The town of High Level is located on the Mackenzie Highway approximately 290 km. north of the Town of Peace River, midway between Edmonton and Yellowknife. Known as Alberta's "crossroads to northern opportunity," High Level has seen significant economic growth. High Level is a transportation and service centre for a vast area of northwestern Alberta, serving a trading area of approximately 18,000 people. Many have settled here because of the excellent employment prospects, which are in no way limited to the forestry industry. High Level offers a full range of transportation services including bus, and daily scheduled air service. Nearly 300 businesses such as retail, hospitality, shipping, and oil and gas, High Level is also the host to the most northerly located grain elevator in the world. High Level has a full range of recreational and leisure facilities which include an indoor swimming pool.High Level has become the distribution point for a majority of the harvested coniferous timber in the region and has become the main service and processing centre for the region's logging industry. With the development of the Rainbow Lake, Zama, and Virgo oil fields in the sixties, and the continued exploratory drilling and seismic activity in the area, have made High Level a strategic location as an oil and gas service centre. Interestingly, High Level has the most northerly grain elevators in Canada and is the grain terminal for a large agricultural area. Farmers truck their grain from up to 120 kilometres away and there are approximately 350,000 cultivated acres of farm land in the region. High Level offers a wide range of outdoor recreational amenities. Some of the natural attractions of the region include geological phenomena, numerous birds and game as well as interesting species of plant life. For the outdoor enthusiast, High Level and its surrounding area offer opportunities for bird watching, photography, cross country skiing, snowmobiling, fishing and hunting. Unspoiled remote territory is still accessible for those seeking a unique wilderness experience. Today, High Level has a population of almost 3,500 people and it's land mass covers just under 32 square kilometers. |
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