In Calgary, rodeo cowboys tame bucking broncos, athletes race for gold on Olympic speed-skating tracks, and the oil-rich commercial district is always bustling. Calgary is a city that works hard and plays hard.

LOCATION AND DESCRIPTION

Calgary is located in southwestern Alberta, where 1,000 miles of Prairie give way to the Rocky Mountains. Calgary is a financial centre, a fact confirmed by the cluster of skyscrapers that protrude from the city's centre. The Calgary Tower, a landmark similar to Toronto's CN Tower or Seattle's Space Needle, rises 200 metres, providing a panoramic view of the Calgary area.

CLIMATE

Calgary's climate is typified by four distinct seasons. Temperatures range from 10° to 23° C in July and -16° to -4° C in January, with one notable exception. January temperatures can dramatically rise by 20 to 30 degrees in a few hours when warm winds blow eastward off the Rocky Mountains. This phenomenon is called a Chinook. The average annual snowfall in Calgary is 135 centimetres.

ECONOMY

Calgary has the lowest civic tax rates in Canada, the lowest gasoline prices and no provincial sales tax. This makes Calgary very attractive for business. In fact, Calgary is home to the second highest number of corporate head offices in Canada. Calgary is a wealthy city due largely to the success of the Alberta oil industry. The oil industry accounts for the bulk of Calgary's workforce. Technology firms, tourism and food processing are also vital contributors.

PEOPLE

The people of Calgary are well known for their down-to-earth Western charm. About half of Calgarians are of British origin, while people of Dutch, French, German and Scandinavian descent make up much of the remainder. Calgary's original inhabitants, the Sarcee and Blackfoot Indians, now account for only 1 percent of the city's people. Their history and culture are celebrated in numerous events and festivals.

CULTURE AND RECREATION

Fun is never far off in Calgary. The city inherited a legacy of top-notch Athletic facilities, including a ski jump, by playing host to the 1988 Winter Olympics. But Calgarians never forget that theirs was once a cow town. Staid businessmen still wear cowboy hats and bolo ties to work during the Calgary Stampede. The world's largest outdoor rodeo features cowboy stunts such as bronco busting and its rough-and-tumble chuckwagon races. The NHL's Calgary Flames burn up the ice at the saddle shaped arena, the Saddledome.

A choice of art galleries, live theatre, symphony concerts and ballet satisfy Calgary's cultured crowd.

Calgary is served by two daily newspapers, three television stations and 15 radio stations.