Deer Lake is a town in the western part of the island of
Newfoundland
Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...
in the province of
Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...
, Canada.
The town derives its name from
Deer Lake and is situated at the outlet of the upper
Humber River at the northeastern end of the lake.
History
The first settlers in the area arrived from
Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia in 1864. Originally loggers and trappers, the settlers later took up farming.
In 1922, a work camp was set up to support the International Pulp and Paper company. The camp would later become the town of Deer Lake. A formal townsite was constructed in 1925 and included a railway terminal, churches and a small hospital. The town was incorporated in 1950 with Phil Hodder as its first mayor.
The
airport
An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surfa ...
was built in 1955 and is one of the town's major employers. In 2004,
Deer Lake Regional Airport redesigned the airport terminal, which was completed in June 2007. The primary population that the airport serves is approximately 55,000. The airport serves people from
Rocky Harbour to
Corner Brook
Corner Brook ( 2021 population: 19,333 CA 29,762) is a city located on the west coast of the island of Newfoundland in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Corner Brook is the fifth largest settlement in Newfoundland and Labrador. ...
, as well as around Deer Lake.
Name
The town was named by early settlers of the area. Caribou could be seen crossing the lake in huge quantities. The first Europeans who came to this area, having never before seen caribou called them "deer". The town was then named accordingly.
Economy
The town is located in
Division No. 5 and is the gateway to the
Great Northern Peninsula
The Great Northern Peninsula ( Inuttitut: ''Ikkarumiklua'') is the largest and longest peninsula of Newfoundland, Canada, approximately 270 km long and 90 km wide at its widest point and encompassing an area of 17,483 km2. It is def ...
, owing to an important highway interchange on the
Trans-Canada Highway
The Trans-Canada Highway (Canadian French, French: ; abbreviated as the TCH or T-Can) is a transcontinental federal–provincial highway system that travels through all ten provinces of Canada, from the Pacific Ocean on the west coast to the A ...
. It is the closest major community to
Gros Morne National Park
Gros Morne National Park is a National Parks of Canada, Canadian national park and World Heritage Site located on the west coast of Newfoundland and Labrador, Newfoundland. At , it is the second largest national park in Atlantic Canada after To ...
and is home to the
Deer Lake Regional Airport.
A
hydroelectric
Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined an ...
plant was established on the Humber River in 1925 to provide electricity to a
pulp and paper
The pulp and paper industry comprises companies that use wood as raw material and produce pulp, paper, paperboard and other cellulose-based products.
Manufacturing process
The pulp is fed to a paper machine where it is formed as a paper web a ...
paper mill in
Corner Brook
Corner Brook ( 2021 population: 19,333 CA 29,762) is a city located on the west coast of the island of Newfoundland in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Corner Brook is the fifth largest settlement in Newfoundland and Labrador. ...
.
Sights and tourism
Deer Lake offers accommodation for tourists as well as restaurants, supermarkets, convenience stores and gas stations. There is a stadium, swimming pool and a bowling alley in the Hodder Memorial Recreational Complex. St. Paul's United Church, a wooden church dating from 1955 and the modern Salvation Army building are worth a visit. The Main Street offers a scenic view of the lake.
Demographics
In the
2021 Census of Population conducted by
Statistics Canada
Statistics Canada (StatCan; french: Statistique Canada), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and cultu ...
, Deer Lake had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of . With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.
Climate
Deer Lake has a
humid continental climate
A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freez ...
(
Dfb DFB may refer to:
* Deerfield Beach, Florida, a city
* Decafluorobutane, a fluorocarbon gas
* Dem Franchize Boyz, former hip hop group, Atlanta, Georgia
* Dfb, Köppen climate classification for Humid continental climate
* Distributed-feedback ...
) with moderately warm summers that are on the short side, with quite long and cold winters that are moderated by its proximity to a large body of water. With precipitation high year-round, Deer Lake receives plenty of snowfall in winters.
Transport
The community is served by
Deer Lake Regional Airport, which is the nearest airport to
Corner Brook
Corner Brook ( 2021 population: 19,333 CA 29,762) is a city located on the west coast of the island of Newfoundland in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Corner Brook is the fifth largest settlement in Newfoundland and Labrador. ...
. It is also the busiest airport in the western part of the island. It also serves an area stretching from Port Aux Basques on the southern tip, the Northern Peninsula and eastward towards the island's centre. As such, it serves a population of approximately 100,000 people.
Notable people
*
Dwight Ball, former
Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador
*
Darren Langdon,
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey sports league, league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranke ...
player
Gallery
File:DeerLakeNL InternationalPulpAndPaperCompanyStaffHouse.JPG, Deer Lake International Pulp and Paper Company staff house
Image:DeerLake1.jpg, Deer Lake
Image:DeerLake2.jpg, Salvation Army
Image:DeerLake3.jpg, Hodder Memorial Recreational Complex
Image:DeerLake4.jpg, St. Paul's United Church
See also
*
List of cities and towns in Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador is the ninth-most populous province in Canada, with 510,550 residents recorded in the 2021 Canadian Census, and is the seventh-largest in land area, with . Newfoundland and Labrador has 278 municipalities, including 3 ...
References
External links
Official web siteDeer Lake - Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Ladrador, vol. 1, p. 608-609.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Deer Lake, Newfoundland And Labrador
Towns in Newfoundland and Labrador