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55-609: Prairie Museum may refer to: in Canada Grande Prairie Museum , Grande Prairie, Alberta, museum in Grande Prairie Living Prairie Museum , Winnipeg, Manitoba, includes 30 acres (12 ha) preserved tall grass prairie Prairie River Museum , Prairie River, Porcupine No. 395, Saskatchewan in the United States Museum of

110-752: A bank, hotel, post office, and land office, making it a district metropolis. In 1916, it became the terminus of the Edmonton, Dunvegan and British Columbia Railway from Edmonton. The Edson Trail from Edson to Grande Prairie was opened in 1911 as a means for settlers to reach the Grande Prairie area. It was basically nothing more than a tract of clear cut bush and forest, and was thus a very difficult route for many settlers, especially during wet weather. Because of this, large scale settlement came late compared to other major farming regions further south in Canada. Grande Prairie

165-508: A city in 1958. At that time, its population was approximately 7,600. The opening of the Procter & Gamble kraft pulp mill in 1972 and the discovery of the Elmworth deep basin gas field spurred an economic boom. Grande Prairie's population went from just over 12,000 in the early 1970s to over 24,000 by the time the oil boom went bust in 1981. In the five years from 2001 to 2006, Grande Prairie

220-446: A non-official language as mother tongues, while 0.6% listed both English and French. 45.8% of residents were Christian in 2021, down from 58.5% in 2011. 20.4% were Catholic , 11.3% were Christian n.o.s, 10.0% were Protestant , and 4.1% belonged to other Christian denominations or Christian-related traditions. 49.4% were non-religious or secular, up from 39.2% in 2011. All other religions and spiritual traditions accounted for 4.8% of

275-500: A population density of 483.3/km (1,251.8/sq mi) in 2021. In the 2016 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, the City of Grande Prairie had a population of 63,166 living in 23,676 of its 26,204 total private dwellings, a change of 13.5% from its 2011 population of 55,655. With a land area of 132.73 km (51.25 sq mi), it had a population density of 475.9/km (1,232.6/sq mi) in 2016. The population of

330-583: Is a 41,000 sq ft (3,800 m ) building with many exhibits, a large theatre, classrooms, a paleontology lab, a gift shop, and a restaurant. The museum is named after Philip J. Currie , from the University of Alberta , who has contributed to the understanding of the link between dinosaurs and birds. The Bear Creek Folk Music Festival, first held in 2016, is an outdoor music festival held in late August on Borstad Hill in Muskoseepi Park. The festival

385-541: Is a major part of Grande Prairie's economy, for large tracts of forest lie to the south in the foothills of the Canadian Rockies . International Paper (formerly Weyerhaeuser Canada ) kraft pulp mill, opened in 1972 by Procter & Gamble , is one of Grande Prairie's largest employers. Canfor runs a sawmill and lumber yard operation on the west side of the city. Norbord (formerly Ainsworth) oriented strand board plant opened in late 1995. Grande Prairie serves as

440-573: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Grande Prairie Grande Prairie is a city in northwestern Alberta , Canada, within the southern portion of an area known as Peace River Country . It is located at the intersection of Highway 43 (part of the CANAMEX Corridor ) and Highway 40 (the Bighorn Highway), approximately 456 km (283 mi) northwest of Edmonton . The city

495-473: Is funded in part by the City of Grande Prairie. In 1995, the city hosted the Canada Games . The event was televised nationally on CBC Television . Hundreds of athletes competed in the events and the city gained status and recognition as a result. The city played host to the 2010 Arctic Winter Games from March 6–13, 2010. There are a number of parks in Grande Prairie, including the large Muskoseepi Park in

550-401: Is sometimes nicknamed the "Swan City". The dinosaur has also emerged as an unofficial symbol of the city due to paleontology discoveries in the areas north and west of Grande Prairie. The Grande Prairie area was historically known as Buffalo Plains, after the buffalo who would traverse the large prairie which lies to the north, east, and west of it. Émile Grouard , a Roman Catholic Priest, was

605-424: Is surrounded by farmland to the north, east, and west. To the south lies a vast boreal forest with aspen, tamarack, lodgepole pine, jack pine, and black spruce extending well into the foothills of the Canadian Rockies south and southwest of the city. The city actually lies on the southern edge of aspen parkland , which is a transitional biome between boreal forest and prairie . The Peace River Country contains

