The second-largest city in ALBERTA, Calgary is situated on the BOW RIVER in the southern part of the province, about 220 km north of the American boundary at the meeting point of the western prairies and mountain foothills.

Strategically located on major rail, highway and air corridors, Calgary is an important transportation centre. It is also the financial centre of western Canada and headquarters of Canada's oil and natural gas industries. With its panoramic backdrop of the Rocky Mountains and its historic association with the ranching and oil frontiers, Calgary is one of North America's most identifiable cities.

Economy
Calgary's economy has historically been associated with commerce and distribution. Its more recent emergence as a world energy and financial centre is reflected in its second-ranking national position in the location of head offices (92 in 1995), including those of NOVA, TRANSCANADA PIPELINES, PETRO-CANADA and Suncor Inc.
The work force, therefore, shows a heavy orientation towards the professional, management and commercial sectors. "Blue collar" occupations have traditionally been dominated by the building, railway and, more recently, oil supply trades.
Manufacturing has diversified from products for the agricultural, oil and natural gas industries to include products from the food, clothing, furniture, motion picture making and high-technology sectors.
Between 1981 and 1995, annual output from Calgary's technology-intensive sectors quadrupled to $5 billion. In 1995 tourists spent $1.17 billion and generated over 27 000 full-time jobs in the city.
Calgary has one of the highest per capita disposable income and labour participation rates of all major Canadian cities. It also leads the country in the percentage of citizens educated at the post-secondary level (58% in 1995). Yet, in spite of its position as Canada's fastest-growing and most prosperous city in the mid-1990s, it has remained heavily economically dependent on a single, high-risk industry. It suffered accordingly in the recessions in the oil industry in the mid- and late 1980s and in the early 1990s.
Educationally the city is served by the UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY, Mount Royal Community College, Southern Alberta Institute of Technology, Alberta Vocational Centre and Alberta College of Art.