Fort McMurray History

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Fort McMurray History

Fort McMurray is an urban area in Wood Buffalo municipality in Alberta, Canada. From 1980 to 1995, Fort McMurray had city status. Then in 1995, the city was merged with the Wood Buffalo metropolitan area.

Image source: http://www.prairie-towns.com/fortmcmurray-images.html

At the beginning of the 21st century, it became the growing Canadian tar sands industry's capital. In 1790 the city originated as a North West Company fur-trading post known as Fort of the Forks. In 1821 it was taken over by the Hudson's Bay Company. In 1875 it was rebuilt and renamed Fort McMurray after William McMurray's company. The city has an airport and is connected to Edmonton by rail.

The city is located on the southern border of shipping and its port is very busy during the summer months. In the surrounding region, oil is extracted from vast oil fields known as the Athabasca tar sands. They were a significant boost to the regional economy and turned Fort McMurray into a thriving industrial center. A large number of oil workers began to come to the city and open their own business.

Image source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Northland_Echo_on_the_Athabasca_River,_Alberta.jpg

Fort McMurray is also the seat of Keyano College. In May 2016, forest fires broke out in the region, spreading to the city center and forcing the entire city's evacuation and several nearby settlements.

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