Fort McMurray
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Fort McMurray McMurray (1947–1962) |
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| Urban service area (hamlet) | |
| Fort McMurray Urban Service Area | |
Aerial view of Fort McMurray with Athabasca River
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| Nickname(s): "Fort Mac","Fort McMoney" | |
| Motto: We Have The Energy | |
 Fort McMurray
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| Coordinates: 56°43′35″N 111°22′49″W / 56.72639°N 111.38028°WCoordinates: 56°43′35″N 111°22′49″W / 56.72639°N 111.38028°W | |
| Country | Canada |
| Province | Alberta |
| Region | Northern Alberta |
| Census division | 16 |
| Specialized municipality | RM of Wood Buffalo |
| Founded | 1870 |
| Incorporated | |
| • Village | May 6, 1947 |
| • Town | December 29, 1948 |
| • New town | June 30, 1964 |
| • City | September 1, 1980 |
| Name changed | June 1, 1962 |
| Amalgamated | April 1, 1995 |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Melissa Blake |
| • Governing body |
Wood Buffalo Municipal Council
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| • MP | David Yurdiga (CPC) |
| • MLA |
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| Area (2011) | |
| • Total | 59.89 km2 (23.12 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 260 m (850 ft) |
| Population (2011) | |
| • Total | 61,374 |
| • Density | 1,024.8/km2 (2,654/sq mi) |
| • Municipal census (2015) | 78,382 |
| See Demographics section for population counts from RM of Wood Buffalo's recent municipal censuses. | |
| Time zone | MST (UTC−7) |
| • Summer (DST) | MDT (UTC−6) |
| Postal code span | T9H to T9K |
| Area code(s) | 780, 587, 825 |
| Highways | Highway 63 |
| Waterways | Athabasca River, Clearwater River, Hangingstone River, Horse River |
| Website | RM of Wood Buffalo |
Fort McMurray (/fɔːrt mᵻkˈmɜːri/ mick-MUR-ee) is a population centre, technically classified as an urban service area, in the Regional Municipality (RM) of Wood Buffalo in Alberta, Canada. It is located in northeast Alberta, in the middle of the Athabasca oil sands, surrounded by boreal forest. It has played a significant role in the development of the national petroleum industry. A severe wildfire in May 2016 led to the evacuation of its residents and caused widespread damage.
Formerly a city, Fort McMurray became an urban service area when it amalgamated with Improvement District No. 143 on April 1, 1995, to create the Municipality of Wood Buffalo (renamed the RM of Wood Buffalo on August 14, 1996). Despite its current official designation of urban service area, many locals, politicians and the media still refer to Fort McMurray as a city. Fort McMurray was known simply as McMurray between 1947 and 1962.
Before the arrival of Europeans in the late 18th Century, the Cree were the dominant First Nations people in the Fort McMurray area. The Athabasca oil sands were known to the locals and the surface deposits were used to waterproof their canoes. In fur trade days the location of Fort McMurray was an important junction on the fur trade route from eastern Canada to the Athabasca country. In 1778, the first European explorer, Peter Pond, came to the region in search of furs, as the European demand for this commodity at the time was strong. Pond explored the region farther south along the Athabasca River and the Clearwater River, but chose to set up a trading post much farther north by the Athabasca River near Lake Athabasca. However, his post closed in 1788 in favour of Fort Chipewyan, now the oldest continuous settlement in Alberta.
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