Cranbrook, British Columbia

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Cranbrook, British Columbia
Motto: Heart and Soul of the Kootenay Rockies
Coordinates: 49°30′49″N 115°46′7″W / 49.51361, -115.76861
Country Flag of Canada Canada
Province Flag of British Columbia British Columbia
Regional District East Kootenay
Established 1898
Incorporation 1905
Government
 - City Mayor Ross Priest
 - Governing body Cranbrook City Council
 - MP Jim Abbott
 - MLA Bill Bennett
Area
 - City 25.14 km² (9.71 sq mi)
Elevation 921 m (3,021 ft)
Population (2006)
 - City 18,267 (ranked 209th)
 - Density 726.5/km² (1,881.6/sq mi)
 - Metro 25,268 (ranked 99th)
 - Metro Density 5.3/km² (13.7/sq mi)
Time zone Mountain Standard (MST) (UTC-7)
 - Summer (DST) Mountain Daylight (MDT) (UTC-6)
Postal code span V1C
Area code(s) 250, 778
Telephone Exchanges 250-417, 250-420, 250-421, 250-426, 250-464, 250-489, 250-581, 250-919
NTS Map 082G05
GNBC Code JAIQY
Website: City of Cranbrook

Cranbrook, British Columbia ( 49°30′40″N, 115°46′2″W) is a city in southeast British Columbia, seat of the Regional District of East Kootenay. As of the 2006 census the population is 18,267, spread over an area of 25.14 square kilometres for a population density of 726.5 persons per square kilometre.

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. Cranbrook is also home to many NHL players to where it has won 11 Stanley Cup Championships within 13 years. (1994-95 to 2006-07).

Contents

[edit] History

Originally inhabited by the Ktunaxa natives 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 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 site.

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

[edit] Geography

While much of the city is relatively flat, Cranbrook is surrounded by many rising hills where many residential homes are located[1]. In addition Cranbrook faces the Purcell Mountains to the west and the Rocky Mountains to the north and east.

[edit] Climate

Environment Canada reports Cranbrook as having the most sunshine hours of any BC city at approximately 2228.6 hours annually. Because of that 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. (See link)

Frost-free days average 110 days, typically occurring between May 26 to September 14.

Mean daily temperatures range from -8.3°C to 18.2°C. However, temperatures can range from -30°C in the winter to 35°C+ in the summer months.

[edit] Education

The East Kootenay city is home to the main campus of the College of the Rockies, which has over 2500 full and part-time students from over 21 countries[2].

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 1000 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.

[edit] 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.

Approximately 9 km north is the Cranbrook/Canadian Rockies International Airport, which is currently undergoing an expansion including the lengthening of its runway from 6000 to 8000 feet in order to accommodate a limited number of international flights. The Airport and the city of Cranbrook are trying to attract major American airlines to operate routes here, Delta Air Lines has already commited to start Service in December.[3].

Cranbrook also has a public transit system, operating buses on seven different routes.

[edit] Notable people

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

[edit] Local Media

[edit] Newspapers

  • Cranbrook Daily Townsman - Daily paper
  • Kootenay Advertiser - Weekly paper , Monday, Wednesday, and Friday

[edit] Job Resources

  • Ekjobs.ca - Job board for Cranbrook Area

[edit] Radio Stations

  • 101.3 FM - CBC Radio One
  • 102.9 FM - CHDR, rock
  • 104.7 FM - CHBZ, country
  • 106.5 FM - VOAR, religious

[edit] Television Repeaters

[edit] Trivia

[edit] Sister Cities

Cranbrook is twinned with

[edit] External links

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