Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan

          1,036 miles

Jan 5 - Moose Jaw's climate is transitional between semiarid and humid continental.  The winters are long, cold and dry, while its summers are short, but very warm and relatively wet.

Cree and Assiniboine people used the Moose Jaw area as a winter encampment.  The Plains Cree word “moose gaw” means “warm breezes”.  Native fur traders and Métis buffalo hunters created the first permanent settlement at a narrow river crossing called "the turn", at present-day Kingsway Park.

The intersection of the Moose Jaw River and Thunder Creek was chosen in 1881 as a site for a division point for the Canadian Pacific Railway.  The water supply here was important for steam locomotives.  The railways played an important role in the development of Moose Jaw, with the city having both a Canadian Pacific Railway Station and a Canadian National Railway Station.  A dam was built on the river in 1883 to create a year-round water supply.

Residents of the city of Moose Jaw are known as Moose Javians.

image:  http://www.mjtimes.sk.ca/

info:  Wikipedia