Cranbrook, British Columbia

Cranbrook
City
The Corporation of the City of Cranbrook

10th Ave Cranbrook

Flag
Motto: Mountains of Opportunity
Cranbrook

Location of Cranbrook in British Columbia

Coordinates: 49°30′49″N 115°46′7″W / 49.51361°N 115.76861°WCoordinates: 49°30′49″N 115°46′7″W / 49.51361°N 115.76861°W
Country  Canada
Province  British Columbia
Regional District East Kootenay
Established 1898
Incorporation 1905
Government
 • Mayor Lee Pratt
 • Governing body Cranbrook City Council
 • MP David Wilks
 • MLA Bill Bennett
Area
 • Total 31.95 km2 (12.34 sq mi)
 • Agglomeration 4,568.03 km2 (1,763.73 sq mi)
Elevation 921 m (3,021 ft)
Population (2011)
 • Total 19,364
 • Density 604.7/km2 (1,566/sq mi)
 • Agglomeration 25,037
 • Demonym Cranbrookite, Cranbrookian
Time zone Mountain Standard (MST) (UTC-7)
 • Summer (DST) Mountain Daylight (MDT) (UTC-6)
Postal code span V1C
Area code(s) 236, 250, 778
Telephone Exchanges 236-363, 250-417, 250-420, 250-421, 250-426, 250-464, 250-489, 250-581, 250-919, 778-261, 778-450, 778-517, 778-520, 778-963
NTS Map 082G05
GNBC Code JAIQY
Website City of Cranbrook
Cranbrook's welcome sign

Cranbrook (Ktunaxa: ʔa·kisk̓aqǂiʔit [1]) is a city in southeast British Columbia, located on the west side of the Kootenay River at its confluence with the St. Mary's River,[2] It is the largest urban centre in the region known as the East Kootenay. As of 2011, Cranbrook's population is 19,364, with a census agglomeration population of 25,037. It is the location of the headquarters of the Regional District of East Kootenay and also the location of regional headquarters of various provincial ministries and agencies, notably the Rocky Mountain Forest District.

Cranbrook is home to the Canadian Museum of Rail Travel which presents static exhibits of passenger rail cars built in the 1920s for the CPR and in the 1900s for the Spokane International Railway. It is also the home of the Kootenay Ice, a WHL hockey team, who has won the league title 3 times and the Memorial Cup once. The Ice have made the playoffs 16 straight years (1998-99 to 2013-14) and have a record of .500% or better for 15 straight years (1999-00 to 2013-14).

History

Originally inhabited by Ktunaxa peoples, the land that Cranbrook now occupies was bought by European settlers, notably Colonel James Baker who named his newly acquired land Cranbrook after his home in Cranbrook, Kent, England.

In 1898 Baker had successfully convinced Canadian Pacific Railway to establish their Crowsnest Pass line through Cranbrook rather than nearby Gold Rush Boom Town Fort Steele. With that accomplishment Cranbrook became the major centre of the region, while Fort Steele declined; however, the latter is today a preserved heritage town.

On November 1, 1905, Cranbrook was incorporated as a city.

Geography

While much of the city is relatively flat, Cranbrook is surrounded by many rising hills where many residential homes are located.[3] In addition Cranbrook faces the Purcell Mountains to the west and the Rocky Mountains to the north and east.

Climate

Environment Canada reports Cranbrook as having the most sunshine hours of any BC city at approximately 2228.6 hours annually. It is a fairly dry city throughout the year, and when precipitation does fall a good percentage of it will be in the form of snow. Environment Canada also states that the city experiences some of the lightest wind speeds year-round, has few foggy days, and has among the highest average barometric pressure of any Canadian city.[4] Frost-free days average 110 days, typically occurring between May 26 to September 14. Mean daily temperatures range from −8.3 °C (17.1 °F) to 18.2 °C (64.8 °F). However, temperatures can range from −20 °C (−4.0 °F) in the winter to 35 °C (95.0 °F) in the summer months.

