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

Tumbler Ridge: A Modern Mining Community¹

The town of Tumbler Ridge sits in northeastern BC. It is in the Peace River region, close to Dawson Creek and about 100 km away from Chetwynd. Tumbler Ridge is a small town with a population of about 5000 people.² Because most of the residents of Tumbler Ridge work in the two local mines (Quinette and Bullmoose), many people and families depend on a mining income.

"Location of Tumbler Ridge in BC"
Courtesy BC Government

Tumbler Ridge has a very interesting history. Although coal mining has been going on for over a hundred years in British Columbia, Tumbler Ridge is a fairly new town that was built in the early 1980’s. This means that it is only about 20 years old. Many other towns and cities in BC are closer to 100 or 150 years old. Most areas in BC with large coal fields were mined from the late 1800’s through to the early 1900's when coal was used as a major source of fuel for steamships, railways and smelters throughout the province. The Peace River area was different though, its coal fields were left untouched.

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