Regional District of East Kootenay

The Regional District of East Kootenay (RDEK) is a regional district in the Canadian province of British Columbia, Canada. At the 2016 census, the population was 60,439. Its area is 27,542.69 square kilometres (10,641.16 sq mi). The regional district offices are in Cranbrook, the largest community in the region. Other important population centres include the cities of Kimberley and Fernie, and the district municipality of Invermere and Sparwood. Despite its name, the regional district does not include all of the region known as the East Kootenay, which includes the Creston Valley and the east shore of Kootenay Lake.

East Kootenay
Regional district
Regional District of East Kootenay
Logo
Major communities
Location in British Columbia
CountryCanada
ProvinceBritish Columbia
Office locationCranbrook
Government
 • TypeRegional district
 • BodyBoard of Directors
 • ChairRob Gay (C)
 • Vice ChairClara Reinhardt (Radium Hot Springs)
 • Electoral Areas
  • A
  • B
  • C
  • E
  • F
  • G
Area
 • Land27,541.84 km2 (10,633.96 sq mi)
Population
 (2016)[2]
 • Total60,439
 • Density2.2/km2 (6/sq mi)
Websitewww.rdek.bc.ca

Geography
Main article: Kootenays

The regional district's dominant landform is the Rocky Mountain Trench, which is flanked by the Purcell Mountains and Rocky Mountains on the east and west, and includes the Columbia Valley region, the southern half of which is in the regional district (its northern half is in the Columbia-Shuswap Regional District). Another distinct area within the regional district is the Elk Valley in the southern Rockies, which is the entrance to the Crowsnest Pass and an important coal-mining region. Other than the Columbia and Kootenay Rivers, whose valleys form the bottomlands of the Rocky Mountain Trench, also included in the regional district are the northernmost parts of the basins of the Flathead, Moyie and Yahk Rivers (the Moyie and Yahk are tributaries of the Kootenay, entering it in the United States, and the Flathead is a tributary of the Clark Fork in Montana).

Municipalities
Municipality Government Type Population
Cranbrook city 20,047
Kimberley city 7,425
Fernie city 5,249
Sparwood district municipality 3,784
Invermere district municipality 3.391
Jumbo Glacier mountain resort municipality 0
Elkford district municipality 2,499
Radium Hot Springs village 776
Canal Flats village 668

Health care

The largest hospital in the region is the East Kootenay Regional Hospital in Cranbrook.[3] There are also hospitals in Creston (Creston Valley Hospital),[4] Fernie (Elk Valley Hospital),[5] Invermere (Invermere & District Hospital),[6] and Golden (Golden & District Hospital).[7] Primary health centers are present in Sparwood and Elkford.[8][9]

First Nations

The First Nations people who live in the East Kootenay are from the Ktunaxa Nation.[10] There are currently four bands Columbia Lake First Nation near Windermere, Lower Kootenay First Nation near Creston, St. Mary's First Nation near Cranbrook, and Tobacco Plains First Nation near Grasmere.[10]

References
  1. "Board of Directors". Retrieved 2019-07-09.
  3. "Information Page". www.interiorhealth.ca. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  4. "Information Page". www.interiorhealth.ca. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  5. "Information Page". www.interiorhealth.ca. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  6. "Invermere & District Hospital". www.interiorhealth.ca. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  7. "Golden & District Hospital". www.interiorhealth.ca. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  8. "Sparwood Primary Health Care". www.interiorhealth.ca. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  9. "Elkford Health Centre". www.interiorhealth.ca. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  10. "Our History – Lower Kootenay Band". lowerkootenay.com. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  • Census Profile, 2016 Census, East Kootenay



This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.