Grande Prairie

History

The Grande Prairie area was historically known as Buffalo Plains, after the buffalo who would traverse the large prairie which lies to the north, east, and west of it. Émile Grouard, a Roman Catholic Priest, was the first to refer to the area as La Grande Prairie. In the 18th century, the prairie was occupied by bands of the Dane-zaa (Beaver) peoples, who began, in the early 19th century, trading with the North West Company at Dunvegan. The earliest recorded reference to the prairie was by Hudson Bay trader Samuel Black in 1824. In 1880, as a result of the fur trade war between the Hudson Bay Company (which merged with the North West Company in 1821), and independent fur traders, centering around Dunvegan, a Hudson's Bay Company outpost called La Grande Prairie was established by George Kennedy. The post was established South of Dunvegan and north west of the present day city of Grande Prairie, south east of La Glace Lake, and west of what is now the Town of Sexsmith (the 1896 version of this building was moved and restored and now stands near the Grande Prairie Museum). In the late 19th century, the prairie was settled by Cree and Iroquois from around Jasper and Lac Ste. Anne. When 17 townships were surveyed for homesteading in 1909, a land rush soon followed, with many settlers arriving over the Edson Trail. In 1910, the Grande Prairie Townsite was sub-divided. By 1912, it included a bank, hotel, post office, and land office, making it a district metropolis. In 1916, it became the terminus of the Edmonton, Dunvegan and British Columbia Railway from Edmonton. The Edson Trail from Edson to Grande Prairie was opened in 1911 as a means for settlers to reach the Grande Prairie area. It was basically nothing more than a tract of clear cut bush and forest, and was thus…

Geography

Grande Prairie is located just north of the 55th parallel north, and is northwest of Edmonton, lying at an elevation of above sea level. The city is surrounded by farmland to the north, east, and west. To the south lies a vast boreal forest with aspen, tamarack, lodgepole pine, jack pine, and black spruce extending well into the foothills of the Canadian Rockies south and southwest of the city. The city actually lies on the southern edge of aspen parkland, which is a transitional biome between boreal forest and prairie. The Peace River Country contains the northernmost area of aspen parkland in North America. Bear Creek goes through the city from the northwest to the southeast and is a tributary of the Wapiti River to the south. The Bear Creek Reservoir is the small body of water by Northwestern Polytechnic in the northwest part of the city, and is ringed by marshy wetland. The terrain immediately surrounding Grande Prairie is largely flat to gently rolling, but rises gradually to hilly terrain closer to the foothills to the south and southwest. On clear days, some peaks in the Rockies are visible to the southwest from Grande Prairie. Grande Prairie has a northern continental climate typical of northwestern Alberta and northeastern British Columbia, classified as humid continental (Dfb), bordering closely on a subarctic climate (Dfc) with old data under the Köppen climate classification. Winters are generally very cold with some mild spells. Summers are often fairly cool to pleasantly warm in the daytime, but nights can be cool despite the long summer days typical for its latitude. Hot days over are rare, occurring on average only two to three days a year, which is not unexpected this far north. Winter conditions can vary tremendously from year to year. Winters…

Most-observed species

• Black-capped Chickadee

  Poecile atricapillus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  3,435
• Common Raven

  Corvus corax Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  3,061
• Black-billed Magpie

  Pica hudsonia (Sabine, 1823) · Aves
  2,649
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  2,513
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  1,907
• Hairy Woodpecker

  Leuconotopicus villosus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  1,772
• Downy Woodpecker

  Dryobates pubescens (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  1,743
• Canada Goose (canadensis Group)

  Branta canadensis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,740

Most recent

• M 4 — 2026-01-23
  65 km NE of Grande Cache, Canada
• M 4.7 — 2025-02-20
  68 km NE of Grande Cache, Canada
• M 4.5 — 2024-10-24
  34 km SSE of Grande Prairie, Canada
• M 4 — 2019-12-25
  67 km SSE of Grande Prairie, Canada