Northern Alberta | |
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.jpg)    Left-right from top:Aurora borealis,Fort McMurray andGrande Prairie skylines,Athabasca River paddlewheeler | |
 Northern Alberta Development Council area | |
| Largest population centres | Fort McMurray Grande Prairie Cold Lake Whitecourt Peace River Slave Lake |
Northern Alberta is ageographic region located in theCanadian province ofAlberta.
An informally defined cultural region, the boundaries of Northern Alberta are not fixed. Under some schemes, the region encompasses everything north of the centre of theCalgary–Edmonton Corridor, including most of the province's landmass as well as its capital,Edmonton. Other schemes place Edmonton and its surrounding farmland inCentral Alberta, limiting Northern Alberta to the northern half of the province, whereforestry,oil, and gas are the dominant industries.
Its primary industry isoil and gas, with large heavy oil reserves being exploited at theAthabasca oil sands andWabasca area in the east of the region.Natural gas is extracted inPeace region andChinchaga-Rainbow areas in the west, andforestry andlogging are also developed in theboreal forests of this region. As of 2023, the region had a population of approximately 374,572.[1]
Various definitions exist of Northern Alberta's boundaries. The definition used by the Northern Alberta Development Council, an agency of the provincial government, includes the communities ofWhitecourt,Athabasca,Saddle Lake,St. Paul, andCold Lake, while excludingHinton,Edson,Mayerthorpe, andWestlock. This definition is also used by theUniversity of Alberta to define eligibility for northern research grants.[2]
The region consists ofaspen parkland in the south, grading toboreal forest andmuskeg in the north.
The southwest of the region is part of thePeace Country, an area that stretches into northeasternBritish Columbia consisting of fertileprairie,ranchland, and farmland along thePeace River and its tributaries.
Northern Alberta is crossed by thePeace River and theAthabasca River, both of which eventually convene to form theSlave River that ultimately drains into theArctic Ocean viaGreat Slave Lake and theMackenzie River within theNorthwest Territories. Other major rivers areWapiti,Smoky,Hay,Chinchaga,Petitot Rivers in the west,Wabasca River in the centre andFirebag,Beaver andClearwater River in the east.Alberta's two largest waterbodies,Lake Athabasca andLake Claire are located in thewetlands of northeasternAlberta, forming thePeace-Athabasca Delta, that drains through theSlave River towards theArctic Ocean.
TheCaribou Mountains are an elevatedplateau in the relatively flat Albertan north which provide core habitat for an endangered woodlandcaribou herd. This area is conserved by theCaribou Mountains Wildland Park. The adjacentWood Buffalo National Park isCanada's largest protected area.
Other tourist attractions in Northern Alberta include theFort McMurray Historical Society-Heritage Park, HistoricDunvegan,Kimiwan Birdwalk and Interpretive Centre,Lesser Slave Lake Bird Observatory in theLesser Slave Lake Provincial Park,Muskoseepi Park,Kakwa Wildland Provincial Park,Willmore Wilderness Park and theOil Sands Discovery Centre.[3]
Northern Alberta contains severaldiamond bearingdiatremes associated withkimberlite fields, including theBuffalo Head Hills andBirch Mountains kimberlite fields which in turn form theNorthern Alberta kimberlite province.
Animals of Northern Alberta include theMackenzie Valley gray wolf (Canis lupus occidentalis),British Columbian red fox (Vulpes vulpes abietorum),fishers (Pekania pennanti),American black bear (Ursus americanus),northwestern moose (Alces alces andersoni),white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus),wood bison (Bison bison athabascae),groundhogs (Marmota monax canadensis),northern coyotes (Canis latrans incolatus),wolverines (Gulo gulo), andmountain lions (Puma concolor). Multiple elusive and out-of-range animals have been reported in this region, including a singulargray fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus) was recorded close toLake Athabasca,[4] and multiple vagrant birds includingnorthern cardinals (Cardinalis cardinalis),wandering tattlers (Tringa incana),[5] andnorthern wheatears (Oenanthe oenanthe).[5] Alberta also has reports of wild boars (Sus scrofa) coming into the province.
Highway 43 andHighway 2 pass through the southwest of the region, this being the end of theCANAMEX corridor. Other important routes are theMackenzie Highway andBicentennial Highway in the northwest, theNorthern Woods and Water Route in the southeast andHighway 63 in the east.[6]
Grande Prairie Airport,Peace River Airport,Fort Vermilion (Wop May Memorial) International Airport andFort McMurray Airport are regional air transportation hubs.
Northern Alberta'shealth region is controlled byAlberta Health Services.
On a provincial level, Northern Alberta is represented in theLegislative Assembly of Alberta byMembers of the Legislative Assembly elected in the ridings ofAthabasca-Redwater,Barrhead-Morinville-Westlock,Bonnyville-Cold Lake,Dunvegan-Central Peace,Fort McMurray-Conklin,Fort McMurray-Wood Buffalo,Grande Prairie Smoky,Grande Prairie Wapiti,Lac La Biche-St. Paul,Lesser Slave Lake, andPeace River.
Subdivisions ofAlberta | |
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