Uranium City is a

northern settlement Communities in the Province of Saskatchewan, Canada include incorporated municipalities, unincorporated communities and First Nations communities. Types of incorporated municipalities include urban municipalities, rural municipalities and north ...

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

, Canada. Located on the northern shores of

Lake Athabasca Lake Athabasca (; French: ''lac Athabasca''; from Woods Cree: , "herethere are plants one after another") is located in the north-west corner of Saskatchewan and the north-east corner of Alberta between 58° and 60° N in Canada. The lake ...

near the border of the

Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories (abbreviated ''NT'' or ''NWT''; french: Territoires du Nord-Ouest, formerly ''North-Western Territory'' and ''North-West Territories'' and namely shortened as ''Northwest Territory'') is a federal territory of Canada. ...

, it is above sea level. The settlement is northwest of Prince Albert, northeast of

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

and south of the Northwest Territories-Saskatchewan boundary. For census purposes, it is located within the province's Division No. 18 territory.

History

In 1949,

athabascaite Athabascaite is a member of the copper selenide minerals, and forms with other copper selenides. It was first discovered by S. Kaiman in 1949 while he was researching radioactive materials around Lake Athabasca. Kaiman was conducting research near ...

was discovered by S. Kaiman while he was researching radioactive materials around Lake Athabasca near Uranium City. In 1952, the provincial government decided to establish a community to service the mines in the

Beaverlodge Beaverlodge is a town in northern Alberta, Canada. It is located on Highway 43, west of Grande Prairie and east of the British Columbia border. History The town was named for the Beaverlodge River, which was known as ''Uz-i-pa'' ("tempora ...

uranium Uranium is a chemical element with the symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a silvery-grey metal in the actinide series of the periodic table. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. Uranium is weak ...

area developed by

Eldorado Mining and Refining Eldorado Resources was a Canadian mining company active between 1926 and 1988. The company was originally established by brothers Charles and Gilbert LaBine as a gold mining enterprise in 1926, but transitioned to focus on radium in the 1930s an ...

, a federal

crown corporation A state-owned enterprise (SOE) is a government entity which is established or nationalised by the ''national government'' or ''provincial government'' by an executive order or an act of legislation in order to earn profit for the governmen ...

. In 1954, the local newspaper, ''The Uranium Times'', noted that 52 mines were operating and 12

open-pit mine Open-pit mining, also known as open-cast or open-cut mining and in larger contexts mega-mining, is a surface mining technique of extracting rock (geology), rock or minerals from the earth from an open-air pit, sometimes known as a Borrow pit, b ...

s were next to Beaverlodge Lake.Fission Avenue: Uranium City "Beaverlodge"
/ref> Initially, most of the residences in Uranium City were simply tents. Some of the mines operating in the area included the

Gunnar Mine __NOTOC__ The Gunnar Mine was a uranium mine in northern Saskatchewan, Canada located around southwest of the community of Uranium City, and approximately 600 km north of Saskatoon. The mine was situated on the Crackingstone Peninsula on th ...

, the

Lorado Mine __NOTOC__ The Lorado Mine was a uranium mine in northern Saskatchewan, Canada located around south of the community of Uranium City, Saskatchewan in the Beaverlodge Uranium District. See also * Gunnar Mine *Eldorado, Saskatchewan *Uranium ore de ...

, and the Fay-Ace-Verna Mine in

Eldorado, Saskatchewan Eldorado is a former mining community turned ghost town located on Beaverlodge Lake in northern Saskatchewan, Canada. Its original name was Beaverlodge. Eldorado and nearby Uranium City are along Saskatchewan Highway 962, an isolated stretch of ...

. Two options were considered for communities in the region: small communities near the mine site or larger more centralized communities with adequate services. Not wanting to replicate some of the problems associated with small mining towns at the time in

Northern Ontario Northern Ontario is a primary geographic and quasi-administrative region of the Canadian province of Ontario, the other primary region being Southern Ontario. Most of the core geographic region is located on part of the Superior Geological Provi ...

, the government pushed for the second option and modelled Uranium City after the community of

Arvida, Quebec Arvida ( ) is a settlement of 12,000 people (2010)Peritz, Ingrid, "Saguenay 'utopia' dreaming big again", ''The Globe and Mail'', 13 November 2010, p. A31 in Quebec, Canada, that is part of the City of Saguenay. Its name is derived from the name o ...

