Squamish, British Columbia: Difference between revisions
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|official_name = District of Squamish |
|official_name = District of Squamish In 1948 squamish had its annual 73 year election to decide who would remain king I was elected and has remained king since |
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Revision as of 17:21, 20 February 2013
District of Squamish In 1948 squamish had its annual 73 year election to decide who would remain king I was elected and has remained king since | |
|---|---|
District Municipality | |
 Cleveland Avenue in Squamish with Mount Garibaldi looming in the background | |
 | |
| Nickname: "Sqampton" | |
| Country | Canada |
| Province |  British Columbia |
| Region | Howe Sound/Sea to Sky Country |
| Regional District | Squamish-Lillooet Regional District |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Rob Kirkham |
| • Governing body | Squamish Council |
| • MP | John Weston |
| • MLA | Joan McIntyre |
| Area | |
| • Total | 104.88 km2 (40.49 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 5 m (16 ft) |
| Population (2011) | |
| • Total | 17,158 |
| • Density | 163.6/km2 (424/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC-8 (Pacific Time Zone) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-7 (Pacific Daylight Time) |
| Postal code span | |
| Area code | 604 |
| Website | District of Squamish |
Squamish (/ˈskwɔːmɪʃ/; 2011 census population 17,158) is a community and a district municipality in the Canadian province of British Columbia, located at the north end of Howe Sound on the Sea to Sky Highway. The population of the Squamish census agglomeration – including Indian Reserves of the Squamish Nation not governed by the municipality – is 15,256.[1]
The town of Squamish had its beginning during the construction of the Pacific Great Eastern Railway in the 1910s. It was the first southern terminus of that railway (now a part of CN). The town remains important in the operations of the line and also the port. Forestry has traditionally been the main industry in the area, and the town's largest employer was the Western Forest Products pulp mill. However, Western Pulp's Squamish Operation permanently ceased operation on January 26, 2006.[2] Before the pulp mill, the town's largest employer had been International Forest Products (Interfor) with its sawmill and logging operation, but it closed a few years prior to the pulp mill's closing. In recent years, Squamish has become popular with Vancouver and Whistler residents' escaping the increased cost of living in those places, both less than one hour away by highway. Tourism is an increasingly important part of the town's economy, with an emphasis in outdoor recreation.
Sḵwxwú7mesh people
The Squamish (or Sḵwxwú7mesh in the Squamish language) is the name of the aboriginal people who have inhabited this part of southwest BC (including North and West Vancouver, Howe Sound, Whistler, the areas surrounding the tributaries entering Howe Sound) since time immemorial. Squamish is the English pronunciation of Skwxwú7mesh, the traditional autonym for the people. The name Keh Kait was the traditional name for the site of downtown Squamish.[3]
The Skxwxu7mesh territory comprises 6,732 km2. The largest village of the Sḵwxwú7mesh in the Squamish area is Chiyakmesh, which is in the area of Brackendale and is the namesake of the Cheakamus River. Another main village is located near the south entrance of town, St'a7mes, which lies below the Stawamus Chief, which gets its name from that village. Though within municipal boundaries, residents of these Indian Reserves are not governed by the municipality but are members of the Squamish Nation. It also includes villages in North Vancouver and a number of other reserves at Gibsons and elsewhere in the general region.
Activities
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Squamish is known as the Outdoor Recreation Capital of Canada. Attractions include the Stawamus Chief, a huge cliff-faced granite massif favoured by rock climbers. As well as over 300 climbing routes on the Chief proper, a majority of which require traditional climbing protection, there are steep hiking trails around the back to access the three peaks that make up the massif, all giving great views of Howe Sound and the surrounding Coast Mountains. In all, between Shannon Falls, Murrin Park, The Malamute, and the Little Smoke Bluffs, there are well over 1200 rock-climbing routes in the Squamish area (and another 300 or so climbs north of Squamish on the road to Whistler). In recent years, Squamish has also become a major destination for bouldering, with over 2500 problems described in the local guidebook.[4]
Another activity for which Squamish is well known is mountain biking, with over 600 trails suitable to all riders that can ride ultra-steep trails with huge gaps and steep rock surrounding the town. One of the more famous events supported by the Mountain Biking Community is the Test of Metal, a 67-kilometre, cross-country, mountain-bike race held annually in late June. Limited to 800 riders, the 2007 race sold out in under an hour.
Kiteboarding and windsurfing are popular water sports in Squamish during the summer. Predictable wind on warm sunny days makes the Squamish Spit the top kiteboarding location in western Canada.
