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Kamloops is a city in south central British Columbia, Canada, at the confluence of the two branches of the Thompson River and near Kamloops Lake. It is the largest community in the Thompson-Nicola Regional District and the location of the regional district's offices. The surrounding region is more commonly referred to as the Thompson Country. It is ranked 37th on the list of the 100 largest metropolitan areas in Canada and represents the 4th largest census agglomeration nationwide, with 92,882 residents in 2006.

History

Kamloops and the Thompson River, 1886

The Kamloops area was exclusively inhabited by the Secwepemc (Shuswap) nation (part of the Interior Salish language group) prior to the arrival of European settlers. The first European explorers arrived in 1811, in the person of David Stuart, sent out from Fort Astoria, then still a Pacific Fur Company post, and who spent a winter there with the Secwepemc people, with Alexander Ross establishing a post there in May 1812 - "Fort Cumcloups".

Later in the year, with the rival North West Company establishing another post - Fort Shuswap - nearby in the same year. The two operations were merged in 1813 when the North West Company officials in the region bought out the operations of the North West Company. After the North West Company's forced merger with the Hudson's Bay Company in 1821, the post became known commonly as Thompson's River Post, or Fort Thompson, which over time became known as Fort Kamloops.[6] The post's journals, kept by its Chief Traders, document a series of inter-Indian wars and personalities for the period and also give much insight to the goings-on of the fur companies and their personnel throughout the entire Pacific slope.

Soon after the forts were founded, the main local village of the Secwepemc, then headed by a chief named Kwa'lila, was moved close to the trading post in order to control access to its trade, as well as for prestige and protection. With Kwalila's death, the local chieftaincy was passed to his nephew and foster-son Chief Nicola, who led an alliance of Okanagan and Nlaka'pamux people in the plateau country to the south around Stump, Nicola and Douglas Lakes.

Relations between Nicola and the fur traders were often tense but in the end Nicola was recognised as a great help to the influx of whites during the gold rush, though admonishing those who had been in parties waging violence and looting on the Okanagan Trail, which led from American territory to the Fraser goldfields.[7][8] Throughout, Kamloops was an important way station on the route of the Hudson's Bay Brigade Trail, which originally connected Fort Astoria with Fort Alexandria and the other forts in New Caledonia to the north (today's Omineca Country, roughly), and which continued in heavy use through the onset of the Cariboo Gold Rush as the main route to the new goldfields around what was to become Barkerville.

The gold rush of the 1860s and the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway in the 1880s brought further growth, resulting in the City of Kamloops being incorporated in 1893 with a population of about 500.

Etymology

Kamloops, British Columbia

"Kamloops" is the anglicised version of the Shuswap word "Tk'emlups", meaning 'meeting of the waters'. Shuswap is still actively spoken in the area by members of the Kamloops Indian Band. Another possible origin of the name comes from the French "Camp des loups" meaning 'Camp of Wolves', likely spoken by fur traders.[6]

One story perhaps connected with this version of the name concerns an attack by a pack of wolves, much built up in story to one huge white wolf, or a pack of wolves and other animals, traveling overland from the Nicola Country being repelled by a single shot by John Tod, then Chief Trader, with his musket - at a distance of some 200 yd (180 m). The shot caused the admiration of native witnesses and is said to have given the Chief Trader a great degree of respect locally, preventing the fort from attack.[9]

Industry

KPMG building in Kamloops

Industries in the Kamloops area include primary resource processing such as Domtar Kamloops' Pulp Mill, Tolko-Heffley Creek Plywood and Veneer, LaFarge Cement, Highland Valley Copper Mine (in Logan Lake), and others. Thompson Rivers University is the city's largest employer and serves a student body of 10,000 including a diverse international contingent.

There are tertiary industrial sector entities such as

• British Columbia Lottery Corporation
• Pollard Banknote
• NRI Distribution
• Convergys call centre
• Domtar
• and many others

Transportation

Kamloops is also a transportation hub for the region due to its connections to Highways 5 and 97C, the Trans-Canada and Yellowhead Highways.