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660-564: Is surrounded by the County of Grande Prairie No. 1 . Grande Prairie was the seventh-largest city in Alberta in 2016, with a population of 63,166, and was one of Canada's fastest growing cities between 2001 and 2006, and Canada's northernmost city with more than 50,000 people. The city has adopted the trumpeter swan as its official symbol due to its proximity to the bird's migration route and its summer nesting grounds. For that reason, Grande Prairie

715-400: Is the largest full featured exhibition facility north of Edmonton, and can cater to upwards of 10,000 people at a time. It has a restaurant (open daily) and a lounge, and hosts events such as agricultural shows, rodeos, chuckwagon races, horse racing, sportsman and RV shows. A variety of halls, convention spaces and conference facilities all with paved parking are available. The largest building,

770-528: Is the northernmost major farming region in North America . Land within the region is still being cleared for new farmland. Although some oil and gas drilling has been ongoing in the area since the 1950s, oil and gas exploration did not begin to occur on a large scale until the late 1970s. It was in the mid to late-1970s that the Elmworth gas field was discovered and developed, causing the city to grow rapidly until

825-571: Is −13.6 °C (7.5 °F), while the average July temperature is 16.2 °C (61.2 °F). However, temperatures as low as −52.2 °C (−62 °F) and as high as 41.5 °C (106.7 °F) have been recorded; the extreme humidex and wind chill readings are 40.8 and −63.0 °C (105 and −81 °F), respectively. The city receives 445 mm (17.5 in) of precipitation annually, including 322 mm (12.7 in) of rain and 154 cm (61 in) of snow. Snowfall amounts, however, vary greatly from year to year. Being fairly close to

880-728: The Grande Prairie Storm , plays there), the Grande Prairie Museum , the Art Gallery of Grande Prairie, 214 place, the tallest commercial building in the city, and Second Street Theatre. Grande Prairie is also home to a professional musical theatre company, "Broadway Live Broadway". The Reel Shorts Film Festival is a five-day international festival of short films that takes place at Grande Prairie Live Theatre's Second Street Theatre in early May. The Philip J. Currie Dinosaur Museum , located fifteen minutes west of Grande Prairie,

935-584: The West Moberly First Nations (WMFNs) use Dunne-za or Dunne Za . Where other spellings are used in citations, such as Dunne-Za (e.g., Ridington 1988), they are kept intact and are synonymous with Dane-zaa. The historic usual English term Beaver is a translation of the name used by several of their neighboring tribes. The Dakelh called them Tsattine / Tsat'en and the Plains Cree called them Amiskiwiyiniw , both meaning "Those who live among

990-571: The 1920s caused a temporary depopulation of Grande Prairie. But the population rebounded afterwards by the 1930s, by which time the population had reached 1,464. Settlement continued unabated even into the 1930s during the Dust Bowl era because the Peace Region was able to escape the severe drought conditions that plagued the Canadian Prairies further south at the time. The Second World War saw

1045-615: The Bear Creek Golf Club, and the Grande Prairie Golf and Country Club. A fourth golf course, Grovedale Golf Course, is also located approximately 20 km (12 mi) to the southwest of the city. Early in 2017, a new nine hole course, The Bear Paw Golf Course , with a par level of 3 opened up in the South Bear Creek Recreation Area. Grande Prairie has three 18-hole disc golf courses. Thrill Hill in

1100-530: The Bear Creek valley which winds its way throughout the city. Muskoseepi Park has excellent walking and bike trails extending nearly the entire length of Bear Creek, from the northwest to the southeast of the city. The park also contains the Ernie Radbourne Pavilion, the outdoor Bear Creek Swimming Pool and the outdoor Muskoseepi Park Pond which converts into a skating rink in the winter. Crystal Lake in

1155-736: The City of Grande Prairie according to its 2015 municipal census was 68,556, a change of 36.5% from its 2007 municipal census population of 50,227. In the 2021 census, 15.9% of residents were visible minorities, while 11.7% were Indigenous and the remaining 72.4% were white/European. The largest visible minority groups were Filipino (6.9%), South Asian (2.9%), Black (2.2%), Latin American (0.8%), Chinese (0.8%) and Arab (0.6%). As of 2021, 83.8% of residents claimed English as their first language. Other common mother tongues were Tagalog (3.4%), French (2.1%), Punjabi (0.8%), Spanish (0.8%), and German (0.6%) . 2.0% listed both English and

