Introduction

Why was Tumbler Ridge built?

A Big Project

Power Supply

Townsite of Tumbler Ridge

Building a New Town

A Community's Dependence on Mining

A Community’s Dependence on Mining:

Tumbler Ridge is a good example of how natural resources like coal, can influence when and where communities are developed. This community is situated where it is today because of coal. Can you think of any problems that a dependence on mining might cause for a town like Tumbler Ridge? Well let's take a look at what happens in a community like this when the coal markets fall and the coal companies aren’t doing so well.

"Townsite of Tumbler Ridge"
Courtesy Teck Corporation

The world coal markets fell in the late 1990’s and coal mines like Quintette could not make enough money to survive. If you had a store and it wasn’t making any money what would you do? You would probably close down the store. This is what happened in Tumbler Ridge. Quintette could not afford to keep running so they decided to close it down in August of 2000. This decision put hundreds of people living in Tumbler Ridge out of work.

Tumbler Ridge is a small town and most of the people who live there are miners. Without the support of these people, the local businesses will find it very hard to survive. Because Tumbler Ridge is mainly a mining town, there are not very many other jobs to be found. As a result, many people and families will be forced to move away and many businesses will have to shut down.