Edmonton instance of city in Alberta
Edmonton ( (listen) ED-mən-tən) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city anchors the northern end of what Statistics Canada defines as the "Calgary–Edmonton Corridor," a region spanning between Edmonton and the city of Calgary, which includes the many smaller municipalities between the two.As of 2021, Edmonton had a city population of 1,010,899 and a metropolitan population of 1,418,118, making it the fifth-largest city and sixth-largest metropolitan area (CMA) in Canada. Edmonton is the northernmost city and metropolitan area in North America to have a population of over one million. A resident of Edmonton is known as an Edmontonian.Edmonton was first inhabited by several First Nations peoples, namely of Algonquian, Athabaskan and Siouan origin. These peoples and their ancestors inhabited the area of the modern city to varying amounts beginning at the close of the last glacial period, perhaps as early as 12,000 BC. The city was also a historic site for the Métis, who held many narrow lots along the North Saskatchewan which gave access to many resources in the area. By 1882, these lots numbered about 44, which was their peak, as they would soon be displaced and integrated by the expansion of the city of Edmonton. Anthony Henday may have been the first European to enter the area of modern-day Edmonton, whilst exploring the prairies of Rupert's Land for the Hudson's Bay Company in the autumn of 1754. By 1795, many trading posts had been established around the present metropolitan area, and by 1801 they had all moved to the current site of the city of Edmonton. "Fort Edmonton," as it was known, became the main centre for trade in the area after the 1821 merger of the HBC and the NWC. Edmonton remained sparse until the Canadian acquisition of Rupert's Land in 1870, followed eventually by the arrival of the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1891, its inauguration as a city in 1904 and its designation as the capital of the new province of Alberta in 1906. Edmonton's historic growth as a city has been facilitated through the absorption of five adjacent urban municipalities (Strathcona, North Edmonton, West Edmonton, Beverly and Jasper Place) in addition to a series of annexations through 1982, and the annexation of 8,260 ha (82.6 km2; 31.9 sq mi) of land from Leduc County and the City of Beaumont on January 1, 2019. Known as the "Gateway to the North", the city is now a staging point for large-scale oil sands projects occurring in northern Alberta and large-scale diamond mining operations in the Northwest Territories.Edmonton is a cultural, governmental and educational centre. It hosts a year-round slate of festivals, reflected in the nickname "Canada's Festival City". It is home to Canada's largest mall, West Edmonton Mall (the world's largest mall from 1981 until 2004); and Fort Edmonton Park, Canada's largest living history museum.In 1754, Anthony Henday, an explorer for the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), may have been the first European to enter the Edmonton area. His expeditions across the Prairies of Rupert's Land were mainly to seek contact with the Indigenous population for establishing the fur trade, as the competition was fierce between the HBC and the North West Company (NWC).
