High Level 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 ce ...

, Canada. It is located at the intersection of the Mackenzie Highway (Highway 35) and Highway 58, approximately north of

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

and south of

Yellowknife Yellowknife is the capital, largest community, and the only city in the Northwest Territories, Canada. It is on the northern shore of Great Slave Lake, about south of the Arctic Circle, on the west side of Yellowknife Bay near the outlet of t ...

Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories is a federal Provinces and territories of Canada, territory of Canada. At a land area of approximately and a 2021 census population of 41,070, it is the second-largest and the most populous of Provinces and territorie ...

. High Level is located within Mackenzie County and was founded in 1947. The town serves a trading area of approximately 20,000 people.

History

The name High Level originated from the height of the land that separates the

Peace Peace is a state of harmony in the absence of hostility and violence, and everything that discusses achieving human welfare through justice and peaceful conditions. In a societal sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (suc ...

and the Hay Rivers. The original location was approximately north of the present spot and along the old Fort Vermilion/Meander River freighting trail, serving as a stopping place, not a town. The original High Level Sports Grounds were at this location and the old trail was still visible there in the mid 1960s. The High Level Golf & Country Club currently occupies this approximate location. For many years, High Level was known as Tloc Moi (Hay Meadow). The first fur traders arrived in this area in 1786, but it was not until 1947 that High Level was settled, with development of road access to Fort Vermilion being the primary factor in determining the town's present location. High Level's first power plant was established in 1957, and a year later the first

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...

was built. The oil fields were discovered in the 1960s, and the Mackenzie Northern Railway was run to the area in 1963.

Geography

High Level marks the northern extent of the

Peace River Country The Peace River Country (or Peace Country; ) is an aspen parkland region centring on the Peace River in Canada. It extends from northwestern Alberta to the Rocky Mountains in northeastern British Columbia, where a certain portion of the region i ...

, and has one of the northernmost lands suited for agriculture in Canada. It is surrounded to the north and west by

muskeg Muskeg (; ; , lit. ''moss bog'') is a peat-forming ecosystem found in several northern climates, most commonly in Arctic and boreal ecosystem, boreal areas. Muskeg is approximately synonymous with bogland, bog or peatland, and is a standard te ...

tundra In physical geography, a tundra () is a type of biome where tree growth is hindered by frigid temperatures and short growing seasons. There are three regions and associated types of tundra: #Arctic, Arctic, Alpine tundra, Alpine, and #Antarctic ...

. Although High Level is well north of the median population of Canada, it is on a similar latitude to the northernmost town of mainland

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

Thurso Thurso (pronounced ; , ) is a town and former burgh on the north coast of the Highland council area of Scotland. Situated in the historical County of Caithness, it is the northernmost town on the island of Great Britain. From a latitudinal s ...

and to the south of five

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

an capitals.

Climate

High Level has a

subarctic climate The subarctic climate (also called subpolar climate, or boreal climate) is a continental 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 ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

''Dfc''), with precipitation falling chiefly during the spring and summer, and wide temperature variations, rendering warm summers for the classification. The hottest recorded temperature, of was on July 9, 2024, with the coldest recorded temperature on January 13, 1972. The name notwithstanding, this town lies at a low elevation for an Alberta community and the regional topography contributes to the extremes of temperature. In winter, very cold air often pools over the area. In summer, air masses originating from higher elevations warm by compression as they descend to High Level. Summer temperatures render High Level well within the vegetation zone, and winter average temperatures are less severe than further east in Canada, even at lower latitudes.

Fauna

High Level has a variety of wildlife, including wolves,

coyote The coyote (''Canis latrans''), also known as the American jackal, prairie wolf, or brush wolf, is a species of canis, canine native to North America. It is smaller than its close relative, the Wolf, gray wolf, and slightly smaller than the c ...

raven A raven is any of several large-bodied passerine bird species in the genus '' Corvus''. These species do not form a single taxonomic group within the genus. There is no consistent distinction between crows and ravens; the two names are assigne ...

s, and many types of insects. Hunters can find

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 ...

deer A deer (: deer) or true deer is a hoofed ruminant ungulate of the family Cervidae (informally the deer family). Cervidae is divided into subfamilies Cervinae (which includes, among others, muntjac, elk (wapiti), red deer, and fallow deer) ...

bear Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family (biology), family Ursidae (). They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats ...

and geese. There are over 150 species of

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

s known to nest in the area.

