Kamloops, British Columbia

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Kamloops
Location of Kamloops within the Thompson-Nicola District in British Columbia, Canada
Area	297.57 km² (114.9 sq mi)
Population	92,882
Pop'n density	5.2/km² (13.5/sq mi)
Location	50°40′33.8″N, 120°20′26.6″W
Elevation	~345 metres
Incorporation	1818 (fur trading post) 1893 (incorporation)
Province	British Columbia
Regional District	Thompson-Nicola
Members of the Legislative Assembly	Claude Richmond Kevin Krueger
MP	Betty Hinton
Mayor	Terry Lake
Governing Body	Kamloops City Counci
Time zone	PST (UTC-8)
Postal code	V2B to V2E
Area Code	+1-250
Kamloops.BC.ca
British Columbia Portal

Kamloops is a city in south central British Columbia, Canada, at the confluence of the two branches of the Thompson River and near Kamloops Lake. It is the seat of the Thompson-Nicola Regional District. Kamloops is also the Tournament Capital of Canada. It is ranked 37th on the list of the 100 largest metropolitan areas in Canada.

Contents 1 Geography and Location 2 History 3 Industry 4 Climate 5 Sports 6 Demographics 7 Media 7.1 Radio 7.2 Television 7.3 Print 8 Education 8.1 Public Schools 8.2 Post-Secondary 9 Neighborhoods 10 See also 11 References 12 External links

[edit] Geography and Location

Kamloops is situated at 50°43'N 120°25'W, in the Thompson Valley (UTC-8) and the Mountain Cordillera Ecozone. The central core of the city is located in the valley near the confluence of the North and South branches of the Thompson River. Suburbs stretch for more than a dozen kilometers along both North and South branches, as well as to the steep hillsides along the south portion of the city. Kamloops Indian Band areas begin just to the northeast of the downtown core but are not located within the city limits. Kamloops is surrounded by the smaller communities of Rayleigh, Heffley Creek, Knutsford, Cherry Creek, Pritchard, Campbell Creek, Savona, Scotch Creek, Adams Lake, Chase, and various others, many of which are included in the Thompson-Nicola Regional District (TNRD).

[edit] History

First settled by Brandon Davis in 1802, The Kamloops area was exclusively inhabited by the Secwepemc (Shuswap) nation (part of the Interior Salish language group) prior to the arrival of European settlers. The first European explorers arrived in 1811, and a fur trading post was established by David Stuart in 1812 for the Pacific Fur Company. This was bought out by the North West Company shortly after, and by 1821, the Hudson's Bay Company had control of the fur trade in Kamloops.

The gold rush of the 1860s and the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway in the 1880s brought further growth, resulting in the City of Kamloops being incorporated in 1893 with a population of about 500.

"Kamloops" is the anglicized version of the Shuswap word "Tk'emlups", meaning 'meeting of the waters'. Shuswap is still actively spoken in the area by members of the Kamloops Indian Band.

[edit] Industry

Major Kamloops-area industries include primary resource processing such as Weyerhaeuser Pulp and Sawmill, Tolko-Heffley Creek Plywood and Veneer, LaFarge Cement, Highland-Valley Copper Mine (in Logan Lake), and various other industries. There are tertiary services as well, such as the British Columbia Lottery Corporation and Pollard Banknote (which makes the lottery tickets) and NRI distribution, among many others. Kamloops is also a transportation hub for the region due to its connections to Highways 5 and 97C, the Trans-Canada and Yellowhead Highways. It is the first major city east of Abbotsford on the highway. Kamloops is home to a small international airport: however, there are constituent pressures to accommodate larger aircraft. Due to a persistent disagreement between the City's federal Liberal Party Mayor, Terry Lake, and the area's Conservative Member of Parliament, Betty Hinton, there is no federal funding available for the airport's expansion.[1] There has also been speculation of an inland rail port.

[edit] Climate

While situated in a semi-arid valley, Kamloops has winters that are generally mild and very short with an occasional cold snap where temperatures can drop to around -30°C when arctic air floods over the Rocky Montains into the interior. Snow can occur from November to March, but most of it falls over a few weeks in December and January. Winter mean minimum temperature is -7.6°C in January.

