View source for Fort Chipewyan

{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2023}}
{{Use Canadian English|date=January 2023}}
{{Infobox settlement
<!-- Basic info  ---------------->
|name                   = Fort Chipewyan
|official_name          =
|other_name             =
|native_name            = <!-- if different from the English name -->
|nickname               =
|settlement_type        = [[Hamlet (place)|Hamlet]] / designated place
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|motto                  =
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|image_caption          = Aerial view of Fort Chipewyan
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|pushpin_map_caption =Location of Fort Chipewyan
|pushpin_mapsize = 200px
|subdivision_type       = Country
|subdivision_name       = Canada
|subdivision_type1      = [[Provinces and territories of Canada|Province]]
|subdivision_name1      = [[Alberta]]
|subdivision_type2      = [[List of regions of Canada#Alberta|Region]]
|subdivision_name2      = [[Northern Alberta]]
|subdivision_type3      = [[List of census divisions of Alberta|Census division]]
|subdivision_name3      = [[Division No. 16, Alberta|16]]
|subdivision_type4      = [[Specialized municipalities of Alberta|Specialized municipality]]
|subdivision_name4      = [[Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo|RM of Wood Buffalo]]
<!-- Politics ----------------->
|government_footnotes   =
|government_type        = [[municipal incorporation|Unincorporated]]
|leader_title           = Mayor
|leader_name            = {{Wood Buffalo Municipal Council|mayor}}
|leader_title1          = [[Local government|Governing body]]
|leader_name1           = {{Wood Buffalo Municipal Council}}
|established_title      = Settled
|established_date       = 1788<ref name="est">[http://www.atc97.org/acfn.html Athabasca Tribal Council – Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090223074802/http://www.atc97.org/acfn.html |date=2009-02-23 }}</ref>
|elevation_footnotes    = <ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.safetycodes.ab.ca/Public/Documents/PSSSOP_Handbook_Version_12_Online_Feb_21_2012b.pdf | title=Alberta Private Sewage Systems 2009 Standard of Practice Handbook: Appendix A.3 Alberta Design Data (A.3.A. Alberta Climate Design Data by Town) | publisher=Safety Codes Council | type=PDF | pages=212–215 (PDF pp. 226–229) | date=January 2012 | access-date=October 8, 2013 | archive-date=October 16, 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131016085027/http://www.safetycodes.ab.ca/Public/Documents/PSSSOP_Handbook_Version_12_Online_Feb_21_2012b.pdf | url-status=dead }}</ref>
|elevation_m            = 221
| area_footnotes        = <ref name=2021census/>
| area_land_km2         = 9.93
| population_as_of      = 2021
| population_footnotes  = <ref name=2021census/>
| population_note       = 
| population_total      = 798 <!-- 2021 StatCan census population only per [[WP:CANPOP]];  do not replace with latest municipal census population count; this municipal census population count can go in the population_blank1_title and population_blank1 parameters further below and can be noted in the article body (so long as it doesn't replace the 2021 StatCan census population in the body). -->
| population_density_km2 = 80.4
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|timezone               = [[Mountain Standard Time|MST]]
|utc_offset             = −7
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|coordinates            = {{coord|58|42|52|N|111|09|30|W|region:CA-AB_source:http://www4.rncan.gc.ca/search-place-names/unique/IAFEW|display=inline,title}}
|postal_code_type       = [[Canadian postal code|Postal code]]
|postal_code            = [[List of T Postal Codes of Canada|T0P 1B0]]
|area_code              = [[Area code 780|+1-780]]
|blank_name             = [[Köppen climate classification|Climate]]
|blank_info             = [[Subarctic climate|Dfc]]
|website                =
|footnotes              = 
}}

'''Fort Chipewyan''' {{IPAc-en|ˈ|tʃ|ɪ|p|ə|w|aɪ|ən|,_|-|p|w|aɪ|-|,_|ˈ|tʃ|ɪ|p|ə|w|ən}}, commonly referred to as Fort Chip, is an unincorporated [[hamlet (place)|hamlet]] in [[northern Alberta]], Canada, within the [[Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo|Regional Municipality (RM) of Wood Buffalo]].<ref>{{AltaML}}</ref> It is located on the northwest shore of [[Lake Athabasca]], which flows into the [[Slave River]], thence to the [[Mackenzie River]] and the [[Arctic Ocean]]. First built as [[Fur trade|fur trading]] post in the late 1700s, Fort Chipewyan is one of the oldest European settlements in the Province of [[Alberta]].

