| Fort Chipewyan, Alberta |
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Fort Chipewyan is the oldest European settlement in the province of Alberta , Canada . The settlement was established by the North West Company when it setup a Trading Post there in 1788 . The Fort was named after the Chipewyan First Nation living in the area. The Fort is located on the northwestern tip of Lake Athabasca , adjacent to Wood Buffalo National Park . Population 537 (2001) The Fort has a population of about 1,200 inhabitants where Tourism plays a key role in the economy, especially in the summer months. The primary method of transportation to Fort Chipewyan is air, serviced by a Regional Airline named Air Mikisew who fly from Edmonton and Fort McMurray . There are no permanent roads to the Fort but it can be reached from Fort Smith or Fort McMurray on Ice Roads and Winter Roads . In summer, the Fort can also be reached by boat via Fort McMurray, 280 Km to the south on the Athabasca River . Although the Alberta government long ago did studies on all-weather road access, no action has been taken, and at the beginning of December 2005, one-third of the 1,200 residents signed a petition to request that government for a road to be built 50 km to connect with existing roads north to Fort Smith, Northwest Territories. The major expenditure would be a bridge over the Slave River. In March 2006, Health Canada announced it was studying elevated rates of rare cancers in the area. |
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