High River is a town in southwestern Alberta

Alberta

Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 with a population of 10,716(2006). It is 37 kilometres (23 mi) south of the city of Calgary

Calgary

Calgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies...

, at the junction of Alberta Highways 2 and 23. Although reasonably distant from Calgary, the town is nonetheless considered to be part of the Calgary Region

Calgary Region

The Calgary Region is an area centred around Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It consists of the City of Calgary, Rocky View County and the municipalities it encloses, and the Municipal District of Foothills No. 31 and the municipalities it encloses. The Calgary Census Metropolitan Area and Calgary...

.

The community gets its name from the Highwood River

Highwood River

The Highwood River is a river located in southwestern Alberta, Canada. It is part of the Bow River watershed. The river is known for its flyfishing. A variety of trout species live in the river, including native bull trout.-Course:...

, which flows through the town, and often floods in the spring.

The town is best known for being the birthplace of former Canadian Prime Minister

Prime minister

A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...

 Joe Clark

Joe Clark

Charles Joseph "Joe" Clark, is a Canadian statesman, businessman, and university professor, and former journalist and politician...

. Other well-known former citizens include W.O. Mitchell, author of such books as Who Has Seen the Wind and Roses Are Difficult Here, and NHL

National Hockey League

The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...

 and WHA

World Hockey Association

The World Hockey Association was a professional ice hockey league that operated in North America from 1972 to 1979. It was the first major competition for the National Hockey League since the collapse of the Western Hockey League in 1926...

 hockey

Hockey

Hockey is a family of sports in which two teams play against each other by trying to maneuver a ball or a puck into the opponent's goal using a hockey stick.-Etymology:...

 player John "Pie" McKenzie

John McKenzie (hockey player)

John Albert "Pie, Bronco" McKenzie is a Canadian former professional hockey player. He played in the National Hockey League for several seasons, most notably with the Boston Bruins where he was a member of two Stanley Cup championship teams. He also played several seasons in the World Hockey...

.

High River was used as a set for Smallville in Superman III

Superman III

Superman III is a 1983 superhero film and the third film in the Superman film series based upon the long-running DC Comics superhero. Christopher Reeve, Jackie Cooper, Marc McClure and Margot Kidder are joined by new cast members Annette O'Toole, Annie Ross, Pamela Stephenson, Robert Vaughn and...

, as well as High River, Montana in Nickelodeon

Nickelodeon (TV channel)

Nickelodeon, often simply called Nick and originally named Pinwheel, is an American children's channel owned by MTV Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom International. The channel is primarily aimed at children ages 7–17, with the exception of their weekday morning program block aimed at preschoolers...

's series Caitlin's Way

Caitlin's Way

Caitlin's Way is a live action teen drama series that aired on Nickelodeon from 2000–2002. The show was co-created by Thomas W. Lynch . Aired on The N from January 2003 to September 27, 2009...

. Recently, Heartland

Heartland (Canadian TV series)

Heartland is a Canadian television drama series which debuted on CBC Television on October 14, 2007. The series is loosely based on the Heartland books by Lauren Brooke....

, a CBC television

CBC Television

CBC Television is a Canadian television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster.Although the CBC is supported by public funding, the television network supplements this funding with commercial advertising revenue, in contrast to CBC Radio which are...

 series has found High River its main filming spot. Also, the movie Carolina Moon based on the book by Nora Roberts

Nora Roberts

Nora Roberts is a bestselling American author of more than 209 romance novels. She writes as J.D. Robb for the "In Death" series, and has also written under the pseudonym Jill March...

 was filmed in High River.

As part of High River's tourism and heritage endeavours, a number of murals were painted around town during the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. High River hosted the World Professional Chuckwagon

Chuckwagon

A chuckwagon or chuck wagon is a type of wagon historically used to carry food and cooking equipment on the prairies of the United States and Canada. Such wagons would form part of a wagon train of settlers or feed traveling workers such as cowboys or loggers.In modern times, chuckwagons feature...

 Association Dodge Pro Tour Championships in 2006 and 2010. The Museum of the Highwood (c. 1911-2), which sustained smoke, water and fire damage following a fire in the building's attic in July 2010, is on the Canadian Register of Historic Places.

Demographics

The population of the Town of High River according to its 2010 municipal census is 11,783, a 3.9% increase over its 2009 municipal census population of 11,346.

In 2006, High River had a population of 10,716 living in 4,363 dwellings

House

A house is a building or structure that has the ability to be occupied for dwelling by human beings or other creatures. The term house includes many kinds of different dwellings ranging from rudimentary huts of nomadic tribes to free standing individual structures...

, a 14.2% increase from 2001. The town has a land area of 14.27 km² (5.5 sq mi) and a population density

Population density

Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

 of 751 /km2.

Climate

High River experiences a humid continental climate

Humid continental climate

A humid continental climate is a climatic region typified by large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot summers and cold winters....

 (Köppen climate classification

Köppen climate classification

The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by Crimea German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen himself, notably in 1918 and 1936...

 Dfb).