==History==
[[File:Fort Chipewyan 1900.jpg|thumb|left|Fort Chipewyan 1900 and {{SS|Grahame}}]]
[[File:Fort Chipewyan H.B.C. post (1900).jpg|thumb|left|Fort Chipewyan HBC post in 1900]]
Fort Chipewyan is one of the oldest European settlements in the Province of [[Alberta]].  It was one of Canada's important fur trading posts in the late 1700s and early 1800s, serving as a distribution and collection point for furs, goods and men trading in the Peace, Slave, Athabasca and Mackenzie river basins.<ref>"Fort Chipewyan III", https://www.historicplaces.ca/en/rep-reg/place-lieu.aspx?id=11935&pid=0 accessed July 16, 2025</ref> It was established as a trading post of the [[North West Company]] in 1788.<ref name="est"/> It is named after the [[Chipewyan]] living in the area. Its original location was Old Fort Point, on the southwest shore of Lake Athabasca, west of the Old Fort River.<ref name=ABlakes>{{cite book |url=http://sunsite.ualberta.ca/Projects/Alberta-Lakes/view/?region=Peace%20and%20Athabasca%20Region&basin=Lake%20Athabasca%20Basin&lake=Lake%20Athabasca&number=18 |title=Atlas of Alberta Lakes |chapter=Lake Athabasca |publisher=[[University of Alberta Press]] |location=Edmonton |year=1990 |isbn=0-88864-214-8 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928195426/http://sunsite.ualberta.ca/Projects/Alberta-Lakes/view/?region=Peace%20and%20Athabasca%20Region&basin=Lake%20Athabasca%20Basin&lake=Lake%20Athabasca&number=18 |archive-date=2011-09-28 }}</ref> 
The first fur trading post in the area was the NWC's Pond House, or Pond's Fort on the Athabasca River, about {{cvt|30|to|40|mi|order=flip}} from its mouth, established in 1778.<ref>"The Old Fort Point Site" http://parkscanadahistory.com/series/chs/26/chs26-3d.htm accessed July 16, 2025</ref> Fort Chipewyan on the shore of Lake Athabasca was founded in 1788. It was built on a prominent peninsula, now known as Old Fort Point, on the south shore of Lake Athabasca, about {{cvt|9|km}} to the east of the Athabasca River delta.<ref>"The Old Fort Point Site" http://parkscanadahistory.com/series/chs/26/chs26-3d.htm accessed July 16, 2025</ref> 

[[Alexander Mackenzie (explorer)|Alexander Mackenzie]] set out from Fort Chipewyan on his expeditions [[Alexander Mackenzie (explorer)#1789_Mackenzie_River_expedition_to_the_Arctic_Ocean|down the Mackenzie River]] and [[Alexander Mackenzie (explorer)#1792–93 Peace River expedition to the Pacific Ocean|to the west coast]].

One of the founders of Fort Chipweyan in 1788, [[Roderick Mackenzie of Terrebonne]] served as its administrator until 1794. He had a taste for the written word. He opened correspondence with traders all over the north and west, asking for descriptions of scenery, adventure, folklore and history. He also founded a library at the fort that served the residents of Fort Chipewyan, and also traders and clerks of the whole [[Athabasca Country|Lake Athabasca region]]. He hoped it would be what he called, in an imaginative and somewhat jocular vein, "the little [[Athens]] of the [[Arctic]] regions." This library, started in 1790, held more than 2000 books.<ref name="Chipewyan Bicentennial Museum 20132">Ft. Chipewyan Bicentennial Museum, 2013,</ref> It became one of the most famous in the whole extent of [[Rupert's Land]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Bryce|first=George|title=MacKenzie - Selkirk - Simpson - The Makers of Canada|url=https://archive.org/details/mackenzieselkirk005668mbp|date=1910|publisher=Morang & Co|location=Toronto|isbn=978-1-4067-3242-9|pages=[https://archive.org/details/mackenzieselkirk005668mbp/page/n38 21]–30}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Bryce |first=George |title=The Scotsman in Canada |location=Toronto |publisher=Musson Book Co |date=1911 |url=https://archive.org/details/scotsmanincanada02campuoft}}</ref>

