Pass
*Fort Macleod
*Granum
*Hanna
*Magrath
*Milk River
*Nanton
*Oyen
*Picture Butte
*Pincher Creek
*Raymond
*Redcliff
*Stavely
*Taber
*Vauxhall
*VulcanVillages
*Arrowwood
*Barnwell
*Barons
*Carmangay
*Cereal
*Champion
*Coutts
*Cowley
*Duchess
*Empress
*Foremost
*Glenwood
*Hillspring
*Lomond
*Milo
*Nobleford
*Rosemary
*Stirling
*Tilley
*Warner
*YoungstownRural districts
* Municipal district of:
** Acadia
** Cardston
* County of:
** Cypress
** Forty Mile
** Lethbridge
** Newell
* Municipal district of:
** Pincher Creek
** Ranchland
* Special Areas 2 and 3
* Municipal district of:
** Taber
* County of:
** Vulcan
** Warner
* Municipal district of:
** Willow Creek, Municipal District ofNotes
External links
* [http://www1.travelalberta.com/en-south/ Alberta South]
* [http://www.albertasouthwest.com/ Alberta SouthWest]
* [http://www.southgrow.com/ South Grow]
* [http://www.edalliance.ca/ Economic Development Alliance of Southeast Alberta]
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