There are at least ten times that number of geographical features in the province. Some may have local names and some may be truly nameless. Usually where humans encounter the land, they name it - as we see from Number 1 above. Official or approved names are those that have been researched and passed by a governmental body. Up to 1961 or so, the Federal government had the sole power to approve names, now it is in the hands of the province.
Many names remain local.
A lake may be known by a name, and everybody in the area knows it by that name, but no one has seen it necessary to make it official. The group that approves names in Alberta is the Alberta Historical Resources Foundation Board and they base their decisions on the rules set out in the Geographical Names Manual. The background research is done by the Geographical Names Program of Alberta Community Development. Most requests for approving of names come from individual Albertans. Others come from organizations, governmental bodies, or are the result of field research projects originating from the Geographical Names Program.