Drumheller

Town in south Alberta, Canada; population (1996 est) 6,600. It is situated on the Red Deer River, in the Alberta Badlands 111 km/69 mi northeast of Calgary. A shipping point for the area's grains, it is surrounded by coal mines, wheat fields, and oil and gas wells.

The site was first visited by Europeans in the 1880s, and was first settled in 1897 by ranchers. It was purchased by Samuel Drumheller in 1910, and his coal mines supported the economy for the next half-century: there have been 40 mines in total. A violent strike here in 1925 led to the creation of the Mine Workers' Union of Canada. Coal output started to decline from the 1950s, but the discovery of oil in 1950 led to the eventual development of over 1500 wells and gas plants.

It is home to the Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology (1985) and the Drumheller Dinosaur Fossil Museum and Prehistoric Park. The nearby Dinosaur Trail through the Red Deer Valley Badlands ends at the town. The early 20th-century buildings of the town centre have been restored.