CRANBROOK

CRANBROOK
Cranbrook's population: 19,364

Cranbrook is a city straddled between the Rocky Mountain Trench (to the east) and the Purcell Mountains (to the west) about 108 kilometres east of Creston.

The history of Cranbrook dates back to when it was used as a camping and ranchland area for the Ktunaxa First Nations people. About 1,000 years ago the ancestors of this tribe, came here to fish and to hunt bison in the eastern sections of the Rockies. The site of where Cranbrook is located today, was originally called Joseph's Prairie, referring to an old Ktunaxa Chief.

The modern era of Cranbrook's history begins when a rancher and early settler by the name of James Baker, who came from Cranbrook, Kent County, England, surveyed the area and acquired land from the Ktunaxa, to help build Cranbrook to what it is today. In 1898, Baker, already a polician at this time, was helpful in delivering a railway by convincing the Canadian Pacific Railway to establish their Crowsnest Line to go right through Cranbrook, in order to make it the railway's administation centre. Because of this, Fort Steele, 10 miles to the northeast, a busy gold rush boom town at this time, had to be bypassed.

Cranbrook became incorporated in November of 1905.

Cranbrook celebrates its history with the railway through the Canadian Museum of Rail Travel, which presents a numerous amount of exhibits dedicated to railcars of the 1920s especially built for the Canadian Pacific Railway and for the Spokane International Railway. There are also several cars and cabooses that date back from anywhere as early as the early 1900s to the late 1930s. The museum can be found near downtown, right along the main highway near Baker and King Streets.

Speaking of highways, Cranbrook serves as the adminstative center of southeastern British Columbia and the entire Kootenay Region of the province as it is the area's biggest town, population-wise. Because of this, Cranbrook is a major transportation and stopover corridor for tourists and travellers, moreover, it boasts several motels, fast food restaurants, gas stations, 2 large shopping malls and bix box stores. This area of Cranbrook, about 2 miles long, mostly around Cranbrook Street, is known as “the Strip”. The city limits of Cranbrook are pretty much situated and located among 3 major highways (#3, #95 and #95A). It is also not far from both of the Alberta and United States border lines.

Cranbrook is also the largest city (and the only city classified as such) straddled along the Mountain Time Zone west of the British Columbia/Alberta border and the third largest along the Crowsnest Highway Corridor from Hope to Medicine Hat, (only the latter and Lethbridge are larger with an approximate population of 87,000 and 62,000 respectively).

The Kooternay Ice of the Western Hockey League (WHL) play their home games at Western Financial Place. This 4,500-seat arena is also home to a recreation centre complete with a wave pool, swimming pool, sauna, and waterslide. Established in 1996 in Edmonton, where they originated from before they relocated to Cranbrook, this hockey team won the 2002 Memorial Cup and won the Western Hockey League Championship on 3 different occasions; 2000, 2002 and 2011.

Several of National Hockey League's finest have called Cranbrook home including hockey players Rob and Scott Neidermayer, Tom Renney, and Jon Klemm.

Cranbrook's climate is claffied as “humid-continental” where it is mostly warm and dry in the summer and mild and warm in the winter. With over 2,200 hours of sunshine year-round, Cranbrook, has the distinction of being Canada's Sunniest City. Also, Cranbrook enjoys about over 100 days of being frost free and very seldom does it experience fog that lingers over it from hours on end.

During the winter months, most of the precipitation that falls is mostly that of snow.

The mountains block substantial amounts of precipitation, therefore Cranbrook experiences no less than 50 millimetres of rainfall annually making it an ideal location for many outdoor activities including mountain biking, skiing, hiking, and gardening.

Temperatures here average 20 degrees Celcius in the summer and about -10 degree during the winter months. On occasion, depending on the season, the thermometer will reach 30 degrees both plus and minus, but very rare does it happen.

Cranbrook is twin city to Coeur d’Alene, a city of about 40,000, located in north Idaho.