Peace River Block

The Peace River Block is an 3,500,000-acre (14,000 km²) area of land located in northeastern British Columbia, in the Peace River Country. In exchange for building a rail line across Canada to British Columbia the Canadian Pacific Railway was given the Railway Belt, 20 miles (32 km) on each side of the rail, of land. To compensate the CPR for alienated or non-arable land in the 40-mile (64 km) wide strip, the Province allowed the Dominion government to take control of 3,500,000 acres (14,000 km²) within B.C., northeast of the Rocky Mountains. This arrangement passed the provincial legislature on December 19, 1883, and passed the Dominion house on March 21, 1884, as the "Settlement Act". As all the land northeast of the Rocky Mountains became a provincial reserve pending the Dominion government's decision on what land to select prevented homesteading and land claims. After several surveys of the land the Dominion government took possession in 1907. The land the Dominion government chose was an approximately square-shaped block of land 72.4 miles (116.5 km) north-south and 75.7 miles (121.8 km) east-west. The south boundary begins at the intersection of the Alberta-British Columbia border and the Twentieth Baseline of the Dominion Land Survey and the north boundary begins at the Twenty-third Baseline, however both boundaries are run at right angles to the Alberta-British Columbia Border without accounting for meridian convergence and thus deviate south of each baseline. Land within the block was initially surveyed using the 3rd and 4th Systems of the Dominion Land Survey however much of the south and west parts of the block were eventually surveyed into district lots similar to other parts of British Columbia.

Peace River

The Peace River (French: rivière de la Paix) is a river in Canada that originates in the Rocky Mountains of northern British Columbia and flows to the northeast through northern Alberta. The Peace River flows into the Slave River, a tributary of the Mackenzie River. The Mackenzie is the 12th longest river in the world, preceded by the Mekong and followed by the Niger River. The Finlay River, the main headwater of the Peace River, is regarded as the ultimate source of the Mackenzie River.

History

The regions along the river are the traditional home of the Danezaa people, called the Beaver by the Europeans. The fur trader Peter Pond is believed to have visited the river in 1785. In 1788 Charles Boyer of the North West Company established a fur trading post at the river's junction with the Boyer River.

In 1792 and 1793, the explorer Alexander Mackenzie travelled up the river to the Continental Divide. Mackenzie referred to the river as Unjegah, from a native word meaning "large river".

Peace River (Florida)

The Peace River is a river in the southwestern part of the Florida peninsula, in the U.S.A.. It originates at the juncture of Saddle Creek and Peace Creek northeast of Bartow in Polk County and flows south through Hardee County to Arcadia in DeSoto County and then southwest into the Charlotte Harbor estuary at Port Charlotte in Charlotte County. It is 106 miles (171 km) long and has a drainage basin of 1,367 square miles (3,540 km²). U.S. Highway 17 runs near and somewhat parallel to the river for much of its course. The river was called Rio de la Paz (River of Peace) on 16th century Spanish charts. It appeared as Peas Creek or Pease Creek on later maps. The Creek (and later, Seminole) Indians call it Talakchopcohatchee, River of Long Peas. Other cities along the Peace River include Fort Meade, Wauchula and Zolfo Springs.

Fresh water from the Peace River is vital to maintain the delicate salinity of Charlotte Harbor that hosts several endangered species, as well as commercial and recreational harvests of shrimp, crabs, and fish. The river has always been a vital resource to the people in its watershed. Historically, the abundant fishery and wildlife of Charlotte Harbor supported large populations of people of the Caloosahatchee culture (in early historic times, the Calusa). Today, the Peace River supplies over six million gallons per day of drinking water to the people in the region. The river is also popular for canoeing.

Peace River (provincial electoral district)

Peace River is a provincial electoral district in Alberta, Canada. The district is mandated to return a single member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta using the first past the post method of voting. The district used single transferable vote from 1926 to 1957.

The electoral district was created in 1905 and contains the area in the most northwestern parts of Alberta, Canada along the Alberta, British Columbia and Northwest Territories border. In recent years, the district has been a Progressive Conservative stronghold, but candidates from every governing party have held this district since it was created. In 2015, the constituency elected NDP MLA Debbie Jabbour. Incorporated towns include Peace River, High Level, Manning and Rainbow Lake. Ft. Vermillion and La Crete also have significant population.

History

The electoral district was established when the province was created in 1905. The district boundaries have been revised many times over the last century but have still consisted of a vast rural swath of North West Alberta.