Squamish (British Columbia)

Squamish is a town in the province of British Columbia in western Canada. It lies at the northern end of Howe Sound on the Sea to Sky Highway (British Columbia Highway 99) in the Squamish - Lillooet Regional District.

Name

Squamish is the name of an Indian tribe, who lived before the arrival of the first Europeans in this part of southwestern British Columbia ( including North and West Vancouver ).

History

The community developed from a settlement to the post office was opened in 1892 and grew after the construction of a railway line by the Pacific Great Eastern Railway continues to grow. The granting of local government (incorporated ) for the community was the first time on 18 May 1948 as a Village Municipality. Another attributions was then carried out on 15 December 1964 as a District Municipality.

Demography

The census in 2011 showed a population of 17,158 inhabitants for the community. The population of the city has thereby increased since the census of 2006 at 14.8%, while the population in British Columbia grew simultaneously only by 7.0%.

Policy

The acting mayor of Squamish 's Rob Kirkham. Together with six other citizens, it forms the city council ( council).

For provincial elections Squamish is located in West Vancouver - Garibaldi constituency. Member of Parliament is Joan McIntyre (British Columbia Liberal Party ). Nationwide, Squamish is part of the electoral district of West Vancouver -Sunshine Coast- Sea to Sky Country, by Blair Wilson ( independent).

Economy

Forestry has traditionally been the main industry of the area. But the major employer has closed the operation on 26 January 2006. Because of the much lower cost of living less than an hour's drive away, Squamish has been very popular with the residents of Vancouver in recent years.

The average income (median income ) of employees from Squamish in 2006 was an above-average C $ 30,326, while it was at the same time the average for the entire province of British Columbia 24 867 C $.

Education

Squamish is part of School District # 48 - Sea to Sky. The city has six elementary schools ( Elementary Schools ): Brackendale, Garibaldi Highlands, Mamquam, Squamish Elementary, Elementary and Stawamus Valley Cliffe Elementary and two secondary schools ( Secondary Schools ): Howe Sound Secondary School and Don Ross Secondary School.

The Capilano University offers further education such as diploma programs and university transfer courses. Also located in Squamish Quest University, opened in September 2007, is Canada's first private non- profit university.

Traffic

In a north-south direction of the Sea to Sky Highway (British Columbia Highway 99) runs through the city. This is the main route south to Vancouver and north to Whistler and Pemberton.

About 9 kilometers north of the small town is the local airfield (IATA: YSE, ICAO: cysE, Transport Canada Identifier: - ). The airport has only a very short paved runway and runway of 732 meters in length.

Social and Culture

Apart from several different Christian faiths, some religious institutions of the Baha'i, Sikh and the Mormons. Squamish to 2008 was also home to the Squamish Cougars in the WHA Junior West Hockey League.

Attractions

The Stawamus Chief, a huge granite massif, is very popular with climbers. Over 300 climbing routes can be found on the Chief; the majority of which requires traditional climbing equipment. Steep trails lead to the three peaks that form the massif and offer nice views of Howe Sound and the Coast Mountains. Overall, there are between Shannon Falls, Murrin Park, The Malamute and the Little Smoke Bluffs more than 1200 climbing routes.

For mountain bikers well known is the Test Of Metal, a cross country mountain bike race over 67 km which will be held in late June annually.

Other tourist attractions are the Shannon Falls, rafting on the Elaho and the Squamish River, windsurfing and kite- surfing at the mouth of the Squamish River and Bald Eagle watching in the nearby community of Brackendale with one of the largest populations of bald eagles in North America.

Others

In Squamish, the film was Insomnia - Sleepless rotated. The city made ​​it the setting for the location Nightmute in Alaska.

Squamish was also a filming location for the fictional town of Elmo from the television series Men in Trees with Anne Heche in the lead role.

Furthermore, in the city of the Free Willy scene was filmed, zufährt in Jason James Richter bike down a hill on the bay ( Howe Sound).

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