In 1798, the NWC's Fort Chipewyan was relocated to a site on the north shore, the site of today's hamlet.<ref name=ABlakes/><ref>"The Old Fort Point Site" http://parkscanadahistory.com/series/chs/26/chs26-3d.htm accessed July 16, 2025</ref> A new post, now known as Fort Chipewyan III, was built in 1803, not far away.<ref>"Fort Chipewyan III" https://www.historicplaces.ca/en/rep-reg/place-lieu.aspx?id=11935&pid=0 accessed July 16, 2025</ref>

In 1802, the [[Hudson's Bay Company]] (HBC) set up a post, Nottingham House, on English Island at the mouth of Slave River, the outlet of Lake Athabasca. It was abandoned in 1806.<ref name=HBC>{{cite web |title=Hudson's Bay Company: Fort Chipewyan |url=https://pam.minisisinc.com/scripts/mwimain.dll/144/PAM_AUTHORITY/AUTH_DESC_DET_REP/SISN%201813?sessionsearch |website=pam.minisisinc.com |publisher=Archives of Manitoba - Keystone Archives Descriptive Database |access-date=2025-01-21}}</ref> From about 1815 to 1821 the HBC operated a competing Fort Wedderburn (named after [[Andrew Colvile]]'s family) on Coal or Potato Island {{cvt|1+1/2|mi|order=flip}} from the North West Company's fort.<ref>{{cite book|last=Raffan|first=James|title=Emperor Of The North: Sir George Simpson and the Remarkable Story of the Hudson's Bay Company|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X3Jg6Wr1fg0C&pg=PA108|year=2007|publisher=HarperCollins Canada|isbn=978-1-4434-0139-5|pages=108–119}}</ref> This fort was established by John Clarke. [[George Simpson (Pre-Confederation Canada politician and trader)|Sir George Simpson]] stayed here 1820–1821, during which time he reorganized the fur trade.<ref name="Chipewyan Bicentennial Museum 20132" /> When the HBC and NWC merged in 1821, Fort Wedderburn was abandoned and all HBC's fur-trade operations on the lake moved to Fort Chipewyan.<ref name=HBC/>

Sir [[John Franklin]] used Fort Chipewyan as a way-station on his [[Coppermine Expedition of 1819–22|overland Arctic Coppermine expedition]] in July 1820. 

In 1887–1888 there was a great famine in the Fort Chipewan area.<ref name="Chipewyan Bicentennial Museum 20132" />

Electricity and electric lights arrived in Fort Chipewyan in 1959.<ref name="Chipewyan Bicentennial Museum 20132" />

In 2023 about a thousand people were evacuated from the centre due to threat by a wildfire.<ref>[https://globalnews.ca/news/9739567/alberta-wildfires-chief-allan-adam-fort-chipewyan/‘We got this’: Chief Adam urges calm as Alberta wildfire threatens Fort Chipewyan]</ref>

=== Historic sites ===
Old Fort Point, the site of the first Fort Chipewyan, established southeast of the present site of Fort Chipewyan in 1788, was designated a [[List of National Historic Sites of Canada in Alberta|National Historic Site of Canada]] in 1930.<ref name=":2">{{CRHP|17705|Fort Chipewyan|25 November 2013}}</ref> 

[[List of historic places in Alberta|Historic places]] in the community include the site of the third Fort Chipewyan established in 1803,<ref>{{CRHP|11935|Fort Chipewyan III|23 December 2014}}</ref> the Anglican Church built in 1880 and Day School built in 1874,<ref>{{CRHP|9088|1880 Anglican Church of St. Paul the Apostle and the 1874 Day School|23 December 2014}}</ref> and the Roman Catholic Mission Church built in 1909.<ref>{{CRHP|5915|Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Roman Catholic Church|23 December 2014}}</ref>

==Geography==
It is located on the western tip of [[Lake Athabasca]], adjacent to [[Wood Buffalo National Park]], approximately {{cvt|223|km}} north of [[Fort McMurray]].

