Calgary

City in southern Alberta, southwest Canada, on the east of the Rocky Mountains, at the junction of the Bow and Elbow rivers; population (2001 est) 878,900. It is the largest city in Alberta and the regional capital of the southern part of the province. Calgary was founded in 1875 (incorporated as a city in 1893) and grew rapidly with the growth of the petroleum industry, which is still the major employer in the city. Other industries include tourism, agriculture, petrochemicals, and service industries.

Calgary first developed as a cattle-breeding centre in the late 19th century. Its rapid expansion occurred when the Canadian Pacific Railway reached it in 1883. The main oil-producing area has now moved north towards Edmonton, but Calgary is still the management and financial centre for the oil industry in Canada, although it was badly affected by falling oil prices in the 1980s. The city was the site of the 1988 Winter Olympics, the World Petroleum Congress of 2000, and the G-8 summit in 2002.

Features Calgary has a high-speed railway system, a high-rise skyline, and Plus 15, a network of enclosed walkways 4.6 m/15 ft above street level. A tourist attraction here is the annual rodeo, the Calgary Stampede, which was first held in 1912. Other places of interest include Calgary Zoo, the Glenbow Musuem, and the Firefighters Museum. The University of Calgary was founded in 1967.