. In 1956, the provincial government passed the ''Municipal Corporation of Uranium City and District Act'', creating a unique, chartered "district" with authority over education, health, and welfare. The population of Uranium City started to grow significantly only once Eldorado Resources made a deliberate initiative in 1960 to see staff housed in Uranium City instead of the Eldorado campsite. After reaching a population of 2,507 in 1981, the closure of the mines in 1982 led to economic collapse, with most residents of the community leaving. The ''Uranium City Act'' was repealed on 1 October 1983, reducing the community to an unincorporated "northern settlement". The local hospital closed in the spring of 2003. Its population in 2016 was 73, including a number of

Métis The Métis ( ; Canadian ) are Indigenous peoples who inhabit Canada's three Prairie Provinces, as well as parts of British Columbia, the Northwest Territories, and the Northern United States. They have a shared history and culture which derives ...

and

First Nations First Nations or first peoples may refer to: * Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area. Indigenous groups *First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including: **First Natio ...

people.Fission Avenue: Uranium City Pg2
/ref>

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by

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 ...

, Uranium City had a population of 91 living in 41 of its 59 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 73. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.

Transportation

The community has a certified airport, Uranium City Airport, that features a treated gravel runway of operated by the Saskatchewan Ministry of Highways and Infrastructure. The airport is one of the few employers left in the community.

West Wind Aviation West Wind Aviation Limited Partnership was a Saskatchewan based airline. Destinations Under its ExpressAir banner, West Wind formerly offered scheduled service between Regina, Saskatoon and Prince Albert. Service in northern Saskatchewan an ...

previously served Uranium City with flights to Prince Albert and

Saskatoon Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Hig ...

three times a week.

Norcanair Norcanair was the name of a Canadian airline that existed from 1947 to 1987, and again briefly in the early 1990s and from 2001 to 2005. History Norcanair traces its history back to M&C Aviation, founded in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, in 1930 by ...

served the community with scheduled flights until it ceased operations in 2005.

Transwest Air Transwest Air was a scheduled and charter airline primarily serving the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. Its headquarters and main base was at Prince Albert. Transwest was formed in 2000 by the merger of Air Sask, established as La Ronge Av ...

also provided a route with Saskatoon and Regina until that company cancelled its service in November 2008. It now serves Uranium City with a flight from Saskatoon that stops in Prince Albert, Points North and Stony Rapids. There is also a small

water aerodrome An aerodrome (Commonwealth English) or airdrome (American English) is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for publi ...

located next to Uranium City. There is no normal road access connecting Uranium City with the rest of Canada. There is provision for a

winter road A winter road is a seasonal road only usable during the winter, i.e. it has to be re-built every year. This road typically runs over land and over frozen lakes, rivers, swamps, and sea ice.Proskin et al, 2011. Guidelines for the Construction an ...

which connects with

Fond-du-Lac Fond du Lac Dene Nation ( chp, Gánį Kóé) is a Dene First Nation located in the boreal forest area of northern Saskatchewan, Canada. The main settlement is Fond-du-Lac, situated on the east side of Lake Athabasca. It is a remote fly-in com ...

. Saskatchewan Highway 962 provides travel for a short distance within the local area. A significant bridge replacement project on Highway 962 was conducted in 2001 at the Fredette River.

Communications

Local telephone service is provided by

SaskTel Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corporation, operating as SaskTel, is a Canadian crown-owned telecommunications firm based in the province of Saskatchewan. Owned by the provincial government, it provides wireline and wireless communicati ...

and was first available in Uranium City on 30 November 1955. Current telephone numbers for international calling are of the form +1 306 498 xxxx ( NPA-NXX: 306–498,

CLLI CLLI code (sometimes referred to as CLLI name or COMMON LANGUAGE Location Identifier Code, and often pronounced as ''silly'') is a Common Language Information Services identifier used within the North American telecommunications industry to speci ...

: URCYSK05DS0).

Canada Post Canada Post Corporation (french: Société canadienne des postes), trading as Canada Post (french: Postes Canada), is a Crown corporation that functions as the primary postal operator in Canada. Originally known as Royal Mail Canada (the opera ...

continues to deliver mail to the community. The post office is located at the municipal office (

Postal Code A postal code (also known locally in various English-speaking countries throughout the world as a postcode, post code, PIN or ZIP Code) is a series of letters or digits or both, sometimes including spaces or punctuation, included in a postal a ...

: S0J 2W0). Radio broadcasting in the community is provided by: * 97.9 FM – VF2142 – rebroadcasts

CKRW-FM CKRW-FM (''96.1 The Rush'') is a hot adult contemporary radio station in Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada. History Its first transmission was on 17 November 1969 at 6:00 a.m.; it began simulcasting on AM and FM on September 14, 2004 at 610 kHz ...

* 99.9 or 101.1 FM –

Missinipi Broadcasting Corporation Missinipi Broadcasting Corporation, or MBC Radio, is a radio network in Canada, serving First Nations and Métis communities in the province of Saskatchewan. The network's flagship station is CJLR in La Ronge. The MBC network broadcasts to more ...

* 103.1 FM – VF2240 – rebroadcasts

CFMI-FM CFMI-FM (branded as ''Rock 101'') is a Canadian radio station in the Metro Vancouver region of British Columbia. It broadcasts at 101.1 MHz on the FM band with an effective radiated power of 100,000 watts (peak) from a transmitter on Moun ...

