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Prince George, with a population of 77,000-82,000, is the largest city in northern British Columbia. Situated at the confluence of the Fraser and Nechako Rivers, and the crossroads of Highways 16 and 97, the city plays an important role in the province's economy and culture.

History

The origins of Prince George can be traced to the Northwest Company fur trading post of Fort George, established in 1807 by Simon Fraser. The post was centred in the centuries-old homeland of the Lheidli T'enneh First Nation, whose very name means "people of the confluence". Agricultural settlement around Fort George began about 1906 when it was realized that the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway (later CN Rail) would pass near the fur post. The railway arrived in 1914 and construction of the railway townsite commenced. The City of Prince George was incorporated on March 6, 1915.

Geography

Prince George proper contains several areas: the Hart, the residential and light industrial neighbourhoods north of the Fraser River; College Heights, the southern part of the city used mostly for residence, and; the Bowl, the valley that includes most of the city and the downtown. There are also a number of outlying areas that are also part of Prince George. Prince George encompasses four electoral districts: Prince George North; Prince George-Mount Robson; Prince George-Omineca, and; Prince George South.

Economy

Wood drives the local economy, with forestry, plywood manufacture, 12 sawmills and three pulp mills as major employers and customers. Other industry includes two chemical plants, an oil refinery, brewery, dairy, machine shops, aluminum boat building, log home construction, value added forestry product and specialty equipment manufacturing. Prince George is also a staging centre for mining and prospecting, and a major regional transportation, trade and government hub. Several major retailers are expanding into the Prince George market, a trend expected to persist. In recent years, several market research call centres have opened in Prince George.

Heritage, College Heights, Hart Highlands and St. Lawrence Heights are prime residential areas, both commercial and residential development are growing at an accelerated rate and more subdivisions are planned for St. Lawrence Heights, West Cranbrook Hill and East Austin Road.

Education

Prince George's education system encompasses 37 elementary, 8 secondary, 2 junior secondary, 1 middle school and 8 private schools. The public school are all part of School District 57 Prince George. Post-secondary education choices include the regional College of New Caledonia (CNC), which offers two-year university courses plus vocational and professional programs. Several BC universities, British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) and the Open Learning Agency have integrated their local programs with CNC.

The University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC) is the first new university to be built in Canada in over 25 years. A total of 55 undergraduate programs, 15 masters programs and two PhD programs are now offered at UNBC as well as the new Northern Medical Program, a joint program with the University of British Columbia intended to alleviate the shortage of physicians in the north. A degree-granting institution with regional teaching centres in nine BC communities and a sponsor for several research institutes, UNBC has recently completed the construction of the I.K. Barber Enhanced Forestry Lab. UNBC's hilltop campus overlooks the City of Prince George and offers spectacular views of the Rocky Mountains to the east.

Sports and recreation

Prince George's teams include the Prince George Cougars of the Western Hockey League (WHL), the Prince George Spruce Kings of the British Columbia Hockey League (BCJHL), Youth Bowling Club (YBC) bowling teams (Nechako Bowling, 5th Avenue, and also a ten pin team), and Prince George Curling (Prince George Golf and Curling Club). Recently, the Duchess Park Secondary School Senior boys basketball team won the provincial AA title for the first time in 26 years. Prince George will also be hosting the Bantam Provincial Lacrosse Championships in late July 2006.

Recreation facilities include 116 playgrounds and parks, plus tennis courts, ice rinks, two swimming pools and an 11 kilometer riverfront trail system. Four provincial parks in the region provide downhill, cross-country and heli-skiing. The CN Centre is a 7,000 seat multipurpose arena.

Arts and culture

The Two Rivers art gallery, craft guild, theatre workshop, symphony, playhouse, Civic/Convention Centre and 800-seat Vanier Hall provide a cultural base for the city.The Prince George Folkfest is a national music festival held annually in the summer at historic Fort George Park on the banks of the Fraser River. Past artists have included Bruce Cockburn, Sarah Harmer, Janis Ian, Alpha Ya Ya Diallo. 2006 will see Matthew Good, Fred Eaglesmith, The Paperboys and many others.*

Transportation

Located at the intersection of Highways 97 and 16, Prince George is the hub for northern British Columbia. Considerable truck traffic passes through Prince George, which also has extensive facilities for maintenance of trucks and heavy equipment. Greyhound Bus Lines provides daily bus service south to Vancouver, west to Prince Rupert, east to Edmonton and north to Fort St. John.

Prince George Airport, located 7 km from the city centre, is an international airport with customs facilities. The primary air connection to the rest of the world is provided by multiple daily flights to Vancouver on Air Canada and Westjet. Westjet's service also includes a weekly direct flight to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico during the winter months. Central Mountain Air and Northern Thunderbird fly to regional and smaller centres. Charter services provide flights to outlying areas primarily by float plane though helicopter service is also available. An expansion currently underway will allow 747s to land and take off.

Both CNR freight and BC Rail freight lines operate out of Prince George as well as VIA Rail passenger service.

Local public transportation consists of the PG Transit bus service.

Local Attractions

Parks include Fort George Park, Paddlewheel Park, Rainbow Park, Connaught Hill, Foot Park, Ginter's Property, Eskers Park, Forests For the World, and Cottonwood Island Park. The city also boasts a series of urban hiking trails called the Heritage Trails.

Vanier Hall is the home of the Prince George Symphony Orchestra. The Prince George Playhouse has many different uses such as theatre workshops and major plays put on by small businesses. Theatre Northwest is a professional theatre company producing stage productions throughout the year. Other facilities include the Prince George Public Library, Two-Rivers Art Gallery, a regional courthouse, Civic Centre, City Hall and the CN Centre.

Local wild edible fruit include crab apples, bunchberries, rose hips, blueberries, huckleberries, cranberries, chokecherries, strawberries, raspberries, saskatoons, and soapberries (from which "Indian ice-cream" is made). Morel mushrooms are also native to this area.

Famous people from Prince George include the writers Barry McKinnon, Brian Fawcett and Lynda Williams, mountaineer Peter Austin, politicians Paul Ramsey and Bruce Strachan, and social activist Bridget Moran, as well as former Prince George Cougars Chris Mason, Eric Brewer, Blair Betts, Trent Hunter, Tyler Bouck, Dan Hamhuis, and Derek Boogaard.

Media

Radio

Television

Publications

Prince George has two main newspapers, the daily the Prince George Citizen which appears Monday through Saturday and the free semiweekly Prince George Free Press which appears on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Prince George also has two advertising publications, the Prince George Buy & Sell and the Bargain Finder. The two major national newspapers, the National Post and the Globe and Mail, as well as The Province and the Vancouver Sun, are widely available.

The book Landscapes Along Highway 16, written by Sarah de leeuw, includes a short essay on Prince George titled "The Scent of Pulp".

Bibliography

See also

External links

Cities in British Columbia | Fraser River

Prince George (British Columbia) | Prince George | Prince George | Prince George, British Columbia

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Prince George, British Columbia".

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