Welcome
You have reached the website of the Friends of Geographical Names of Alberta Society. Incorporated in 1987 as a registered charitable society, to promote awareness of Alberta's place name heritage.
Our Mission Statement
To Educate Albertans about the historical and geographical signifinance of Alberta Place Names.
The study of place names is an essential part of understanding Alberta's history: the land, the people and their stories. Did you know that when you read a map you are actually reading history? If you look behind the names of places on a map, the lives of our ancestors and their patterns of settlement, exploration and migration come to life. While providing common reference points for travelers and cartographers, Alberta's place names reflect our province's rich cultural heritage.
Do you love to
hear about the stories behind Place
Names?
Do you have a story about a Place where you grew up?
Do you just like the history of Alberta?
Are you a Social Studies teacher?
Consider
becoming a member of Friends of Geographic
Names of Alberta a Non For profit Charitable Society. Membership is
free
As a society, we promote the heritage of Alberta's place names through various projects. The newest one is the creation of the Place Names of Alberta Website, a partnership with the Heritage Community Foundation. The Foundation has created and maintains the Alberta Online Encyclopedia - www.albertasource.ca. This dynamic, multimedia website not only provides a range of contextual information on toponymy and, specifically, the naming of Alberta places, it also makes available a database with nearly 12,000 entries that is fully keyword searchable.
Explore the Place Names of Alberta Website.