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1210-745: The Dane-zaa as the Beaver . The name Dunne-za has been translated to "Those who live among the beaver." The spelling Dane-zaa is typically used for "the Real People." That spelling is used by the Dane-zaa Language Authority. Different tribes and First Nations use different spellings. For example, the Doig River First Nation (DRFN) and Halfway River First Nation (HRFN) use Dane-Zaa . Prophet River First Nation (PRFN) uses Dene Tsaa ; and

1265-501: The Dane-zaa north. The Peace River, before and after its new name, marked a boundary zone, where groups met for trade, celebration, and settling of disputes. A post journal of 1799–1800 mentions people trading at the post who can be identified as the ancestors of members of the former Fort St John Band, now the Doig River and Blueberry River First Nations. Doig oral history confirms that the ancestors of present Dane-zaa families were in

1320-644: The Entrec Centre has 105,000 sq ft (9,800 m ) of space, with a 46,000 sq ft (4,300 m ) main hall, and has hosted many concerts and trade shows in the past. Evergreen Park also has a 76 spot RV and Marine Campground which is open in the summer from May to October, as well as an archery centre, an equestrian facility, and 12 baseball diamonds, which are home to the Grande Prairie Reds Baseball Club. Grande Prairie has three 18-hole golf courses, The Dunes Golf and Winter Club,

1375-490: The GP Curling Club. Summer-long music festivals have been organized by community-minded individuals and charitable organizations. Grande Prairie has a wide range of local music genres, including country (such as Tenille Townes , Brad Sims, and more); reggae (Tasman Jude ); metal (Arrival of Autumn ); folk; rock, and more Cultural venues include Bonnetts Energy Centre (a concert hall and hockey rink—the local AJHL team,

1430-673: The Grand Prairie in the village of Mahomet, Illinois Conner Prairie: Indiana's Living History Museum , Hamilton County, Indiana Sheldon Prairie Museum , Sheldon, Iowa Prairie Museum of Art and History , Colby, Kansas Stuhr Museum of the Prairie Pioneer , in Grand Island, Nebraska Hastings Prairie Museum , Hastings, Nebraska Nebraska Prairie Museum , Holdrege, Nebraska Dacotah Prairie Museum , Aberdeen, South Dakota See also [ edit ] Little House on

1485-524: The North West Company in 1821), and independent fur traders, centering around Dunvegan, a Hudson's Bay Company outpost called La Grande Prairie was established by George Kennedy. The post was established South of Dunvegan and 21 km (13 mi) north west of the present day city of Grande Prairie, south east of La Glace Lake, and west of what is now the Town of Sexsmith (the 1896 version of this building

1540-715: The Northern Extreme water ramp facility. It is also active in luge as a naturally refrigerated venue, hosting the FIL World Luge Natural Track Championships in 2007 . Cross-country skiing is also common during the winter. The Wapiti Nordic Ski Club is one of Canada's premier cross country skiing and biathlon facilities, and is just south of the city. There are over 35 km (22 mi) of both classical and skate skiing trails, as well as 4.5 km (2.8 mi) of nightly lit trails. There are also snowshoe trails as well as dog friendly trails. In

1595-461: The Peace Region is noted for never having experienced truly severe drought conditions more typical of Southern Alberta and neighbouring Saskatchewan . Tornadoes are rare but not unheard of in the Peace Region. A tornado struck the downtown area and east side of Grande Prairie on July 8, 2004. Although the tornado was considered a very weak one (F0-F1 on the Fujita scale) and the weather was not severe at

1650-564: The Peace River is named for the settling of a conflict between the Dane-zaa and the Cree. The Cree traditionally lived south and east of the Upper Peace River region. Due to their trade with settlers, they had guns and they pushed the Dane-zaa northwest in the late 18th century. A peace treaty, negotiated in the late 1700s or early 1800s, stated that the Cree would live south of the Peace River, and

1705-653: The Prairie Museum , Independence, Kansas Breaking the Prairie Museum , Mendota, Illinois Prairie Elevator Museum , Acadia Valley, Alberta Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Prairie Museum . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Prairie_Museum&oldid=1104565781 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description

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1760-544: The Swanavon neighbourhood, South Bear Creek, and Coop Community Course at Evergreen Park. Downhill skiing is popular in Grande Prairie, which has a local ski hill called Nitehawk and is located south of the city on the south bank of the Wapiti River. Aside from skiing, Nitehawk also has the only North American natural luge track certified for international events, and over the summer months freestyle ski jumpers practice using

