Salmon Arm, British Columbia

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City of Salmon Arm
Coordinates: 50°42′8″N 119°16′20″W / 50.70222°N 119.27222°W / 50.70222; -119.27222
Country Canada Canada
Province British Columbia Flag of British Columbia.svg
Region Shuswap Country
Regional District Columbia-Shuswap
Established 1905
Government
 - Mayor Marty Bootsma
 - Governing Body Salmon Arm City Council
 - MP Colin Mayes
 - MLA George Abbott
Area
 - Total 155.38 km2 (60.0 sq mi)
Population (2006)
 - Total 16,205
 - Density 102.2/km2 (264.7/sq mi)
Time zone Pacific Standard (PST) (UTC-8)
Area code(s) 250
Website City of Salmon Arm

Coordinates: 50°42′8″N 119°16′20″W / 50.70222°N 119.27222°W / 50.70222; -119.27222

Salmon Arm is a city in the Southern Interior of the Canadian province of British Columbia that has a population of 16,205 (2006). It is on the shores of Shuswap Lake, where the Salmon River empties into the Salmon Arm reach of the Lake. It is a tourist town in the summer, with many beaches, as well as camping facilities and house boat rentals. Salmon Arm is home to the longest wooden wharf in North America.[citation needed] It is the location of the head offices of the Columbia-Shuswap Regional District. Salmon Arm became a city on May 15, 2005, its 100th birthday of incorporation. Directly north of the city, across Shuswap lake, lies Mt. Bastion. A photograph of Mt. Bastion serves as the background for the driver's license of BC.

The largest employer in the Salmon Arm area is the forest industry and related businesses. The city benefits from close access to the Canadian Pacific railway.

Tourism is also important to Salmon Arm, bringing many tourists from Vancouver and Calgary. Most tourists arrive during the summer season, either stopping en route to other holiday destinations, or to visit the Shuswap Lake. Salmon Arm has several hotels, campsites and houseboat rental outlets.

Relative to its size, Salmon Arm has a wide variety of restaurants and cultural attractions. Public beaches at Sunnybrae and Canoe are often crowded during the summer.

Contents

[edit] Education

Salmon Arm has a campus of Okanagan College that offers many programs in a wide range of fields.

Public schools are part of School District 83 North Okanagan-Shuswap which has its main office in Salmon Arm.

[edit] Culture

During the month of August, the annual Salmon Arm Roots and Blues festival draws large crowds of tourists with acts such as Xavier Rudd, The Pointer Sisters, and Feist. Held in August, attracted over 20,000 visitors in 2007.[1] There is also the annual Shuswap International Writers' Festival.

The RJ Haney Heritage Park & Museum is Salmon Arm's main museum, and celebrates the history of the region.

Relative to its population, Salmon Arm has a lot of internationally well known artists including (but not limited to) Craig Pulsifer (Photographer), Fred Bird (Photographer), John H. Burrows (Visual Artist), Terry Greenhough (Visual Artist), Tracey Kutschker (Visual Artist), Linda Franklin (Visual Artist), Eric Kutschker (Visual Artist), Joyce Dorey (Visual Artist), Frieda Martin (Visual Artist), Justin Maas (Visual Artist), Wendy Browne (Fiber Artist), Otto Pfannschmidt (Visual Artist) and James D. Thwaites (short story author) - among many others.

