Kitimat

Kitimat is a district municipality in the North Coast region of British Columbia, Canada. It is a member municipality of the Regional District of Kitimat-Stikine regional government. The Kitimat Valley is part of the most populous urban district in Northwest British Columbia, which includes Terrace to the north along the Skeena River valley. The city was planned and built by the Aluminum Company of Canada (Alcan) during the 1950s.

Kitimat's municipal area is 242.63 km² (93.69 sq mi). It is located on tidewater in one of the few wide, flat valleys on the coast of British Columbia. The 2011 census recorded 8,335 citizens.

The District of Kitimat Development Services situates the port of Kitimat as an integral part of the Northwest Corridor connecting North America to the Pacific Ocean and the Pacific Rim.

History

"Kitimat" in the Tsimshian language refers to the Haisla First Nation as the "People of the Snow". Before 1950 the Kitimat township was a small fishing village at the head of the Kitimat Arm of the Douglas Channel, a deepwater fjord.