Cadomin is a

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

in the west-

central Alberta Central Alberta is a region located in the Canadian province of Alberta. Central Alberta is the most densely populated rural area in the province. Agriculture and energy are important to the area's economy. Geography Central Alberta is bordere ...

, Canada within

Yellowhead County Yellowhead County is a municipal district in west central Alberta, Canada. It is the only municipal district within Alberta census division No. 14. History *1994: Established as a ''Municipal District of Yellowhead No. 94'' on January 1. ...

. It is located along the

McLeod River The McLeod River is a river in west-central Alberta, Canada. It forms in the foothills of the Canadian Rockies, and is a major tributary of the Athabasca River. __TOC__ Course The river begins just outside the eastern border of Jasper Nation ...

in the

foothills Foothills or piedmont are geographically defined as gradual increases in elevation at the base of a mountain range, higher hill range or an upland area. They are a transition zone between plains and low relief hills and the adjacent topograp ...

of the

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico in ...

, approximately south of Hinton near the

Bighorn Highway The bighorn sheep (''Ovis canadensis'') is a species of sheep native to North America. It is named for its large horns. A pair of horns might weigh up to ; the sheep typically weigh up to . Recent genetic testing indicates three distinct subspe ...

. It is served by a spur of the

Canadian National Railway The Canadian National Railway Company (french: Compagnie des chemins de fer nationaux du Canada) is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN i ...

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; french: Statistique Canada), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and cultur ...

recognizes Cadomin as a

designated place A designated place (DPL) is a type of community or settlement identified by Statistics Canada that does not meet the criteria used to define municipalities or population centres. DPLs are delineated every 5 years for the Canadian census as the sta ...

. It is located in Census Division No. 14 and in the riding of Yellowhead. It is administered by Yellowhead County.

History

Cadomin's name is an

acronym An acronym is a word or name formed from the initial components of a longer name or phrase. Acronyms are usually formed from the initial letters of words, as in ''NATO'' (''North Atlantic Treaty Organization''), but sometimes use syllables, as ...

for 'Canadian Dominion Mining', and the community gives its name to the

Cadomin Formation The Cadomin Formation is a stratigraphic unit of Early Cretaceous (Barremian to Aptian) age in the western part of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin. It is extends from southeastern British Columbia through western Alberta to northeastern Bri ...

, which forms a nearby prominent outcrop. Cadomin is one of many communities in the

Alberta Coal Branch The Alberta Coal Branch is the name given to a segment of the Canadian National Railway (originally the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway) and the region through which it passes. It is located within Yellowhead County in west-central Alberta, Canada. ...

area that thrived from the 1920s to the 1950s. During the early 1930s, Cadomin's population peaked at 1,800. Other Coal Branch communities included Mountain Park, Luscar, Mercoal, and farther to the east,

Robb Robb is a surname of Scottish origin, formed from a diminution (reduction) of the name Robert. Robert was a popular name, especially after its use by three Scots Kings in the fourteenth century. Rob is first recorded as a surname in the mid-15th ...

, Embarras, Coalspur, Coal Valley, Lovett, and Foothills. ;Mining The Cadomin Coal Company began operations in 1917 and four underground mines were eventually developed, as well as a surface mine that operated from 1944 to 1950. The main coal seam, called the No. 1 Seam, averaged in thicknesses. The strata in the area are strongly folded and faulted, and the seam is strongly inclined to overturned, so a variety of methods were employed to work it. The coal was sold primarily as

steam coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as stratum, rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other Chemical element, elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen ...

for railroad use, and the Cadomin coal mines closed in 1952 due to declining markets as the railroads replaced

steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomot ...

s with

diesel Diesel may refer to: * Diesel engine, an internal combustion engine where ignition is caused by compression * Diesel fuel, a liquid fuel used in diesel engines * Diesel locomotive, a railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engin ...

. Cadomin Quarry, operated by the Lehigh Cement Company (formerly Inland Cement), continues to employ a small number of local residents.

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by

, Cadomin had a population of 54 living in 27 of its 93 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 40. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021. As a designated place in the 2016 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Cadomin had a population of 40 living in 21 of its 92 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2011 population of 36. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2016.

Attractions

Cadomin Cave, located several kilometres to the south, used to attract a number of tourists during the summer months, although it remains undeveloped. The caves have been closed since 2010 due to the fungus growth the bats developed. In the area around Cadomin, there are extensive trails for horse back riding, all-terrain vehicles and dirt biking. Mountain biking is becoming increasingly popular as well. Bird watching is a popular hobby, and there are also regular butterfly counts every year. The scientific and naturalist communities spend a great deal of time studying the extensive wildlife including

bighorn sheep The bighorn sheep (''Ovis canadensis'') is a species of sheep native to North America. It is named for its large horns. A pair of horns might weigh up to ; the sheep typically weigh up to . Recent genetic testing indicates three distinct subspec ...

grizzly bear The grizzly bear (''Ursus arctos horribilis''), also known as the North American brown bear or simply grizzly, is a population or subspecies of the brown bear inhabiting North America. In addition to the mainland grizzly (''Ursus arctos horri ...

moose The moose (in North America) or elk (in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is a member of the New World deer subfamily and is the only species in the genus ''Alces''. It is the largest and heaviest extant species in the deer family. Most adult mal ...

elk The elk (''Cervus canadensis''), also known as the wapiti, is one of the largest species within the deer family, Cervidae, and one of the largest terrestrial mammals in its native range of North America and Central and East Asia. The common ...

, and other mountain species. The fall provides numerous big game hunting opportunities for deer, moose and bighorn sheep.

References

{{Coord, display=title, 53.03246, -117.32652, type:city(64)_region:CA-AB Designated places in Alberta Hamlets in Alberta Yellowhead County

History

Demographics

Attractions

See also

References