Revelstoke

REVELSTOKE, city, pop 7,230 (2006), is located on the COLUMBIA R between the SELKIRK and MONASHEE MTS at the western entrance to ROGERS PASS, 575 km west of VANCOUVER. Fur traders on the Columbia called the site Big Eddy after a large, treacherous whirlpool that impeded their brigades. Arthur Farwell, a government surveyor, laid out the original townsite in 1884, calling it after himself. When the CPR arrived, it created its own townsite just east of Farwell and in 1886 called it Revelstoke after Lord Revelstoke, head of the London banking firm Baring Bros, which invested heavily in the railway. The city incorporated on 1 Mar 1899, just 2 months after the CPR transferred its divisional point there. The presence of the railway sparked an economic boom that lasted until WWI. The railway remains an important employer, along with MINING and the FOREST INDUSTRY. Two national PARKS, GLACIER and MOUNT REVELSTOKE, attract TOURISM, as do ski facilities at Mt Mackenzie. Snowmobiling and helicopter skiing are also popular. In 1986 Revelstoke undertook a major downtown revitalization project, restoring more than 2 dozen heritage buildings. Revelstoke Dam, 4 km north on the Columbia R, is one of the highest concrete dams (175 m) in Canada. MICA DAM, 130 km farther north, is the highest earth-filled dam (242 m) in N America.