Crowsnest Pass, Alberta

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For the geographic feature called Crowsnest Pass, see Crowsnest Pass.

Special Municipality of Crowsnest Pass
Location of Crowsnest Pass within census division number 15 in Alberta, Canada
Area	373.04 km²
Population	6,262 (2001)
Pop'n density	16.8
Location	49°37′59.5″N, 114°41′34.2″W
Altitude	1585 metres
Incorporation	January 1, 1979
Province	Alberta
Census Division	15
MP	Ted Menzies
MLA	David Coutts
Mayor	John Irwin
Governing Body	Crowsnest Pass town council
Time zone	MST (UTC-7)
Postal code	T0K 0E0
Area Code	+1-403
CrowsnestPass.ab.ca

The Municipality of Crowsnest Pass is a Special Municipality geographically located in the Crowsnest Pass of the Rocky Mountains in south-west Alberta, Canada. The municipality resulted from a legal amalgamation of five towns (from east to west): Bellevue, Hillcrest, Frank, Blairmore, and Coleman, on January 1, 1979. Blairmore and Coleman are the largest towns; Frank is the smallest. Within its boundaries are also the former communities (abandoned, or much reduced) of Lille, Passburg, Sentinel (Sentry), and Crowsnest. As of 2001, the population of the Municipality of Crowsnest Pass was 6,262^[1].

Contents 1 History 2 Points of interest 3 Trivia 4 References 5 External links

[edit] History

The municipality owes its existence to coal mining, the area's primary industry since the first mine opened in 1900. Its ethnic and cultural diversity comes from the many European and other immigrants attracted to the area by the mines. Through the years coal mining suffered from fluctuating coal prices, bitter strikes, and underground accidents, and all the mines on the Alberta side closed throughout the 20th century as cheaper, safer open-pit mines opened on the British Columbia side of the pass. There is an operating coal mine just across the B.C. border in Sparwood which continues to provide significant employment for the Municipality of Crowsnest Pass.

The Crowsnest Pass is known for tragedy. In 1903 the tip of Turtle Mountain broke loose and decimated part of the town of Frank (the Frank Slide). In 1918, the Hillcrest mine disaster occurred in the Hillcrest Mine, killing 189 men. Serious spring floods occurred in 1923 and 1942. Periodic forest fires have swept the valley, including one in the summer of 2003 that threatened the entire municipality.

The area was a centre for "rum-running" during the prohibition of 1916 - 1923, when liquor was illegally brought across the provincial border from British Columbia. This legacy is celebrated each July during Rum-Runner Days, which includes a parade, many civic and sporting events, and a fireworks display called Thunder In the Valley that attracts visitors from nearby communities.

Today, the Municipality of Crowsnest Pass has much to offer visitors. In addition to its spectacular natural setting, the municipality is rich in human history, and tourism promises to become a significant industry.

[edit] Points of interest

Within the Municipality of Crowsnest Pass one can find the Frank Slide Interpretive Centre, an interpretive display at Leitch Collieries, tours of the Bellevue Mine, and a museum in downtown Coleman where pamphlets for self-guided driving tours of the municipality are also available. The area offers hiking and fishing in the summer, and in winter snowmobiling, a downhill ski hill, and a groomed xc-ski area, and is about 70km drive from major ski hills at both Fernie Alpine Resort and Castle Mountain Resort.

[edit] Trivia

• Blairmore elected Canada's first Communist town council under mayor Bill Knight during the Great Depression^[2]. (See Blairmore, Alberta for more information)
• Crowsnest Pass was the site of the last train robbery in Canada (1920).
• Alberta's first female mayor, Clemence Jepson, was elected in Bellevue in November 1963.
• The gravy recipe for Colonel Sanders' Kentucky Fried Chicken was developed here^[3].

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Crowsnest Pass chamber of commerce
• Municipality of the Crowsnest Pass
• Crowsnest Pass Promoter
• Crowsnest Pass Herald
• Crowsnest Pass Golf & Country Club
• Nippon Institute of Technology Inter-Cultural Campus
• Timberwolves