The Planet, the County & the Little Town on the Prairies

Star Trek Fact: Planet Vulcan vs. Vulcan County, Alberta
Culture and Language
Public Holidays
County Services
How to get here by Land, Air ... and space??
Local Weather & Climate
Vulcan County's Wildlife: Flora & Fauna
Agriculture in Vulcan County
Water & Irrigation in Vulcan County


The Town of Vulcan is conveniently located an hour south of Calgary and an hour north of Lethbridge on Highway 23. Vulcan County is a western gateway to the magical Canadian Badlands – a vast, carved prairie landscape harbouring dinosaur fossils, intimate parks, pioneer history and a warm, western way of life.

Dig a Little Deeper into the Canadian Badlands as you travel through time from Vulcan’s science fiction future to the Earth’s prehistoric past. Visit www.timetravelalberta.com to discover what pointy ears, pointy arrows and pointy teeth have in common.

Vulcan County covers an approximate area of 2,103 square miles/5,450 square km and encompasses one town: Vulcan; five villages: Carmangay, Champion, Lomond, Milo and Arrowwood; and eight Hamlets: Brant, Ensign, Herronton, Kirkcaldy, Mossleigh, Queenstown, Shouldice, and Travers. The population of the County (including the town and villages) is approximately 6,600 people.

Vulcan County's landscape provides a variety of visual experiences as one travels from one end to the other... flatland to rolling hills, Lake McGregor [a 22-mile long man-made reservoir], to historic attractions and prairie bunchgrass, to refreshing valleys of mature trees and lush grasslands.

There are several recreation areas in the County, including the Carmangay Tipi Rings Recreation Area, Little Bow Reservoir Provincial Recreation Area, Lake McGregor Provincial Recreation Area, Travers Reservoir Provincial Recreation area and Badger Lake. Provincial Parks include the Little Bow Provincial Park, and the Wyndham-Carseland Provincial Park.

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STAR TREK "FACT": Planet Vulcan vs. Vulcan County:
As far as we know, a planet Vulcan does not exist. However, in the mid 1800s, a French astronomer was certain he discovered another planet between Mercury and the sun. He named it Vulcan, after the Blacksmith of the Gods. In the Star Trek universe, the planet Vulcan is located in the triple star system, 40 Eridani. While Mr. Spock’s home planet is fictional, the triple star system, 40 Eridani, in which it is supposedly located is real! 40 Eridani is about 16 light years from Earth, the 8th nearest star visible to the naked eye. It is interesting to note that the fictitious planet of Vulcan and Vulcan County share many similarities:

Culture and Language in Vulcan County

Vulcan, Alberta has a friendly and relaxed small-town atmosphere. The standard dress is very casual.

While French and English are both national languages in Canada, you will find far more English-speaking people in Alberta than in the eastern provinces. As such, the majority of services in Vulcan County are offered only in English.

STAR TREK FACT: The Vulcan Language is not commonly spoken in Vulcan or Vulcan County, Alberta; however; the Vulcan language dictionary is available online at: http://www.starbase-10.de/vld/

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The Town of Vulcan has its own hospital and health centre. Vulcan also has an RCMP detachment, a high school and elementary school, fitness centre, arena iceplex, public outdoor swimming pool, skateboard park, golf course, airport, grocery store, two pharmacies, and many other services and businesses.

Click here to find:

Places to dine and stay in Vulcan and Vulcan County.

Things to see and do in Vulcan and Vulcan County.

Contact the Vulcan Business Development Society for a complete Vulcan business directory.

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Public Holidays

The following dates are public holidays in the province of Alberta.

STAR TREK FACT: According to the Memory-Alpha.org website the following holidays, and cultural traditions are observed on the Planet Vulcan:

• Kal Rekk is a holiday observed on the planet Vulcan. Kal Rekk, to the Vulcans, is a day of atonement, solitude and silence. (VOY: "Meld")

• Rumarie was an ancient pagan holiday on the planet Vulcan that was last observed during the 14th century AD. In 2372, while learning about about Vulcan holidays, Neelix discovered Rumarie, which he described as a festival "full of barely clothed Vulcan men and women, covered in slippery Rillian grease, chasing one another." (VOY: "Meld")

• The Tal-Shanar is a Vulcan spiritual practice that they rarely allow outsiders to see. Doctor Phlox, while stationed on Earth, was allowed to observe the Tal-Shanar when it was held at the Vulcan Consulate. (ENT: "Cold Front")
  
  

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