Edmonton · Canada

Overview

Perched on the steep banks of the North Saskatchewan River, Edmonton is the capital city of Alberta and the sixth-largest city in Canada, with a metro-area population of one million. As the seat of the provincial government and home to the University of Alberta, the city is sophisticated and multiethnic, spawning a thriving arts community and fine restaurants. Known as "Edmonton Festival City," this provincial capital plays host to more than 35 festivals annually, including 12 major arts festivals during an 11-week period each summer.

The thriving northern city is a boomtown that never seems to go bust. What started as a trading post morphed into a metropolis as a result of three major booms over some 200 years. In 1795, the North West Company and Hudson's Bay Company founded Fort Edmonton as a trading post on the banks of the North Saskatchewan River. Then, during the Klondike Gold Rush in 1897, Edmonton became a starting point for prospectors en route to the Yukon Territory. The annual 10-day Klondike Days Celebration in July celebrates this aspect of the city's history. Edmonton's third boom gushed from the ground on a cold February morning in 1947, when oil was discovered in Leduc, 40 km (25 mi) to the southwest. More than 10,000 wells were eventually drilled within 100 km (62 mi) of the city, and with them came numerous refineries and supply depots. By 1965, Edmonton had solidified its role as "oil capital of Canada" and today commemorates that role with an NHL hockey team known as the Edmonton Oilers and a Northern League baseball team known as the Edmonton Cracker-Cats.

Edmonton's parks and green spaces aren't typical oil-town scenery. Twenty-two parks along the NorthSaskatchewan River valley encompass 18,348 acres, have 122 km (76 mi) of trails, and form the largest stretch of urban parkland in North America, known as the river valley parkland.

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