What are the Communities Found in Wood Buffalo?

Wood Buffalo is home to many different communities. This area the largest Regional Municipality in Alberta with many communities. Here's an introduction to some of the larger and more popular Wood Buffalo communities.

Fort McMurray

Found in the forest valley near the Clearwater and Athabasca Rivers, Fort McMurray is the largest community in Wood Buffalo. This was originally a Hudson's Bay Company trading post in 1870. This part of the municipality is most known for the oil sands industry and provides a home for nearly 77,000 residents.

Fort Chipewyan

Found in the northwest part of the region this is one of the most isolated communities. Most travel here by plane or boat in the summer and take the winter road the rest of the year. It was also a trading post in 1788.

This area became famous when the first NHL-sized synthetic ice surface in the world was installed in the Archie Simpson Arena. Fort Chipewyan is only home to around 1,300 residents, but that still makes it the second largest community in Wood Buffalo.

Fort Fitzgerald

The hamlet found furthest to the north in Wood Buffalo is Fort Fitzgerald. It's accessible from the Fort Chipewyan Winter Road and from Highway 5. Currently, its home to eight people (according to the 2010 census).

Fort MacKay

Another hamlet found in Wood Buffalo is Fort MacKay. This hamlet is 58 kilometres to the north of Fort McMurray and on the west bank of the Athabasca River. It's one of the oil sands harvesting sites and can be accesses from Highway 63.

It was established in 1820 as a trading post for the Hudson Bay Company and currently is home to 44 people.

These are some of the communities found within the Wood Buffalo area. Many others are found throughout, but these are a few of the better known choices.