Kamloops is home to Kamloops Airport (Fulton Field), a small international Airport currently being expanded, with construction underway into 2010. YKA has averaged a 15% increase in air travelers every month since 2004. Airlines currently flying to Kamloops are Air Canada, WestJet, Central Mountain Air, and Pacific Coastal Airlines.

Local bus service is provided by Kamloops Transit

Geography and location

Kamloops is situated in the Thompson Valley and the Montane Cordillera Ecozone. The central core of the city is located in the valley near the confluence of the North and South branches of the Thompson River. Suburbs stretch for more than a dozen kilometres along both North and South branches, as well as to the steep hillsides along the south portion of the city and lower North East hill sides.

Kamloops Indian Band areas begin just to the northeast of the downtown core but are not located within the city limits. As a result of this placement, it is necessary to leave Kamloops' city limits and pass through the band lands before re-entering the city limits to access the communities of Rayleigh and Heffley Creek. Kamloops is surrounded by the smaller communities of Cherry Creek, Pritchard, Savona, Scotch Creek, Adams Lake, Chase, Paul Lake, Pinantan and various others.

The Thompson River.

Climate

Canadian National trains pull through north Kamloops then cross this rail bridge over the North Thompson River to the Kamloops Indian Band, and the large CN rail yards.

The climate of Kamloops is a semi-arid steppe climate (Köppen climate classification BSk) due to its rain shadow location. While situated in a semi-arid valley, Kamloops has winters that are generally mild and very short with an occasional cold snap where temperatures can drop to around -30 °C (-22 °F) when Arctic air floods over the Rocky Mountains into the interior.

However, until the winter of 2008/2009, Kamloops had not seen -30 °C (-22 °F) since the mid 1990s. Snow can occur from November to April, but most of it falls over a few weeks in December and January.[10] Winter mean temperature is -4.2 °C (24 °F) in January.[10] The average number of cold days below -10 °C (14 °F) in one year is 8 as recorded by Environment Canada.[10]

Perhaps surprisingly, considering that Kamloops is located at 50° North, summers are quite hot with prevailing dry, and sunny weather. The average July high temperature is 28 °C (82 °F) and would be higher if not for occasional incursions of cool northerly air masses. In most years, Kamloops can experience warm weather similar to that in southern California, as summer temperatures come close to or even exceed 40 °C (104 °F). Humidity is generally very low and night time temperatures are moderate.

Spring arrives very early, sometimes in February, due to mild air spilling over the coastal mountains from the Pacific Ocean. On February 19, 2001 Kamloops recorded 17.0 °C (63 °F).[10] Fall is generally a pleasant and a mostly dry season. On November 3, 1975 Kamloops recorded a day time high of 22.8 °C (73 °F).[10]

Locater map for Kamloops, BC

The city does have Spring and Summer water restrictions [2]: Water Restrictions are in effect only from May 1 to August 31. All commercial and residential customers who receive their water supply from the City of Kamloops are required to comply with the following regulations:

• Even numbered property addresses are allowed to sprinkle or irrigate only on even numbered days.
• Odd numbered property addresses are allowed to sprinkle or irrigate only on odd numbered days.
• Where a complex uses internal addresses or other identifying numbers, the internal numbers will be used to establish the appropriate watering day.

Kamloops lies in the rain shadow leeward of the Coast Mountains and is biogeographically connected to similar semi-desert and desert areas in the Okanagan region, the Osoyoos area, and the central/eastern parts of Washington and Oregon state as well as intermontane areas of Nevada and Idaho in the US.

These areas of relatively similar climate have many distinctive native plants and animals in common, such as Ponderosa Pine (Pinus ponderosa), big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata), prickly pear cactus (Opuntia fragilis in this case), rattlesnakes (Crotalus viridis), Black widow spiders and Lewis's Woodpecker.

