Banff, Alberta

The area was named Banff in 1884 by George Stephen, president of the Canadian Pacific Railway, recalling his birthplace near Banff, Scotland. The Canadian Pacific built a series of grand hotels along the rail line and advertised the Banff Springs Hotel as an international tourist resort.

File:Banff from Sulphur Mountain 2020.jpg, showing Banff and the surrounding areas]]

File:King Edward Front Panorama.jpg

Banff was first settled in the 1880s after the transcontinental railway was built through the Bow Valley. In 1883, three Canadian Pacific Railway workers stumbled upon a series of natural hot springs on the side of Sulphur Mountain. In 1885, Canada established a federal reserve of {{cvt|26|km2}} around the Cave and Basin hot springs and began promoting the area as an international resort and spa as a way to support the new railway.{{cite web|url=http://www.banff.ca/visiting-banff/about-banff/banff-history.htm|title=Banff, AB - Official Website - History and Heritage|website=banff.ca|access-date=April 28, 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180406041018/http://www.banff.ca/visiting-banff/about-banff/banff-history.htm|archive-date=April 6, 2018}} In 1887, the reserve area was increased to {{cvt|673|km2}} and named "Rocky Mountain Park". This was the beginning of Canada's National Park system.

The Banff townsite was developed near the railway station as a service centre for tourists visiting the park. Services, such as St George-in-the-Pines church, were constructed through the late 19th century. It was administered by the Government of Canada's national parks system until 1990 when the Town of Banff became the only incorporated municipality within a Canadian national park.

An internment camp was set up at Banff and Castle Mountain in Dominion Park from July 1915 to July 1917 mostly imprisoning Ukrainian immigrants.{{cite web|title=Internment Camps in Canada during the First and Second World Wars, Library, and Archives Canada|date=11 June 2014|url=http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/the-public/005-1142.27-e.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140905213052/http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/the-public/005-1142.27-e.html|archive-date=September 5, 2014}} The prisoners of the internment camp were used as slave labour to build the infrastructure of the national park.{{cite web|title=Banff pavilion highlights WWI internment camps|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/banff-pavilion-highlights-wwi-internment-camps-1.1829468|publisher=CBC News|access-date=August 21, 2018}}

In 1985, the United Nations declared Banff National Park, as one of the Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks, a World Heritage Site. Banff remains one of the most popular tourist destinations in Canada.

One of the most notable figures of Banff was Norman Luxton, who was known as "Mr. Banff". He published the Crag and Canyon newspaper, built the King Edward Hotel and the Lux Theatre, and founded the Sign of the Goat Curio Shop, which led to the development of the Luxton Museum of Plains Indians, now the Buffalo Nations Museum.{{cite web |title=The History of Norman Luxton – Founder of the Buffalo Nations Luxton Museum |url=http://www.buffalonationsmuseum.ca/bnmhistoryLuxton.html |publisher=Buffalo Nations Luxton Museum |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100412183235/http://www.buffalonationsmuseum.ca/bnmhistoryLuxton.html |archive-date=April 12, 2010 |access-date=February 15, 2013}} He and his family helped organize the Banff Indian Days and the Banff Winter Carnival.

In 1976, the International Astronomical Union's Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature (IAU/WGPSN) officially adopted the name Banff for a crater on Mars, after the town in Alberta. The crater is at latitude 17.7° north and longitude 30.8° west. Its diameter is {{cvt|5|km}}.{{cite web | title=USGS Astro: Planetary Nomenclature: Feature Data Search Results | url=http://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/jsp/FeatureNameDetail.jsp?feature=60764 | publisher=United States Geological Survey | access-date=April 12, 2009 | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060929081637/http://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/jsp/FeatureNameDetail.jsp?feature=60764 | archive-date=September 29, 2006 }}

