Mackenzie, British Columbia

Mackenzie
District municipality
District of Mackenzie[1]
Mackenzie seen from Morfee Mountain
Nickname(s): "Mack-Town"
Mackenzie
Location of Mackenzie in British Columbia
Coordinates: 55°20′17″N 123°05′40″W / 55.33806°N 123.09444°W / 55.33806; -123.09444Coordinates: 55°20′17″N 123°05′40″W / 55.33806°N 123.09444°W / 55.33806; -123.09444
Country Canada
Province British Columbia
Regional District Fraser-Fort George
Incorporated 1966
Government
 • Mayor Pat Crook
 • Governing body District of Mackenzie Municipal Council
 • MP (Prince George-Peace River) Bob Zimmer
 • MLA (Prince George-Mackenzie) Mike Morris
Area
 • Total 159.09 km2 (61.42 sq mi)
Elevation 700 m (2,300 ft)
Population (2011)
 • Total 3,507
 • Density 22.6/km2 (59/sq mi)
Time zone UTC-8 (PST)
Postal code span V0J 2C0
Area code(s) 250 / 778 / 236
Highways Hwy 39
Website www.district.mackenzie.bc.ca

Mackenzie is a district municipality within the Fraser-Fort George Regional District in central British Columbia, Canada. The community is located at the south end of Williston Lake. The townsite, established by Alexandra Forest Industries (acquired by BC Forest Products in 1967) and Cattermole Timber (partnered with Jujo Paper in 1970 to create Finlay Forest Industries), was named for Sir Alexander MacKenzie (1764–1820). Mackenzie's main industries are logging, lumber, market pulp and tourism. Duz Cho Logging, sawmills, such as the Canfor Corporation Mackenzie sawmill (successor to BCFP's lumber division) and Conifex Timber,[2] (successor to FFI) and the Paper Excellence[3] kraft pulp mill (successor to BCFP's pulp division), are major employers in town. The addition of Thompson Creek Metals Mount Milligan copper-gold operation[4] is a major new asset to the town.

Recreation

Mackenzie is a destination for outdoor sports enthusiasts. In the winter, Mackenzie hosts dog sled racing, cross-country skiing, and snowmobiling competitions. Morfee Mountain overlooks Mackenzie and is a popular destination for local hiking and an off-road vehicle destination. Mackenzie has a swimming pool, indoor and outdoor skating rinks, a curling rink, and two developed beaches on Morfee Lake; First Beach is used primarily for recreational swimming, and Second Beach includes a boat launch. Mackenzie has a ski hill just east of the main town and is 45 minutes away from Powder King ski resort as well as Little Mac a small hill in town. Several lakes that are great for fishing spots.

Mackenzie's welcome sign

Mackenzie Golf and Country Club is a challenging, semi-private, nine-hole golf course with a driving range and is within walking distance of most of the town, including the RV park.

Community facilities

Community facilities include a recreation centre that houses the public library, gym, swimming pool and ice rink. There is also an art centre, a museum, two shopping malls and two schools: Mackenzie Secondary School (which also serves McLeod Lake), and Morfee Elementary School. The schools are operated by the Prince George School District (No. 57).

Mackenzie also has several religious establishments, including a Sikh temple, St. Peter's Catholic,[5] Mackenzie Baptist and Hope Trinity (converging the Anglican, Lutheran and United faiths) churches and Living Joy Christian Centre.[6]

Mackenzie has two local media: the Mackenzie Times publishes a weekly local-interest newspaper and CHMM-FM has operated a not-for-profit radio station since 2003.

Mackenzie has its own Royal Canadian Mounted Police detachment, a volunteer fire department, and a municipal hospital.

Transportation

MacKenzie is located on Highway 39, 28 kilometres from Highway 97. There is scheduled bus service to Chetwynd and Prince George. It is served by a small airport. There is no scheduled passenger service but charter services are available.[7]

Tourist attractions

World largest tree crusher

Mackenzie is less than 10 km (6.2 mi) east of Williston Lake reservoir, the largest man-made lake in British Columbia.[8] Mackenzie is also home of the world's largest tree crusher.

Famous people from Mackenzie

Climate

Mackenzie has a subarctic climate that has influences from the Pacific Ocean resulting in less cold winters than expected for its northerly latitude compared to other Canadian locations. It has warm summer days, but the cool nights ensure that only three months go above 10 °C (50 °F) in mean temperatures. Winters are very cold on occasion, although relatively short for a subarctic climate with a January mean of −9.2 °C (15.4 °F) as the coldest month.

