Grande Cache
| Grande Cache | |||
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| Location in Alberta | |||
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| State : |
 Canada
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| Province : | Alberta | ||
| Municipal District: | Greenview No. 16 | ||
| Coordinates : | 53 ° 53 ′ N , 119 ° 7 ′ W | ||
| Height : | 1280 m | ||
| Area : | 35.48 km² | ||
| Residents : | 3783 (as of 2006) | ||
| Population density : | 106.6 inhabitants / km² | ||
| Time zone : | Mountain Time ( UTC − 7 ) | ||
| Postal code : | T0E | ||
Grande Cache is a city in western Alberta at the foot of Grande Mountain, the provincial capital Edmonton is about 440 km to the east.
location
Grande Cache is located on a high plateau about 1,280 m above sea level on the eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains and is surrounded by the valleys of the Smoky River to the north, the Sulfur River to the west and Victor Lake and Grand Cache Lake to the south.
climate
Despite the location in the subalpine zone, the cold of winter is often reduced by the Chinook , in summer day temperatures of more than 25 ° C are reached.
history
In earlier years, the area served as a staging area for the indigenous people - mainly Cree - and trappers , as the rivers provided transportation. After prospectors found minable deposits of coal in the Smoky River valley in the middle of the 20th century , the government of the province of Alberta decided on September 1, 1966 to establish a settlement. The development work - such as the extension of Alberta Highway 40 ( Bighorn Route ) and the construction of a railroad line of the Alberta Rail-Net used only for freight traffic - began immediately, in 1969 the first buildings were erected in the area of today's city. In 1971 the necessary infrastructure of the isolated settlement was completed.
Exactly 17 years after the decision to build the settlement, Grand Cache was granted town charter on September 1, 1983.
Economy and Infrastructure
Initially, Grande Cache was used as a settlement for the employees of McIntyre Porcupine Coal Ltd. planned, the residents were initially almost exclusively employed in the mines in the area or in the HR Milner Generating Station. It was not until 1980 that a sawmill and a wood-processing factory were built in order to promote the diversification of the industry and to alleviate the dependence on one raw material . in addition, a penal institution was established in 1984.
In the last years of the 20th century the extraction of oil and natural gas began in an important field, several internationally known companies are involved in the development and extraction.
Despite this, the population has been declining since the mid-1980s. The location in close proximity to the Willmore Wilderness Park and on a scenic access route to the Alaska Highway via the Icefields Parkway and the Bighorn Route open up potential for further development of the tourist sector.
Grande Cache is connected via the Alberta Provincial Highway 40 with the Yellowhead Highway (Canada Highway 16) 142 km away and the Grande Prairie 191 km away on the East Access Route of the Alaska Highway. Road connections exist to the surrounding settlements, which belong to the Aseniwuche Winewak Nation.
To the southeast of the city there is an airport, 24 km away at an altitude of 1,255 m (coordinates 53 ° 55'01 "N, 118 ° 52'28" W), which has an asphalt runway with a length of 1,525 m and also serves as a base used for fire-fighting aircraft. Scheduled air traffic does not exist.
There are several motels, restaurants, supermarkets, petrol stations and banks available, a tourist information office at the southern entrance to the city is open all year round on weekdays.
sons and daughters of the town
- Dean McAmmond (* 1973), Canadian ice hockey player
- Travis Roche (* 1978), Canadian ice hockey player