[edit] Climate

Weather data for Salmon Arm
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 14.5
(58)		 14
(57)		 18.5
(65)		 28.5
(83)		 34
(93)		 36.5
(98)		 38.5
(101)		 39
(102)		 34
(93)		 25.5
(78)		 15.5
(60)		 9
(48)
Average high °C (°F) -1
(30)		 2.1
(36)		 8.1
(47)		 14.1
(57)		 19
(66)		 22.6
(73)		 25.9
(79)		 25.7
(78)		 19.7
(67)		 11.2
(52)		 3.2
(38)		 -1.6
(29)		 12.4
(54)
Average low °C (°F) -6.9
(20)		 -5.4
(22)		 -2.1
(28)		 1.4
(35)		 5.8
(42)		 9.5
(49)		 11.4
(53)		 10.7
(51)		 6.2
(43)		 2
(36)		 -2.3
(28)		 -6.9
(20)		 1.9
(35)
Record low °C (°F) -31.5
(-25)		 -27
(-17)		 -19
(-2)		 -7
(19)		 -3
(27)		 -0.5
(31)		 3.5
(38)		 2.5
(37)		 -6
(21)		 -18
(-0)		 -32
(-26)		 -33.5
(-28)
Precipitation mm (inches) 65.6
(2.58)		 37.8
(1.49)		 46.1
(1.81)		 44.6
(1.76)		 56.4
(2.22)		 63
(2.48)		 53.9
(2.12)		 40.4
(1.59)		 46.3
(1.82)		 54.3
(2.14)		 84.4
(3.32)		 76.5
(3.01)		 669.1
(26.34)
Source: Environment Canada[2] 2009-07-11

[edit] Sports and recreation

Large crowds of tourists and locals are drawn to the beaches at Sunnybrae, Canoe, and elsewhere on Shuswap Lake during the summer. The city has many large hotels, as well as berths for a number of houseboats.

Salmon Arm is home to a Mutliplex (Salmar Grand) a bowling alley (J Lanes), several golf courses and many seasonal recreational businesses.

The Salmon Arm Silverbacks hockey team, in the BCHL, plays at Sunwave Centre. The publicly owned twin ice rink facility is named in relation to the facility's community sponsor, SunCountry Cablevision (which brands its highspeed cable Internet service as Sunwave.net)[3].

Former NHL player Dave Scatchard was raised in Salmon Arm, playing his minor hockey there.

[edit] Transportation

Salmon Arm lies on the Trans-Canada Highway approximately halfway between Vancouver and Calgary. It is also at the top of Highway 97, which leads to Vernon and Kelowna. The economy benefits from through traffic; many brand-name hotels and restaurants have opened in the past few decades.

The Canadian Pacific Railway also runs though Salmon Arm. No passenger service is available, though the Rocky Mountaineer trains pass through on occasion.

Salmon Arm Airport mainly serves general aviation aircraft, though scheduled service to Vancouver and Vernon was available by Northern Hawk Air until it ceased operations.

Salmon Arm is well served by Greyhound Bus Lines for travel to other cities in the region, province and across Canada.

Salmon Arm has a minor, infrequent bus service to nearby suburbs, using small commuter minibuses, as well as handyDart service for the disabled.[4]

[edit] Wildfire Damage 1998

In 1998, an area of 13,500 acres (34 km²) immediately southwest of Salmon Arm was burnt to the extent of deforestation by a wildfire started by lightning. The fire came down from the Fly Hills in the west and embers carried by the wind jumped the valley and ignited Mt. Ida. They raced down both sides of the valley, threatening many homes. An emergency evacuation was executed as the fire got closer. Remarkably, just as the fire reached the valley floor, a sudden change of wind direction forced the fire back on itself, extinguishing it. The fire came so close that trees in many backyards were singed and barn paint was peeled.

About 40 Salmon Armenian homes and barns were destroyed during the firestorm.

[edit] Sister city

Salmon Arm's sister city is Inashiki, Ibaraki, Japan (Formerly Azuma, Ibaraki, Japan, until its recent amalgamation into Inashiki). There is a pavilion near McGuire Lake in honour of the friendship between Japan and Salmon Arm.

[edit] Trivia

The Punch-Out!! character Bear Hugger hails from Salmon Arm.

On August 8, 1982, Trudeau gave three protesters the now infamous "Salmon Arm Salute".

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ Salmon Arm Roots and Blues Festival
  2. ^ Environment Canada—Canadian Climate Normals 1971–2000, accessed 11 July 2009
  3. ^ Sunwave.net sponsorship
  4. ^ Shuswap Transit System
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