[Surrealplaces]

Calgary is blessed with plenty of hills and thus, plenty of hillside views especially of it's downtown core, these are just a few of the many hillside views of downtown and areas.

From Crescent Hill

http://img166.imageshack.us/img166/8619/00000agj0.jpg
http://img513.imageshack.us/img513/2300/00000hz7.jpg
http://img263.imageshack.us/img263/3056/000016ot8.jpg
http://img339.imageshack.us/img339/1838/000017gy5.jpg
http://img339.imageshack.us/img339/9751/000019ru1.jpg



From Briar hill
http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/5346/00001zv9.jpg
http://img529.imageshack.us/img529/2069/00002yc4.jpg
http://img125.imageshack.us/img125/4247/00003zx1.jpg
http://img340.imageshack.us/img340/5523/00004ky6.jpg
http://img515.imageshack.us/img515/2508/00005ce3.jpg
http://img530.imageshack.us/img530/1741/00006yr0.jpg


From Bankview, a cool neighborhood southwest of downtown
http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/8328/00007fo2.jpg
http://img530.imageshack.us/img530/6336/00008wi0.jpg
http://img261.imageshack.us/img261/2789/00009yh3.jpg
http://img242.imageshack.us/img242/827/000010ha5.jpg
http://img242.imageshack.us/img242/3092/000011hu2.jpg


From Lower Mount Royal, just south of downtown
http://img440.imageshack.us/img440/9067/000012wl5.jpg
http://img518.imageshack.us/img518/4387/000013ya9.jpg
http://img528.imageshack.us/img528/4238/000014sh9.jpg
http://img518.imageshack.us/img518/4271/000015ka4.jpg
http://img246.imageshack.us/img246/7154/000018is3.jpg


Last but not least, a Pano from Briar Hill.
http://img176.imageshack.us/img176/9128/000020vg9.jpg

[cmoonflyer]

Calgary looks so beautiful , it is indeed impressive with these awesome pics and thanks for sharing !

[sync]

http://img339.imageshack.us/img339/1838/000017gy5.jpg

this is a fantastic shot!

great pictures.

[DLLB]

Great pictures and a wonderful series!

[plinko]

grrrrrooooooovvvyyyyy!!!!!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v202/plinko923/Random/earthjim2screen1.jpg

[Deepstar]

Beautiful pictures. Calgary really looks great! Nice pano at the end. :tup:

[MobyLL]

Thanks for the photos. Nice hills.

Why are the hills so heavily forested in some areas and bare in others in this shot?

http://img530.imageshack.us/img530/6336/00008wi0.jpg

[roadwarrior]

I've never been to Calgary, but it looks nice. It looks like it has a similar feel to Denver. Am I right?

[Thinner6]

I've never been to Calgary, but it looks nice. It looks like it has a similar feel to Denver. Am I right?

Houston meets Denver, but mostly the latter.

[Just Build It]

Thanks for the photos. Nice hills.

Why are the hills so heavily forested in some areas and bare in others in this shot?

http://img530.imageshack.us/img530/6336/00008wi0.jpg

Calgary is situated right where prairie meets foothills much of Calgary never actually had any trees to begin with. Every tree you see in that picture is hand planted. There are some parts of Calgary that have natural forest, but almost all was originally prairie.

[skrish]

Some great density shots

[Paper Boy]

Calgary is situated right where prairie meets foothills much of Calgary never actually had any trees to begin with. Every tree you see in that picture is hand planted. There are some parts of Calgary that have natural forest, but almost all was originally prairie.

Actually, the hills that face South and West (Nose Hill, Firepark area etc.) are usually bare and the Hills that face North and East are usually forested. COP,Edworthy, Broadcast hill, South banks of Bow river and Fish Creek etc.

This is due to the chinnooks in the winter that warm and dry out the South and West facing slopes. The East and North slopes retain enough moisture year round for natural tree growth. from the air, one can actually see the natural "tree line on most hills where precipitation and evaporation are equal.

Where man "intervenes" with nature, hand planted and watered trees can exist on any slope.

[chevy064]

It almost has a Seattle/Vancouver type feel (minus the water)......

Very beautiful shots of a spectacular city!

[BnaBreaker]

I had no idea Calgary was so green and hilly!

[DLLB]

Hi Surrealplaces:

I hope it is OK if I add this picture. It will give an idea of the hills looking west from the northeast of downtown to the Foothills hospital , the 88 Olympic ski jumps and the Rockies. If I have broken any protocol by adding it to your thread, I am not aware of it, and I apologize.

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e6/dllb/DT%20June%2012-07/P6120487-1.jpg

[Kilgore Trout]

nice shots. you've managed to make calgary look remarkably lush and green... which it is for approximately one month, june, before it reverts to its natural brown state.

i've always loved calgary's hills. i grew up in strathcona, on the west hill, so everytime i went anywhere i was treated to spectacular views of the entire city and river valley. driving down sarcee trail is especially beautiful. that part of the city, with its sweeping vistas and natural forest, is probably the most spectacular landscape in calgary.

montreal's geography is like that of an inverted calgary. whereas the centre of calgary sits at the bottom of a river valley, surrounded by hills, the centre of montreal sprawls over the various bluffs, slopes and plateaus leading up to mount royal. when i head out to the extremities of montreal island, which are pancake-flat, it feels really weird.