* 105.1 FM – CBDH-FM,

CBC Radio One CBC Radio One is the English-language news and information radio network of the publicly owned Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It is commercial-free and offers local and national programming. It is available on AM and FM to 98 percent of Ca ...

, rebroadcasting

CBKA-FM CBKA-FM is a Canadian radio station, broadcasting the CBC Radio One network at 105.9 FM in La Ronge, Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west ...

La Ronge La Ronge is a northern town in the boreal forest of central Saskatchewan, Canada. Its location is approximately north of Prince Albert where Highway 2 becomes Highway 102. La Ronge lies on the western shore of Lac la Ronge, is adjacent to ...

. Until 2012, television service was provided by CBKAT operating on channel 8 at a power of 15 watts. This was a rebroadcast of

CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV) is a Canadian English-language broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster. The network began operations on September 6, 1952. Its French-l ...

service from CBKST

. Until 2003, the local transmitter's television programming originated from

CBC North CBC North ( iu, ᓰᐲᓰ ᐅᑭᐅᖅᑕᖅᑐᒥ, lit=CBC Northwest, translit=, SiiPiiSii Ukiuqtaqtumi; cr, ᓰᐲᓰ ᒌᐌᑎᓅᑖᐦᒡ, label=cr, SiiPiiSii Chiiwetinuutaahch; french: Radio-Canada Nord) is the Canadian Broadcasting Corpora ...

. This repeater was one of 620 analog television signals nationwide shut down by the CBC on 31 July 2012 due to budget cuts.

Climate

Uranium City is part of the Taiga Shield Ecozone and experiences a

subarctic climate The subarctic climate (also called subpolar climate, or boreal climate) is a climate with long, cold (often very cold) winters, and short, warm to cool summers. It is found on large landmasses, often away from the moderating effects of an ocean, ge ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...

''Dfc'') with long, cold, snowy winters, brief transitional periods, and short, cool, and humid summers. The temperature range is typically large due to frigidly cold winter temperatures that often plunge below . The highest temperature ever recorded in the settlement was on 30 June 2021 during the 2021 Western North America heat wave.

Wind chill Wind chill or windchill (popularly wind chill factor) is the lowering of body temperature due to the passing-flow of lower-temperature air. Wind chill numbers are always lower than the air temperature for values where the formula is valid. When ...

factors are prominent as well in the winter months, making the cold temperatures seem to be much colder than they actually are. Uranium City has recorded one of the coldest wind chill factors of any Canadian location, with wind chill reading being recorded on 28 January 2002. Additionally, an average of 34 days a year record wind chill readings below . The lowest temperature ever recorded in the settlement was on 15 January 1974 and on 7 February 2021.

Education

Education in Uranium City is under the authority of th
Northern Lights School Division #113
a school district that covers most of northern Saskatchewan. The only remaining school in Uranium City is Ben McIntyre School, serving classes from

kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cent ...

to Grade 9. The school opened in 1977 and is named after the first teacher in Uranium City who established the first school in the community in 1952 with 40 students in ten grades. As of September 2005, 10 students were enrolled. Secondary education was provided by CANDU High School, named after a

nuclear reactor A nuclear reactor is a device used to initiate and control a fission nuclear chain reaction or nuclear fusion reactions. Nuclear reactors are used at nuclear power plants for electricity generation and in nuclear marine propulsion. Heat from nu ...

. According to travellers Vincent Chan and Tricia Holopina who visited the city in 2002, locals state that the school was opened in 1979 and closed in 1983 after only three years of service, with the building since sustaining extensive vandalism.Fission Avenue: Uranium City "Candu High"
/ref>

Notable people

The following people are associated with Uranium City by birth, residence or career: * Bert Burry, pilot and ice hockey player *

Gina Kingsbury Gina Kingsbury (born November 26, 1981) is a Canadian former women's professional ice hockey player. She graduated from St. Lawrence University with a degree in psychology, and ranks second all-time in scoring among St. Lawrence Skating Saints w ...

, member of gold medal-winning Canadian women's ice hockey team at the

2006 Winter Olympics The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially the XX Olympic Winter Games ( it, XX Giochi olimpici invernali) and also known as Torino 2006, were a winter multi-sport event held from 10 to 26 February 2006 in Turin, Italy. This marked the second t ...

Gilbert LaBine Gilbert A. LaBine, (10 February 1890 – 8 June 1977) was a Canadian prospector who, in 1930, discovered radium and uranium deposits at Port Radium, Northwest Territories. He has become known as the father of Canada's uranium industry. LaB ...

, a founder of the Gunnar Mine

References

{{authority control Designated places in Saskatchewan Division No. 18, Unorganized, Saskatchewan Mining communities in Saskatchewan Northern settlements in Saskatchewan Road-inaccessible communities of Saskatchewan Lake Athabasca