Elkford

Elkford is a district municipality in the southeast region of the Canadian province of British Columbia in the Rocky Mountain range. It is 32 km (20 mi) north of the junction at Sparwood, on provincial Highway 43. Outdoor recreational activities take place in Elkford throughout the year. Elkford hosts an annual festival called Wildcat Days during the last weekend of June.

Elkford
District municipality
District of Elkford[1]
Motto:  Wild at Heart
Elkford Location in British Columbia Show map of British Columbia Elkford Location in the RD of East Kootenay Show map of Regional District of East Kootenay
Coordinates: 50°01′17″N 114°54′57″W
Country	Canada
Province	British Columbia
Regional district	East Kootenay
Incorporated	1971
Government
• Governing body	Elkford Council
Area
• Total	101.59 km2 (39.22 sq mi)
Elevation	1,300 m (4,300 ft)
Population  (2016)
• Total	2,499
Time zone	UTC-7 (MST)
Postal code span	V0B 1H0
Area code	250 / 778 / 236: 250-865 778-521
Highways	Highway 43
Website	www.elkford.ca

The town and area have many kilometres of horse riding, hiking, snowmobiling and cross country ski trails, and a ski hill, Wapiti, run by Elkford resident volunteers. The Elkford Aquatic Centre has a competition-size pool, hot tub and sauna.

There are two public schools Rocky Mountain Elementary School and Elkford Secondary School with a combined student population of 400 in January 2006.

There are five open-pit coal mines within an hour's drive of Elkford: Fording River Operations (FRO), Greenhills Operations (GHO), Line Creek Operations (LCO), Elkview Operations (EVO) and Coal Mountain Operations (CMO). All mines belong to Elk Valley Resources. Elkford was created due to mining activity, in the early 1970s. Many Elkford residents work for the mines or as contractors; other residents work in service industries directly related to the mines. The Fording River Operations (FRO) mine is located on the Continental Divide of the Americas, known as the Great Divide.

A coal seam close to Aldridge Creek, north of Elkford, has been burning for decades and is known to residents of the area as "The Burning Coal Seam."^[2]

Climate

Fording River weather station, near Elkford, has a subarctic climate (Köppen Dfc).

Climate data for Fording River Cominco, BC (1981–2010): 1585 m
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °C (°F)	10.6 (51.1)	12.0 (53.6)	16.5 (61.7)	24.4 (75.9)	28.0 (82.4)	35.0 (95.0)	37.5 (99.5)	36.7 (98.1)	32.5 (90.5)	25.5 (77.9)	13.3 (55.9)	10.0 (50.0)	37.5 (99.5)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	−5.4 (22.3)	−2.7 (27.1)	1.6 (34.9)	6.3 (43.3)	11.5 (52.7)	16.0 (60.8)	20.0 (68.0)	20.0 (68.0)	14.6 (58.3)	7.2 (45.0)	−2.5 (27.5)	−7.2 (19.0)	6.6 (43.9)
Daily mean °C (°F)	−9.9 (14.2)	−8.2 (17.2)	−3.5 (25.7)	1.1 (34.0)	5.5 (41.9)	9.7 (49.5)	12.6 (54.7)	12.1 (53.8)	7.5 (45.5)	1.8 (35.2)	−6.2 (20.8)	−11.3 (11.7)	0.9 (33.7)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	−14.2 (6.4)	−13.6 (7.5)	−8.6 (16.5)	−4.1 (24.6)	−0.5 (31.1)	3.3 (37.9)	5.1 (41.2)	4.1 (39.4)	0.4 (32.7)	−3.7 (25.3)	−9.9 (14.2)	−15.3 (4.5)	−4.7 (23.4)
Record low °C (°F)	−41.0 (−41.8)	−39.0 (−38.2)	−33.0 (−27.4)	−26.1 (−15.0)	−15.0 (5.0)	−6.1 (21.0)	−3.0 (26.6)	−6.0 (21.2)	−12.2 (10.0)	−25.6 (−14.1)	−36.5 (−33.7)	−49.0 (−56.2)	−49.0 (−56.2)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	45.5 (1.79)	33.9 (1.33)	44.8 (1.76)	43.8 (1.72)	59.1 (2.33)	85.7 (3.37)	58.1 (2.29)	47.1 (1.85)	48.5 (1.91)	40.5 (1.59)	60.9 (2.40)	49.2 (1.94)	617.1 (24.28)
Average snowfall cm (inches)	41.7 (16.4)	30.8 (12.1)	37.6 (14.8)	29.4 (11.6)	19.1 (7.5)	3.7 (1.5)	0.1 (0.0)	0.6 (0.2)	7.9 (3.1)	17.9 (7.0)	43.8 (17.2)	44.7 (17.6)	277.3 (109)
Source: Environment Canada[3]

Demographics

In the 2021 Canadian census conducted by Statistics Canada, Elkford had a population of 2,749 living in 1,159 of its 1,602 total private dwellings, a change of 10% from its 2016 population of 2,499. With a land area of 108.12 km² (41.75 sq mi), it had a population density of 25.4/km² (65.9/sq mi) in 2021.^[4]

Religion

According to the 2021 census, religious groups in Elkford included:^[5]

• Irreligion (1,530 persons or 55.7%)
• Christianity (1,195 persons or 43.5%)
• Buddhism (10 persons or 0.4%)
• Other (10 persons or 0.4%)

Local media

Radio stations

• 99.1 FM - CJDR, Classic Rock
• 92.7 FM - CFBZ, Country
• 97.7 FM - CBTN, CBC Radio
• 106.9 FM - CJAY, Rock
• 90.1 FM - ..., Hip-hop/Hits
• 93.5 FM rock
• 92.9 FM rock
• 107.9 FM summit 107

Cable television stations

• Channel 10: Shaw TV
• Channel 5: CFCN, CTV
• Channel 13: CBUT, CBC

In popular culture

Elkford is the setting of Braceface, an animated children's television series that aired in the early 2000s.

See also

• Elk
• Elk River
• Elk Valley
• Ktunaxa