Lethbridge Information
Image © Kim Siever
Lethbridge is a city in the province of Alberta, Canada. It is Alberta's fourth largest city by population after Calgary, Edmonton, and Red Deer. At 127.19 km² (49.1 sq. mi.), it is the third largest in area after Calgary and Edmonton. The city is near the Canadian Rockies, which provides the city with mild winters and a windy climate, and is 210 km (130 miles) southeast of Calgary on the Oldman River.
The city developed from drift mines opened in the late nineteenth century and agriculture in the early twentieth century. It has grown into the commercial, financial, transportational and industrial centre of southern Alberta. Lethbridge provides the only university in Alberta south of Calgary, and two of the three colleges in southern Alberta have campuses in the city. There are several cultural venues in the city, including performing art theatres, museums and sports centres.
History
After the US Army outlawed alcohol trading in 1869 with the Blackfeet Nation in Montana, traders John J. Healy and Alfred B. Hamilton started the whiskey trading post Fort Hamilton, which later came to be nicknamed Fort Whoop-Up.
The whiskey trade eventually lead to the Cypress Hills massacre of many Assiniboine in 1873. As a result, the North West Mounted Police arrived in the area to stop the trade and establish order. The NWMP arrived at Fort Whoop-Up on 9 October 1874, and they continued to host a post and trade for the following 12 years.
Image © Kim Siever
Lethbridge developed from drift mines opened by Nicholas Sheran (1874) and the North Western Coal and Navigation Company (1882), whose president was William Lethbridge, from whom the city derives its name. By the twentieth century, the mines employed about 150 men and produced about 300 tonnes of coal each day. By the time production peaked during World War I, local collieries were the largest coal producers in the Northwest Territories. Because of increased oil and natural gas production after the war, coal production declined, and the last mine in Lethbridge closed in 1957.
The first rail line in Lethbridge was built on 28 August 1885 by the Alberta Railway and Coal Company, five years before they purchased the North Western Coal and Navigation Company. Because of the rail industry's dependence of coal and the CPR's immigration efforts to settle southern Alberta, Lethbridge became instrumental in the economic success of the region. After the CPR moved the divisional point of its Crowsnest Line from Fort Macleod to Lethbridge in 1905, the city became a regional centre for Southern Alberta; something the region did not have previously. In the mid-1980s, CPR moved the rail yards in downtown Lethbridge to nearby Kipp and Lethbridge ceased operating as a hub for rail traffic in the province.
Between 1907 and 1913, a development boom occurred in Lethbridge, making it the main marketing, distribution and service centre in southern Alberta. Such municipal projects as a water treatment plant, a power plant, a streetcar system, and exhibition buildings, as well as a construction boom and rising real estate prices transformed the mining town into a significant city.
Between World War I and World War II, however, the city experienced an economic slump. Development slowed, drought drove farmers from their farms, and coal mining rapidly declined from its peak before 1920. Following World War II, irrigation in the surrounding area caused the city's population to swell, which in turn boosted the local economy. Lethbridge Community College (now Lethbridge College) opened in April 1957, and the University of Lethbridge in 1967.
Geography
Image © Kim Siever
The city of Lethbridge is located at degrees 49.7° north latitude and -112.833° east longitude, and it covers an area of 127.19 km². The city is divided by the Oldman River, the valley of which has been turned into one of the largest urban park systems in North America at 1,600 hectares (4,000 acres) of protected land. The city is Alberta's fourth largest by population after Calgary, Edmonton, and Red Deer. It is the third largest in area after Calgary and Edmonton, and is located near the Canadian Rockies, 210 km (130 miles) southeast of Calgary. Map of Lethbridge Map of Lethbridge
Lethbridge is split into three geographical areas: north, south and west. The Oldman River separates West Lethbridge from the other two. The Crowsnest Highway and the CPR rail line separate North and South Lethbridge. The newest of the three areas, West Lethbridge (pop. 27,154) is home to the University of Lethbridge. The bulk of the city's growth since the early 1990s has been on the west side. It also has the youngest population of the three. The north side (pop. 23,241) was originally populated because of numerous coal mines in the area. It has the oldest population of the three areas and is home to multiple industrial parks; it also includes the former town of Hardieville, which was annexed by Lethbridge some years ago.. South Lethbridge (pop. 28,318) is the commercial heart of the city. It contains the downtown core, as well as the bulk of retail and hospitality establishments. Lethbridge College is also located here.
Climate
Lethbridge has a moderate continental climate with an average maximum temperature of 12.3°C (54.14°F) and an average minimum temperature of -1°C (30.2°F). Average precipitation amounts to 386.3 mm (15.21 in), but it has the most number of dry days of any city in the country after Medicine Hat. Lethbridge has an average wind speed of 18.20 km/h (11.31 mph) and places second in the country for the most windy days of 40 km/h or more.
As a result of its high elevation of 929 m (3,048 ft) and close proximity to the Rocky Mountains, Lethbridge's summers are relatively cooler than most other locations in the prairies. These factors also protect the city from strong northwest and southwest winds and contribute to frequent chinooks during the winter. Lethbridge winters have the highest temperatures in the prairies.
