Chilliwack
is a predominantly agricultural community with
an estimated population of 70,000 people. The
city is surrounded by mountains, and has many
parks nearby such as Cultus Lake and Chilliwack
Lake Provincial Parks. There are many
recreational opportunities in the area,
including hiking, biking, camping, fishing, and
golf. Chilliwack is the seat of the Fraser
Valley Regional District.
Location
Chilliwack is located in the upper Fraser
Valley, 100 kilometres east of Vancouver on the
Trans Canada Highway. The city is bounded on the
north by the Fraser River, and on the south by
the Canada-United States border.
History
Between 5,000 and 10,000 years ago the Sto:lo
arrived in the Chilliwack area. At the time of
their first contact with Europeans it is
estimated that there were as many as 30,000
people living within Sto:lo territory.
In 1857, gold was discovered in the Fraser
Canyon. By 1858, over 30,000 gold miners had
treked to the goldfields, most travelling
through the Chilliwack area. By the mid 1860's
several farms had grown up around the steamboat
landings on the Fraser River called Miller's
Landing, Sumas Landing and Chilliwack Landing.
The Township of Chilliwack was incorporated in
1873, the third municipality in British
Columbia. Initial settlement was along the
Fraser River at Chilliwack Landing. Steamboats
were the main mode of transportation, carrying
goods and passengers between Chilliwack and New
Westminster..
With little room for expansion along the river,
the commercial area of the town moved south to
the junction of the New Westminster-Yale Wagon
Road, Wellington Avenue and Young Road, called
"Five Corners." A large subdivision called
Centreville was built In 1881. The name
Centreville was replaced In 1887 by the more
popular "Chilliwhack." The area was incorporated
in 1908 as a separate municipality, the City of
Chilliwack. The City and the Township co-existed
for 72 years. In 1980 they merged to form the
District of Chilliwack. The District of
Chilliwack became the City of Chilliwack in the
early 1990s.
The spelling of Chilliwack is sometimes a matter
of confusion. Prior to the amalgamation of the
City of Chilliwack and the Municipality of
Chilliwhack, there were two different spellings.
Upon amalgamation, the spelling of the City was
used. Archaic spellings include Chilliwhyeuk and
other versions closer to the original Halkomelem,
the language of the Sto:lo communities around
Chilliwack and Sardis.
Sports
The city's Junior A team, the Chilliwack Chiefs,
moved to Langley, British Columbia for the
2006-2007 season to make way for the Chilliwack
Bruins, a new WHL expansion team.
Scenery
Vedder River surrounded by tall mountain peaks,
such as the dramatic Mount Cheam, Slesse
Mountain, and the Fraser and Vedder Rivers,
Chilliwack's natural setting is magnificent.
Unfortunately, some argue that the city itself,
once a small agricultural town, has become an
example of sprawling suburbia and bad city
planning. Efforts to revitalize the languishing
downtown, and to curb the spread of housing
subdivisions into previously valuable farmland
have proved contentious.
Climate
Chilliwack's mild climate with limited extremes
provides excellent growing conditions for a wide
variety of crops and agricultural products. The
average temperature is 1.6 degrees Celsius in
January and 18 degrees Celsius in July.
Precipitation falls mostly as rain, with snow
limited, for the most part, to the surrounding
mountains.
As Chilliwack is situated at the end of the
Fraser Valley, it is one of the wettest cities
in the valley. Rain clouds funnel to the end of
the valley and, as they are pushed over the
mountains, drop their cargo. This occurrence is
most frequently seen in November and December,
when locals claim that it is not uncommon for it
to rain during the entire month. Despite the
region's reputation for rain, most of it falls
in the rather extensive winter months. Summers
are usually sunny and pleasant, with long days
(light out until well after 10pm in June with
dusk that lasts for hours), little rain,
comfortable daytime temperatures, refreshing
nights, and minimal humidity.
