Blogging from A to Z Challenge 2013 – Road Trip! {Letter “E”}

I am very excited to be taking part in the Blogging A to Z Challenge 2013.  This is actually my third challenge; the first year I featured a recipe for each letter and last year I drew on  my nursing background and uses “parts of the human body” as my inspiration!

This year I have decided to change things up a bit.  I live in Canada and believe it is one of the most beautiful countries on the planet; so I have decided to feature a different Canadian “place”, for each letter of the challenge.

I am very much looking forward to seeing how everyone interprets the Challenge and I would love to have you join me, as I crisscross this vast country on my Blogging from A to Z Challenge 2013 – Road Trip!

So, without further ado,   “E” is for Edmonton, Alberta

I have never visited Edmonton but would like to someday…even just to visit the West Edmonton Mall!  Miles of shopping sounds like a fun way to spend a few days.  A little bit of trivia, did you know there is a town in New Brunswick called Edmunston?  The two names are often confused and even though I live in NB, I still have to consciously think “Edmunston”, before I say the name.

Population:  812,201 {2011 census}

Notable Residents:  There are many, many notables who hail from Edmonton; in fact there is an entire Wikipedia page dedicated to them.  I’ll mention a few here:

• Emily Murphy, first female magistrate in British Empire and petitioned Supreme Court of Canada to allow women the vote.
• Mark Carney, governor of the Bank of Canada.
• Michael J. Fox, film and television actor.
• k.d. lang, singer/songwriter.
• W. P. Kinsella, author of Shoeless Joe which became the film Field of Dreams.
• Mark Messier, ice hockey player.
• Randy Ferbey, multiple Canadian and World Men’s Curling Champion.
• Karl Clark: U of A professor and inventor of oil sands extraction technology.

History:  

The earliest known inhabitants settled in the area that is now Edmonton around 3,000 BC and perhaps as early as 12,000 BC, when an ice-free corridor opened up as the last ice age ended and timber, water, and wildlife became available in the region.

In 1754, Anthony Henday, an explorer and fur trader working for the Hudson’s Bay Company may have been the first European to enter the Edmonton area.  By 1795, Fort Edmonton was established on the north bank of the river, as a major trading post for the Hudson’s Bay Company.

Incorporated as a town in 1892 with a population of 700 and then as a city in 1904 with a population of 8,350, Edmonton became the capital of Alberta when the province was formed a year later.

During the early 1900s, Edmonton grew very rapidly, causing speculation in real estate.  Just prior to World War I, the boom ended, and the city’s population declined sharply from more than 72,000 in 1914 to less than 54,000 only two years later.  The city slowly recovered in population and economy during the 1920s and 1930s and took off again during and after World War II.  Edmonton currently has a metropolitan population of more than one million.

Edmonton skyline panorama (Photo attribution: WinterforceMedia (CC)}

(Photo attribution: WinterforceMedia (CC)}

It has been a very exciting day spent exploring the great city of Edmonton.  I am heading to bed now so I can get a good nights sleep before heading off on the next stop, somewhere that begins with the letter “F”, on the next leg of  the Blogging from A to Z Challenge 2013 – Road Trip!

Have you visited Edmonton?  If so, what was your favourite place or attraction?

Past visits on the A to Z Challenge 2013 – Road Trip:

• A is for Alma, New Brunswick
• B is for Banff, Alberta
• C is for Cornwall, Ontario
• D is for Dawson City, Yukon

Complete listing of the Blogging from A to Z Challenge 2013 participants.

CREDITS – Map source – File:Canada Alberta location map 2.svg (Wikimedia Commons) (altered to add place name).  Information contained in this post was obtained from the City of Edmonton website and Wikipedia.