Perhaps surprisingly, considering that Kamloops is located 50° latitude north, summers are quite hot with prevailing dry, and sunny weather. The average July maximum temperature is 28.3°C. In most years, one might confuse this city with any in southern California, as summer temperatures come close to or even exceed 40°C.

Spring arrives very early, sometimes in February, due to mild air spilling over the coastal mountains from the Pacific Ocean. Fall is generally a pleasant and a mostly dry season.

Kamloops lies in the "rain shadow" leeward of the Coast Mountains and is biogeographically connected to similar semi-desert and desert areas in the Okanagan region, the Osoyoos area, and the central parts of Washington and Oregon state as well as intermontane areas of Nevada in the U.S. These areas of relatively similar climate have many distinctive native plants and animals in common, such as Ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa), big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata), prickly pear cactus (Opuntia fragilis in this case), rattlesnakes (Crotalus viridis), Black widow spiders and Lewis's Woodpecker.

		Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Extreme Daily Maximum	°C	15.9	15.0	22.8	33.0	37.2	38.9	40.6	39.6	34.6	31.3	22.8	16.1
Average Daily Maximum	°C	-0.8	3.6	10.5	16.5	21.3	24.8	28.3	27.8	22.0	13.7	5.2	0.1	14.4
Average Daily Minimum	°C	-7.6	-4.4	-0.9	2.9	7.5	11.3	13.7	13.2	8.5	3.2	-1.7	-6.1	3.3
Extreme Daily Minimum	°C	-37.2	-28.3	-26.1	-8.8	-5.6	1.1	3.3	0.6	-3.9	-17.1	-28.3	-36.1
Average Precipitation	mm	22.9	14.4	11.7	14.6	24.4	35.2	29.5	29.1	28.0	16.2	24.1	28.9	270.0
Average Total Snow	cm	21.8	11.3	3.5	0.3	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.3	12.2	26.1	75.5
Average Sunshine	h	58.3	91.3	156.8	201.5	250.6	255.0	310.0	286.6	212.0	140.0	65.2	47.4	2074.6
Data[1] is for Kamloops Airport (YKA), in the city of Kamloops, 12km from city centre.

Current weather conditions and forecasts can be found at Environment Canada's Weatheroffice website^[2].

[edit] Sports

Kamloops was home of the 1993 Canada Summer Games. As listed above, the city is known as, and holds a Canadian Trademark as, the Tournament Capital of Canada. Sun Peaks Resort is a well-reviewed ski and snowboard hill located nearby. Olympic medalist skier Nancy Greene is director of skiing at Sun Peaks and also the chancellor of Thompson Rivers University. Likewise, the Overlander Ski Club^[3] runs the Stake Lake cross country ski area with some 50km of trails. Kamloops is also home to world-famous mountain biking and many world-famous mountain bikers such as Wade Simmons and Matt Hunter^[4]. The Kamloops Bike Ranch just opened near Juniper Ridge. The Kamloops Rotary Skatepark located at McArthur Island is one of the largest skateboard parks in Canada.

Kamloops is also home to a WHL hockey team, the Kamloops Blazers. It plays at the Interior Savings Centre.

Kamloops (with Vancouver and Kelowna) hosted the 2006 IIHF World U-20 Hockey Championship from December 26, 2005, to January 5, 2006. It is also the host of the 2006 B.C. Summer Games.

[edit] Demographics

(according to Statistics Canada 2001 census^[5])
Population: 86,491.
Growth Rate (1996-2001): 1.2%
Total Private Dwellings: 36,807
Area: 297.57 km²
Density: 290.7 people per km²

Visible Minority Status^[5]

• Total visible minority population (excluding Aboriginal peoples): 4,675
  • Chinese: 1,000 or 21.3%
  • South Asian: 1,790 or 38.2%
  • Black: 340 or 7.2%
  • Flipino: 305 or 6.5%
  • Latin America: 130 or 2.7%
  • Southeast Asian: 150 or 3.2%
  • Arab: 35 or .74%
  • West Asian: 30 or .64%
  • Korean: 150 or 3.2%
  • Japanese: 690 or 14.7%
  • Non-classified visible minorities: 10 or .21%
  • Mulitiple visible minorites: 45 or .96%

