What is today the province of Alberta, Canada has a history and prehistory stretching back thousands of years. Recorded or written history begins with the arrival of Europeans. The rich soil was ideal for growing wheat, and the coming of the railroads in the late 19th century led a to large-scale migration of farmers from Eastern Canada, the United States, and Europe. Wheat remains important, but the farms are much larger and the rural population much smaller. Alberta has urbanized and its economic base has expanded from the export of wheat but the export of oil as well.