Bucket List: Drumheller

Drumheller is considered the province of Alberta'a largest town in terms of land area at 107.93 square kilometers (41.67 square miles), as a result of an amalgamation in 1998.  It was named after American entrepreneur Samuel Drumheller who bought the land and then sold it to the Canadian National Railway in exchange for development of a town site.  Legend has it that the town got its name as result of a coin toss between Samuel Drumheller and landowner Thomas Greentree.

Like many other communities in the western provinces, Drumheller got its start from coal mining, and at its peak there were 139 mines in the vicinity.  The last mine closed in 1979 and the names of miners who lost their lives on the job are memorialized next to the town hall.  Today the main industries are agriculture and gas production.

The town is the gateway to the Alberta Badlands, an arid glacial valley famous for its rock formations and fossil discoveries, which has earned it the title "Dinosaur Capital of the World".  One of the first fossils discovered in the area became known as Albertoasaurus, an example of which is on display at the Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology

Travel Drumheller web site https://traveldrumheller.com/

Official Canadian Badlands web site https://www.canadianbadlands.com/