Religious Groups^[5]

• 35.0% Protestant
• 19.2% Roman Catholic
• 6.0% other Christian
• 3.2% Islam
• 36.6% Other religion or no religion

[edit] Media

[edit] Radio AM 610 - CHNL, classic hits FM 92.5 - CFBX, Thompson Rivers University campus radio FM 94.1 - CBYK, CBC Radio One FM 96.5 - CBUF-6, La Première Chaîne FM 97.5 - CKRV, hot adult contemporary FM 98.3 - CIFM, active rock FM 100.1 - CKBZ, classic hits FM 101.9 - CBPL, tourist information FM 103.1 - CJKC, country FM 105.3 - CBU-4, CBC Radio Two

[edit] Television Channel 7: CFJC, Independent Channel 8: CHKM, Global Channel 50: CBUFT-2, SRC [edit] Print The city's main daily newspaper is the Kamloops Daily News[6]. The city is also home to Kamloops This Week[7], a thrice-weekly free newspaper.

[edit] Education

[edit] Public Schools

Public schools in the Kamloops area are part of School District 73 Kamloops/Thompson^[8].

Elementary Schools (Grades K-6 or K-7) Aberdeen Elementary School AE Perry Elementary School Arthur Hatton Elementary School Arthur Stevenson Elementary School Beattie School of the Arts Bert Edwards Elementary School Dallas Elementary School David Thompson Elementary School Dufferin Elementary School George Hilliard Elementary School Heffley Creek Elementary School John Tod Elementary School Juniper Ridge Elementary School Kamloops/Thompson Virtual School Kay Bingham Elementary School Lloyd George Elementary School Marion Shilling Elementary School McGowan Park Elementary School McQueen Lake Elementary School Oak Hills Elementary School - Closing summer 2006 Pacific Way Elementary School Parkcrest Elementary School Pinantan Elementary School Ralph Bell Elementary School Rayleigh Elementary School R.L Clemitson Elementary School South Sa-hali Elementary School Stuart Wood Elementary School Summit Elementary School Westmount Elementary School Westsyde Elementary School - Closing summer 2006

Secondary (Grades 10-12 or 8-12): Brocklehurst Secondary School Kamloops/Thompson Virtual School NorKam Secondary School Sa-hali Secondary School South Kamloops Secondary School Twin Rivers Education Centre Valleyview Secondary School Westsyde Secondary School

[edit] Post-Secondary

Kamloops is home to Thompson Rivers University^[9], an undergraduate degree-granting university with satellite campuses in Clearwater, Barriere, Chase, Williams Lake, 100 Mile House, Cache Creek, Ashcroft, and Lillooet. TRU also has an open-distance learning division. Kamloops is also home to a satellite campus of Simon Fraser University. TRU has began to offer MBA programs as well as undergraduate degrees.

[edit] Neighborhoods

• West End
• Monte Creek/Rivershore
• Dallas
• Barnhartvale
• Valleyview
• Juniper Ridge
• Rose Hill
• South Shore
  • Peterson Creek
• Sahali
  • South Sahali
• Aberdeen
• Mount Dufferin
• Versatile
• Southgate
• Mission Flats
• Knutsford
• North Shore
• Brocklehurst
  • MacArthur Island
• Batchelor Heights
• Westsyde
  • Westmount
• Sun Rivers
• Kamloops Junction
• Rayleigh
• Heffley Creek
• Campbell Creek
• Sun Peaks Resort
• Paul Lake
• Pinantan Lake
• White Croft

[edit] See also

• List of place names in Canada of Aboriginal origin

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• City website
• City business development
• Tourism and things to do in Kamloops
• Kamloops Heritage Railway
• Kamloops and Area Realtor
• Kamloops Accommodations
• Kamloops Parks
• Kamloops Portal Directory
• Kamloops Real Estate
• Kamloops Daily News website