Climate data for Mackenzie Airport
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high humidex 9.2 9.9 14.9 23.8 31.4 31.9 36.0 35.5 32.3 23.7 12.4 8.4 36.0
Record high °C (°F) 9.8
(49.6)		 11.1
(52)		 16.3
(61.3)		 24.4
(75.9)		 34.6
(94.3)		 31.9
(89.4)		 35.0
(95)		 35.0
(95)		 30.7
(87.3)		 23.0
(73.4)		 13.3
(55.9)		 8.3
(46.9)		 35.0
(95)
Average high °C (°F) −5.6
(21.9)		 −3.0
(26.6)		 3.3
(37.9)		 9.7
(49.5)		 16.0
(60.8)		 20.2
(68.4)		 22.2
(72)		 21.5
(70.7)		 15.2
(59.4)		 7.6
(45.7)		 −1.2
(29.8)		 −4.8
(23.4)		 8.4
(47.1)
Daily mean °C (°F) −9.2
(15.4)		 −7.7
(18.1)		 −2.7
(27.1)		 3.3
(37.9)		 8.9
(48)		 13.3
(55.9)		 15.2
(59.4)		 14.3
(57.7)		 9.1
(48.4)		 3.3
(37.9)		 −4.3
(24.3)		 −8.2
(17.2)		 2.9
(37.2)
Average low °C (°F) −12.9
(8.8)		 −12.3
(9.9)		 −8.5
(16.7)		 −3.2
(26.2)		 1.8
(35.2)		 6.4
(43.5)		 8.2
(46.8)		 7.0
(44.6)		 3.0
(37.4)		 −1.1
(30)		 −7.4
(18.7)		 −11.6
(11.1)		 −2.6
(27.3)
Record low °C (°F) −44.5
(−48.1)		 −43.8
(−46.8)		 −40.0
(−40)		 −25.6
(−14.1)		 −8.9
(16)		 −4.0
(24.8)		 −1.0
(30.2)		 −4.3
(24.3)		 −8.9
(16)		 −21.5
(−6.7)		 −35.6
(−32.1)		 −45.1
(−49.2)		 −45.1
(−49.2)
Record low wind chill −52.8 −43.1 −42.8 −24.4 −14.7 −3.2 0.0 −4.8 −10.8 −29.5 −48.0 −50.4 −52.8
Average precipitation mm (inches) 70.5
(2.776)		 45.6
(1.795)		 32.6
(1.283)		 30.6
(1.205)		 48.0
(1.89)		 56.9
(2.24)		 61.8
(2.433)		 49.0
(1.929)		 52.4
(2.063)		 71.8
(2.827)		 71.6
(2.819)		 60.9
(2.398)		 651.7
(25.657)
Average rainfall mm (inches) 2.5
(0.098)		 5.6
(0.22)		 8.0
(0.315)		 16.1
(0.634)		 47.0
(1.85)		 56.9
(2.24)		 61.8
(2.433)		 49.0
(1.929)		 51.9
(2.043)		 57.1
(2.248)		 10.3
(0.406)		 4.0
(0.157)		 370.2
(14.575)
Average snowfall cm (inches) 77.9
(30.67)		 47.3
(18.62)		 27.4
(10.79)		 15.3
(6.02)		 1.0
(0.39)		 0.0
(0)		 0.0
(0)		 0.0
(0)		 0.6
(0.24)		 15.2
(5.98)		 63.5
(25)		 64.0
(25.2)		 312.3
(122.95)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.2 mm) 16.7 13.0 11.5 10.1 13.1 13.5 13.4 11.8 12.2 16.3 16.7 16.3 164.8
Average rainy days (≥ 0.2 mm) 1.4 2.7 3.1 7.4 12.8 13.9 13.3 12.4 11.2 13.8 4.7 1.9 98.4
Average snowy days (≥ 0.2 cm) 17.0 12.6 9.4 4.9 0.8 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.6 5.2 15.6 16.2 82.4
Average relative humidity (%) 78.3 69.7 56.6 45.6 40.7 43.7 46.0 47.3 54.6 66.7 80.3 82.0 59.3
Mean monthly sunshine hours 35.4 67.4 151.0 201.3 239.7 249.0 273.5 254.2 163.8 93.4 35.4 28.5 1,792.7
Percent possible sunshine 14.6 24.9 41.2 47.6 47.8 47.9 52.5 54.7 42.7 28.7 14.0 12.7 35.8
Source: [9]

References

  1. ↑ "British Columbia Regional Districts, Municipalities, Corporate Name, Date of Incorporation and Postal Address" (XLS). British Columbia Ministry of Communities, Sport and Cultural Development. Archived from the original on 13 July 2014. Retrieved November 2, 2014.
  2. ↑ Conifex Timber web site.
  3. ↑ P&P Canada article on Paper Excellence acquisition of Mackenzie Pulp Operations
  4. ↑ Mount Milligan web site
  5. ↑ Roman Catholic Diocese of Prince George
  6. ↑ Living Joy Christian Centre web site
  7. ↑ http://www.hellobc.com/mackenzie/transportation-maps.aspx
  8. ↑ Atlas of Canada. Lakes Archived 26 April 2006 at the Wayback Machine.
  9. ↑ "Calculation Information for 1981 to 2010 Canadian Normals Data". Environment Canada. Retrieved July 9, 2013.

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