Alberta borders British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Territories to the north, and the U.S. state of Montana to the south.

Medieval Latin: Albertus, masculine) and its Germanic cognates, ultimately derived from the Proto-Germanic language *Aþalaberhtaz (compound of "noble" + "bright/famous").

The central aspen parkland region extending in a broad arc between the prairies and the forests, from Calgary, north to Edmonton, and then east to Lloydminster, contains the most fertile soil in the province and most of the population.

The agricultural area of southern Alberta has a semi-arid steppe climate because the annual precipitation is less than the water that evaporates or is used by plants.

The southeastern corner of Alberta, part of the Palliser Triangle, experiences greater summer heat and lower rainfall than the rest of the province, and as a result, suffers frequent crop yield problems and occasional severe droughts.

Central and parts of northwestern Alberta in the Peace River region are largely aspen parkland, a biome transitional between prairie to the south and boreal forest to the north.

The northern and western parts of the province experience higher rainfall and lower evaporation rates caused by cooler summer temperatures.

The south and east-central portions are prone to drought-like conditions sometimes persisting for several years, although even these areas can receive heavy precipitation, sometimes resulting in flooding.

[35] In southwestern Alberta, the cold winters are frequently interrupted by warm, dry Chinook winds blowing from the mountains, which can propel temperatures upward from frigid conditions to well above the freezing point in a very short period.

It is illegal for individual Albertans to own or keep Norwegian rats of any description; the animals can only be kept in the province by zoos, universities and colleges, and recognized research institutions.

[52] After amalgamation, the Hudson's Bay Company dominated the economy of Alberta until 1870, when HBC control of Rupert's Land was ended and the territory was transferred to the newly federated Canada.

After a long campaign for autonomy, in 1905, the District of Alberta was enlarged and given provincial status, with the election of a Liberal majority with Alexander Cameron Rutherford as the first premier.

A dozen municipalities in Southern Alberta declared local states of emergency on June 21 as water levels rose and numerous communities were placed under evacuation orders.

[64] As of the 2021 Canadian Census, the ten most spoken languages in the province included English (4,109,720 or 98.37%), French (260,415 or 6.23%), Tagalog (172,625 or 4.13%), Punjabi (126,385 or 3.03%), Spanish (116,070 or 2.78%), Hindi (94,015 or 2.25%), Mandarin (82,095 or 1.97%), Arabic (76,760 or 1.84%), Cantonese (74,960 or 1.79%), and German (65,370 or 1.56%).

[76] Other mother tongues include: Punjabi, with 36,320 native speakers (1.13%); Tagalog, with 29,740 (0.92%); Ukrainian, with 29,455 (0.91%); Spanish, with 29,125 (0.90%); Polish, with 21,990 (0.68%); Arabic, with 20,495 (0.64%); Dutch, with 19,980 (0.62%); and Vietnamese, with 19,350 (0.60%).

Many of Alberta's French-speaking residents live in the central and northwestern regions of the province, after migration from other areas of Canada or descending from Métis.

[91] The GDP of the province calculated at basic prices rose by 4.6% in 2017 to $327.4 billion, which was the largest increase recorded in Canada, and it ended two consecutive years of decreases.

The report found that GDP per capita in the corridor was 10% above average United States metropolitan areas and 40% above other Canadian cities at that time.

Continuous cropping (in which there is no fallow season) is gradually becoming a more common mode of production because of increased profits and a reduction of soil erosion.

[105] Alberta is the leading beekeeping province of Canada, with some beekeepers wintering hives indoors in specially designed barns in southern Alberta, then migrating north during the summer into the Peace River valley where the season is short but the working days are long for honeybees to produce honey from clover and fireweed.

[112] With concerted effort and support from the provincial government, several high-tech industries have found their birth in Alberta, notably patents related to interactive liquid-crystal display systems.

Alberta has been a tourist destination from the early days of the 20th century, with attractions including outdoor locales for skiing, hiking, and camping, shopping locales such as West Edmonton Mall, Calgary Stampede, outdoor festivals, professional athletic events, international sporting competitions such as the Commonwealth Games and Olympic Games, as well as more eclectic attractions.

A number of these areas hold ski resorts, most notably Banff Sunshine, Lake Louise, Marmot Basin, Norquay and Nakiska.

About 1.2 million people visit the Calgary Stampede,[115] a celebration of Canada's own Wild West and the cattle ranching industry.

[130] Those in the middle income brackets representing those that earn about $25,000 to $75,000[Notes 1] pay more in provincial taxes than residents in British Columbia and Ontario.

The provincial government pools the property tax funds from across the province and distributes them, according to a formula, to public and separate school jurisdictions and Francophone authorities.

Alberta's health care budget was $22.5 billion during the 2018–2019 fiscal year (approximately 45% of all government spending), making it the best-funded health-care system per-capita in Canada.

Beginning at the Coutts border crossing and ending at Lethbridge, Highway 4, effectively extends Interstate 15 into Alberta and is the busiest United States gateway to the province.

The southern corridor, part of the Trans-Canada Highway system, enters the province near Medicine Hat, runs westward through Calgary, and leaves Alberta through Banff National Park.

[159] One of the most scenic drives is along the Icefields Parkway, which runs for 228 km (142 mi) between Jasper and Lake Louise, with mountain ranges and glaciers on either side of its entire length.