Castlegar

Abstract is: Castlegar is the second-largest community in the West Kootenay region of British Columbia, Canada. In the Selkirk Mountains, at the confluence of the Kootenay and Columbia Rivers, it is a regional trade and transportation centre, with a local economy based on forestry, mining and tourism. Castlegar was recently cited as one of the Top Eight Places in British Columbia for most promising growth. It is home to Selkirk College, a regional airport, a pulp mill, and several sawmills. Its population of 7,259 includes many Doukhobors, who were largely responsible for much of the town's early development and growth. The area which became Castlegar was an important centre for the Sinixt (Lakes) Peoples. Outside the city limits are the small surrounding communities of Ootischenia, Brilliant, Robson, Robson West, Raspberry, Tarrys, Thrums, Glade, Shoreacres, Fairview, Genelle, Pass Creek and Krestova, and the much smaller communities of Deer Park, Renata, and Syringa on Lower Arrow Lake. These outlying areas have a further population of about 8,000 people.