Fort Nelson, British Columbia

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Fort Nelson

Location of Fort Nelson within the Northern Rockies District in British Columbia, Canada

Area

10.43 km² (4 sq mi)

Population

4,188 (2001)

Pop'n density

401.5/km² (1,039.9/sq mi)

Location

58°48′21.3″N, 122°41′47.3″W

Elevation

metres

Incorporation

1971

Province

British Columbia

Regional District

Northern Rockies

Jay Hill (Cons - Peace River)

MLA

Richard Neufeld (Lib - Peace River North)

Mayor

Chris Morey

Governing Body

Fort Nelson Town Council

Time zone

PST (UTC-8)

Postal code

V0C

Area Code

+1-250

Town of Fort Nelson

British Columbia Portal

Fort Nelson is a town of approximately 5,000 residents in British Columbia's northeastern corner. It is the seat, and only municipality in the Northern Rockies Regional District. Fort Nelson is primarily a natural resource industry town, with the majority of economic activity in oil and gas and forestry. The forests surrounding Fort Nelson are part of Canada's great boreal forest. Fort Nelson is the centre of the Greater Sierra oil field.

The town lies east of the Northern Rocky Mountains in the Peace River region, along the Alaska Highway, where it is known as "Mile 300." (For more info see http://www.northernrockies.org/ ) Year round, the town is home to over 4,800 residents while 1,600 additional residents settle in the surrounding Northern Rockies Regional District area including the Fort Nelson First Nations reserve. There are about 500 members living on the reserve, yet across our region, as a whole, Aboriginal people make up approximately 15% of our total population.

The community also experiences seasonal population increases. In winter, logging and oil rig activities bring in another two to five thousand additional people. And during the summer tourism season -April through September- about 140,000 visitors travel through the area.

1 History
2 Attractions
3 Transportation
4 Trivia
5 References
- 5.1 External links

[edit] History

Fort Nelson was established as a trading post in 1805 by the North West Company. It was named in honour of Lord Horatio Nelson.

The Fort Nelson Airport was built in 1941 as part of the World War II Northwest Air Staging Route^[1].

[edit] Attractions

In Fort Nelson
- Fort Nelson Heritage Museum
- Canoeing down the Fort Nelson River
- Smith River Falls
- Wokkpash Recreation Area
- Canadian Open Sled Dog Races (in December)
- Fall Fair and Rodeo (in August)
In the Northern Rockies
- Liard Hot Springs
- Northern Rocky Mountains Provincial Park
- Rafting on the Liard River
- Muncho Lake (of blue-green color, due to glacial flour)

[edit] Transportation

[edit] Waterways

Fort Nelson lies at the confluence of Fort Nelson River (which took the name from the town), Muskwa River and Prophet River.

[edit] Roads

The town is located along Highway 97 (Alaska Highway), south of the intersection with Highway 77.

Greyhound Canada operates a bus depot in the town.

[edit] Air

Fort Nelson is primarily served by the Fort Nelson Airport, with several smaller airstrips in close proximity:

[edit] Trivia

On 18 June 2005 people in Fort Nelson held a water-balloon fight with over 40,000 water balloon being tossed in less than three minutes^[2].

[edit] References

^ "The Fort Nelson Story" by Gerri Young
^ Water Balloon Fight

[edit] External links

Northern Rockies Regional District & Town of Fort Nelson

The Fort Nelson News - Local Newspaper

v • d • e

Subdivisions of British Columbia

Regional districts	Alberni-Clayoquot · Bulkley-Nechako · Capital · Cariboo · Central Coast · Central Kootenay · Central Okanagan · Columbia-Shuswap · Comox-Strathcona · Cowichan Valley · East Kootenay · Fraser Valley · Fraser-Fort George · Greater Vancouver · Kitimat-Stikine · Kootenay Boundary · Mount Waddington · Nanaimo · North Okanagan · Northern Rockies · Okanagan-Similkameen · Peace River · Powell River · Skeena-Queen Charlotte · Squamish-Lillooet · Stikine · Sunshine Coast · Thompson-Nicola
Principal urban centres	Abbotsford · Kamloops · Kelowna · Nanaimo · Prince George · Vancouver · Victoria
Large suburban communities	Burnaby · Coquitlam · Delta · Langley Township · North Vancouver District · Richmond · Saanich · Surrey
Other major centres	Campbell River · Chilliwack · Courtenay · Cranbrook · Fort St. John · Penticton · Port Alberni · Salmon Arm · Vernon

List of communities · Subdivisions of: AB · SK · MB · ON · QC · NB · NS · PEI · NL · YU · NT · NU

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This article has been tagged since January 2007.

Coordinates: 58°48′21.3″N, 122°41′47.3″W

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