=== Climate ===
Fort Chipewyan has a [[subarctic climate]] ([[Köppen climate classification|Köppen]] ''Dfc'') with long, very cold, dry winters and short, warm, wetter summers. The highest temperature ever recorded in Fort Chipewyan was {{convert|39.3|C|1}} on 30 June 2021.<ref name="Daily Data Report for June 2021"/> The coldest temperature ever recorded was {{convert|-51.1|C|0}} on 1 February 1917.<ref name="February 1917"/>

<div style=width:79%>
{{Fort Chipewyan weatherbox}}
</div>

== Demographics ==
[[File:Alberta 1890s fur trader.jpg|thumb|right|Fort Chipewyan fur trader 1890s with $35,000 worth of furs]]
{{Historical populations
| title       = Population history of Fort Chipewyan
| type        = Canada
| align       = none
| cols        = 2
| percentages =
| footnote    = 
| source      = [[Statistics Canada]]<br/><ref name=1951census>{{1951CDNcuipr}}</ref><ref name=1956census>{{1956CDNcuipr}}</ref><ref name=1961census>{{1961CDNcuipr}}</ref><ref name=1966census>{{1966CDNcuipr}}</ref><ref name=1971census>{{1971CDNcuipr}}</ref><ref name=1976census>{{1976CDNcuipr}}</ref><ref name=1981census>{{1981CDNcuipr}}</ref><ref name=1986census>{{1986CDNcuipr}}</ref><ref name=1991census>{{1991CDNcuipr}}</ref><ref name=1996census>{{1996CDNcdplr}}</ref><ref name=2001census>{{cite web | url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/english/census01/products/standard/popdwell/Table-CSD-D.cfm?PR=48 | title=Population and Dwelling Counts, for Canada, Provinces and Territories, and Census Divisions, 2001 and 1996 Censuses - 100% Data (Alberta) | publisher=[[Statistics Canada]] | date=August 15, 2012 | accessdate=September 19, 2024}}</ref><ref name=2006census>{{cite web | url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2006/dp-pd/hlt/97-550/Index.cfm?TPL=P1C&Page=RETR&LANG=Eng&T=1302&SR=1&S=1&O=A&RPP=9999&PR=48&CMA=0 | title=Population and dwelling counts, for Canada, provinces and territories, and designated places, 2006 and 2001 censuses - 100% data (Alberta) | publisher=[[Statistics Canada]] | date=July 20, 2021 | accessdate=September 19, 2024}}</ref><ref name=2011census>{{cite web | url=http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2011/dp-pd/hlt-fst/pd-pl/Table-Tableau.cfm?LANG=Eng&T=1302&PR=48&S=51&O=A&RPP=25 | title=Population and dwelling counts, for Canada, provinces and territories, and designated places, 2011 and 2006 censuses (Alberta) | publisher=Statistics Canada | date=February 8, 2012 | access-date=September 19, 2024}}</ref><ref name="2016census" /><ref name=2021census/>
|1941|441
|1951|466
|1956|304
|1961|717
|1966|1026
|1971|1122
|1976|1179
|1981|944
|1986|922
|1991|537
|1991{{abbr|A|adjusted}}|1004
|[[1996 Canadian census|1996]]|935
|[[2001 Canadian census|2001]]|902
|[[2006 Canadian census|2006]]|756
|[[2011 Canadian census|2011]]|847
|[[2016 Canadian census|2016]]|852
|[[2021 Canadian census|2021]]|798
}}

