Trail (British Columbia)

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Trail
Location in British Columbia
Trail (British Columbia)
Trail
Trail
State : CanadaCanada Canada
Province : British Columbia
Regional District : Kootenay Boundary
Coordinates : 49 ° 6 ′  N , 117 ° 43 ′  W Coordinates: 49 ° 6 ′  N , 117 ° 43 ′  W
Height : 440  m
Area : 34.93 km²
Residents : 7681 (as of 2011)
Population density : 219.9 inhabitants / km²
Time zone : Pacific Time ( UTC − 8 )
Postal code : V1R
Foundation : 1901 ( incorporated )

Trail is a city in the region West Kootenay in the Canadian province of British Columbia . It lies on both sides of the Columbia River near the border with the USA and extends over an area of ​​34.93 km². To the west of the village rise the Monashee Mountains , to the east the Selkirk Mountains .

history

In 1890 Joe Moris and Joe Bourgeois discovered gold and copper on Red Mountain. Their four claims formed the basis for one of America's largest mining companies. At the same time, Eugene Sayre Topping and Frank Hanna acquired the fifth and final claim, an area of ​​343 acres at the mouth of Trail Creek in Columbia. There they built a city. The number of employees in the Rossland Mines grew rapidly and in 1895 the lots , into which such cities were usually divided, were already sold.

On June 14, 1901, the settlement was raised to a city ( incorporated as City ) and thus received the award of local self-government .

Topping sold land for an ore smelter to FA Heinze from Butte in Montana . Heinze sold this to the Canadian Pacific Railway , which expanded production to include lead. In 1908 the four mines were merged to form the Consolidated Mining and Smelting Company of Canada Limited . It acquired the Sullivan Mine in Kimberley in 1910 . In 1912 a brick factory and a bridge over the Columbia were built. Heinze died completely impoverished in New York in 1914. The managing director left town, the mine concentrated only on lead and zinc. Using a new electrolytic process, metal extraction could be accelerated.

In 1917 there was a 36-day strike, and in 1918 the city was badly hit by the Spanish flu . Nevertheless, the mine benefited from the enormous war needs. It was not until the 1930s that attempts were made to master environmental pollution, for example by reducing sulfur dioxide emissions.

The global economic crisis led, as in many places to employment measures, such as the expansion of the Esplanade River Wall or the road to Castlegar . During the Second World War , the mining company took part in the production of the atomic bomb .

After the Second World War, the city expanded and districts such as Sunningdale, Glenmerry, Shavers Bench, Warfield, Montrose and Fruitvale emerged. Trail became the fourth largest city in British Columbia, making it the largest zinc-lead mine in the world. It belongs to Teck Cominco today .

population

In 1996 the city had 7,874 inhabitants, in 2001 it was only 7,575, in 2006 the number of inhabitants fell further to 7,237. The 2011 census then gave the city a population of 7,681. The city's population has increased by 6.1% compared to the 2006 census, while the population in the entire province of British Columbia grew by 7.0% at the same time.

Of the 7,320 inhabitants in 2001, 1,385 had Italian ancestors, most of whom settled in The Gulch district. The proportion of indigenous people was 290 or around 4%. Overall European ancestors gave 91%, plus 120 Chinese (2%) and 100 Southeast Asians.

climate

The region around Trail is quite hot in summer and temperatures often rise above 35 ° C. This heat, which mostly comes from the south, is often followed by severe thunderstorms. In contrast, the winters are relatively mild and there is little snowfall. Slope rain receives the Monashee Mountains with the winds from the Pacific, which are the first mountain range east of the coastal range.

economy

The average income ( median income ) of the population was 24,555 C $ in 2005, which is only slightly below the average income of the entire province of British Columbia of 24,867 C $.

Teck Cominco is the city's largest employer. The raw materials company with a focus on zinc and lead employs around 1,800 people. Another major employer is the largest hospital in the region.

In 1943, heavy water was produced in Trail for the Manhattan Project to build the atomic bomb.

traffic

The community is at the intersection of two highways. Coming from the north, Highway 22 passes the city. In Rossland it joins the Highway 3B coming from the east . Together these two then run west to Rossland .

Trail airfield (Transport Canada Identifier: CAD4) is about 11 kilometers southeast of the community. The airfield only has an asphalt runway 1,220 meters long. Pacific Coastal Airlines offers daily scheduled services to Vancouver from here .

Sports

The Trail Smoke Eaters were an ice hockey club that existed from 1926 to 1987 , which took part as the Canadian national ice hockey team in the ice hockey world championships in 1939 , 1961 and 1963 and won two championships. A junior team of the same name, which plays in the British Columbia Junior Hockey League , still exists today.

sons and daughters of the town

Web links

supporting documents

  1. ↑ This and the following from: History of Trail, Trail Historical Society, 2004
  2. ^ Origin Notes and History. Trail. In: GeoBC . Retrieved August 3, 2012 .
  3. ↑ Trail Community Profile. Census 2011. In: Statistics Canada . June 6, 2012, accessed August 3, 2012 .
  4. ↑ Selected Ethnic Origins, for Census Subdivisions (Municipalities). Census 2001. In: Statistics Canada . Retrieved August 3, 2012 .
  5. ↑ Trail Community Facts. In: BCStats . Retrieved October 19, 2012 .
  6. ↑ Chris Waltham: An Early History of Heavy Water , Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of British Columbia, 1998, revised 2002 (PDF, 208 kB).