Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Wood Buffalo
Specialized municipality
Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo
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Location within Alberta
Country	Canada
Province	Alberta
Region	Northern Alberta
Planning region	Lower Athabasca
Specialized municipality	April 1, 1995
Name change	August 14, 1996
Administrative office	Fort McMurray
Area  (2021)
• Land	60,843.88 km2 (23,491.95 sq mi)
Population  (2021)
• Total	72,326
• Density	1.2/km2 (3/sq mi)
• Municipal census (2015)	82,724
• Estimate (2020)	74,158
Time zone	UTC−7 (MST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−6 (MDT)

The Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo (abbreviated RMWB) is a specialized municipality in northeast Alberta, Canada. It is the second largest municipality in Alberta by area and is home to oil sand deposits known as the Athabasca oil sands.

Geography

Communities and localities

Hydrology

The Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo (RMWB) is in the lower basin of the Athabasca River watershed and Fort McMurray is the largest community on the banks of the river. Local rivers include the Hangingstone River, Clearwater River and Christina River, a tributary of the Clearwater River.

The Hangingstone River drains an area of 1,070 km² (413 sq mi), which is dominated by muskeg, and flows into the Clearwater River just upstream of the Athabasca River at Fort McMurray. The river often experiences high flows in the spring during snow melt, during heavy rainfall events and when ice jams occur during spring ice break. The RMWB warns citizens of the potential for sudden flash floods "especially in populated areas adjacent to the Athabasca River, Clearwater River and Christina River." Water levels have been monitored by the Water Survey of Canada since 1970 (WSC station 07CD004). During the spring months there is increased monitoring of the "Clearwater River to the south of the urban service area to provide warning of an ice break" and the "Athabasca River upper basin, local river levels, precipitation and overall weather patterns."

The Clearwater River, designated as part of the Canadian Heritage Rivers System, flows 187 km (116 mi) from its headwaters in Lloyd Lake in northwest Saskatchewan into northeast Alberta before joining the Athabasca River at Fort McMurray. "The lack of significant oil sands developments means that the Clearwater River can be used as a baseline river system to provide information on the variability and characteristics of natural systems."

June 2013 floods

By June 12, 2013 after many days of heavy rain, Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo declared a state of emergency. They organized evacuations from some areas and placed others under boil water advisories as local waterways, such as the Hangingstone River, rose to dangerously high levels 30 kilometres south of Fort McMurray, causing the closure of Highway 63.

2016 wildfire

From May 3, 2016 on, over 80,000 people were affected by evacuations, by May 3 at 6:49 pm, the entirety of Fort McMurray and surrounding areas were placed under a mandatory evacuation. making it Alberta's largest evacuation for a wildfire.

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo had a population of 72,326 living in 25,934 of its 30,451 total private dwellings, a change of 1% from its 2016 population of 71,594. With a land area of 60,843.88 km² (23,491.95 sq mi), it had a population density of 1.2/km² (3.1/sq mi) in 2021.

In the 2016 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo recorded a population of 71,594 living in 25,659 of its 30,713 total private dwellings, a change of 9.2% from its 2011 population of 65,565. With a land area of 61,777.65 km² (23,852.48 sq mi), it had a population density of 1.2/km² (3.1/sq mi) in 2016.

The Regional Municipality (RM) of Wood Buffalo's 2015 municipal census reported a population of 125,032 in the municipality, which includes permanent and shadow (non-permanent) populations of 82,724 and 42,308 residents respectively.

Ethnicity

Language

Immigration

Wood Buffalo is home to almost 2,000 recent immigrants (arriving between 2001 and 2006) who now make up more than 3% of the population. About 21% of these immigrants came from India, while about 10% came from each of Pakistan and the Philippines, and about 9% came from Venezuela, and about 8% from South Africa, about 6% from China, and about 3% came from Colombia.

Religion

More than 80% of residents identified as Christian at the time of the 2001 census while almost 17% indicated they had no religious affiliation. For specific denominations Statistics Canada counted 15,880 Roman Catholics (37.4%), 4,985 Anglicans (11.7%), 4,225 for the United Church of Canada (9.9%), 1,730 Pentecostals (4.1%), 1,195 Baptists (2.8%), 965 for the Salvation Army (2.3%), 900 Lutherans (2.1%), 690 Muslims (1.6%), 350 Latter-day Saints (0.8%), and 320 Presbyterians (0.8%).

Economy

The Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo is home to vast oil sand deposits, also known as the Athabasca Oil Sands, helping to make the region one of the fastest growing industrial areas in Canada.