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In-Depth Information
Edmonton
Edmonton
seems to suffer from an
image problem, and undeservedly so. People
have trouble getting past the boomtown
atmosphere and the huge mall! Admittedly
it is a boomtown: a city that grew out of
the wealth of the natural resources that sur-
round it. But this city has grown to become
one of the world's largest northerly cities,
encompassing an attractive downtown core,
Canada's largest urban parks system and
numerous cultural facilities, including theatres
and many festivals.
The region had long been frequented
by Aboriginal peoples who searched for
quartzite to make tools and trapped the
area's abundant beaver and muskrat. It was
precisely this supply of fur that attracted
traders to the area in the late 18th century.
The Hudson's Bay Company established
Fort Edmonton in 1795 next to the North
West Company's Fort Augustus overlooking
the North Saskatchewan River, where the
Legislative Building now stands. Edmonton's
fortunes rose and fell over the following
years, until the next boom, when mer-
chants tried to attract Klondike Gold Rush
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