[Rusty van Reddick]

Thanks for the photos. Nice hills.

Why are the hills so heavily forested in some areas and bare in others in this shot?

Moby- that's looking north to a huge city park- actually a "natural area"- called Nose Hill. It is the last bit of real bald prarie left in the city. It gives you a sense of how barren (beautifully barren, to some eyes) much of Calgary once was.

Not all trees were hand-planted in Calgary; the areas on and near river banks would have been green always, and further west are very thick natural forested areas (Banff, for example, is an hour west of Calgary and is of course respendently, naturally green). But north and east and to a lesser extent south of Calgary is still prairie.

[Rusty van Reddick]

Surreal, you make me so damn proud to say that I live in Bankview.

[MobyLL]

Calgary is situated right where prairie meets foothills much of Calgary never actually had any trees to begin with. Every tree you see in that picture is hand planted. There are some parts of Calgary that have natural forest, but almost all was originally prairie.


Actually, the hills that face South and West (Nose Hill, Firepark area etc.) are usually bare and the Hills that face North and East are usually forested. COP,Edworthy, Broadcast hill, South banks of Bow river and Fish Creek etc.

This is due to the chinnooks in the winter that warm and dry out the South and West facing slopes. The East and North slopes retain enough moisture year round for natural tree growth. from the air, one can actually see the natural "tree line on most hills where precipitation and evaporation are equal.

Where man "intervenes" with nature, hand planted and watered trees can exist on any slope.


Moby- that's looking north to a huge city park- actually a "natural area"- called Nose Hill. It is the last bit of real bald prarie left in the city. It gives you a sense of how barren (beautifully barren, to some eyes) much of Calgary once was.

Not all trees were hand-planted in Calgary; the areas on and near river banks would have been green always, and further west are very thick natural forested areas (Banff, for example, is an hour west of Calgary and is of course respendently, naturally green). But north and east and to a lesser extent south of Calgary is still prairie.

OK Cool. Thanks for the info guys:cheers:

[Ex-Ithacan]

Very nice set of pics. Calgary's skyline is so sweet. And that pano certainly does it justice. Thanks for the hilly tour.

[WZ1]

I love Calgary, the oil boom really makes it a Dubai of the north. looks soo much larger than it really is.

[bendecido]

Good job. I really have to congratulate you in managing to capture some unique shots of the city. I don't know that I've ever seen Calgary look so green.

[boden]

Where bouts in Toronto is that?

Seriously though, this is a kick-ass post. That skyline is getting to be something else. :tup:

[Texan]

impressive! the city looks so green!

[Jularc]

Calgary looks so awesomely green and hilly! Thanks for those shots!

[ArchMadness]

Those barren hills are awesome looking. Nice photos.

[JAM]

Big Canadian cities never fail to amaze me. Calgary is no exception. Thanks for the shots!

[Thinner6]

The scary thing is that this skyline is destined to drastically grow both up and sideways.

[Tobyoby]

Awesome pictures Surreal! Calgary looks so nice around May/June before the dry season sets in and those hills take on a brownish tone.

I sometimes forget just how big Nose Hill is. for those who aren't familiar with Calgary. nose Hill is the big open hill in the backdrop of some of the shots. It's completey surrounded by city, and is one of the word's largest urban parks, at 3,300 acres.

[Wheelingman04]

Calgary is so gorgeous!!

[Just Build It]

Excellent photos. With all this rain Calgary has been getting it's no wonder it's so green looking. The city is really maturing.

[Evergrey]

gorgeous photos, dude

[Surrealplaces]

Hi Surrealplaces:

I hope it is OK if I add this picture. It will give an idea of the hills looking west from the northeast of downtown to the Foothills hospital , the 88 Olympic ski jumps and the Rockies. If I have broken any protocol by adding it to your thread, I am not aware of it, and I apologize.

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e6/dllb/DT%20June%2012-07/P6120487-1.jpg

No problem adding the pictures. I don't mind at all, it's what these threads are all about.

Nice shot by the way. ;)

[OhioGuy]

*Really* impressive city.

[Deepstar]

Great looking shots. Calgary really is a nice city, I really like how there are so many hillside views, as the thread suggests.

[mSeattle]

So sweet!

[dktshb]

I've never been to Calgary, but it looks nice. It looks like it has a similar feel to Denver. Am I right? It looks greener and hillier. I think it looks more like the Pacific Northwest.

[Doug]

As someone pointed out earlier, Calgary is typically only green from about late May to early July. However, it has definately become considerably more verdant over the past decade or so as more trees are planted and vacant plots of land have filled up with development. The landscape in Calgary is mostly barren until it is developed, trees planted and irrigated and buildings provide shade from the sun and wind. However, even undeveloped areas like Nose Hill seem to have grown more lush (posibily because of a warmer climate due to the urban heat island effect or no more grazing of cattle and less frequent brush and grass fires).

The landscape around Calgary is highly reminiscent of Denver. While further from the Rockies than Denver, Calgary is set in a wide river valley with many hills. The ridgeline along the west side of the city does look somewhat like the Seattle area.

[Rusty van Reddick]

^or like Portland's West Hills.

[DLLB]

No problem adding the pictures. I don't mind at all, it's what these threads are all about.

Nice shot by the way. ;)

Thanks Surrealplaces!

[M II A II R II K]

Definitely a unique and visually appealing view of Calgary.