|
|
|
Structure
Interesting Questions, Facts and Information
- There are a total of 35 general entries. We are selecting 30 for display.
Special Topics
|
 Interesting Questions, Facts, and Information
 Alberta
1905. On September 1st, 1905 Alberta was officially named a Province
Crowsnest Pass. In 1903 one side of Turtle Mountain collapsed on to the town of Frank killing almost all the citizens.
Lloydminster. If you life in Lloydminster you can either be an Alberta citizen or a citizen of Saskatchewan.
Drumheller. Drumheller in South Central Alberta is home to the Royal Tyrrell Museum which showcases many dinosaur bones.
Vegreville. Vegreville is home to a huge Ukrainian Easter Egg.
Mountain. Alberta clocks do of course follow the mountain time zone
Wood Buffalo. Wood Buffalo in the north part of Alberta also stretches into the North West Territories
British Columbia and Saskatchewan. Saskatchewan borders to the east, BC to the west!
Montana. Montana is the only state that borders Alberta
| Which Highway connects Calgary to Red Deer and Red Deer to Edmonton? | Awesome Alberta
|
Queen Elizabeth 2. It was named Highway 2, until the Queen's visit to Alberta in the summer of 2005.
Edmonton. Edmonton..."The City of Champions," is the capital of Alberta
Cochrane. Located in downtown Cochrane the line up on a hot day will stretch for blocks
Kananaskis. Located in the Kananaskis just 55 miles from Calgary
| Which city is home to the largest mall in the world in 2003? | Awesome Alberta
|
Edmonton. West Edmonton Mall is of course located in Edmonton. In 2004 a larger mall was being built in Dubai.
| Not surprisingly, Guild member gretas is interested in Alberta's connection to pop culture. "Alberta is home to more than just rich history and amazing geography," she insists. "It is also the birthplace of a well-known comic book hero. Which comic book icon, who has also been portrayed in several successful films, was "born' in Alberta?
| Agony of Alberta
|
Wolverine. According to his comic book bio, James Howlett ( aka Wolverine) was born into a rich family in Alberta, Canada in the late 19th century. A traumatic experience involving his mother somehow caused him to grow retractable claws and retarded his age, turning him into the Wolverine we all know and love. The character has been portrayed on screen by Hugh Jackman in the popular "XMen" films.
| Ah, leave it to the scholarly CellarDoor to come up with a question combining history and etymology. "The name "Alberta" was bestowed upon this large region before it had even become a province," she says. "Unlike the names of neighbouring lands, "Alberta" came not from a First Nations word but from the name of a popular member of the British royal family. In whose honour was this land christened?
| Agony of Alberta
|
Princess Louise Caroline Alberta, Duchess of Argyle. Louise Caroline Alberta (1848-1939) was the fourth daughter of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert; her third name, and thus the name of the province, came from her father. (Alternate answers Queen Victoria and Princess Augusta Sophia did not really have Albert-variants in their names.) She married the Marquess of Lorne, future Duke of Argyll, at age 23 and followed him to Canada seven years later when he was appointed Governor General.
An extremely popular woman, she had a namesake not only in the district of Alberta but also one of Alberta's most beautiful natural features: Lake Louise. She died in England at 91, just two months after World War II began.
| Guild member skunkee has first-hand knowledge of the great province of Alberta and even knows a few of its secrets. She poses a question about one of its more unique spots: "With a landscape that would look equally comfortable on the moon, or in the depths of Death Valley, this part of southern Alberta has to be seen to be believed. Its bleak, windblown terrain, carved by water over 70 millions years ago, offers a sharp contrast to the rich grasslands around it. What is this area of Alberta called?"
| Agony of Alberta
|
The Badlands. If you're traveling west on the Trans-Canada Highway across southern Alberta, you may never suspect that this place even exists, but it's certainly worth the short side trip to see. I will never forget how amazed I was at the first sighting of this beautiful and bleak area...it literally took my breath away. I had no idea that such a place existed in Canada.
Wandering the paths of Dinosaur Provincial Park, which is nestled in the heart of the Badlands (about 50 kilometers east of Calgary), I was surprised to see signs warning of the danger of Rattlesnakes, Scorpions and Black Widow Spiders. We also encountered, guarded by Plexiglas, the fossilized remains of a Triceratops, lying exactly where it was first uncovered. Lying in the trailer at night, we were sung to sleep by the howling of the coyotes.
With areas like this existing all over North America, the term badlands is used to describe this type of arid topography. However the expression is originally believed to have first been used by early settlers, who found the terrain more than a little difficult to traverse in their wagons, on their westward journeys!
| Our own spanishliz turns her attention to more recent history: "In need of a place to train their armoured troops, after Gaddafi's 1969 coup denied it the use of the Libyan desert, the British Army looked to the open spaces of Canada. They found a home for the unit, known as BATUS, at a Canadian Forces Base in Alberta. Which one?"
| Agony of Alberta
|
CFB Suffield. BATUS stands for British Army Training Unit Suffield, so the acronym might have given a bit of a clue to the answer. (That was the intention.)
