Brandon

History

Prior to the influx of people from Eastern Canada, the area around Brandon was primarily used by the Sioux people, the Bungays, the Yellow Quills, and the Bird Tails. In the 1870s and early 1880s, the Plains Bison were nearly wiped out by over-hunting. With the destruction of their staff of life, the buffalo, the nomadic Sioux people began to agree to settle in reservations such as the Sioux Valley Dakota Nation, or left the area entirely. French Canadians also passed through the area on river boats on their way to the Hudson Bay Post, Fort Ellice located near present-day St. Lazare, Manitoba. The city of Brandon gets its name from the Blue Hills south of the city, which got their name from a Hudson's Bay trading post known as Brandon House, which got its name from a hill on an island in James Bay where Captain James had anchored his ship in 1631. Post World War II, Brandon experienced a minor disaster when an explosion at the Manitoba Power Commission's steam plant caused the 40 metre (130 ft) brick chimney to collapse, killing two workers in the process.

Geography

Brandon is located in south-western Manitoba, on the banks of the Assiniboine river. It is located in the Canadian Prairies and resides in the aspen parkland ecoregion of the prairies. The terrain is generally flat and rolling surrounding Brandon, and there is a large valley located within the city. The Brandon hills are located to the southeast, from which Brandon got its name. Brandon is west of the provincial capital, Winnipeg; and east of the Saskatchewan border. Brandon has a dry continental climate (Köppen Dfb, USDA Plant Hardiness Zone 2b) with warm, sometimes hot summers and cold, dry winters. Mean maximum daytime temperatures range from in July to in January. Brandon has a fairly dry climate, with of precipitation annually, and as such is located in the Palliser's Triangle region of the Prairies. There is measurable rainfall on 72.2 days throughout the year, and 54.1 days with snowfall. Snow falls from October to April; however, snow has fallen as late as May and as early as September. The highest temperature ever recorded in Brandon was on 11 July 1936, during the 1936 North American heat wave. The lowest temperature ever recorded was on 1 February 1893. |date=January 2026 |source 2= weatherstats.ca (for dewpoint and monthly&yearly average absolute maximum&minimum temperature) }}

Most-observed species

• Canada Goose (canadensis Group)

  Branta canadensis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,878
• Black-capped Chickadee

  Poecile atricapillus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  1,866
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  1,852
• Red-winged Blackbird

  Agelaius phoeniceus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  1,797
• House Sparrow

  Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,634
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  1,571
• Mallard

  Anas platyrhynchos Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  1,540
• White-breasted Nuthatch

  Sitta carolinensis Latham, 1790 · Aves
  1,154