Geography and Weather

Central Alberta is a region that, as its name suggests, is located in the centre of the province of Alberta. The region covers an area of 45,961 square kilometres, which is a land mass slightly larger than the Netherlands — but just 7.2% of the province.

Approximately 8.5% of the Albertan population live within the boundaries of the region. According to the latest census, in 2006, this mean that 278,990 Albertans called Central Alberta home.

One of Central Alberta’s most distinctive climactic features is the sunlight it receives. Each year, the sun shines for an average of 2,133 hours — almost 180 days of sunshine each year! Red Deer, Central Alberta’s largest urban centre, is at approximately the same latitude as The Hague and Hanover. Like these European cities, summers are warm and winters are snowy. But sunnier.

For more information about the province, check out Alberta-Canada.com’s interactive map. This map graphically depicts the different precipitation levels throughout the year, as well as temperature fluctuations, daylight hours, and geographic features such as lakes, roads, and airports.