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Kamloops is a city in central British Columbia, Canada at the confluence of the two branches of the Thompson River and near Kamloops Lake. It is the seat of the Thompson-Nicola Regional District. Kamloops is also the Tournament Capital of Canada. It is ranked 37th ... more »
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Airports Kamloops is a city in central British Columbia, Canada at the confluence of the two branches of the Thompson River and near Kamloops Lake. It is the seat of the Thompson-Nicola Regional District. Kamloops is also the Tournament Capital of Canada. It is ranked 37th on the list of the 100 largest metropolitan areas in Canada. A resident of Kamloops is referred to as a Kamloopsian.
Kamloops is situated at 50°43'N 120°25'W, in the Thompson Valley (UTC-8), and the Mountain 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. Kamloops Indian Band areas begin just to the northeast of the downtown core but are not located within the city limits. Two communities, Rayleigh and Heffley Creek, are located in an enclave that is separated from the rest of Kamloops by the Kamloops Indian Band lands; one must physically leave the city in order to travel to these neighborhoods from the city proper.
Major Kamloops-area industries include primary resource processing (forestry, pulp mill, copper mine, ranching) as well as tertiary services (provincial lottery headquarters).
* While situated in a semi-arid valley, Kamloops has winters that are generally mild and short with an occasional cold snap where temperatures can drop to around -30°C when artic air floods over the Rocky Montains into the interior. Snow can occur from November to March, but most of it falls over a few weeks in December and January. Winter mean minimum temperature is -7.6°C in January.
Temperature - Yearly Average
Perhaps surprisingly, considering that Kamloops is located north of 50° latitude, summers are quite hot with prevailing dry and sunny weather. The average July maximum temperature is 28.3°C. In most years, summer shade temperatures come close to or even exceed 40°C.
Spring arrives very early, sometimes in February, due to mild air spilling over the coastal mountains from the Pacific Ocean. Fall is generally a pleasant and a mostly dry season.
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, and a fur trading post was established by David Stuart in 1812 for the Pacific Fur Company. This was bought out by the North West Company shortly after, and by 1821, the Hudson's Bay Company had control of the fur trade in Kamloops.
The gold rush of the 1860's 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.
"Kamloops" is the anglicized version of the Shuswap word "Tk'emlups", meaning 'where the rivers meet'. Shuswap is still actively spoken in the area by members of the Kamloops Indian Band.
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Distances are calculated as the crow flies, and are provided as an aid in planning only.
* This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
It uses material from the Source wikipedia.