In 1991, Banff hosted the 1991 Winter Deaflympics, the first Deaflympics hosted in Canada, and the only Deaflympics held in Canada since then.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the town chose to temporarily close portions of its main street to vehicle traffic to create a Downtown Pedestrian Zone.{{Cite web |title=Coronavirus (COVID-19) information for Banff {{!}} Banff, AB - Official Website |url=https://banff.ca/1132/Coronavirus-info-for-Banff#:~:text=The%20100%20and%20200%20blocks,by%20the%20COVID-19%20pandemic.&text=Public%20health%20is%20the%20mandate,and%20the%20Province%20of%20Alberta. |access-date=2022-08-15 |website=banff.ca}} The Banff Town Council said the pedestrian zone would stay in effect until at least 2023.{{Cite web |title=Banff Ave. pedestrian zone likely going ahead for next two summers |url=https://www.rmotoday.com/banff/banff-ave-pedestrian-zone-likely-going-ahead-for-next-two-summers-4845469 |access-date=2022-08-15 |website=RMOToday.com |date=9 December 2021 |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=Banff Avenue Pedestrian Zone {{!}} Banff, AB - Official Website |url=https://banff.ca/1146/Banff-Avenue-Pedestrian-Zone |access-date=2022-08-15 |website=banff.ca}}

The town is surrounded by mountains, notably Mount Rundle, Sulphur Mountain, Mount Norquay, and Cascade Mountain, and is situated above Bow Falls near the confluence of the Bow River and Spray River. Soils are calcareous and usually imperfectly to poorly drained in their natural state with textures from very fine sandy loam to silty clay loam.{{cite web |url=http://sis.agr.gc.ca/cansis/publications/surveys/ab/ab44/index.html |title=Ecological (Biophysical) Land Classification of Banff and Jasper National Parks (Vol.1 and 2) |date=13 December 2013 |access-date=February 5, 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160207025000/http://sis.agr.gc.ca/cansis/publications/surveys/ab/ab44/index.html |archive-date=February 7, 2016 }} W.D. Holland and G.M. Coen, Ed. Ecological (Biophysical) Land Classification of Banff and Jasper National Parks, 1983

{{wide image|File:Banff, Alberta, Canada.jpg|704px|The sun rises over Banff from a vantage point on the road to Mount Norquay||center}}

Banff experiences a subarctic climate (Köppen climate classification Dfc) that borders on a humid continental climate (Köppen Dfb).

Winter temperatures range from an average low of {{cvt|-13.5|C}} to an average high of {{cvt|-0.5|C}}. Summer temperatures in the warmest month are an average high of {{cvt|22.5|C}} and an average low of {{cvt|6.8|C}}. Snow has been recorded in all months of the year. The annual snowfall averages {{cvt|183.8|cm}}.

The highest temperature ever recorded was {{cvt|37.8|C|0}} on June 29, 2021, during the 2021 Western North America heat wave.

{{Banff, Alberta weatherbox}}

File:Canada Banff Aurora.jpg over Banff]]

In the 2021 Canadian census conducted by Statistics Canada, the Town of Banff had a population of 8,305 living in 2,930 of its 3,287 total private dwellings, a change of {{percentage|{{#expr:8305-7851}}|7851|1}} from its 2016 population of 7,851. With a land area of {{cvt|4.08|km2}}, it had a population density of {{Pop density|8305|4.08|km2|prec=1}} in 2021.{{cite web | url=https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=9810000202&geocode=A000248 | title=Population and dwelling counts: Canada, provinces and territories, and census subdivisions (municipalities) | publisher=Statistics Canada | date=February 9, 2022 | accessdate=February 9, 2022}}

The population of the Town of Banff according to its 2017 municipal census is 8,875,{{cite book | url=http://www.municipalaffairs.alberta.ca/documents/2017%20MAPL%20Final.pdf | title=2017 Municipal Affairs Population List | publisher=Alberta Municipal Affairs | isbn=978-1-4601-3652-2 | access-date=January 13, 2018 | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180112160518/http://www.municipalaffairs.alberta.ca/documents/2017%20MAPL%20Final.pdf | archive-date=January 12, 2018 }} an increase of {{percentage|{{#expr:8875-8421}}|8421|1}} from its 2014 municipal census population of 8,421.{{cite book | url=http://www.municipalaffairs.alberta.ca/documents/2016_Municipal_Affairs_Population_List.pdf | title=2016 Municipal Affairs Population List | publisher=Alberta Municipal Affairs | isbn=978-1-4601-3127-5 | access-date=January 13, 2018 | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170609020916/http://www.municipalaffairs.alberta.ca/documents/2016_Municipal_Affairs_Population_List.pdf | archive-date=June 9, 2017 }}

