| Sparwood, British Columbia | |
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Sparwood, British Columbia
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| Coordinates: | |
| Country | Canada |
| Province | British Columbia |
| Government[1] | |
| • Acting Mayor | Lois Halko |
| • Governing body | Sparwood council |
| • MP | David Wilks |
| • MLA | Bill Bennett |
| Population (2006) | |
| • Total | 3,618 |
| Time zone | Mountain Standard (MST) (UTC-7) |
| Postal code span | |
| Area code(s) | 250 |
Sparwood is a district municipality in British Columbia, Canada. It is the second largest community on the Elk River.
Located approximately 30 kilometers from Fernie, the District Municipality of Sparwood has approximately 3618 residents, according to the 2006 census. Sparwood is quite large for its population, taking up an area of 177.71 square kilometers and incorporating the local coal mines.
The barn scenes from Disney's 1985 film The Journey of Natty Gann were filmed here.
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The local economy is heavily dependent on coal mining, one of British Columbia's primary industries. A large part of the population either works in the mines or as tradesmen and labourers in related support industries, such as trucking or as mechanics. Logging is another important industry.
Sparwood/Elk Valley Airport is the local airport for general aviation; airlines provide service to Cranbrook/Canadian Rockies International Airport.
Sparwood was formed on May 12, 1966 accepting people from the nearby towns of Michel, Natal and Middletown (an urban renewal). Since the beginning of Sparwood, it has experienced many ups and downs in the primary industry(coal mining).
Sparwood promotes itself extensively as the home of the Terex Titan, at one time the largest truck in the world. The green Titan stands a few yards from the Crowsnest Highway where it can attract the attention of tourists and travelers.
Sparwood has a population of approximately 3812 residents, with a population density of approximately 21.5 per square kilometer. The local population is mainly white, blue-collar families, working in or supporting the coal industry.
There are two public schools in Sparwood; Frank J Mitchell which is an Elementary School and the new Sparwood Secondary School. These schools are operated by School District 5 Southeast Kootenay which is based in Cranbrook.
| Climate data for Sparwood | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 10.3 (50.5) |
13.8 (56.8) |
19.5 (67.1) |
25.6 (78.1) |
31.3 (88.3) |
32.5 (90.5) |
34.1 (93.4) |
36.5 (97.7) |
34.2 (93.6) |
27.2 (81.0) |
16.9 (62.4) |
10.5 (50.9) |
36.5 (97.7) |
| Average high °C (°F) | −2.5 (27.5) |
0.5 (32.9) |
5.5 (41.9) |
11 (52) |
16 (61) |
19.5 (67.1) |
23.2 (73.8) |
23.6 (74.5) |
18 (64) |
10.8 (51.4) |
1.7 (35.1) |
−3.7 (25.3) |
10.3 (50.5) |
| Average low °C (°F) | −11.1 (12.0) |
−9.3 (15.3) |
−5.1 (22.8) |
−1.3 (29.7) |
2.4 (36.3) |
5.7 (42.3) |
7.6 (45.7) |
6.6 (43.9) |
2.7 (36.9) |
−1 (30) |
−5.7 (21.7) |
−11.6 (11.1) |
−1.7 (28.9) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −37.9 (−36.2) |
−34.6 (−30.3) |
−29.3 (−20.7) |
−15 (5) |
−5.8 (21.6) |
−3.3 (26.1) |
0 (32) |
−3.5 (25.7) |
−8.5 (16.7) |
−22.2 (−8.0) |
−24 (−11) |
−39.8 (−39.6) |
−39.8 (−39.6) |
| Precipitation mm (inches) | 53.2 (2.094) |
40.9 (1.61) |
38.4 (1.512) |
38.4 (1.512) |
61.9 (2.437) |
62.8 (2.472) |
51.5 (2.028) |
34.2 (1.346) |
42.7 (1.681) |
48.2 (1.898) |
71.7 (2.823) |
59.6 (2.346) |
603.3 (23.752) |
| Source: Environment Canada[2] | |||||||||||||
The following people were born in Sparwood:
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