Lucky or what?

Well Alberta is very spread out.  We had recently had a holiday in Finnish Lappland, before visiting Alberta.  I was shocked on a drive from Edmonton to Fort McMurray at just how few settlements we passed through (despite having seen our spread out communities living above the article circle).  

EdwinSm, wrote: Well Alberta is very spread out.  We had recently had a holiday in Finnish Lappland, before visiting Alberta.  I was shocked on a drive from Edmonton to Fort McMurray at just how few settlements we passed through (despite having seen our spread out communities living above the article circle).

Yes, Edmonton to McMurray is spread out - so is Edmonton to Grand Prairie... (the 2 main cities FM in NE of province and GP in NW) but the majority of population is down the central 'core'.  Edmonton, Red Deer and Calgary have the vast majority of people.  Edmonton to Calgary is approx. 3 hours with Red Deer in the middle - I would guess about 80% of population (3+ million or so) lives in the 3 cities and surrounding communities.  Just looked it up and Edm 1.4 million, Calgary 1.55 mill and RD approx. 100K so 3 million there plus all the surrounding support/bedroom etc communities

Alberta when settled back in the early 1900's had a town approx. every 8 miles - I remember being told in school that was because it was the distance a horse drawn wagon of grain could go  (return? I honestly forget now) in a days drive, you still this spacing largely across the central prairies, especially along rail road lines, but many areas the small towns have turned to ghost towns with everyone moving to city.  There has never been any small towns to speak of in the northern borealis bush country (GP & FM) and towns that were there tended to be along the rivers (mode of transport) or later on along railroad tracks, and not to south - in south most of the sm towns have died out/disappeared.  

There was never agriculture of any level to north (fur trade, mining salt, oil industry etc) and to south it's always big the big native grass range lands - dryer there so agriculture was grazing only till the advent of major irrigation.  Ranches if you choose to use the word (station to you Carbon)...central AB has always been grain land and grazing... So when you look at the drive to McMurray (lived there for years) the little towns basically 'stop' where the boreal forest started a hundred + years ago.  Now with clear cutting the bush is being pushed back (quite scary when you look at maps over time actually!) and the division line is much harder to see & quite a distance further north! 

So yes, some of us are pretty spread out - I'm on farm in grain area, nearest town has a small post office, no store, no other biz, but our cities are just like anywhere else...   

Lower population density is definitely a factor, but other provinces/states with spread out populations that is what Montana, Idaho, N/S Dakota are like having driven through them (and how I picture Texas being - never been there) with drives between cities/towns are facing tougher times... 

Glad numbers here are low, just wondering 'why' so low (and trust me - I'm not trying to look a gift horse in the mouth) - just curious if anything 'different' here that's helping.  Mega sun hours in summer maybe helps but..…??? 

Keep the idea's coming!  Edwin - what did you go to Fort Mac for?  Just to tour oil sands - vacation or business or ?