Regional District of East Kootenay


The Regional District of East Kootenay is a regional district in the Canadian province of British Columbia, Canada. At the 2016 census, the population was 60,439. Its area is 27,542.69 square kilometres. The regional district offices are in Cranbrook, the largest community in the region. Other important population centres include the cities of Kimberley and Fernie, and the district municipality of Invermere and Sparwood. Despite its name, the regional district does not include all of the region known as the East Kootenay, which includes the Creston Valley and the east shore of Kootenay Lake.

Geography

The regional district's dominant landform is the Rocky Mountain Trench, which is flanked by the Purcell Mountains and Rocky Mountains on the east and west, and includes the Columbia Valley region, the southern half of which is in the regional district. Another distinct area within the regional district is the Elk Valley in the southern Rockies, which is the entrance to the Crowsnest Pass and an important coal-mining region. Other than the Columbia and Kootenay Rivers, whose valleys form the bottomlands of the Rocky Mountain Trench, also included in the regional district are the northernmost parts of the basins of the Flathead, Moyie and Yahk Rivers.

Municipalities

MunicipalityGovernment TypePopulation
Cranbrookcity20,047
Kimberleycity7,425
Ferniecity5,249
Sparwooddistrict municipality3,784
Invermeredistrict municipality3.391
Jumbo Glaciermountain resort municipality0
Elkforddistrict municipality2,499
Radium Hot Springsvillage776
Canal Flatsvillage668