A Carboniferous coal-forming swamp
Journal entry from Peter Fidler
Blackfoot warrior Iron Shirt
  • Indigenous effigy made from coal in the form of a bison

    Early indigenous people transform coal found in seams in foothills and mountain regions into effigies.

    Most of the effigies depict bison, usually cows, with tongues out, indicating either running or being in labour. The specimens have all suffered damage from ploughing but are still remarkable and accurate anatomical reproductions of bison.
    Source: Royal Alberta Museum

  • First record of coal in Alberta, Peter Fidler’s Journey page

    The presence of coal in Alberta is first recorded by a European explorer.

    In the February 12, 1793, entry of “Journal of a Journey over Land from Buckingham House to the Rocky Mountains in 1792 & 3 by Peter Fidler,” Fidler describes his coal discovery.
    Source:  Hudson’s Bay Company Archives, Archives of Manitoba, E.3-2 fo.30

  • First commercial coal mine in Alberta, Sheran mine in Glenbow, Edmonton, 1948

    The first commercial coal mine begins operation near present-day Lethbridge, Alberta.

    Nicholas Sheran’s mine, 1881
    Source: Glenbow Archives, NA-1948-2

  • First large-scale commercial coal mine in Alberta. Nicholas Sheran’s mine, 1885

    The first large-scale commercial mine begins production in Alberta.

    The entrance to Galt Drift Mine No. 1 in 1885 near present-day Lethbridge; Sir Alexander Galt establishes the mine to exploit the region’s abundant coal deposits. Galt also establishes the North Western Coal and Navigation Company in the same year to supply coal to the Canadian Pacific Railway.
    Source: Glenbow Archives, NA-3188-43

  • A view of International Coal and Coke Company at Coleman in the Crowsnest Pass, ca. 1912

    Coal mining begins in the Crowsnest Pass region of Alberta.

    A view of International Coal and Coke Company at Coleman in the Crowsnest Pass, ca. 1912, eleven years after production started; the region yields a high volume of industrial steam coal.
    Source: Image courtesy of Peel’s Prairie Provinces, a digital initiative of the University of Alberta Libraries, PC003325

  • Mountain Park Station, Mountain Park, Alberta, ca. 1920-1923

    Coal Branch mines open southwest of Edson, Alberta.

    Mountain Park Station, Mountain Park, Alberta, ca. 1920-1923; small-scale mining had begun in the Coal Branch about 1909, but after 1910 the arrival of the railway opened up the region to large-scale mining. Mountain Park appears to have been the first major community to grow, reaching a population of about 330 by the early 1920s.
    Source: Provincial Archives of Alberta, CL26

  • Pit ponies pulling loaded coal-filled wooden mine cars underground at Newcastle Mine in 1914

    First large commercial mine in Drumheller starts production.

    Horses pull coal-filled wooden mine cars underground at Newcastle Mine in 1914, three years after Newcastle opened in Drumheller.
    Source: Provincial Archives of Alberta, A6152

  • An initial gas explosion triggers a larger coal dust explosion, killing 189 miners. The initial fatalities estimate reported in the Edmonton Capital newspaper on June 19, 1914, was later revised

    Alberta’s deadliest coal mine disaster occurs at Hillcrest, Alberta.

    An initial gas explosion triggers a larger coal dust explosion, killing 189 miners. The initial fatalities estimate reported in the Edmonton Capital newspaper on June 19, 1914, was later revised.
    Source: Image courtesy of Peel’s Prairie Provinces, a digital initiative of the University of Alberta Libraries, Ar00113

  • Strikers from One Big Union (OBU) at Drumheller, Alberta, in 1919

    Cost of living rises by 65% since onset of World War I in 1914, contributing to coal industry labour unrest and heightened union activity.

    Strikers from the One Big Union (OBU) at Drumheller, Alberta, in 1919; the union forms after labour workers broke away from the United Mine Workers Association union. Miners are drawn to the OBU because of the deepening economic crisis.
    Source: Glenbow Archives, NA-2513-1

  • Newcastle Mine in the Drumheller mining district of the province after ten years of expansion in 1921

    The province is divided into thirty-two coal mining districts as the industry expands broadly.

    Newcastle Mine in the Drumheller mining district after ten years of expansion, 1921; Drumheller is one of thirty-two districts created to facilitate keeping track of the booming industry’s developments, inspections and infrastructure requirements.
    Source: Provincial Archives of Alberta, A6081

  • A view of the booming International Coal and Coke Company Ltd. at Coleman, ca. 1945

    The Second World War begins to revive Alberta’s economy and coal industry, which had declined during the Great Depression.

    A view of the booming International Coal and Coke Company Ltd. at Coleman, ca. 1945; increased demand for steam coal during the war years led to greater production within the industry.
    Source: Glenbow Archives, NC-54-2930

  • On February 22, 1947, an issue of The Western Examiner proclaims the discovery of the Imperial Leduc No.1 oil well as the birth of a new Alberta oil field.

    The discovery of a major oil deposit at Leduc, Alberta, foreshadows a decline in the province’s coal production.