1815-649: The US and Canadian military establish Grande Prairie as a part of the Northwest Staging Route and for the construction of the Alaska Highway from Dawson Creek to Alaska . Although Dawson Creek was chosen as the major starting point of the construction of the Alaska Highway , Grande Prairie was a major stopover point for military aircraft during the war, and benefited economically from this. Although Grande Prairie

1870-562: The area of Charlie Lake north of Fort St John has been continuously occupied for 10,500 years by varying cultures of indigenous peoples . In the late 18th century, European-Canadians opened the Peace River area to fur trading . Scot-Canadian explorer Alexander Mackenzie (explorer) established Rocky Mountain Fort at the mouth of the Moberly River in 1794. According to Dane-zaa oral history ,

1925-584: The beaver" or "Beaver People." In French, they are known as the Gens de Castor , meaning "People of the Beaver". Prior to the 19th century, the Dane-zaa inhabited lands further east, near the Athabaska and Clearwater Rivers , and north to Lake Athabaska , as well as territory north of the upper Peace River (called Saaghii Naachii , meaning "big river," by them). Archaeological evidence at Charlie Lake Cave establishes that

1980-646: The coming of the Europeans. The last Dreamer, Charlie Yahey, died in 1976. The Dane-zaa of Fort St John took an adhesion to Treaty 8 in 1900. Today they continue to have a strong cultural and economic presence in the North Peace area. In collaboration with the elders of the Doig River First Nation, Robin and Jillian Ridington wrote Where Happiness Dwells: A History of the Dane-zaa First Nations, which

2035-520: The construction of a large pulp mill south of the city in the early 1970s. The construction and paving of Highway 43 (originally sections of Highways 2, 34, and 43 from the BC border to the Yellowhead Highway just west of Edmonton) in 1956 cut down on the travel time by road significantly, further enhancing Grande Prairie's accessibility and economic status. The town of Grande Prairie was incorporated as

2090-508: The daytime, but nights can be cool despite the long summer days typical for its latitude. Hot days over 30 °C (86 °F) are rare, occurring on average only two to three days a year, which is not unexpected this far north. Winter conditions can vary tremendously from year to year. Winters have been known to be mild enough to produce "brown Christmas" conditions, where little or no snow may fall until after Christmas due to unusually mild early winter conditions. The average January temperature

2145-457: The early 20th century. It remains part of the local economy today. A variety of crops such as barley , wheat , canola , and oats are grown in the area. Livestock such as cattle and buffalo (bison) are also raised in the area. Despite being north of the 55th parallel , the climate is mild enough to allow for farming on a large scale to prosper. Longer daylight hours during the summer at this latitude aid in crop production. The Peace Country

2200-759: The economic and transportation hub for a trading area of nearly 290,000 people. Grande Prairie is also on the CANAMEX trade route linking Canada, the United States, and Mexico. The Grande Prairie provincial district was formed in 1930. Beginning in 1993 the Grande Prairie-Wapiti and Grande Prairie-Smoky districts were formed. In 2017 the Grande Prairie-Smoky electoral district was abolished. Live music can be found in several downtown bars and intermittently at all-ages locations such as Tito's Restaurant and

2255-596: The first to refer to the area as La Grande Prairie. In the 18th century, the prairie was occupied by bands of the Dane-zaa (Beaver) peoples, who began, in the early 19th century, trading with the North West Company at Dunvegan . The earliest recorded reference to the prairie was by Hudson Bay trader Samuel Black in 1824. In 1880, as a result of the fur trade war between the Hudson Bay Company (which merged with

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2310-743: The foothills of the Canadian Rockies , it can get quite windy in Grande Prairie, especially in the spring and fall. Chinooks may occur in and bring winter thaws to the Grande Prairie area. Grande Prairie has 314 days with measureable sunshine per year on average, and just above 2,200 hours of bright sunshine or about 46.1% of possible sunshine, ranging from a low of 31.2% in November to a high of 59.1% in July. Summers can bring thunderstorms, although they are not as frequent nor as severe as those further south in Central Alberta . Rainfall can vary from year to year, but

2365-611: The foothills to the south and southwest. On clear days, some peaks in the Rockies are visible to the southwest from Grande Prairie. Grande Prairie has a northern continental climate typical of northwestern Alberta and northeastern British Columbia , classified as humid continental ( Dfb ), bordering closely on a subarctic climate ( Dfc ) with old data under the Köppen climate classification . Winters are generally very cold with some mild spells. Summers are often fairly cool to pleasantly warm in