By 1795, Fort Edmonton was established on the river's north bank as a major trading post for the HBC, near the mouth of the Sturgeon River close to present-day Fort Saskatchewan. Fort Edmonton was built within "musket-shot range" of the rival NWC's Fort Augustus. Although both forts were initially successful, declines in beaver pelt hauls and firewood stocks forced both HBC and NWC to move their forts upstream.By 1813, after some changes in location, Fort Edmonton was established in the area of what is now Rossdale, beginning Edmonton's start as a permanent population centre. The fort was located on the border of territory that was disputed by the Blackfoot and Cree nations. Furthermore, the fort intersected territory patrolled by the Blackfoot Confederacy to the South, and the Cree, Dene, and Nakoda nations to the north. After the NWC merged with the HBC, Fort Augustus was closed in favour of Fort Edmonton.In 1876, Treaty 6, which includes what is now Edmonton, was signed between First Nations and the Crown, as part of the Numbered Treaties. The agreement includes the Plains and Woods Cree, Assiniboine, and other band governments of First Nations at Fort Carlton, Fort Pitt, and Battle River. The area covered by the treaty represents most of the central area of the current provinces of Saskatchewan and Alberta.The coming of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) to southern Alberta in 1885 helped the Edmonton economy, and the 1891 building of the Calgary and Edmonton (C&E) Railway resulted in the emergence of a railway townsite (South Edmonton/Strathcona) on the river's south side, across from Edmonton. The arrival of the CPR and the C&E Railway helped bring settlers and entrepreneurs from eastern Canada, Europe, the U.S. and other parts of the world. The Edmonton area's fertile soil and cheap land attracted settlers, further establishing Edmonton as a major regional commercial and agricultural centre. Some people participating in the Klondike Gold Rush passed through South Edmonton/Strathcona in 1897. Strathcona was North America's northernmost railway point, but travel to the Klondike was still very difficult for the "Klondikers," and a majority of them took a steamship north to the Yukon from Vancouver, British Columbia.Incorporated as a town in 1892 with a population of 700 and then as a city in 1904 with a population of 8,350, Edmonton became the capital of Alberta when the province was formed a year later, on September 1, 1905. In November 1905, the Canadian Northern Railway (CNR) arrived in Edmonton, accelerating growth.During the early 1900s, Edmonton's rapid growth led to speculation in real estate. In 1912, Edmonton amalgamated with the City of Strathcona south of the North Saskatchewan River; as a result, the city held land on both banks of the North Saskatchewan River for the first time.Just before World War I, the boom ended, and the city's population declined from more than 72,000 in 1914 to less than 54,000 only two years later. Many impoverished families moved to subsistence farms outside the city, while others fled to greener pastures in other provinces. Recruitment to the army during the war also contributed to the drop in population. Afterwards, the city slowly recovered in population and economy during the 1920s and 1930s and took off again during and after World War II.
The Edmonton City Centre Airport opened in 1929, becoming Canada's first licensed airfield. Originally named Blatchford Field in honour of former mayor Kenny Blatchford, pioneering aviators such as Wilfrid R. "Wop" May and Max Ward used Blatchford Field as a major base for distributing mail, food, and medicine to Northern Canada; hence Edmonton's emergence as the "Gateway to the North". World War II saw Edmonton become a major base for the construction of the Alaska Highway and the Northwest Staging Route. The airport was closed in November 2013.On July 31, 1987, an F4 tornado hit the city and killed 27 people. The storm hit the areas of Beaumont, Mill Woods, Bannerman, Fraser, and Evergreen. The day became known as "Black Friday" and earned the city the moniker "City of Champions".Geography
Edmonton is on the North Saskatchewan River, at an elevation of 671 m (2,201 ft). It is North America's northernmost city with a metropolitan population over one million. It is at the same latitude as Hamburg (Germany); Dublin (Ireland); Manchester (United Kingdom); and Magnitogorsk (Russia). It is south of Alberta's geographic centre, which is near the Hamlet of Fort Assiniboine. The terrain in and around Edmonton is generally flat to gently rolling, with ravines and deep river valleys, such as the North Saskatchewan River valley. The Canadian Rockies are west of Edmonton and about 220 km (140 mi) to the southwest.
The North Saskatchewan River originates at the Columbia Icefield in Jasper National Park and bisects the city. It sometimes floods Edmonton's river valley, most notably in the North Saskatchewan River flood of 1915. It empties via the Saskatchewan River, Lake Winnipeg, and the Nelson River into Hudson Bay. It runs from the southwest to the northeast and is fed by numerous creeks throughout the city, including Mill Creek, Whitemud Creek and Blackmud Creek; these creeks have created ravines, some of which are used for urban parkland. Edmonton is within the Canadian Prairies Ecozone. Aspen parkland surrounds the city and is a transitional area from the prairies to the south and boreal forest in the north. The aspen woods and forests in and around Edmonton have long since been reduced by farming and residential and commercial developments including oil and natural gas exploration.
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