Country Canada Postal code S0J 2R0 Population 243 (2011) | Post office established 1937 Area 3.96 km² Local time Tuesday 10:00 AM Number of airports 2 | |
![]() | ||
Time zone Central Standard Time (UTC−6) Weather -2°C, Wind SE at 13 km/h, 77% Humidity |
Stony Rapids is a northern hamlet in Northern Saskatchewan, Canada. It is located 82 kilometres (51 mi) south of the border to the Northwest Territories, the community is astride the Fond du Lac River. This river connects the community to Fond-du-Lac, Uranium City and Camsell Portage.
Contents
Map of Stony Rapids, SK, Canada
Demographics
Stony Rapids had a total population of 243 residents in 2011. 140 residents chose Dene as their mother tongue, 95 chose English and 5 chose French. All also spoke English.
Transportation
There are no paved roads that connect Stony Rapids to the rest of the province. There is a dirt/gravel road from Stony Rapids to Points North Landing and from there to the southern part of the province. This road is open year round although during the summer it is quite rough and slow traveling. Also, there is a winter ice road from Fond-du-Lac and Uranium City for most of the winter. In the summer months, the travel is done by boat. There is also a year-round road to the community of Black Lake, 20 kilometres (12 mi) southeast.
Like most northern communities, Stony Rapids relies on its Stony Rapids Airport and Stony Rapids Water Aerodrome for vital transportation.
Health care
The Athabasca Health Facility completed in 2003 at the cost of $12.7 million provides health care services to the Athabasca region. The hospital, located on reserve land (Chicken 224) of the Black Lake Dene Nation adjacent to Stony Rapids, is part of the Athabasca Health Authority.
Climate
Stony Rapids has a subarctic climate (Köppen Dfc) with long, severe winters and short, mild to warm summers. Winters are long, cold and snowy, with snow depth peaking at around 0.6 metres or 24 inches, reaching an extreme depth of 1.09 metres or 43 inches on 22 January 1991 and usually melting in mid-May. Unlike towns further west, temperature above 0 °C (32 °F) are very rare during winter, occurring on average only 1.5 times from December to February. Snowfall is steady from October to April, totalling on average 2.34 metres (92.1 in) and an extremely daily fall of 0.31 metres (12.2 in) on 16 March 1995.
Summers are mild to warm with frequent light rain, although 3.4 days per summer reach 30 °C or 86 °F. The average frost-free period is eighty-one days from 9 June to 30 August, though temperatures below 0 °C (32 °F) have occurred a handful of times in July.
The highest temperature ever recorded in Stony Rapids was 36.7 °C (98 °F) on 27 June 2002. The coldest temperature ever recorded was −50.6 °C (−59 °F) on 26 January 1966 and 13 January 1972.