CFB Suffield is located near Medicine Hat, in the southeast corner of Alberta. The creation of BATUS in 1971 was actually a return to the area for the British Army, which had used it for training during World War II. After a series of leases, in 2006 an agreement was reached granting use of the area to BATUS for an indefinite period.
| Guild member apathy100 is a history buff with a question about a tragic incident in Alberta, Canada's past: "During the 20th Century, the greatest landslide in North American history occurred in 1903 in the small town of Frank, Alberta. What was completely buried as a result of this tragic historical moment in Alberta's history?"
| Agony of Alberta
|
an underground mine. On April 29, 1903, the greatest landslide occurred in the small town of Frank, Alberta. The majority of the local coal mine's surface was completely covered with rock, over two kilometers of railway was covered, and many houses and buildings were also covered. After rescue teams were finished, the death toll was tallied at over 70 people (in a town of only 600 residents).
When the disaster occurred at approximately 4:10 am, it was estimated that over 70 million tonnes of limestone came crashing down from the top of Turtle Mountain. It has been studied and determined that a variety of factors contributed to the landslide including the aftermath of an earthquake in 1901, erosion and poor weather conditions, and the unstable geological structure of Turtle Mountain.
Following the disaster, the town was cleaned up and restored. The local coal mine was re-opened as was the Canadian Pacific Railway system. In 1911, however, Alberta's provincial government, after monitoring the mountainside and completing various geological tests ordered the permanent closure of the mine site as it was determined to be too unstable for workers to be in. Today, few people continue to live in Frank, however, the site has become a must see for tourists. There is a plaque, and visitors can view the aftermath of what was Canada's largest mountain disaster of the 20th Century.
| For Quiz Makers Guild member stuthehistoryguy, Alberta, Canada is all about sports: "The most venerable professional wrestling promotion in this beautiful, independent province is Stampede wrestling, which put on great shows from its establishment in 1948 until its closure in 1990. Though inactive through most of the 1990s, Stampede Wrestling began promoting shows again in 1999. What well-known wrestling family has operated Stampede Wrestling since its inception?"
| Agony of Alberta
|
The Harts. Family patriarch Stu Hart, who became a member of the Order of Canada in 2001, was especially known for training some of the outstanding figures in professional wrestling. Among the wrestlers who passed through the Hart "Dungeon" (the gym in the basement of the family home) were Friz Von Erich, Roddy Piper, Greg Valentine, Chris Jericho, and "Superstar" Billy Graham. These, of course, were in addition to Hart's own sons, Bret "Hitman" Hart and Owen Hart, sons-in-law Davey Boy Smith (aka The British Bulldog) and Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart, and grandson Teddy Hart. The elder Hart passed away in 2003 after being sadly preceded in death by son Owen in 1999.
| When it comes to the province of Alberta, Canada, food has a corner of its own, and food aficionado Cymraumbyth poses a question on that topic. "Alberta is home to an internationally renowned ice cream store. Where in Alberta would you have to go to join the long line up for a Mackay's ice cream cone? | Agony of Alberta
|
Cochrane. To enjoy a taste of Mackay's ice cream, you'd go to Cochrane, about 46 km (29 miles) west of Calgary. Be careful as you drive down the hill into the townsite - it's steep!). In her journal Annabelle Johnson, who lived on a farm in the Cochrane area, noted that on February 9, 1948 the cream truck didn't get any further than George Mackay's because the roads were plugged with snow. One wonders if, rather than letting all that fresh cream spoil, George decided to turn it all into ice cream? However it happened, Mackay's ice cream has been delighting the palates of ice cream aficionados since 1948 and has received rave reviews from visitors from around the globe. I used to teach in Cochrane, and I'd reward myself with a Mackay's ice cream cone after a hard day in the classroom. I always chose vanilla, my favourite, but you can try Mackay's magic in 200 flavours, along with sherbets and ice cream cakes. And you don't even have to go to Cochrane for Mackay's ice cream if that's impractical. Nowadays, it's available in grocery stores and supermarkets all over Alberta.
Valleyview. Highway 43 is called the Alaska Highway, although the official start is in Dawson Creek, in B.C. Highway 43 ends in Delta Junction, Alaska. Highway 49 starts in Valleyview, and ends in Peace River. It continues on as Highway 35, which goes all the way to Yellowknife.
| What critically endangered bird makes its nest in Wood Buffalo National Park? | Alberta Fun Facts
|
Whooping Crane. The area in Wood Buffalo National Park in which the Whooping Crane nest is called the Whooping Crane Summer Range. Wood Buffalo National Park is the largest national park in Canada, and Alberta shares it with the Northwest Territories.
Alexander Rutherford. All of the people in this question are premiers of Alberta. William Aberhart was the 6th premier, Ralph Klein was the 12th, and Arthur Sifton was the 2nd.
| What hamlet is located 44 km west of Writing-On-Stone Provincial Park? | Alberta Fun Facts
|
Milk River. Writing-On-Stone Provincial Park gets its name from over 50 petroglyph sites in the sandstone hoodoos in the valley. To the south of the park are the volcanic Sweetgrass Hills.
| Which town in Alberta was used to film the fictional city of Tolketna, Alaska in the movie "Snow Dogs"? | Alberta Fun Facts
|
Canmore. The city of Canmore is located west of Calgary, and east of the Alberta/ B.C. border. It is the city closest on highway 1 to Banff National Park. The next area of interest is Banff itself.
St. Paul. On June 3rd, 1967, the Canadian Minister Of Defence, Paul Hellyer, flew in to the town by helicopter to officialy open the landing pad. The landing pad was one of over 100 Centennial projects organized by the town.
|
Play Now! 