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Bow Island
Albertatown
Bow Island
Demographic figures from Statistics Canada. Overview below cites Wikipedia and may reference a different year.
City facts
Facts from Wikidata (CC0).
Overview
Bow Island is a town in Alberta, Canada. It is located on Highway 3 in southern Alberta, approximately 100 km (62 mi) north of the United States border, 320 km (200 mi) southeast of Calgary and 51 km (32 mi) southwest of Medicine Hat.
Read more on WikipediaHistory & geography
History
The community of Bow Island received its first post-colonial families in 1900. In February 1910, the Village of Bow Island was formed, and by March 1912 the village was declared the Town of Bow Island. The naming of Bow Island brings many stories to the forefront, but the most prominent one is that the communities of Grassy Lake, approximately to the west, and Bow Island had their respective names mixed up. An island named "Bow Island" is located north of Grassy Lake near the confluence of the Bow River and the Oldman River, while a low depressional area named "Grassy Lake" is located south of Bow Island. Bow Island was one of the first towns in Alberta to have natural gas wells and operated them until the franchise was sold to a private company. In the early 1950s, irrigation was extended to the Bow Island area, and the town doubled in population. Bow Island is surrounded by 110,000 acres (445 km2) of highly productive lands. Some of the most modern irrigation systems in the world are located in the area; the first pivot and linear sprinkler systems in Canada were erected in the Bow Island area. A completely automated distribution system was installed in 1982 by the St. Mary River Irrigation District (SMRID), and it serves an area of 5,000 acres (20 km2). The system is known as the Lateral 12 System and has been toured by groups from around the world.
Geography
Bow Island is located between the cities of Lethbridge and Medicine Hat. Its nearest community is the Hamlet of Burdett. The town of Bow Island sits inside of Forty Mile County.
Excerpted from the corresponding Wikipedia article (CC BY-SA).
Geography
Coordinates & boundaries from the US Census TIGER/Line shapefiles.
Climate
Air quality
Walkability
Amenities nearby
Wildlife & biodiversity
Earthquake history
Photos
Sights & places nearby
Notable people from here
Nearby places in Alberta
Geography & sun
Nearby airports
Public attention
Books about this place
Recent natural events nearby
- Holm RX Prescribed Fire, Blaine, MontanaWildfires · 2026-04-17 · 114 mi
- Black Diamond 1B RX Prescribed Fire, Lewis and Clark, MontanaWildfires · 2026-04-30 · 206 mi
- Jericho Creek Wildfire, Powell, MontanaWildfires · 2026-05-13 · 239 mi
Wildfires, storms and other events from NASA EONET (last 12 months, within 250 mi).
Ground air-quality sensors
Recently spotted species









Research-grade observations from iNaturalist (within ~15 mi).
Events
Gallery
Official Identifiers
StatCan — Statistics Canada
- SGC code
- 4801014
- Population (Wikidata)
- 1,983
- Wikidata
- Q573968
Standard Geographical Classification (SGC) via Wikidata P3012
Sources
- • Wikipedia
- • Wikidata
- • iNaturalist
- • NASA EONET
- • StatCan — Statistics Canada — Standard Geographical Classification (SGC) via Wikidata P3012