Squamish's extensive quality trail system is a key feature of an annual 50-mile ultra trail run, the Arc'teryx Squamish 50. Solo runners and relay teams run on many of the same trails as the Test of Metal, and pass through Alice Lake Provincial Park and Quest University. "The Double" is an award offered annually to the participant with the fastest combined time for both the Test of Metal and Arc'teryx Squamish 50.
Other tourist attractions in Squamish include Shannon Falls waterfall; river-rafting on the Elaho and Squamish rivers; wind surfing and kite surfing at the mouth of the Squamish River; snowmobiling on nearby Brohm Ridge; and bald eagle viewing in the community of Brackendale, which has one of North America's largest populations of bald eagles. Squamish is also a popular destination among Greater Vancouver hikers, mountaineers and backcountry skiers, who visit the large provincial parks in the surrounding Coast Mountains.
Politics
The current mayor of Squamish is Rob Kirkham, who won the 2011 election. Previous mayors include Greg Gardner (2008-2011); Ian Sutherland (2002–2008); Corinne Lonsdale (1993–2002); Egon Tobus (1990–93); Phil Turner (1983–90); William Elliott (1980–83); Izzy Boscariol (1977–80); and Pat Brennan (1964–77). Current council members include Doug Race, Rob Kirkham, Corinne Lonsdale, Bryan Raiser, Paul Lalli and Patricia Heintzman. The municipality is also part of the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District.
On the provincial level, Squamish is in the West Vancouver-Sea to Sky electoral district. The MLA is Joan McIntyre (BC Liberal). She was first elected in the 2005 provincial election and re-elected in the 2009 provincial election.
Federally, Squamish is a part of the West Vancouver – Sunshine Coast – Sea to Sky Country electoral district. It is represented by John Weston (Conservative Party of Canada), who took office after Canada's 2008 federal election.
Education
Squamish has six public elementary schools: Brackendale, Garibaldi Highlands, Mamquam, Squamish Elementary, Stawamus Elementary and Valleycliffe Elementary. There are two secondary schools – Howe Sound Secondary School and Don Ross Secondary School – as well as the board office for School District 48 Howe Sound. There is also a Montessori School [www.smsed.ca] and Waldorf school.[5]
Capilano University offers post-secondary education through its Squamish campus, including diploma programs and university transfer courses. Quest University (located in the Garibaldi Highlands neighbourhood) opened in September 2007. It is Canada's first private, non-profit, secular university. [6]
Social and cultural
Squamish is home to a variety of faiths. There are eleven churches and religious organizations, including several Christian denominations, as well as the Bahá'í Faith, and a Sikh temple.
The Squamish Public Library is located in the downtown area on Second Avenue. The library houses a collection of books, dvds, cds, and magazines. It also has an Art for Loan collection and an online historical archive of various photographs, newspapers, and other items.
Nearby museums include the Britannia Mining Museum and the West Coast Railway Heritage Park.
Squamish was the filming location of the 2002 Christopher Nolan film, Insomnia starring Hilary Swank, Al Pacino, and Robin Williams.
Squamish was also the primary filming location of ABC's romantic comedy-drama television series Men In Trees and was featured prominently in a Season 4 episode of the American television series Supernatural titled "Wishful Thinking". It is also currently the filming location for Global TV's drama/action series The Guard.
Squamish (Garibaldi Highlands) was also the filming location for the 1993 movie Free Willy scene where Jason James Richter bikes down the hill to the bay (Howe Sound). It is also featured in the 2008 movie `Chaos Theory` among others.
In 1998, Squamish was briefly the home of the world's first unionized McDonald's franchise, although the union was decertified by the summer of 1999.
Squamish received an influx of visitors during the 2010 Olympics, as it was a convenient place to stay seeing as it is equidistant from Vancouver and Whistler Ski Resort, where most events were held. In addition, the Transportation Team base for 4 transit companies contracted to operate services for the Vancouver 2010 Olympics was located on Queens Way from December 2009 until April 12, 2010.
