Wetaskiwin

Sister cities

• Ashoro

History

The future location of Wetaskiwin was once the site of a battle between the Cree and the Blackfoot, known as Wee-Tas-Ki-Win-Spatinow for "the place where peace was made". In 1890, when the Calgary and Edmonton Railway was built, it became a whistle-stop, and was known as Siding 16. In 1892, when the area was surveyed, it was named Wetaskiwin to commemorate the battle. By 1908, Wetaskiwin had a town hall and several churches. The town's courthouse was built in 1909, After World War II, Wetaskiwin airport was founded; it later became the site of the Reynolds-Alberta Museum.

Geography

Wetaskiwin sits on what was formerly the coast of the large sea that covered much of Alberta millions of years ago. The northwest end of Wetaskiwin is characterized by hills with sandy soil (formerly sand dunes), while the southeast end of the city is very flat with more silty soil. The city lies at an elevation of . Coal Lake, a reservoir developed on the Battle River is immediately east of the city, and other nearby waterways include Pipestone Creek, Bigstone Creek, Bittern Lake and Bearhills Lake. Wetaskiwin is at the junction of Highway 2A, Highway 13 and the Canadian Pacific Kansas City railway. It was a stagecoach stop between Calgary and Edmonton. Wetaskiwin has a humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification Dfb) with warm summers that retain cool nights, and cold winters. It falls into zone 3b under Plant hardiness zones.