    On February 22, 1947, an issue of The Western Examiner proclaims the discovery of the Imperial Leduc No.1 oil well as the birth of a new Alberta oil field. During the decade after the 1947 discovery, many mines close, and most coal towns decline significantly.
    Source: Glenbow Archives, NA-789-80

  • A heavy-duty truck hauling coal at the Wabamun surface mining operation near the TransAlta Power Plant demonstrates the advanced mechanization propelling Alberta’s modernizing coal industry in the 1960s

    Large-scale surface mining begins in Alberta near Lake Wabamun to fuel a large thermal electric power plant.

    A heavy-duty truck hauling coal at the Wabamun surface mining operation near the TransAlta Power Plant demonstrates the advanced mechanization propelling Alberta’s modernizing coal industry in the 1960s.
    Source: Provincial Archives of Alberta, gr1989.0516.1088#1

  • The Whitemud Creek Mine in Edmonton’s river valley in 1968

    The last mine in Edmonton’s river valley closes.

    The Whitemud Creek Mine in Edmonton’s river valley in 1968; this operation is the last of Edmonton’s coal mines to close in 1970. At this time, the mine continues to rely on horses to haul coal to its opening.
    Source: City of Edmonton Archives, EA-20-4998

  • Atlas Mine in Drumheller Valley after restoration.

    Drumheller Valley and Canmore mines close after decades in operation.

    The Atlas Mine in Drumheller stops production in 1979 and officially closes in 1984. The large structure is the last wooden tipple standing in Canada. The mine is a Provincial Historic Resource, a National Historic Site of Canada and one of the region’s star attractions.
    Source: Courtesy of Sue Sabrowski and the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology

  • The retired Marion 360 Stripping Shovel at the Diplomat Mine site near Forestburg, Alberta.

    Mining near Forestburg ends after more than seventy years.

    The retired Marion 360 Stripping Shovel at the Diplomat Mine site near Forestburg, Alberta; the interpretive site is a Provincial Historic Resource and Canada’s only surface coal mining museum. The kind of large-scale surface mining conducted near Forestburg requires massive equipment such as the Marion 360.
    Source: Diplomat Mine Interpretive Site

  • The Wabamun power plant in the final stages before destruction.

    Wabamun coal-fired power plant is retired and demolished after almost fifty years in operation.

    The Wabamun power plant in the final stages before destruction; it had begun generating electricity in 1962 by burning coal mined at large-scale surface operations near Wabamun Lake. The planned closure of the plant is featured in an Edmonton Journal article on April 2, 2010.
    Source: Edmonton Journal

Play Timeline

Alberta’s First Discoveries

As far back as 10,000 years ago, Indigenous Peoples travelled from the plains to the mountains along the coal-rich regions of the Bow River Valley and the Crowsnest Pass. While traveling, they would have observed distinct outcrops of coal on the bank-side of Rundle Mountain by present-day Canmore and along Mount Cascade in present-day Banff National Park, as well as around numerous locations in Alberta’s foothills. In the badlands area of present-day Drumheller, layered coal seams would have been visible to early tribes as they travelled along the edges of the hills and banks of rivers and creeks. Though their coal use appears to have been minimal compared to the extensive coal exploitation by later European settlers, early maps of the area shared by tribe chiefs would later assist the Hudson’s Bay Company

surveyor and explorer Peter Fidler.

After 1793, references to coal seams began to appear in the accounts of early explorers, cartographers and fur traders. As Europeans, they would have been aware of the value of coal, given its role in the Industrial Revolution in England and the eastern United States. Their reports back to Europe helped initiate the development of Alberta’s coal mining industry.

The first published record of coal in Alberta is attributed to Peter Fidler, a surveyor and mapmaker for the Hudson’s Bay Company. According to the journal he kept as he travelled across the plains in 1793, Fidler first observed coal near the Red Deer River at Kneehills Creek, a short distance from present-day Drumheller.

In 1800, David Thompson—English fur trader, explorer, surveyor, and mapmaker—also observed coal seams while travelling from Rocky Mountain House on the North Saskatchewan River. In 1811, Alexander Henry recorded a 9-m (29 ½ -ft.) wide coal seam at Rocky Mountain House as he journeyed along the North Saskatchewan River while fur trading for the North West Company. In 1841, coal was first observed by Sir George Simpson, governor of the merged Hudson’s Bay Company/North West Company, in what would become

Edmonton on the banks of the North Saskatchewan River. In 1845, a Jesuit priest named Father De Smet described in letters to his superiors thick seams of coal with mining potential near Rocky Mountain House and Canmore. And in 1860, coal seams were observed along the Athabasca River and Pembina River by geologist Sir James Hector. It was these first discoveries reported back to Europe that set the stage for Alberta’s rapid transformation from undeveloped landscape into industrialized energy powerhouse of the twentieth century.

In this Section

The Geology of Alberta’s Coal Deposits

While most of the world’s coal deposits were laid down in peat beds some 300 million years ago, Alberta’s coal is from younger geological periods.

Peter Fidler

The Hudson’s Bay Company explorer and surveyor Peter Fidler was the first European to write about Alberta’s coal riches.

Taboos, Charms, and Face Dust

It is believed that Indigenous Peoples knew burning coal would produce heat, but taboos against its use in tipi fires were deeply ingrained in the culture.

Early Coal Use in Alberta

Evidence of early coal use by First Nations in Alberta is limited.

Coal Conventional Oil Turner Valley Gas Plant Natural Gas Oil Sands Bitumount Electricity & Alternative Energy