Sports

A golf course in Kamloops

Kamloops hosted the 1993 Canada Summer Games. It co-hosted (with Vancouver and Kelowna) the 2006 IIHF World U20 Championship from December 26, 2005, to January 5, 2006. It hosted the 2006 BC Summer Games. In the summer of 2008, Kamloops, and its modern facility the Tournament Capital Centre, played host to the U15 boys and girls Basketball National Championship. The city is known as, and holds a Canadian trademark as, Canada's Tournament Capital[12].

Sun Peaks Resort is a nearby ski and snowboard hill. Olympic medallist skier Nancy Greene is director of skiing at Sun Peaks and the chancellor of Thompson Rivers University. The Overlander Ski Club runs the Stake Lake cross country ski area with 50 km (31 mi) of trails. Kamloops is home to world-famous mountain bikers such as Wade Simmons and Matt Hunter[13]. In 2007, the Kamloops Bike Ranch opened in Juniper Ridge along Highland Drive. The Kamloops Rotary Skatepark located at McArthur Island is one of the largest skateboard parks in Canada.[14] Kamloops will host the 2011 Western Canada Summer Games.

Kamloops is home to the Western Hockey League's Kamloops Blazers, who play at the Interior Savings Centre, the Thompson Okanagan Junior Lacrosse League's Kamloops Junior B Rattlers, as well as the Kamloops Storm. Also calling Kamloops home is the Canadian Junior Football League's Kamloops Broncos, and Pacific Coast Soccer League's Kamloops Excel, both of whom play at Hillside Stadium.

Soccer for the city includes: Kamloops Youth Soccer Association, Kamloops Blaze rep team and the Kamloops Excel (see above).

Thompson Rivers University of Kamloops hosts the Thompson Rivers WolfPack, and has sports teams that include men's and women's volleyball, basketball, soccer, and badminton. Also the WolfPack have rugby, badminton, golf, and baseball teams.

Alumni of the Kamloops Blazers include:Mark Recchi, Jarome Iginla, Darryl Sydor, Nolan Baumgartner, Shane Doan, Scott Niedermayer, Rudy Poeschek and Darcy Tucker.

There is a proposal to bring a Golden Baseball League expansion team to Kamloops for the 2010 season. If successful, it would be the city's first professional baseball team and the league's fourth Canadian team.[15][16][17]

Demographics

Demographics of the City of Kamloops according to Statistics Canada 2006 census.[1]

Visible minorities

Total visible minority population: 5,030[1]

Religious groups

Data is from the 2001 census.[18]

Education

International Building at Thompson Rivers University

K-12

Public schools in the Kamloops area are part of School District 73 Kamloops/Thompson. Private schools include Kamloops Christian School, Our Lady Of Perpetual Help School (Catholic), and St. Ann's Academy (Catholic).

Post-Secondary

Kamloops is home to two University campuses

Kamloops is the home to a satellite campus of Simon Fraser University.

Thompson Rivers University[19] primarily an undergraduate degree-granting university with satellite campuses in

Thompson Rivers University has begun to offer MBA, M.Ed, and M.Sc. programs as well as undergraduate degrees in the mid-2000s. Thompson Rivers University also has an open-distance learning division.

Neighbourhoods

Officially recognised neighbourhoods within the city of Kamloops[20].

Unofficially recognized areas are listed beneath the neighborhoods to which they belong:

Notable people

Below is a list of people who are from Kamloops, or who lived there for an extended period.

Historical figures

• Edward Donald Bellew, recipient of the Victoria Cross.
• Donald McLean, former Chief Trader of Fort Kamloops and one of the casualties of the Chilcotin War.
• Allan McLean, son of Donald McLean and leader of the outlaw gang known as the Wild McLean Boys.
• Frank Robert Miller, former Deputy Minister of National Defence.
• Chief Nicola, conjoing chief of the Nicolas and the Kamloops Shuswap during the fur trade and gold rush eras.
• Robert and Henry Pratt, first settlers in Barnhartvale, British Columbia.
• Johnny Ussher, settler, provincial magistrate and Gold Commissioner.
• Mark Sweeten Wade, medical doctor, newspaperman and historian.