In the [[2021 Canadian census|2021 Census of Population]] conducted by [[Statistics Canada]], Fort Chipewyan had a population of 798 living in 309 of its 387 total private dwellings, a change of {{percentage|{{#expr:798-852}}|852|1}} from its 2016 population of 852. With a land area of {{cvt|9.93|km2}}, it had a population density of {{Pop density|798|9.93|km2|sqmi|prec=1}} in 2021.<ref name=2021census>{{cite web |title=Fort Chipewyan, Unincorporated place (UNP) Alberta [Designated place] Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population |url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&DGUIDlist=2021A0006480243&GENDERlist=1,2,3&STATISTIClist=1,4&HEADERlist=0 |website=www12.statcan.gc.ca |publisher=Government of Canada - Statistics Canada |access-date=24 January 2025}}</ref>

The population of Fort Chipewyan according to the [[2018 Alberta municipal censuses|2018 municipal census]] conducted by the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo is 918,<ref name=2018WoodBuffalo>{{cite web | url=http://www.rmwb.ca/Assets/Departments/Planning+and+Development/Planning+$!26+Development+Documents/Census+Report+2018.pdf | title=census2018 Municipal Census Report | publisher=Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo | access-date=September 25, 2021 | archive-date=September 10, 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200910173454/https://www.rmwb.ca/Assets/Departments/Planning+and+Development/Planning+$!26+Development+Documents/Census+Report+2018.pdf | url-status=dead }}</ref> a decrease from its 2012 municipal census population count of 1,008.<ref name=2012popRMWB>{{cite web|url=http://www.woodbuffalo.ab.ca/Assets/Corporate/Census+Reports/Census+reports+Part+1.pdf |title=Municipal Census 2012: Count Yourself In! |publisher=Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo |page=24 |access-date=January 26, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130326055550/http://www.woodbuffalo.ab.ca/Assets/Corporate/Census%2BReports/Census%2Breports%2BPart%2B1.pdf |archive-date=March 26, 2013 }}</ref>

As a designated place in the [[2016 Canadian census|2016 Census of Population]] conducted by Statistics Canada, Fort Chipewyan had a population of 852 living in 295 of its 372 total private dwellings, a change of {{percentage|{{#expr:852-847}}|847|1}} from its 2011 population of 847. With a land area of {{convert|10.7|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}, it had a population density of {{Pop density|852|10.7|km2|sqmi|prec=1}} in 2016.<ref name=2016census>{{cite web | url=http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/hlt-fst/pd-pl/Table.cfm?Lang=Eng&T=1301&SR=1&S=45&O=A&RPP=9999&PR=48&CMA=0#tPopDwell | title=Population and dwelling counts, for Canada, provinces and territories, and designated places, 2016 and 2011 censuses – 100% data (Alberta) | publisher=[[Statistics Canada]] | date=February 8, 2017 | access-date=February 13, 2017}}</ref>

The hamlet's population is predominantly made up of [[Cree]] and [[Chipewyan]] ([[Dene]]) First Nations and [[Métis]].

== Transportation ==
[[File:Peace-Athabasca Delta road.JPG|thumb|right|The Fort Chipewyan Winter Road traverses the [[Peace-Athabasca Delta]]]]

=== Air ===
The hamlet is served by the [[Fort Chipewyan Airport]], opened on June 18, 1966.<ref name="Chipewyan Bicentennial Museum 20132"/> Air is one of two methods of access to Fort Chipewyan in the summer.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=http://www.rmwb.ca/living/Communities/Fort-Chipewyan.htm|title=Fort Chipewyan|publisher=Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo|access-date=2018-02-11|archive-date=May 7, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160507171241/http://www.rmwb.ca/living/Communities/Fort-Chipewyan.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref>

=== Water ===
In the summer, the hamlet also can be accessed by boat <ref name=":0" /> from Fort McMurray via the [[Athabasca River]].