In the Canada 2016 Census conducted by Statistics Canada, the Town of Banff recorded a population of 7,851 living in 2,543 of its 2,729 total private dwellings, a {{percentage|{{#expr:7851-7584}}|7584|1}} change from its 2011 population of 7,584. With a land area of {{cvt|4.77|km2}}, Banff had a population density of {{Pop density|7851|4.77|km2|prec=1}} in 2016.{{cite web | url=http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/hlt-fst/pd-pl/Table.cfm?Lang=Eng&T=302&SR=1&S=86&O=A&RPP=9999&PR=48 | title=Population and dwelling counts, for Canada, provinces, and territories, and census subdivisions (municipalities), 2016 and 2011 censuses – 100% data (Alberta) | publisher=Statistics Canada | date=February 8, 2017 | access-date=February 8, 2017 | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170211082610/http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/hlt-fst/pd-pl/Table.cfm?Lang=Eng&T=302&SR=1&S=86&O=A&RPP=9999&PR=48 | archive-date=February 11, 2017 }}

Parks Canada enforces requirements that individuals must meet to reside in the town, in order "to ensure that a broad supply of housing types are available for those who work and raise families in the community".{{cite web|url=https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/pn-np/ab/banff/info/permis-permit/ | title=Licences and permits|publisher=Parks Canada Agency, Government of Canada|website=pc.gc.ca | access-date=September 16, 2022|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220524202010/https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/pn-np/ab/banff/info/permis-permit | archive-date=May 24, 2022}}

File:Banff Springs Hotel 2008.JPG in 2008]]

Several mountains are located immediately adjacent to the townsite, including Mount Rundle ({{cvt|2949|m}}); Cascade Mountain ({{cvt|2998|m}}); and Mount Norquay ({{cvt|2134|m}}). Mount Norquay has a ski slope as well as mountain biking trails on the Stoney Squaw portion, and Via Ferrata (an assisted climbing experience). A tourist attraction, the Banff Gondola, is available to ascend Sulphur Mountain ({{cvt|2281|m}}) where a boardwalk (Banff Skywalk) beginning from the upper terminal connects to Sanson Peak. Sulphur Mountain is also the location of the Banff Upper Hot Springs.

Lake Minnewanka located six minutes north of the townsite is a day-use area with a variety of activities. Mountain biking, hiking, and fishing are allowed in this part of the park. A Lake Cruise, motor boat rentals, and a small food concession are available at the marina.

Tunnel Mountain (formerly known as Sleeping Buffalo Mountain) ({{cvt|1690|m}}) is situated within the townsite and has a summit that can be scaled in less than half an hour. It was named Tunnel Mountain because surveyors initially wanted to make a tunnel for the Canadian Pacific Railway right through the mountain, instead of following the Bow River Valley. Located on the side of Tunnel Mountain is the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, which hosts events, including outdoor concerts, dance, opera, and theatre.

Banff is home to the Banff World Television Festival, Banff Mountain Film Festival, Rocky Mountain Music Festival, and Bike Fest. The town is also the starting point of the {{cvt|4417|km}} Great Divide Mountain Bike Route, which terminates at Antelope Wells, New Mexico in the United States.

Banff and nearby Canmore played host to the 2014 Alberta Winter Games.

Banff also hosted the 1991 Winter Deaflympics.

For several years there has been an annual long-distance relay run between Banff and Jasper, Alberta (formerly known as the Jasper to Banff Relay).

