Calgary, Canada

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temperatures rapidly to rise by over 30°C (90°F) and the snows to melt. Lying as it does in the lee of the Rockies Calgary has little rainfall; summer days are mostly dry, sunny and warm, the nights refreshingly cool.

Economy

On the occasion of the Winter Olympics in 1988 Calgary showed that it is more than just an agricultural arena, a chamber of commerce for the Alberta wheat trade or a trans-shipment center for cattle. In that year visitors from all over the world found a welcome in the city.

Calgary can thank the oil being extracted from nearby for its dramatic development during the last 40 years from a provincial town to a modern metropolis, to a veritable "Manhattan of the prairies". In the busy city center the glittering office buildings belonging to oil companies, banks and insurance companies tower 30 floors or more up into the sky. Around them stretch more than 527 sq. km (204 sq. mi.) of suburbs laid out in strict chess-board fashion.

Calgary boasts one of the most modern high-speed railway systems in Canada and the unique, mainly covered-in pedestrian street network known as the "Plus 15" Walkway System. Most of the office buildings, department stores, hotels and multi-story car parks in the city are linked to one another by a system of footbridges totaling some 30 km (20 mi.) in length. A pedestrian zone in the city center with trees and street cafés is a very pleasant place in which to stroll.

The city's emblem and a useful guide for those who lose their bearings is the 191 m (627 ft) high Calgary Tower, with a superb panorama to be seen from its viewing platform. As the Rocky Mountains with their well-known national parks are relatively near the city is an excellent choice for a holiday stay. The popular skiing and walking regions in the mountains or the unspoilt wilderness can be reached in one or two hours. Fast-water canoeing, more leisurely canoe or cycle trips and excursions into the interesting countryside round about make Calgary a good starting-out point for trips into western Canada

History

The city developed from a North West Mounted Police (now the RCMP) post which was set up here on Bow River in 1875, with orders to put an end to the smuggling of whisky across the American border. The commandant, named MacLeod and of Scottish extraction, gave this first camp the name of Calgary, which in Gaelic means "quickly-flowing clear water".

Even before the first fur-hunters arrived here in the 19th c. this confluence of two rivers was a favorite camping place for the Indians. After the Blackfoot Indians had obtained horses and weapons from the white man they became the dominant tribe. The increasing influx of white fur-traders and settlers into their tribal territories resulted in a number of conflicts, however, but these were finally largely settled under the terms of a treaty signed in 1877. Today the one-time proud rulers of the prairie live in a number of reservations south of Calgary.

The relatively favorable natural conditions persuaded an increasing number of American cattle breeders to leave their over-grazed ranches and settle north of the border. Soon giant herds of cattle were grazing around Calgary, to be followed by large concerns dealing in meat and foodstuffs.

When the Canadian Pacific Railway reached Calgary in 1883 the little police post rapidly began to develop. By the end of that year it boasted a population of 600. More and more settlers came to the Calgary region, and by 1891 it had its own power and water supplies. In 1893 the town was granted its charter.

Since the turn of the century prospectors have dug for oil in and around Calgary. Finally, in 1914, oil was found in Turner Valley 61 km (38 mi.) to the south-west, resulting in enormous development of the area. Today Calgary is an important center of the Canadian petro-chemical industry. The city is also the financial center of the province of Alberta.

Today Calgary is rapidly expanding, experiencing another period of prosperity largely due to the oil sector.