Climate data for Cranbrook/Canadian Rockies International Airport
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high humidex 13.5 13.4 22.0 27.8 35.1 36.5 38.0 38.0 33.9 28.6 19.5 11.7 38.0
Record high °C (°F) 13.9
(57)		 13.5
(56.3)		 22.4
(72.3)		 28.0
(82.4)		 34.2
(93.6)		 35.9
(96.6)		 36.7
(98.1)		 36.3
(97.3)		 33.7
(92.7)		 29.2
(84.6)		 19.5
(67.1)		 12.2
(54)		 36.7
(98.1)
Average high °C (°F) −1.9
(28.6)		 1.9
(35.4)		 7.5
(45.5)		 12.9
(55.2)		 17.9
(64.2)		 21.6
(70.9)		 26.2
(79.2)		 26.0
(78.8)		 19.9
(67.8)		 11.7
(53.1)		 2.7
(36.9)		 −3.4
(25.9)		 11.9
(53.4)
Daily mean °C (°F) −6.1
(21)		 −3.2
(26.2)		 2.0
(35.6)		 6.6
(43.9)		 11.3
(52.3)		 15.0
(59)		 18.7
(65.7)		 18.2
(64.8)		 12.6
(54.7)		 5.7
(42.3)		 −1.3
(29.7)		 −7.2
(19)		 6.0
(42.8)
Average low °C (°F) −10.2
(13.6)		 −8.3
(17.1)		 −3.5
(25.7)		 0.3
(32.5)		 4.7
(40.5)		 8.4
(47.1)		 11.2
(52.2)		 10.3
(50.5)		 5.3
(41.5)		 −0.3
(31.5)		 −5.2
(22.6)		 −11.0
(12.2)		 0.1
(32.2)
Record low °C (°F) −35.9
(−32.6)		 −31.8
(−25.2)		 −28.3
(−18.9)		 −15.6
(3.9)		 −4.4
(24.1)		 −1.3
(29.7)		 1.0
(33.8)		 −1.3
(29.7)		 −6.9
(19.6)		 −17.1
(1.2)		 −31.8
(−25.2)		 −40.0
(−40)		 −40.0
(−40)
Record low wind chill −43.2 −39.1 −37.2 −19.7 −8.9 −5.0 0.0 −2.9 −9.4 −22.6 −37.4 −46.8 −46.8
Average precipitation mm (inches) 25.5
(1.004)		 18.9
(0.744)		 22.2
(0.874)		 24.6
(0.969)		 46.1
(1.815)		 62.2
(2.449)		 38.3
(1.508)		 28.0
(1.102)		 31.3
(1.232)		 20.1
(0.791)		 35.3
(1.39)		 32.7
(1.287)		 385.3
(15.169)
Average rainfall mm (inches) 4.5
(0.177)		 4.2
(0.165)		 10.8
(0.425)		 19.9
(0.783)		 44.1
(1.736)		 62.1
(2.445)		 38.3
(1.508)		 28.0
(1.102)		 30.8
(1.213)		 16.5
(0.65)		 14.5
(0.571)		 5.8
(0.228)		 279.5
(11.004)
Average snowfall cm (inches) 25.3
(9.96)		 18.2
(7.17)		 12.5
(4.92)		 5.4
(2.13)		 1.5
(0.59)		 0.0
(0)		 0.0
(0)		 0.0
(0)		 0.6
(0.24)		 3.8
(1.5)		 23.7
(9.33)		 34.4
(13.54)		 125.3
(49.33)
Avg. precipitation days (≥ 0.2 mm) 11.1 8.5 9.2 8.8 11.6 13.6 9.2 8.4 8.4 8.2 11.8 12.8 121.5
Avg. rainy days (≥ 0.2 mm) 2.8 2.5 5.4 7.3 11.4 13.6 9.2 8.4 8.4 7.4 5.7 2.3 84.2
Avg. snowy days (≥ 0.2 cm) 10.4 7.2 5.6 2.7 0.7 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 1.2 7.6 12.2 47.8
Average relative humidity (%) 70.6 58.7 47.7 40.9 41.0 42.2 35.7 35.6 41.3 49.7 67.1 73.4 50.3
Mean monthly sunshine hours 63.5 106.9 163.2 215.0 256.7 267.8 315.1 302.7 218.2 159.5 69.8 51.9 2,190.5
Percent possible sunshine 23.7 37.5 44.4 52.2 54.0 55.0 64.2 67.7 57.5 47.6 25.5 20.4 45.8
Source: [5]