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by

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 ...

, the Town of High Level had a population of 3,922 living in 1,313 of its 1,467 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 3,159. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021. The population of the Town High Level of according to its 2017 municipal census is 3,992, a change of from its 2015 municipal census population of 3,823. In the 2016 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, the Town of High Level recorded a population of 3,159 living in 1,096 of its 1,339 total private dwellings, a change from its 2011 population of 3,641. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2016.

Economy

The area surrounding High Level is known for its

oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) and lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturate ...

reserves and

forest A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...

s. Two large oil and gas fields, Rainbow Lake which is located west of the town and

Zama City Zama City is a Hamlet (place), hamlet in northwestern Alberta, Canada within Mackenzie County. It is located north of Zama Lake along Zama Road, which branches off the Mackenzie Highway (Highway 35) approximately north of High Level, Alberta ...

which is located North West of the town provides services to the oil patch. One OSB mill (which closed in 2007, and reopened in 2015 after the merger of Ainsworth and Norbord) is located south of High Level and a

dimensional lumber Lumber is wood that has been processed into uniform and useful sizes (dimensional lumber), including beams and planks or boards. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, window frames). ...

mill is located in the town's industrial area. High Level has the most northerly grain elevator in Canada and is a grain terminal for the large agricultural area. There are approximately 350,000 cultivated acres of farm land in the region and farmers transport their grains from up to away.

Government

The town has a council consisting of a mayor (Crystal McAteer) and six councillors (Brent Anderson, Robyn Dwyer, Terrance Jessiman, Joshua Lambert, Boyd Ernest Langford, Jan Welke).

Infrastructure

Both airplane and helicopter services are available in High Level. Due to the 'remote' location, medevac and chartered services, provided by Nor-Alta Aviation, Highland Helicopters and Delta Helicopters (which is not associated with

Delta Air Lines Delta Air Lines, Inc. is a Major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, operating nine hubs, with Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport being its ...

), are offered to serve the surrounding communities. Scheduled airline service is offered at High Level Airport by both Central Mountain Air and

Northwestern Air Northwestern Air is an airline based in Fort Smith, Northwest Territories, Canada. It operates scheduled passenger services to seven destinations in two territories/provinces, as well as undertaking ad hoc charters and long-term charter contra ...

; direct flights to Edmonton, Calgary, Lloydminster, Rainbow Lake, Hay River and Fort Smith are offered daily except Saturdays. Telephone service is provided by the incumbent carrier Telus as well as Northwestel. Regional businesses are represented by the High Level and District Chamber of Commerce.

Education

High Level has three public schools and one private school. *''High Level Public School'' was the first school built in High Level and had all grades, K-12, until Florence MacDougall Community School opened. It now goes from grade 7-12. *''Spirit of the North Community School'' is the newest school in High Level and opened in 2000; it houses grades 4-6. *''Florence MacDougall Community School'' goes from kindergarten through third grade. *''High Level Christian Academy'' goes from kindergarten through grade 9, after which students transfer to High Level Public School. *According to the Fraser Institute, in 2016-17 High Level Public School was ranked 226 out of 262 schools.

Media

The local radio station is CKHL-FM 102.1, part of the ''YL Country'' network of stations based at CKYL in Peace River. In addition, two radio services have repeaters: CBXL 99.5 FM, carrying CBC Radio One as a repeater of CBX Edmonton, and CFKX-FM 106.1, repeating CKKX-FM from Peace River. The local newspaper is ''The Echo''. Television is available by way of locally owned low-powered analogue repeaters of CITV-DT Edmonton (CH2807 channel 10) and

CHAN-DT CHAN-DT (channel 8), branded Global British Columbia or Global BC (formerly British Columbia Television or BCTV), is a television station in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, serving as the West Coast flagship of the Global Television Networ ...

Vancouver (CH2808 channel 12), both owned by the High Level Community Hall Society. The cable television system, in operation for 25 years as High Level Cable, was purchased in August 2006 by Northwestel Cable. Both analog and digital formats are available for television service. High-speed

Internet The Internet (or internet) is the Global network, global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a internetworking, network of networks ...

service is also available from Northwestel.

Notes

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1965 establishments in Alberta Towns in Alberta Former new towns in Alberta