Politicians

• Jack Davis, politician who was elected both federally and provincially.
• John L. Frazer, was a member of the Canadian House of Commons from 1993 to 1997[21].
• Edmund Davie Fulton, was a member of the Canadian House of Commons from 1945 to 1963, and 1965 to 1968[22].
• Terry Lake, former mayor.
• Leonard Marchand, QPC, CM, the first person of First Nations ethnicity to serve in the federal cabinet and the first Status Indian to serve as a Member of Parliament.[23][24]
• Nelson Riis, former Kamloops alderman and Director of the Thompson-Nicola Regional District, later federal MP for Kamloops.
• Peter Wing, North America's first mayor of Chinese descent.[25]

Sportspeople

• Dylan Armstrong, 2008 Olympics shot putter who finished 4th.
• Don Ashby, former NHL ice hockey player[26].
• Mitch Berger, NFL player.[27]
• Rick Boh, former NHL ice hockey player[28].
• Darren Clark, Canadian FIFA assistant referee.
• Jolene Downey, Barrel Racer from Kamloops, who won the 2006 Calgary Stampede Barrel Racing Championship.
• Craig Endean, former NHL ice hockey player[29].
• Todd Esselmont, ice and roller hockey player.
• Erin Gammel, is a swimmer who competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics.
• Don Hay, former NHL head coach[30].
• Murray Kennett, is a former WHA ice hockey player[31].
• Doug Lidster, former NHL ice hockey player[32].
• Steve Marr, ice hockey defenceman[33].
• Bert Marshall, former NHL ice hockey player[34].
• Bob Mowat, former WHA ice hockey player[35].
• Shane Niemi, is a Canadian sprints athlete.
• Michelle Pye, Female Canadian FIFA referee.
• Mark Recchi, professional hockey player.[36]
• Peter Soberlak, former AHL professional ice hockey player[37].
• Tim Watters, former NHL ice hockey player[38].

Arts, culture & media

• Steven Galloway, novelist, was raised in Kamloops.
• Boris Karloff, actor, joined the Jeanne Russell theatre company in Kamloops in September 1911.
• Mark Madryga, Meteorologist for Environment Canada and news weather forecaster for Global BC.[39]
• John Pozer, award-winning filmmaker.
• Michael Shanks, actor, born in Vancouver, but grew up in Kamloops.[40]
• Andrea Smith, is a singer-songwriter.
• Chris Masuak, is a Punk rock singer-songwriter from Australia - but lived in Brocklehurst (North Kamloops) in the 60's

Other

• Lesra Martin, lawyer who helped with Rubin "The Hurricane" Carter's prison release.[41]
• Merle Terlesky, conservative activist.

Politics

Elections in to the municipality in Kamloops are held with the rest of the province every three years.

Provincially, Kamloops is considered to be bellwether, having voted for the governing party in every provincial election since the introduction of parties to British Columbian elections. By contrast, Kamloops has regularly voted against the party in power federally until the 2006 Federal election. Kamloops is represented in two provincial ridings - Kamloops and Kamloops-North Thompson and one federal riding - Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo.

• Mayor – Peter Milobar
• Members of the Legislative Assembly:
  • Kevin Krueger, Kamloops
  • Terry Lake, Kamloops-North Thompson

Federal Members of Parliament:

• Cathy McLeod (2008–present) Conservative Party of Canada
• Betty Hinton (2000–2008) Conservative Party of Canada
• Nelson Riis (1980–2000) New Democratic Party
• Don Cameron (1979–1980) Progressive Conservative Party of Canada
• Leonard Marchand (1968–1979) Liberal Party of Canada

Planetary Nomenclature

Kamloops crater on Mars

The city's name was adopted for a crater on the surface of Mars. Crater Kamloops was officially adopted by the International Astronomical Union, and Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature (IAU/WGPSN) in 1991. The location of the crater on the Martian surface is 53.8° south latitude and 32.6° west longitude, with a diameter of 65 km (40 mi).[42][43]

Sister cities

• Bacolod, Philippines
• Uji, Japan

[Weather Source: KamloopsCity.com] [Kamloops Information Source: Wikipedia]