Demographics

Canada 2006 Census Population % of Total Population
Visible minority group
Source:[6] 		Chinese 120 0.7%
South Asian 20 0.1%
Black 30 0.2%
Filipino 10 0.1%
Latin American 10 0.1%
Southeast Asian 20 0.1%
Arab 10 0.1%
West Asian 0 0%
Korean 20 0.1%
Japanese 50 0.3%
Other visible minority 0 0%
Mixed visible minority 0 0%
Total visible minority population 305 1.7%
Aboriginal group
Source:[7] 		First Nations 1,090 6.1%
Métis 0 0%
Inuit 0 0%
Total Aboriginal population 1,090 6.1%
European Canadian 16,555 92.2%
Total population 17,950 100%

Education

Schools

Public schools are run by School District 5 Southeast Kootenay, consisting of seven elementary schools and two middle schools that feed into the city's only high school: Mount Baker Secondary School, home to approximately 1,500 students. Prior to 2004, the middle schools were referred to as junior high schools housing grades 8-10 rather than the current 7-9. However, due to declining enrollment the school district adopted the new system. There is also a local home-school network.

The following 13 schools are located within Cranbrook.

Post-secondary education

Cranbrook is home to the main campus of the College of the Rockies, which has over 2,500 full and part-time students from over 21 countries.[8]

Transportation

Cranbrook is at the junction of major highways 3 and 93/95, and due to its close proximity to the borders of Alberta and the United States it is an important transportation hub. Cranbrook has a major Canadian Pacific Railway yard, which serves as a key gateway for trains arriving from and departing to the United States.

The McFee Bridge also known as the St. Mary's Bridge rises high above the St. Marys River and is near the Canadian Rockies International Airport and the Shadow Mountain Golf Community and supports thousands of people to travel to Kimberley from Cranbrook and Kimberley to Cranbrook, the bridge is on highway 93/95. Approximately 9 km north is the Canadian Rockies International Airport, which has recently completed its 12.5 million dollar expansion including the lengthening of its runway from 6000 to 8000 feet in order to accommodate a limited number of international flights and an expansion to the Terminal for more passengers. The airport is served by Air Canada Jazz to Vancouver and Calgary, Pacific Coastal Airlines to Vancouver, and Integra Air to Edmonton.

Cranbrook also has a public transit system, operating buses on seven different lines.[9] On February 11, 1978, Pacific Western Airlines Flight 314, a Boeing 737-200, crashed in Cranbrook, killing 42 of the 49 people on board.

Media

Newspapers
Radio stations
Television

Notable residents

The following notable people come from or were born in Cranbrook:


Sister cities

Cranbrook is twinned with

References

  1. ↑ "FirstVoices: Nature / Environment - place names: words. Ktunaxa.". Retrieved 2012-07-07.
  2. ↑ BCGNIS entry "Cranbrook (city)"
  3. ↑ http://www.cranbrook.ca/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=80&Itemid=380
  4. ↑
  5. ↑ "Calculation Information for 1981 to 2010 Canadian Normals Data". Environment Canada. Retrieved July 9, 2013.
  6. ↑ "Community Profiles from the 2006 Census, Statistics Canada - Census Subdivision". 2.statcan.gc.ca. 2010-12-06. Retrieved 2013-04-13.
  7. ↑ "Aboriginal Peoples - Data table". 2.statcan.ca. 2010-10-06. Retrieved 2013-04-13.
  8. ↑ College of the Rockies website
  9. ↑ http://www.transitbc.com/regions/cra/

External links

Media related to Cranbrook, British Columbia at Wikimedia Commons