Fort McMurray

Fort McMurray is a community within the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo, Alberta, which is considered among the biggest municipalities in North America. Fort McMurray remains a designation used by Canada Post for mail delivery in this area. Fort McMurray is a multicultural community, and it attracts people from all walks of life. The majority of the migrants in the city are Albertans, followed by 17 percent of individuals for Newfoundland province and Labrador.

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

Tourism in the areas around Fort McMurray city provides many oil sands tour packages from May to September every year. All through summertime, the city hosts and offers several wilderness adventure tours, canoeing and kayaking. During 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 provides beginners to a top-notch fully accredited school, intermediate level runs, and a quad chairlift. Snowboarders and thrill-seekers would even enjoy a downhill playground with half-pipe boxes within the park.

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

Fort McMurray Airport manages the air transportation of the city. Among its major airlines include: Northwestern Air, WestJet, Integra Air, McMurray Aviation, Air Canada Jazz, Air Canada and Air Mikisew. Their scheduled flights are generally to St. John's Toronto, Saskatoon, Lethbridge, Peace River, Fort Chipewyan, Fort Smith, Calgary and Edmonton. Public transit is managed by Fort McMurray Transit, that 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 maintained by the Canadian National Railway, that operates between Fort McMurray and Edmonton.