Athabasca ( 2021 population 2,759), originally named Athabasca Landing, is a town in

northern Alberta Northern Alberta is a geographic region located in the Canadian province of Alberta. An informally defined cultural region, the boundaries of Northern Alberta are not fixed. Under some schemes, the region encompasses everything north of the cen ...

, Canada. It is located north 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 ...

at the intersection of Highway 2 and

Highway 55 The following highways are numbered 55: International * European route E55 * Arab Mashreq route M55 Argentina * San Luis Provincial Route 55 Australia * Carnarvon Highway * Castlereagh Highway * Karoonda Highway Belgium * N55 road (Belgiu ...

, on the banks of the

Athabasca River The Athabasca River (French: ''Rivière Athabasca'') is a river in Alberta, Canada, which originates at the Columbia Icefield in Jasper National Park and flows more than before emptying into Lake Athabasca. Much of the land along its banks is ...

. It is the centre of

Athabasca County Athabasca County is a municipal district in north central Alberta, Canada. It is located northeast of Edmonton and is in Census Division No. 13. Prior to an official renaming on December 1, 2009, Athabasca County was officially known as the ...

. It was known as Athabasca Landing prior to August 4, 1913.

History

Of Cree origin. Early spellings: Araubaska (Peter Pond) and Athapescow (Arrowsmith). Various interpretations of the meaning: "where there are reeds" (Douglas); "meeting place of many waters" (Voorhis). Town was first called Athabasca Landing about 1889; name changed to Athabaska in 1904 and changed back to Athabasca in 1948. The provisional district of Athabasca was established in 1882, embracing the northern parts of modern Alberta and Saskatchewan. Unlike many other towns in Alberta, Athabasca predates the railway. It was the terminus of the Edmonton to Athabasca Landing trail. Athabasca lies on a southern protrusion of the Athabasca River. During the fur trade era, when rivers were the principal means of transportation, the Athabasca–Edmonton trail connected two different drainage basins. The Athabasca River flows north and is part of the Mackenzie River watershed, which leads to the Arctic Ocean. Edmonton lies across a height-of-land on the

North Saskatchewan River The North Saskatchewan River is a glacier-fed river that flows from the Canadian Rockies continental divide east to central Saskatchewan, where it joins with the South Saskatchewan River to make up the Saskatchewan River. Its water flows event ...

in the

Nelson River The Nelson River is a river of north-central North America, in the Canadian province of Manitoba. The river drains Lake Winnipeg and runs before it ends in Hudson Bay. Its full length (including the Saskatchewan River and Bow River) is , i ...

drainage basin, which empties into Hudson Bay. Edmonton was in

Rupert's Land Rupert's Land (french: Terre de Rupert), or Prince Rupert's Land (french: Terre du Prince Rupert, link=no), was a territory in British North America which comprised the Hudson Bay drainage basin; this was further extended from Rupert's Land t ...

but not Athabasca. The trail allowed goods to be portaged back and forth between river systems. Once agricultural settlement occurred, the trail served a similar purpose. Eventually, road and rail links would trace the same path. The North-West Mounted Police stationed officers at Athabasca Landing for the summer of 1892, due to increased traffic on the trail. Inspector D.M. Howard, and eight constables, built a permanent post in 1893. A massive forest fire in August 1913 destroyed a good portion of the town, including 30 businesses. There was no loss of life. Rebuilding of the town began immediately. The Athabasca Heritage Society put up signs through the downtown as well as along the riverfront that explain and depict the history. It has also published a historical walking tour that is available from the town office, library and visitor information centre.

Demographics

In the

2021 Census of Population The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population with a reference date of May 11, 2021. It follows the 2016 Canadian census, which recorded a population of 35,151,728. The overall response rate was 98%, which is sli ...

conducted by Statistics Canada, the Town of Athabasca had a population of 2,759 living in 1,155 of its 1,325 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 2,965. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021. In the 2016 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, the Town of Athabasca recorded a population of 2,965 living in 1,194 of its 1,313 total private dwellings, a change from its 2011 population of 2,990. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2016.

Education

The town is home to Athabasca University, a major centre for

distance education Distance education, also known as distance learning, is the education of students who may not always be physically present at a school, or where the learner and the teacher are separated in both time and distance. Traditionally, this usually in ...

and the town's largest employer. The town has three public schools under the jurisdiction of

Aspen View Public School Division No. 78 Aspen View Public School Division No. 78 or Aspen View Schools is a public school authority within the Canadian province of Alberta operated out of Athabasca. See also *List of school authorities in Alberta The Canadian province of Alberta ...

: *Whispering Hills Primary School (WHPS) – Kindergarten to Grade 3 *Landing Trail Intermediate School (LTIS) – Grades 4 to 6 *Edwin Parr Composite School (EPC) – Grades 7 to 12

Media

Local news is provided by the ''Athabasca Advocate'', an award-winning weekly newspaper. Athabasca's local radio station is 94.1 CKBA-FM, ''Boom''.

Climate

Athabasca experiences a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freezing ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

''Dfb'') that borders on a subarctic climate (Köppen ''Dfc''). The highest temperature ever recorded in Athabasca was on July 18, 1941. The coldest temperature ever recorded was on January 11, 1911.

Infrastructure

Health care

Health care is provided at the Athabasca Healthcare Centre.

Notable people

Bryan Mudryk Bryan Mudryk ( ; born July 13, 1979) is a Canadian sportscaster for TSN. He is a frequent host of SportsCentre and a play-by-play announcer as part of TSN's curling broadcast team. He has been with TSN since October 2005. Career Personal ...

– TSN TV personality *

Jay Onrait Jay Michael Onrait (born August 29, 1974) is a Canadian television personality and sports anchor who hosts ''SC with Jay Onrait'' on TSN. From 2003 to 2021, he has been frequently paired with fellow Canadian broadcaster Dan O'Toole. In his fir ...

– TSN TV personality *

George Ryga George Ryga (27 July 1932 – 18 November 1987) was a Canadian playwright, actor and novelist. His writings explored the experiences of Indigenous peoples in Canada, among other themes. His most famous work is ''The Ecstasy of Rita Joe''. E ...

– playwright, poet * Kay Heim – All-American Girls Professional Baseball Player

References

Alberta First
– Athabasca Facts and Statistics

External links

* {{Authority control 1905 establishments in Alberta Hudson's Bay Company trading posts Towns in Alberta