=== Road ===
There are no all-weather roads to Fort Chipewyan,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/pn-np/nt/woodbuffalo/visit/visit1|title=Parks Canada|date=June 5, 2023 |publisher=Parks Canada}}</ref> but it can be reached via [[winter road]]s in the winter.<ref name="RMWBFortChip2">{{cite web|url=http://www.rmwb.ca/Municipal-Government/municipal_departments/Public-Operations/Roads/Winter-Roads.htm|title=Fort Chipewyan Winter Road|publisher=Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo|access-date=2018-02-11}}</ref> These include roads from [[Fort Smith, Northwest Territories|Fort Smith]] to the north and from Fort McMurray to the south. In June 1998, and as part of the Northwestern Canadian Integrated Road Network Plan, the Alberta government conducted studies on all-weather road access by extending the existing Highway 63 from Fort McMurray.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=http://www.nadc.ca/Docs/Northern-Highways-Strategy-2008.pdf|title=Northern Highways Strategy|date=October 2008|website=Northern Alberta Development Council}}</ref> As of 2008 Highway 63 has been extended from Fort McMurray to Syncrude; there are currently no plans on extending it further to Fort Chipewyan.<ref name=":1" /> In December 2005, one-third of Fort Chipewyan's residents signed a petition to request the government to build a {{convert|50|km|mi|abbr=on}} all-weather road to connect with existing roads to the northwest that provide access to Fort Smith, [[Northwest Territories]].{{Citation needed|date=July 2010}} The major expenditure would be a bridge over the [[Slave River]].

==Solar energy==
In September 2014, the community of Fort Chipewyan in collaboration with Keepers of the Athabasca installed a 1.8&nbsp;kW solar array on the roof of the Elder Lodge to be used for emergency backup power.<ref name="AB EcoTrust">{{cite web|title=MAKING A STATEMENT IN FORT CHIP|url=https://albertaecotrust.com/making-a-statement-in-fort-chip/|website=Alberta EcoTrust|access-date=17 April 2018}}</ref> An energy baseline study was completed for Fort Chipewyan by the [[Pembina Institute]] in 2012.<ref name="Pembina">{{cite web|last1=Huot|first1=Marc|title=Fort Chipewyan Community Energy Baseline|url=http://www.keepersofthewater.ca/pembina-fortchip2012.pdf|website=Keepers of the Athabasca|publisher=Pembina Institute|access-date=17 April 2018}}</ref>

The table below shows the mean daily global insolation (kWh/m<sup>2</sup>) in Fort Chipewyan for each month of the year using five different fixed solar array orientations and one which tracks the sun. The data was provided by [[Natural Resources Canada]]'s Municipality database of photovoltaic potential and insolation <ref>{{cite web|title=Photovoltaic and solar resource maps|url=http://www.nrcan.gc.ca/18366|website=Natural Resources Canada|date=April 7, 2016 |access-date=17 April 2018}}</ref> which used data collected over 50 years from 144 locations compiled from [[Environment and Climate Change Canada|Environment Canada's]] CERES CD.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Pelland |first1=S |title=The Development of Photovoltaic Resource Maps for Canada |journal=31st Annual Conference of the Solar Energy Society of Canada (SESCI). Aug. 20-24th 2006, Montréal Canada|date=Aug 20, 2006 |url=https://www.nrcan.gc.ca/sites/www.nrcan.gc.ca/files/canmetenergy/files/pubs/2006-046_OP-J_411-SOLRES_PV%2Bmap.pdf |access-date=17 April 2018}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Mean daily global insolation (kWh/m<sup>2</sup>) in Fort Chipewyan
! Month !! South facing (tilt = vertical) !! South facing (tilt = latitude) !! South facing (tilt = lat+15<sup>o</sup> !! South facing (tilt = lat-15<sup>o</sup> !! Two-axis sun-tracking !! Horizontal (tilt=0<sup>o</sup>)
|-
| January || 2.64 || 2.46 || 2.63 || 2.14 || 2.86 || 0.56
|-
| February || 4.23 || 4.17 || 4.33 || 3.77 || 5.02 || 1.42
|-
| March || 5.48 || 5.92 || 5.88 || 5.65 || 7.74 || 3.02
|-
| April || 4.95 || 6.26 || 5.78 || 6.41 || 9.38 || 4.71
|-
| May || 3.82 || 5.55 || 4.84 || 6.02 || 9.59 || 5.82
|-
| June || 3.38 || 5.2 || 4.43 || 5.78 || 9.76 || 6.23
|-
| July || 3.38 || 5.09 || 4.37 || 5.61 || 9.26 || 5.82
|-
| August || 3.66 || 5.04 || 4.51 || 5.34 || 8.19 || 4.5
|-
| September || 3.35 || 4.04 || 3.82 || 4.03 || 5.56 || 2.8
|-
| October || 2.68 || 2.85 || 2.86 || 2.69 || 3.51 || 1.49
|-
| November || 2.16 || 2.07 || 2.18 || 1.84 || 2.42 || 0.65
|-
| December || 1.98 || 1.82 || 1.96 || 1.56 || 2.09 || 0.34
|-
| Annual || 3.47 || 4.2 || 3.96 || 4.24 || 6.29 || 3.12
|}

