Cadomin is a

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

in 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 bordered ...

, 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 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 in the southern arm of Whitehorse Wildland Prov ...

in the

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

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 great-circle distance, straight-line distance from the northernmost part of Western Can ...

, 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 may weigh up to ; the sheep typically weigh up to . Recent genetic testing indicates three distinct subspecie ...

. It is served by a spur of the

Canadian National Railway The Canadian National Railway Company () is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN is Canada's largest railway, in terms of both revenue a ...

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; ), 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 culture. It is headquartered in ...

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 s ...

. It is 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 type of abbreviation consisting of a phrase whose only pronounced elements are the initial letters or initial sounds of words inside that phrase. Acronyms are often spelled with the initial Letter (alphabet), letter of each wor ...

for 'Canadian Dominion Mining', and the community gives its name to the Cadomin Formation, which forms a nearby prominent outcrop. Cadomin is one of many communities in the Alberta Coal Branch 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 Surface mining, including strip mining, open-pit mining and mountaintop removal mining, is a broad category of mining in which soil and rock overlying the mineral deposit (the overburden) are removed, in contrast to underground mining, in which ...

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 rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is a type of f ...

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, Fuel oil, oil or, rarely, Wood fuel, wood) to heat ...

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 engine ...

. 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 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

, 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 Ovis, sheep native to North America. It is named for its large Horn (anatomy), horns. A pair of horns may weigh up to ; the sheep typically weigh up to . Recent genetic testing indicates th ...

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 horr ...

moose The moose (: 'moose'; used in North America) or elk (: 'elk' or 'elks'; used in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is the world's tallest, largest and heaviest extant species of deer and the only species in the genus ''Alces''. It is also the tal ...

elk The elk (: ''elk'' or ''elks''; ''Cervus canadensis'') or wapiti, is the second 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. ...

, 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