Southern Alberta Travel
Pictures from the Road

Southern Alberta offers some of the most stunning vistas. Toward the west and south, the majestic Rocky Mountains spring from the foothills, and to the East the vast prairie grassland stretches for miles on end. Driving from Calgary to the South, one can see why settlers flooded the region at the end of the 18th century.

Buffalos had thrived here over millennia, and what was good for them could only be right for cattle - or so, the new settlers thought. The land was cheap and huge ranches as big as small countries sprung up. But what the cattle barons didn't know was that Alberta's weather could be summed up with one word: extreme.

The Plains Indians knew the secrets and mysteries of the land, and had fished and hunted here very successfully for thousands of years.

The new ranchers learned the hard way. Flood, drought, heat and dust storms were one thing, the bitter cold and the blizzards another one. Weather can change in a blink of an eye and the growing season is short at an altitude of roughly 1000 meter (3280 ft) above sea level.

Especially the hard winters at the beginning of the 19th century became a challenge, and cattle died by the thousands.

The first Calgary stampede in 1912 was actually organized as a farewell party to the wane of cattle ranching and the cowboys way of life, but the stampede itself was such a success that it grew to the world's biggest outdoor show of today.

Hard red winter wheat, brought to Alberta by Russian Mennonites, helped save the region, and stubborn cattle ranchers survived by learning from experienced farmers from south of the border.

And while cattle ranching and crop farming still play a big role in Alberta's economy, the gas and oil industry has taken over the market long ago.

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The road leading to the mountains Can one walk on it?

Beauvais Lake
Fishing in the Rolling Hills This is the view we woke too every morning to fish at 8am. Beauvais Lake Provincial Park is a gorgeous area for totally peaceful moments at almost any ...

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Southern Alberta TravelPictures from the Road

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Southern Alberta Travel
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