Buildings & City: Edmonton Alberta Canada, desktop wallpaper nr. 19305

Edmonton is the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta. The city is located on the North Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province, an area with some of the most fertile farmland on the prairies. It is the second largest city in Alberta after Calgary, and is the hub of Canada's sixth-largest census metropolitan area.

In the Canada 2006 (6 years ago) Census, the city had a population of 730,372, and its census metropolitan area had a population of 1,034,945, making it the northernmost North American city with a metropolitan population over one million. The 2009 (3 years ago) civic census showed a population of 782,439.

At 684 km2 (264 sq mi), the City of Edmonton covers an area larger than Chicago, Philadelphia, Toronto, or Montreal. Edmonton has one of the lowest population densities in North America, about 9.4% that of New York City. A resident of Edmonton is known as an Edmontonian.

Edmonton serves as the northern anchor of the Calgary-Edmonton Corridor (one of four regions that together comprise 50% of Canada's population) and is a staging point for large-scale oil sands projects occurring in northern Alberta and large-scale diamond mining operations in the Northwest Territories.

Edmonton is Canada's second most populous provincial capital (after Toronto) and is a cultural, governmental and educational centre. It plays host to a year-round slate of world-class festivals, earning it the title of "The Festival City." It is home to North America's largest mall, West Edmonton Mall (which was the world's largest mall for a 23 year period from 1981 (31 years ago) until 2004 (8 years ago).), and Fort Edmonton Park, Canada's largest living history museum. In 2004 (8 years ago), Edmonton celebrated the centennial of its incorporation as a city.