Redwater is a town in the

Edmonton Metropolitan Region The Edmonton Metropolitan Region (EMR), also commonly referred to as Greater Edmonton or Metro Edmonton, is a conglomeration of municipalities centred on Edmonton, the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta. While the EMR is not a strictly ...

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

, Canada that is surrounded by

Sturgeon County Sturgeon County is a municipal district in the Edmonton Metropolitan Region of Alberta, Canada. It is north of Edmonton and west of the North Saskatchewan River. Sturgeon County is located in Division No. 11 and was named for the Sturgeon Rive ...

. It is located on Highway 38, 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 ...

. Its population was 2,053 in the 2016 census, while the town's municipal census conducted in 2012 counted a population of 2,116.

History

In the early 1900s, the area where Redwater stands was settled first by Ukrainian settlers, and followed by English and French settlers. The name Redwater is a reference to the nearby Redwater River, an ochre-coloured tributary that drains into 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 ...

. The survey of the Redwater area was registered on September 7, 1906. The original post office, established in 1907 at a location to the east of present-day Redwater, was moved in 1919 to the current town site when Redwater was established as 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 ...

. On December 31, 1949 it was incorporated as a

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

, becoming a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

a year later on December 31, 1950. Originally, Redwater was primarily a farming community. The 1948 discovery of oil in the area transformed the hamlet of about 160 people into a town of 1,306 by 1951.

Geography

Redwater is surrounded by wide, flat expanses of some of the best farming soil in Alberta. Some of the major geographical features in the area are the Sturgeon River which travels roughly east-south-east about south of the town and flows into the

. To the east and south-east, there are vast areas of sandy soil known locally as sand hills, some of which support a thriving

silica Silicon dioxide, also known as silica, is an oxide of silicon with the chemical formula , commonly found in nature as quartz. In many parts of the world, silica is the major constituent of sand. Silica is one of the most complex and abundant f ...

sand and

gravel Gravel () is a loose aggregation of rock fragments. Gravel occurs naturally on Earth as a result of sedimentation, sedimentary and erosion, erosive geological processes; it is also produced in large quantities commercially as crushed stone. Gr ...

industry. These differing zones support two major types of forest;

coniferous Conifers () are a group of conifer cone, cone-bearing Spermatophyte, seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the phylum, division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a sin ...

, including

Jack Pine Jack pine (''Pinus banksiana''), also known as grey pine or scrub pine, is a North American pine. Distribution and habitat Its native range in Canada is east of the Rocky Mountains from the Mackenzie River in the Northwest Territories t ...

Scots Pine ''Pinus sylvestris'', the Scots pine (UK), Scotch pine (US), Baltic pine, or European red pine is a species of tree in the pine family Pinaceae that is native to Eurasia. It can readily be identified by its combination of fairly short, blue-gr ...

White Spruce White spruce is a common name for several species of spruce (''Picea'') and may refer to: * '' Picea engelmannii'', native to the Rocky Mountains and Cascade Mountains of the United States and Canada * ''Picea glauca ''Picea glauca'', the whi ...

Black Spruce ''Picea mariana'', the black spruce, is a North American species of spruce tree in the pine family. It is widespread across Canada, found in all 10 provinces and all 3 territories. It is the official tree of Newfoundland and Labrador and is tha ...

, and some

Balsam Fir ''Abies balsamea'' or balsam fir is a North American fir, native to most of eastern and central Canada (Newfoundland west to central Alberta) and the northeastern United States (Minnesota east to Maine, and south in the Appalachian Mountains to ...

; broadleaf trees including

Birch A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech- oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 3 ...

, Poplar and

Aspen Aspen is a common name for certain tree species in the Populus sect. Populus, of the ''Populus'' (poplar) genus. Species These species are called aspens: * ''Populus adenopoda'' – Chinese aspen (China, south of ''P. tremula'') * ''Populus da ...

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 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 Redwater had a population of 2,115 living in 910 of its 1,000 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 2,053. 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 Redwater recorded a population of 2,053 living in 862 of its 946 total private dwellings, a change from its 2011 population of 1,915. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2016. The Town of Redwater's 2012 municipal census counted a population of 2,116. The census also counted 921 total dwellings within the town, 77 more than the 844 counted by Statistics Canada in 2011.

Economy

In addition to the farming industry that surrounds the town, numerous large industrial operations are located in the nearby

Alberta's Industrial Heartland Alberta's Industrial Heartland (also known as Upgrader Alley or the Heartland) is the largest industrial area in Western Canada and a joint land-use planning and development initiative between five municipalities in the Edmonton Capital Region to a ...

to the south. The largest industrial operation is the North West Redwater Partnership's (NWRP)

Sturgeon Refinery The Sturgeon Refinery also NWR Sturgeon Refinery is an bitumen refinery built and operated by North West Redwater Partnership (NWRP) in a public-private partnership with the Alberta provincial government. It is located in Sturgeon County nor ...

, an crude oil upgrader located near Redwater. The Sturgeon Refinery, also known as the NWR Sturgeon Refinery, built, owned and operated by NWRP, under a multi-year agreement with the Alberta provincial government, which has provided multi-billion dollar loans for the operation as well as a 30-year commitment to supplying the refinery with bitumen feed. On their website, NWRP estimated that the economic value of the Sturgeon Refinery to Alberta is about $CDN90 billion over 30 years". Other notable operations include a fertilizer plant

Agrium Inc Agrium Inc. was a major retail supplier of agricultural products and services in North America, South America and Australia and a wholesale producer and marketer of all three major agricultural nutrients and a supplier of specialty fertilizers ...

, a chemical production plant

Evonik Industries {{Infobox company , name = Evonik Industries AG , logo = Logo Evonik 2020.svg , image = RellingHaus II, Essen.jpg , image_caption = Evonik's headquarters in Essen, Germany , type = Aktiengesellschaft , traded_as = {{Frankfurt Stock Exchange, ...

, a petrochemical plant Pembina, a pipeline storage and shipping facility Access Pipeline INC and the

Shell Shell may refer to: Architecture and design * Shell (structure), a thin structure ** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses Science Biology * Seashell, a hard outer layer of a marine ani ...

Scotford upgrader and refinery. These industries have spawned an array of offshoot businesses such as shipping, oilfield services,

heavy equipment Heavy equipment, heavy machinery, earthmovers, construction vehicles, or construction equipment, refers to heavy-duty vehicles specially designed to execute construction tasks, most frequently involving earthwork operations or other large con ...

and other support services.

Attractions

Redwater boasts many attractions for a community of its size such as: A nine-hole golf course with grass greens is located within Redwater, a multi use recreational facility Pembina place, an outdoor swimming pool, the sand hills natural area which is home to some of the best ATV trails in central Alberta, a public library, and the world's largest oil derrick.

Infrastructure

Health care

The town is home to the Redwater Health Centre.

Emergency services

Redwater has a

Royal Canadian Mounted Police The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; , GRC) is the Law enforcement in Canada, national police service of Canada. The RCMP is an agency of the Government of Canada; it also provides police services under contract to 11 Provinces and terri ...

detachment, ambulance services and a volunteer

fire department A fire department (North American English) or fire brigade (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English), also known as a fire company, fire authority, fire district, fire and rescue, or fire service in some areas, is an organi ...

Education

Schools in Redwater include Ochre Park School and Redwater School; providing instruction for kindergarten through grade 4, and for grades 5 through 12 respectively.

Media

''The Review'' is a local weekly newspaper that serves Redwater.

Notable people

* Todd Fedoruk, professional hockey player

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1949 establishments in Alberta Edmonton Metropolitan Region Towns in Alberta