La Crete

Infobox Settlement
official_name = Hamlet of La Crete
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settlement_type = Hamlet
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pushpin_label_position = none
pushpin_map_caption = Location of La Crete in Alberta
pushpin_mapsize = 220
subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = flag|Canada
subdivision_type1 = Province
subdivision_name1 = flag|Alberta
subdivision_type2 = Census division
subdivision_name2 = No. 17
subdivision_type3 = Municipality
subdivision_name3 = Mackenzie MD
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government_type = Unincorporated
leader_title = Governing body
leader_name = Mackenzie MD Council
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area_total_km2 = 1672.83
population_as_of = 2006
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population_total = 2459
population_density_km2 = auto
population_blank1_title = Dwellings
population_blank1 = 752
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timezone = MST
utc_offset = -7
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latd= 58.19479
longd= -116.35045
elevation_footnotes =
elevation_m = 315
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footnotes = La Crete (also spelled La Crête) is a hamlet in northern Alberta, located in the Municipal District of Mackenzie No.23. La Crete is about 56 km southeast of High Level on Highway 697, or 800 km north of Edmonton, Alberta.

The hamlet is located in census division No. 17 and in the federal riding of Peace River. It is administered by Mackenzie MD. [Cite web|url=http://www.municipalaffairs.gov.ab.ca/cfml/profiles/data/0505_1.htm|author=Alberta Municipal Affairs|title=Mackenzie No. 23 - Municipal district Profile|accessdate=2008-06-27]

Temperatures can range from 30 degrees Celsius to a chilly −50 degrees Celsius (−58°F).

The name "La Crête" means "the peak" in French, which is how the earliest settlers described the area they settled.

History

La Crete was first settled in 1914 as La Crête Landing. When the first Mennonites arrived in the 1930s, they settled a short distance southwest of the original settlement on the current site of La Crete. When the first highways were built into the area in the 1960s, the population began to increase as new settlers arrived, and in 1979, La Crete was created into a hamlet.

During the summer months the La Crete Ferry, one of only seven ferries still operating in Alberta, shuttles vehicles across the Peace River on Highway 697 about 70 km southwest of the hamlet. In the winter, an ice bridge is maintained at the same spot. This access connects La Crete to the Mackenzie Highway near Paddle Prairie, offering a considerable time saving when travelling to or from La Crete. During the spring and fall, when the river is unfit for the ferry and the ice too thin to support vehicle traffic, or at other times when the ferry is not operational, travellers must continue north to High Level, then east on Hwy 58 before coming back south to reach La Crete. In the summer of 2006 a sandbar formed in the centre of the river, where the ferry normally crossed, forcing it to travel around it. The sandbar has grown to such a size that the ferry does not always run if the water level is too low.

Infrastructure

La Crete has walking trails that were paid for using donations from the residents of the town.

La Crete holds a hockey tournament every year known as the Challenge Cup, where teams from all over northern Alberta come to challenge each other in hopes of winning the Challenge Cup.

Demographics

The predominantly Mennonite community had a population of 2,039 in 2003, more than double its 1995 population of 995. La Crete also acts as the hub for more than 5000 rural residents in the area.

In 2006, the community had a total population of 2459 living in 752 dwellings.Cite web | url= http://broadband.gc.ca/demographic_servlet/community_demographics/7340 | title= La Crete - Community demograhics|author=Industry Canada| authorlink=Industry Canada | year=2006 | accessdate= 2008-06-27] With a land area of km2 to mi2|1672.83|abbr=yes|wiki=yes, it has a population density of Pop density km2 to mi2|17.0| spell=UK | abbr=yes.

The residents of La Crete typically speak both English and Low German, and most businesses serve customers in both languages, often switching between the two over the course of business.

ee also

*Hamlets of Alberta

References

External links

* [http://www.discoverthepeacecountry.com/htmlpages/lacrete.html Discover the Peace Country] —La Crete