2420-481: The national average of 70.96. Grande Prairie was 13th on the Violent Crime Severity Index with 139 per 100,000 people versus a 75.25 average for all municipalities included in the report. Grande Prairie possesses a diversified economy. Major industries include oil and gas, agriculture, forestry, and food services. Agriculture was the first economic mainstay of Grande Prairie since settlement began in

2475-421: The northeast part of the city also has parkland, preserved wetlands (great for birdwatching), and walking/bike paths around its entire circumference. Nestled within spruce and pine trees, on the south east side of the city, just a couple of minutes from downtown, is Evergreen Park. The park and facilities are home to the annual Grande Prairie Stompede event, which draws upwards of 30,000 people annually. The park

2530-576: The northernmost area of aspen parkland in North America. Bear Creek goes through the city from the northwest to the southeast and is a tributary of the Wapiti River to the south. The Bear Creek Reservoir is the small body of water by Northwestern Polytechnic in the northwest part of the city, and is ringed by marshy wetland. The terrain immediately surrounding Grande Prairie is largely flat to gently rolling, but rises gradually to hilly terrain closer to

2585-465: The oil boom ended in 1981. Today Grande Prairie's location atop both the Montney and Duvernay geological formations have seen local extraction activities focused on natural-gas condensate and shale gas . As a result of this focus the region has maintained relatively high levels of activity when compared to areas where conventional resources, shallow gas or heavy oil are the primary resources. Forestry

2640-463: The population, up from 2.3% in 2011. The largest non-Christian religions were Islam (1.7%), Hinduism (1.1%) and Sikhism (0.8%). Until 2015, Grande Prairie topped the list for the national average for the Crime Severity Index, but by 2016 a report published by Maclean's , stated that the city had dropped to 12th place. The Crime Severity Index was 150 per 100,000 people, compared to

2695-572: The summer, the trails are used for hiking, mountain biking, and running. The foothills south of Grande Prairie and around Grande Cache are visited year-round for hiking in the summer and for snowmobiling and other winter sports in the winter. Kakwa Wildland Park on the Alberta-BC border, about 180 km (110 mi) south of the city, is a mountainous natural area and is known for the Kakwa Falls. Dane-zaa Europeans historically referred to

2750-417: The time, it was still strong enough to damage houses and flip vehicles. There were no casualties or deaths. In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada , the City of Grande Prairie had a population of 64,141 living in 24,816 of its 27,551 total private dwellings, a change of 1.5% from its 2016 population of 63,166. With a land area of 132.71 km (51.24 sq mi), it had

2805-487: The upper Peace River area prior to the first contact by Alexander Mackenzie in 1793. Traders provisioned their expeditions with bison meat and grease provided by the Dane-zaa in their hunting on the rich prairies of the upper Peace River area. By the time the Hudson's Bay Company took over the North West Company in 1823, bison were scarce. Traditionally, Dane-zaa has followed the teachings and songs of Dreamers, who first predicted

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2860-506: Was incorporated as a village by the Province of Alberta in 1914, but it was not until the arrival of the railway in 1916 that farmland quickly expanded as waves of settlers came into the Peace region. The arrival of the railway and the increased settlement in the area drove up Grande Prairie's population past the 1,000 mark, allowing it to incorporate as a town on March 27, 1919. A local recession in

2915-586: Was moved and restored and now stands near the Grande Prairie Museum). In the late 19th century, the prairie was settled by Cree and Iroquois from around Jasper and Lac Ste. Anne . When 17 townships were surveyed for homesteading in 1909, a land rush soon followed, with many settlers arriving over the Edson Trail. In 1910, the Grande Prairie Townsite was sub-divided. By 1912, it included

2970-423: Was one of the fastest-growing cities in Canada, growing from 37,000 to 47,000 people. After 2006, and with another recession, the population decreased slightly, followed by a slow increase to just over 69,000 by 2018. Grande Prairie is located just north of the 55th parallel north , and is 465 km (289 mi) northwest of Edmonton, lying at an elevation of 669 m (2,195 ft) above sea level. The city

3025-562: Was well located in the southern edge of the Peace Country, it was competing with the towns of Peace River and Dawson Creek for the title of the most important centre of commerce and agriculture in the region until the late 1950s, when its population growth began to outstrip these towns as oil and natural gas exploration was underway in the Peace Region, especially since the first major discovery of oil further south in Leduc near Edmonton in 1947 and

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