Squamish is also home to a well-established hardcore punk community in part, due to their proximity to the thriving music scenes of Vancouver.[citation needed]
Climate
Squamish is one of the wettest locations in Canada, with nearly 2400 millimetres of rainfall per year, often falling in long stretches through the winter. Snow is not typical in winter, but can fall in heavy amounts with 50-centimetre accumulations not uncommon, although it often melts quickly.
| Climate data for Squamish, British Columbia | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 11 (52) |
18.5 (65.3) |
22.5 (72.5) |
28 (82) |
37 (99) |
36 (97) |
37 (99) |
37.5 (99.5) |
36 (97) |
26.5 (79.7) |
15 (59) |
13.5 (56.3) |
37.5 (99.5) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 2.9 (37.2) |
6 (43) |
10.6 (51.1) |
14.6 (58.3) |
18.3 (64.9) |
20.9 (69.6) |
24 (75) |
24.5 (76.1) |
21 (70) |
13.8 (56.8) |
6.2 (43.2) |
2.2 (36.0) |
13.7 (56.7) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −2.5 (27.5) |
−1.5 (29.3) |
0.7 (33.3) |
3.4 (38.1) |
6.7 (44.1) |
9.4 (48.9) |
11.3 (52.3) |
11.2 (52.2) |
8.2 (46.8) |
4.4 (39.9) |
0.8 (33.4) |
−2.4 (27.7) |
4.1 (39.4) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −20.5 (−4.9) |
−16 (3) |
−9.5 (14.9) |
−3 (27) |
−2 (28) |
2.5 (36.5) |
5 (41) |
4 (39) |
0 (32) |
−7 (19) |
−18 (0) |
−20.5 (−4.9) |
−20.5 (−4.9) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 337.4 (13.28) |
283 (11.1) |
211.4 (8.32) |
161.7 (6.37) |
105.8 (4.17) |
85.8 (3.38) |
61.1 (2.41) |
59.6 (2.35) |
88.2 (3.47) |
279.6 (11.01) |
378.9 (14.92) |
314.3 (12.37) |
2,366.9 (93.19) |
| Average snowfall cm (inches) | 71.7 (28.2) |
47.6 (18.7) |
22.5 (8.9) |
2.5 (1.0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0.6 (0.2) |
21.4 (8.4) |
69.1 (27.2) |
235.5 (92.7) |
| Source: Environment Canada[7] | |||||||||||||
Transit
Public transportation is provided by the Squamish Transit System this service is free over the summer to students at school age (elementary and secondary). There is also bus service to Whistler provided by the Whistler and Valley Express.
Notable Squamish residents
- Mike Carney, now a realtor, is a former ski racer who had been a member of the Canadian Olympic downhill ski team;[8]
- Mike Sweeney, who grew up in Squamish, competed in the 1984 Olympics with Team Canada in the sport of soccer;
- Linda Firbank: 2008 Recipient of the Premier's Award for Teaching Excellence in the category of Skills Training & Career Prep;[9]
- Daniel Cudmore – actor;
- Jesse Pettersen – Professional Long Drive golfer, placed 4th at 2007 Remax World Long Drive Championship;[10]
- Hilary Lindh – US Olympic silver medalist at the 1992 Albertville Winter Games;
- Maëlle Ricker – Canadian Olympic gold medalist at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games in the Snowboard Cross;
- Joe Eppele – CFL: Drafted by Toronto Argonauts in 2010 as an offensive linesman;
- Natasza Waters - Bestselling action/romance author of "Too Grand For Words".
Notes
- ^ Statistics Canada. Population and dwelling counts, for Canada, census metropolitan areas, census agglomerations and census subdivisions (municipalities), 2006 and 2001 censuses – 100% data Retrieved on: July 30, 2007.
- ^ Western Forest Products Western Forest Products Announces Q1 2006 Results/Strategic Acquisitions Closed. Press Release, May 12, 2006. retrieved on: July 30, 2007.
- ^ "Squamish (district municipality)". BC Geographical Names.
- ^ Squamish Bouldering, 2nd Edition, Quickdraw Publications, 2010, ISBN 978-0-9732593-7-7.
- ^ Cedar Valley Waldorf School
- ^ Millar, Erin (22 October 2012). "The great experiment: Quest University's radical step in higher education". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 15 November 2012.
- ^ Environment Canada. Canadian Climate Normals 1971–2000. Squamish Upper. Retrieved on: September 7, 2008.
- ^ Mikecarney.com
- ^ BCED.gov.be.ca
- ^ Inside Golf. Pettersen Poised for Power Trip.
External links
- District of Squamish
- Squamish Public Library
- Squamish Chamber of Commerce
- The Official Site of Tourism Squamish
- Business Development and Investment in Squamish
- School District No. 48 Howe Sound
- The Squamish Chief – Squamish's Newspaper
- Climbing in Squamish
- The Squamish Access Society – protecting public access to Squamish climbing areas
- Quest University Canada
- Squamish Days Loggers Sports Festival – Squamish's Largest Community Festival
- - Squamish Windsports Society
Places adjacent to Squamish, British Columbia | |
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