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- This page is about the city of Kamloops, British Columbia. For federal and provincial electoral districts with the name Kamloops, please see Kamloops (electoral districts).
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 kilometres along both North and South branches, as well as to the steep hillsides along the south portion of the city. Kamloops Indian Band begin just to the northeast of the downtown core but are not located within the city limits. Two communities, Rayleigh and Heffley Creek, are located in an enclave that is separated from the rest of Kamloops by the Kamloops Indian Band lands; one must physically leave the city in order to travel to these neighborhoods from the city proper.
History
The Kamloops area was 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 1860's 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 'where the rivers meet'. Shuswap is still actively spoken in the area by members of the Kamloops Indian Band.
Industry
Major Kamloops-area industries include primary resource processing (forestry, pulp mill, copper mine, ranching) as well as tertiary services (provincial lottery headquarters). Kamloops is also a transportation hub for the region, with three major highways, and a semi-international airport.
Climate
While situated in a semi-arid valley, Kamloops winters are generally mild and short with an occasional cold snap which can drop temperatures to around -30°C. Snow can occur from November to March, but most it falls over a few weeks in December and January. Winter mean minimum temperature of -7.6°C in January.
Considering it is located north of 50° latitude, summers in Kamloops are quite hot due to the prevailing dry and sunny weather. The average July maximum temperature is 28.3°C. In most years, summer shade 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, mostly dry season.
| 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 |
| DataKamloops Weather Summary - from Canada Weather Office 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 websiteCurrent weather - Environment Canada's Weatheroffice.
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. Nancy Greene, the olympic medalist skiier, is director of skiing at Sun Peaks and also the chancellor of Thompson Rivers University. Likewise, the Overlander Ski ClubOverlander Ski Club 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 Matt Hunter and Wade Simmons. 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. They play at the Interior Savings Centre.
Kamloops (with Vancouver, BC and Kelowna, BC) hosted the 2006 IIHF World U20 Championship since Dec. 26th, 2005 to Jan 5th, 2006. Kamloops is also the host of the 2006 B.C. Summer games
Demographics
(according to Statistics Canada 2001 censusKamloops Community Profile - Statistics Canada. 2002. 2001 Community Profiles. Released June 27, 2002. Last modified: 2005-11-30. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 93F0053XIE.)
Population: 86,491.
Growth Rate (1996-2001): 1.2%
Total Private Dwellings: 36,807
Area: 297.57 km2
Density: 15.2 people per km2
Ethnic Origin
- 35.0% Protestant
- 19.2% Roman Catholic
- 6.0% other Christian
- 3.2% Islam
- 36.6% Other religion or no religion
Media
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
Television
Education
Public Schools
Public schools in the Kamloops area are part of School District 73 Kamloops/ThompsonSchool District 73.- 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
Post-Secondary
Kamloops is home to Thompson Rivers UniversityThompson Rivers University, 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 providing high quality post-secondary education from a unique First Nations perspective.Neighbourhoods
- Monte Creek/Rivershore
- Dallas
- Barnhartvale
- Valleyview
- Juniper Ridge
- Rose Hill
- South Shore
- Sahali
- Aberdeen
- Mount Dufferin
- Versatile
- Southgate
- Mission Flats
- Knutsford
- North Shore
- Brocklehurst
- Batchelor Heights
- Westsyde
- Sun Rivers
- Kamloops Junction
- Rayleigh
- Heffley Creek
- Campbell Creek
- Sun Peaks Resort
Sister city
| Uji, Japan |
See also
References
External links
- City website
- City business development
- Tourism and things to do in Kamloops
- Kamloops Flickr Group
- News, Weather, Sports, Music, and Community
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"Kamloops, British Columbia"