===Fort Chipewyan Solar Farm===
The Fort Chipewyan Solar Farm was developed by Three Nations Energy LP, and constructed in 2019 through 2020. ATCO was the designer and builder, and operates the system. The Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation, Mikisew Cree First Nation, and Fort Chipewyan Métis Local 125 own the project. The solar farm is expected to supply approximately 25 percent of Fort Chipewyan's energy and annually replace 800,000 litres of diesel fuel. A battery storage system will store 1.5 MWh of power.

Phase 1 was planned to include 1,500 panels (400&nbsp;kW) but was reported at the project completion as a 600&nbsp;kW facility, while phase 2 was planned include 6,000 panels and was reported at the project completion to include 5,760 panels with the planned output of 2,200&nbsp;kW. The Government of Canada provided $4.5M and the Government of Alberta provided $3.3M of the project's $7.8M cost.<ref>{{cite web|title=Fort Chipewyan Off-Grid Solar & Storage|url=https://www.atco.com/en-ca/projects/fort-chipewyan-off-grid-solar.html|publisher=ATCO|access-date=19 November 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Fort Chipewyan Solar Farm|url=https://majorprojects.alberta.ca/details/Fort-Chipewyan-Solar-Farm/3809|publisher=Alberta Government|access-date=19 November 2020}}</ref>

ATCO will buy the solar farm's energy under a long-term purchase agreement and supply it to the local power grid, which is disconnected from the province-wide grid. ATCO stated that with the completion of the 2.2 MW-capacity project, about 25 fewer tanker trucks will trek across the winter ice road connecting the community with Fort McMurray, {{cvt|220|km}} to the south. In the summer, the community is only accessible by air or barge.<ref>{{cite web|title=Indigenous-owned solar farm opens in remote northern Alberta community|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/indigenous-owned-solar-farm-fort-chip-1.5807721|publisher=CBC|access-date=19 November 2020}}</ref>

== See also ==
*[[List of communities in Alberta]]
*[[List of designated places in Alberta]]
*[[List of hamlets in Alberta]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Fort Chipewyan}}
* [https://www.rmwb.ca/en/indigenous-and-rural-relations/fort-chipewyan.aspx Fort Chipewyan], Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo
* [https://www.pc.gc.ca/apps/dfhd/page_nhs_eng.aspx?id=20 Fort Chipewyan National Historic Site of Canada]

{{Geographic location
 | Centre = Fort Chipewyan
 | North = [[Fort Smith, Northwest Territories|Fort Smith]]
 | Northeast = [[Fidler-Greywillow Wildland Park]]<br/>[[Uranium City, Saskatchewan|Uranium City]]
 | East = [[Lake Athabasca]]<br/>Fidler-Greywillow Wildland Park
 | Southeast =Lake Athabasca
 | South =  [[Fort McKay]]<br/>[[Fort McMurray]]
 | Southwest = [[Lake Claire (Alberta)|Lake Claire]]
 | West = [[Wood Buffalo National Park]]
 | Northwest = [[Wood Buffalo National Park]]
}}
{{Alberta|hamlets=yes}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Hamlets in Alberta]]
[[Category:National Historic Sites in Alberta]]
[[Category:North West Company forts]]
[[Category:Designated places in Alberta]]
[[Category:Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo]]
[[Category:Hudson's Bay Company forts]]
[[Category:Forts or trading posts on the National Historic Sites of Canada register]]
[[Category:1788 establishments in the British Empire]]
[[Category:Lake Athabasca]]