Ashcroft, British Columbia
| Ashcroft | |
|---|---|
| — Village — | |
 Ashcroft
|
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| Coordinates: 50°43′32″N 121°16′50″W / 50.72556°N 121.28056°WCoordinates: 50°43′32″N 121°16′50″W / 50.72556°N 121.28056°W | |
| Country |  Canada |
| Province | British Columbia |
| Region | Thompson Country-South Cariboo |
| Regional District | Thompson-Nicola Regional District |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Andy Anderson |
| • Governing body | Ashcroft Village Council |
| Area | |
| • Total | 51.45 km2 (19.86 sq mi) |
| Population (2011) | |
| • Total | 1,628 |
| • Density | 32.3/km2 (84/sq mi) |
| Time zone | PST (UTC−8) |
| • Summer (DST) | PDT (UTC−7) |
| Highway | Highway 97C |
| Waterways | Kamloops Lake Bonaparte River Thompson River |
| Website | http://www.ashcroftbc.ca/ |
Ashcroft (2006 Population 1,664) is a village in the Thompson Country of the Interior of British Columbia, Canada. It is located at latitude 50°43′00″ and longitude 121°17′00″. It is 30 kilometres (19 mi) downstream from the west end of Kamloops Lake, at the confluence of the Bonaparte and Thompson Rivers, and is in the Thompson-Nicola Regional District.
Ashcroft's downtown is on the east side of the Thompson River, although the municipal boundaries straddle the river, with housing and the town's hospital and recreation complex on the west bank. It is something of a "twin" to nearby Cache Creek, which unlike Ashcroft is on the major highway.
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[edit] History
Ashcroft was founded in the 1860s, during the Cariboo Gold Rush, by two English brothers named Clement Francis Cornwall and Henry Pennant Cornwall, founders of Ashcroft Ranch, who emigrated to Canada from Ashcroft, at Newington Bagpath in Gloucestershire. The brothers had originally come in search of gold; however, on hearing stories from failed gold searchers they decided to found the town to give future gold searchers a place to saddle their horses. They sold flour to packers and miners, helping to make the community.
In 2001, Ashcroft expanded its boundaries to include the Ashcroft Ranch, which had been bought in 2000 by the Greater Vancouver Regional District (GVRD) with the intent of using it as the site of a landfill to succeed the Cache Creek sanitary landfill. In 2011, however, the British Columbia government denied an environmental assessment certificate for the landfill, and Metro Vancouver expressed a desire to divest itself of the property.[1]
[edit] Climate
The climate of Ashcroft is dry, with very hot, dry summers and moderately cold, although usually brief winters. It holds the distinction of having one of the hottest summers in Canada, with a July average daily maximum temperature near 30°C (86°F). Daytime temperatures over 38°C (100°F) are common in mid-summer. Ashcroft is the driest place in British Columbia and in southern Canada, with an average annual rainfall of 6 inches (although it is not the driest place in all of Canada). The closest climate data available for this area is from the Spences Bridge station, approximately 45 km to the south.
Sagebrush vegetation predominates on the lower-elevation terrain in this area, with dry pine on the heights above. The area is known for its cattle ranching, with the historic Ashcroft and Basque Ranches southwest of town, and the Parke Ranch—among the very oldest in British Columbia—skirting the town limits of Cache Creek.
Due to its arid climate, Ashcroft and the surrounding area have occasionally been used as a stand-in for film productions set in the Middle East and American West, including the miniseries The Andromeda Strain, which was shown on television in 2008. Other movies filmed in the Ashcroft area include Cadence, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, An Unfinished Life, The A-Team, and 2012.[2]
| Climate data for Ashcroft, British Columbia (Spences Bridge weather station) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 17 (63) |
17.5 (63.5) |
24.5 (76.1) |
32 (90) |
38.5 (101.3) |
39.5 (103.1) |
42.5 (108.5) |
40.5 (104.9) |
37.5 (99.5) |
31 (88) |
21.5 (70.7) |
17.5 (63.5) |
42.5 (108.5) |
| Average high °C (°F) | 0.6 (33.1) |
5 (41) |
12.4 (54.3) |
17.9 (64.2) |
22.4 (72.3) |
25.9 (78.6) |
29.6 (85.3) |
29.5 (85.1) |
24 (75) |
14.8 (58.6) |
5.7 (42.3) |
0.1 (32.2) |
15.7 (60.3) |
| Average low °C (°F) | −5.7 (21.7) |
−3.3 (26.1) |
0.4 (32.7) |
4.3 (39.7) |
8.6 (47.5) |
12.3 (54.1) |
14.6 (58.3) |
14.3 (57.7) |
10 (50) |
4.4 (39.9) |
−1 (30) |
−5.7 (21.7) |
4.4 (39.9) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −25.5 (−13.9) |
−23 (−9) |
−13 (9) |
−4 (25) |
0 (32) |
4 (39) |
6 (43) |
6 (43) |
0 (32) |
−19.4 (−2.9) |
−29 (−20) |
−28.5 (−19.3) |
−29 (−20) |
| Precipitation mm (inches) | 18.8 (0.74) |
12.5 (0.492) |
12.5 (0.492) |
13.6 (0.535) |
27 (1.06) |
31.9 (1.256) |
29.1 (1.146) |
24.9 (0.98) |
23.5 (0.925) |
22.4 (0.882) |
26.6 (1.047) |
26.2 (1.031) |
269.1 (10.594) |
| Source: "Canadian Climate Normals 1971–2000: Spences Bridge Nicola". Environment Canada. http://www.climate.weatheroffice.gc.ca/climate_normals/results_e.html?stnID=1331&lang=e&dCode=0&province=BC&provBut=&month1=0&month2=12. Retrieved 26 January 2012. | |||||||||||||
[edit] Transportation
As a flag stop Via Rail's The Canadian calls at the Ashcroft railway station three times per week in each direction.
[edit] Sister city
The town's Japanese sister city is Bifuka, Hokkaido.[3]
[edit] Television
Ashcroft was featured on the historical television series Gold Trails and Ghost Towns, Season 3, Episode 9.
[edit] References
- ^ Sinoski, Kelly (9 September 2011). "Province Rejects Metro’s Bid for Environment Assessment for Ashcroft Dump". The Vancouver Sun. Postmedia Network Inc.. http://blogs.vancouversun.com/2011/09/09/province-rejects-metros-bid-to-for-ashcroft-dump. Retrieved 26 January 2012.
- ^ "Most Popular Titles With Location Matching 'Ashcroft, British Columbia, Canada'", IMDB.com
- ^ "Our Sister City". Village of Ashcroft. Village of Ashcroft. http://www.ashcroftbc.ca/bifuka_ashcrofts_sister_city. Retrieved 27 January 2012.
[edit] External links
- Mark Sweeten Wade's The Thompson Country, 1907 (local history - on line version)
- Aerial view of Ashcroft by Randall and Kat
- The Rattler
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