That whole ridge of montaigne from Colorado through Wyoming and Montana is exactly like the mountainous and foothill area of Alberta (most of Alberta is either prairie or pine woodland in the north, though.) The history of Alberta is very deeply connected to the wild west of America. Children are taught in school that the mounties came west to prevent the sale of 'firewater' to the Indians, but that has always sounded like whitewashing to me. The true concern from Queen Victoria was that Americans would become the ipso facto owners of the western territories by virtue of occupation, which was how the Canadian Pacific Railway was able to wrangle so many concessions and licenses. If the British had truly been concerned about the welfare of the Indians, they would have prevented the distribution of smallpox-infested blankets by fur traders, and the Mounties would not have captured and handed Crazy Horse over to American forces when he crossed the border into Alberta.