Banff has a long history of hosting Team Canada hockey training camps, including Canada's 2012 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships team when the event was held in Alberta and the 1984 Canada Cup squad which practiced there, before the start of the tournament.{{Cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/kings/news/my-story-ryan-smyth/c-558774|title = My Story: Ryan Smyth}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/juniors/canada-world-juniors-sticks-together/|title = Far from home, Canadian team sticks together - Sportsnet.ca}}

File:Banff Bahnhof.jpg

In June 2008, the Banff council launched a local bus system called Roam, with three routes connecting the town, Tunnel Mountain, the Banff Springs Hotel, and the Banff Gondola.{{cite web |url=http://www.roamtransit.com/ |publisher=Town of Banff |title=Roam |url-status=live |access-date=February 15, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130208104958/http://roamtransit.com/ |archive-date=February 8, 2013 }} The service is operated using four hybrid Nova buses, each decorated with scenes from the National Park.{{cite web|url=http://roamtransit.com/services/banff|title=Roam in Banff|publisher=Bow Valley Regional Transit Services Commission|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130729055040/http://roamtransit.com/services/banff|archive-date=July 29, 2013}}

Many bus stops along the routes have screens that tell passengers exactly how many minutes before the next two buses arrive. In December 2012, the bus system was expanded to include the hourly Route 3 service between Banff and Canmore.{{cite web |url=http://roamtransit.com/services/canmore-banff-regional |publisher=Town of Banff |title=Roam |url-status=live |access-date=March 18, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130424042415/http://roamtransit.com/services/canmore-banff-regional |archive-date=April 24, 2013 }}

As of January 2024, Roam Transit offers 10 routes, the majority serving destinations within Banff or to national park locations nearby. In addition, Roam also offers two routes to Lake Louise, as well as a local service route within Canmore.[https://roamtransit.com/ roamtransit.com]

The railway came to Banff when the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) line from Calgary opened in 1883.{{cite web |title=A Brief History of Alberta's Railway |url=https://albertarailwaymuseum.com/brief-history-alberta-railway/ |publisher=Alberta Railway Museum |access-date=2024-09-05}} The current station building was opened by the CPR in 1910,{{cite web |title=Canadian Pacific Railway Station |url=https://www.historicplaces.ca/en/rep-reg/place-lieu.aspx?id=4529&pid=0 |website=Canada's Historic Places |publisher=Parks Canada |access-date=2024-09-05}} and was declared a heritage railway station by the Canadian federal government in 1991.{{cite web|url=http://www.pc.gc.ca/clmhc-hsmbc/pat-her/gar-sta/ab.aspx |title=The Directory of Designated Heritage Railway Stations in Alberta |publisher=Parks Canada|access-date=5 September 2024 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160802191759/http://www.pc.gc.ca/clmhc-hsmbc/pat-her/gar-sta/ab.aspx |archive-date=2 August 2016}}

Via Rail long-distance trains no longer serve Banff, but the railway station remains in use by the Rocky Mountaineer and Royal Canadian Pacific tour trains.

The nearest airport to Banff with major service is the Calgary International Airport in Calgary.

Acute health care is provided at the Banff – Mineral Springs Hospital.

{{Main|Media in Banff, Alberta}}

• Derek Beaulieu, poet, publisher, and anthologist
• Sonya Lea, award-winning author and filmmaker
• Karen Percy, double-bronze medal skier at the 1988 Winter Olympics
• J. Jill Robinson, award-winning author of fiction and creative nonfiction
• Kevin Smyth, former NHL player
• Ryan Smyth, former NHL player
• Karen Sorensen, former mayor and Canadian senator

• Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity
• Banff International Research Station (BIRS)
• List of communities in Canada by elevation
• List of francophone communities in Alberta

{{notelist}}

{{Reflist}}

• {{Official website}}

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{{Adjacent communities

| Centre = Town of Banff

| Northwest = Lake Louise

| North = Mount Norquay ski resort
Cascade Mountain

| Northeast = Lake Minnewanka

| East = Anthracite

| Southeast = Canmore

| South = Sulphur Mountain

| Southwest = Radium Hot Springs

| West = Sawback

}}

{{Subdivisions of Alberta|towns=yes}}

{{Canadian Rockies}}

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Category:1990 establishments in Alberta

Category:Populated places established in 1990

Category:Towns in Alberta

Category:1884 establishments in the Northwest Territories