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This city of 84,000 was founded in 1812 by the North West Company, later taken over by the Hudson’s Bay Company. Kamloops is at the junction of the North and south branches of the Thompson River at Kamloops Lake, and now sits where the Trans-Canada Highway (#1) meets the Coquihala (#5) and carry traffic of 10 million vehicles a year. The community is serviced by a retional airport as well. The name comes from Shuswap phrase "T'kumlups" for "the meeting of the waters." The area around the city is rolling hills with forests, grasslands, and hoodoos. The area is blessed by lots of sunshine, great recreational infrustructure, and good health care, public transit, tourism, cultural, and educational facilities. Major Employers ( and # of Employees) Homes Homes in the area average $262,000, a with average two bedroom rental reates running $670 per month (2005 stats). There is significant new home construction on Tranquille Road, at TRU (new dorms), Lorne Street, Pineview Valley, Aberdeen, Batchelor Heights, and Mt Dufferin. Schools School District #73 (Kamloops/Thompson) includes Kamloops and surrounding communities and has 15,423 students. The main campus of Thompson Rivers University (TRU) is located in Kamloops. Satellite campuses are located in Williams Lake and Burnaby. These have a total enrollment of 9,500 students plus another 5,500 in distance learning programs. Shopping Kamloops is the regional geographic commercial centre for more than 127,000 people. Kamloops is served by all major retail chains, and has a vibrant downtown eating and shopping area enhanced by facilities such as the Kamloops Art Gallery, Kamloops Museum and the main public library. 
Recreation
Kamloops has public and private recreation facilities, including the 6,400 seat Interior Savings Centre sports coliseum, six arenas, three indoor pools, 11 golf courses, 3 museums, 2 live theatre companies, and 82 parks (totalling 1350 ha) which also contain 82 soccer fields, 79 baseball diamonds, and 45 tennis courts. THe community is also served by the International Mountain Bike Park, and the Sun Peaks Resort and Harper Mountain ski resorts. The City of Kamloops and the Kamloops Indian Band are working together on the 100 km Rivers Trail to run throughout the river valley, passing through historical sites, nature trails. There are two hundred lakes, within a 40-mile radius of downtown Kamloops, Kamloops Photos Thompson Photos |
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