Fort McMurray

Fort McMurray city is a city situated in the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo, Alberta. This big region is considered among the biggest municipalities within North America. Canada Post still refers to the area of Fort McMurray for its mail delivery. Fort McMurray is a multicultural community, and it draws people from all walks of life. Most of the migrants within the city are Albertans, followed by 17% of individuals for Newfoundland province and Labrador.

The Cree peoples were the first known settlers of Fort McMurray. The Cree were the most dominant First Nations people within the area and it was believed that they normally utilized the oil sands to waterproof their canoes. The first European explorer of the area was Peter Pond, who came to the region to look for fur. The explorer, Alexander MacKenzie made the first recorded description of the oil sands during the year 1790, and by that time, the Crees and explorers were already taking place between them. The community has played a major part in the history of the petroleum business within Canada, since oil exploration has been existing within the region for as early as the 20th Century.

Tourism within the areas around the city of Fort McMurray offers lots of oil sands tour packages from May to September each and every year. All through summertime, the city hosts and offers lots of wilderness adventure packages, canoeing and kayaking. In the winter, tourists can select from taking a snowmobile tour or watch the breathtaking northern lights, go fishing or hunting in lodges. Vista Ridge All Seasons Park offers beginners to intermediate level runs, a top-notch fully accredited school, and a quad chairlift. Thrill-seekers and snowboarders would even enjoy a downhill playground with half-pipe boxes in the park.

The city depends on its oil pipelines and natural gas, tourism and also forestry aside from oil. The two largest organizations in the region are the sand mining Syncrude and Suncor Energy companies. Various trades, comprise forest protection services, drilling rig services, refineries and sawmills are considered economic players within the city.

Fort McMurray Airport manages the air transportation of the city. Amongst its major airlines include: WestJet, Northwestern Air, Integra Air, McMurray Aviation, Air Canada Jazz, Air Canada and Air Mikisew. Their scheduled flights are generally to Saskatoon, St. John's Toronto, Lethbridge, Peace River, Fort Chipewyan, Fort Smith, Calgary and Edmonton. Public transit is managed by Fort McMurray Transit, which operates in the community, and Greyhound Canada and Red Arrow operate scheduled bus services to Edmonton and different communities along Highway 63. Rail services are handled by the Canadian National Railway, which operates between Edmonton and Fort McMurray.