Lethbridge ( ) is a city in the province of Alberta, Canada. With a population of 106,550 in the 2023 municipal census, Lethbridge became the fourth Alberta city to surpass 100,000 people. The nearby Canadian Rocky Mountains contribute to the city's warm summers, mild winters, and windy climate. Lethbridge lies approximately southeast of Calgary on the Oldman River, west of Medicine Hat, and northwest of the Canada–United States border at the Sweetgrass–Coutts Border Crossing.
Lethbridge is the commercial, educational, financial, industrial and transportation centre of southern Alberta. The city's economy developed from drift mining for coal in the late 19th century and agriculture in the early 20th century. Half of the workforce is employed in the health, education, retail, and hospitality sectors, and the top five employers are government-based. Post-secondary institutes in the city include the University of Lethbridge, the only university in Alberta south of Calgary, as well as Lethbridge Polytechnic and Red Crow College. Cultural venues in the city include performing art theatres, galleries, museums, gardens, and sports centres.
History
thumb|left|Round Street in 1911
Before the 19th century, the Lethbridge area was populated by several First Nations at various times. The Blackfoot referred to the area as Aksaysim ("steep banks"), Mek-kio-towaghs ("painted rock"), Assini-etomochi ("where we slaughtered the Cree") and Sik-ooh-kotok ("coal"). The Tsuutʼina (Sarcee) referred to it as Chadish-kashi ("black/rocks"), the Cree as Kuskusukisay-guni ("black/rocks"), and the Nakoda (Stoney) as Ipubin-saba-akabin ("digging coal").
After the United States Army stopped alcohol trading with the Blackfeet Nation in Montana in 1869, traders John J. Healy and Alfred B. Hamilton started a whisky trading post at Fort Hamilton, near the future site of Lethbridge. The post's nickname became Fort Whoop-Up. The whisky trade led to the Cypress Hills Massacre of many native Assiniboine in 1873. The North-West Mounted Police, sent to stop the trade and establish order, By the turn of the century, the mines employed about 150 men and produced of coal each day. with production peaking during World War I. An internment camp was set up at the Exhibition Building in Lethbridge from September 1914 to November 1916. After the war, increasing oil and natural gas production gradually replaced coal production, The rail industry's dependence on coal and the Canadian Pacific Railway's (CPR) efforts to settle southern Alberta with immigrants boosted Lethbridge's economy. After the CPR moved the divisional point of its Crowsnest Line from Fort Macleod to Lethbridge in 1905 and a new Lethbridge Canadian Pacific Railway Station (Union Station) was built in 1906, the city became the regional centre for Southern Alberta.
Between 1907 and 1913, a development boom occurred in Lethbridge, making it the main marketing, distribution and service centre in southern Alberta.
Geography
thumb|left|300px|Map of southern Alberta
thumb|left|Map of Lethbridge
The city of Lethbridge is located at 49.7° north latitude and 112.833° west longitude and covers an area of . It is divided by the Oldman River; its valley, the Oldman River valley parks system, has been turned into one of the largest urban park systems in North America at of protected land. Lethbridge is Alberta's third-largest city by population and area after Calgary and Edmonton. It is located near the Canadian Rockies, southeast of Calgary.
Lethbridge is split into three geographical areas: north, south and west. The Oldman River separates West Lethbridge from the other two, while Crowsnest Trail and the Canadian Pacific Kansas City rail line separate North and South Lethbridge. The newest and largest of the three areas, West Lethbridge (pop. 40,898) Much of the city's recent growth has been on the west side, and it has the youngest median age of the three. The north side (pop. 28,172) South Lethbridge (pop. 32,412) Mean relative humidity in the morning hovers between 69 and 78% throughout the year, but afternoon mean relative humidity is more uneven, ranging from 38% in August to 58% in January.
Its high elevation of and close proximity to the Rocky Mountains provides Lethbridge with cooler summers than other locations in the Canadian Prairies. These factors protect the city from strong northwest and southwest winds and contribute to frequent Chinook winds during the winter. Lethbridge winters have the highest temperatures in the prairies, reducing the severity and duration of winter cold periods and resulting in fewer days with snow cover. The average daytime temperature peaks by the end of July/beginning of August, when it reaches . The city's temperature reaches a maximum high of or greater on average once or twice a year. The lowest temperature ever recorded was on January 7, 1909; December 18, 1924;
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