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 n ...

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...

, Canada. The community is at the mouth of Fredette River on Martin Lake. It is north of

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

and

Beaverlodge Lake Beaverlodge Lake is a remote lake in northern Saskatchewan, Canada, located south of Uranium City and north of Lake Athabasca. Road access is provided by Highway 962. The former Eldorado town site is on the lake and there has been extensive ...

and is about northwest of

Prince Albert, Saskatchewan Prince Albert is the third-largest city in Saskatchewan, Canada, after Saskatoon and Regina, Saskatchewan, Regina. It is situated near the centre of the province on the banks of the North Saskatchewan River. The city is known as the "Gateway ...

, northeast of

Edmonton, Alberta 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 the

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 ...

-Saskatchewan border. The elevation is above sea level. 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 ne ...

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

uranium Uranium is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, 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. Ura ...

area developed by Eldorado Mining and Refining, a federal

crown corporation Crown corporation () is the term used in Canada for organizations that are structured like private companies, but are directly and wholly owned by the government. Crown corporations have a long-standing presence in the country, and have a sign ...

. 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 that extracts rock or minerals from the earth. Open-pit mines are used when deposits of commercially useful ore or ...

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, the Lorado Mine, and the Fay-Ace-Verna Mine in Eldorado, Saskatchewan. 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 Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario, the other primary region being Southern Ontario. Most of the core geographic region is located on p ...

, 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 ...

. 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 ( , , , ) are a mixed-race Indigenous people whose historical homelands include Canada's three Prairie Provinces extending into parts of Ontario, British Columbia, the Northwest Territories and the northwest United States. They ha ...

and

First Nations First nations are indigenous settlers or bands. First Nations, first nations, or first peoples may also refer to: Indigenous groups *List of Indigenous peoples *First Nations in Canada, Indigenous peoples of Canada who are neither Inuit nor Mé ...

people.Fission Avenue: Uranium City Pg2
/ref> The town is considered a uranium boomtown due to the rapid increase in population during the mining period and substantial depopulation that followed.

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 ...

, 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. Now operating as Rise Air after merging with Trans West Air in 2021. Destinations Under its ExpressAir banner, West Wind formerly offered scheduled service between Reg ...

previously served Uranium City with flights to

Prince Albert Prince Albert most commonly refers to: *Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1819–1861), consort of Queen Victoria *Albert II, Prince of Monaco (born 1958), present head of state of Monaco Prince Albert may also refer to: Royalty * Alb ...

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 Rise Air is a scheduled and Air charter, charter airline primarily serving the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. Its headquarters and main base are in Saskatoon. Rise Air, a First Nations in Canada, First ...

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, airfield, or airstrip 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 public or private use. Aerodromes inc ...

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. Segments of a winter road that cross an expanse of flo ...

which connects with Fond-du-Lac. 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 Telecommunications in Canada, Canadian Crown corporations of Canada, crown-owned telecommunications firm based in the province of Saskatchewan. Owned by the provinci ...

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 Common Language Location Identification (CLLI) is an application of Common Language Information Services in the North American telecommunications industry. It specifies the location and function of telecommunication equipment or of a relevant loca ...

: URCYSK05DS0).

Canada Post Canada Post Corporation (, trading as Canada Post (), is a Canadian Crown corporation that functions as the primary postal operator in Canada. Originally known as Royal Mail Canada (the operating name of the Post Office Department of the Can ...

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 numerical digit, digits or both, sometimes including spaces or punctuation, inclu ...

: 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 a ...

* 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-FM in La Ronge. MBC Radio broadcasts to more tha ...

* 103.1 FM – VF2240 – rebroadcasts

CFMI-FM CFMI-FM (101.1 MHz) branded as ''Rock 101'', is a commercial radio station in Vancouver, British Columbia. It is owned by Corus Entertainment with studios in Downtown Vancouver, in the TD Tower. The station has a radio format that combines ...

* 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 o ...

, rebroadcasting CBKA-FM

La Ronge La Ronge is a List of municipalities in Saskatchewan, northern town in the boreal forest of Canada, boreal forest of Saskatchewan, Canada. The town is also the namesake of the larger #Population centre, La Ronge population centre, the largest ...

. 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, or simply CBC) is a Television in Canada, Canadian English-language terrestrial television, broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcasting, p ...

service from

CBKST CBKST, VHF analogue channel 11, was a CBC Television owned-and-operated station licensed to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, which operated from 1971 to 2012. The station was owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. CBKST's master contr ...

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

CBC North CBC North (; ; ) is the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's radio and television service for the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and Yukon of Northern Canada as well as Eeyou Istchee and Nunavik in the Nord-du-Québec region of Quebec. Hist ...

. 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 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 Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

''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 The 2021 Western North America heat wave was an extreme heat wave that affected much of Western North America from late June through mid-July 2021. The heat wave affected Northern California, Idaho, Western Nevada, Oregon, and Washington in ...

Wind chill Wind chill (popularly wind chill factor) is the sensation of cold produced by the wind for a given ambient air temperature on exposed skin as the air motion accelerates the rate of heat transfer from the body to the surrounding atmosphere. Its va ...

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 cen ...

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 Nuclear fission, fission nuclear chain reaction. They are used for Nuclear power, commercial electricity, nuclear marine propulsion, marine propulsion, Weapons-grade plutonium, weapons ...

. 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, 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 () and also known as Torino 2006, were a winter multi-sport event held from 10 to 26 February in Turin, Italy. This marked the second time Italy had hosted the Winter O ...

* Gilbert LaBine, a founder of the Gunnar Mine

In popular culture

* ''

Ride the Cyclone ''Ride the Cyclone'' is a 2008 musical with music, lyrics and book by Jacob Richmond and Brooke Maxwell. It is the second installment in Richmond's "Uranium Teen Scream Trilogy", a collection of three theatrical works, one not yet written, that t ...

'', a musical created by Brooke Maxwell and Jacob Richmond, is about six teenagers from a fictionalized version of Uranium City who are involved in a roller coaster accident.

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