La Crete, Alberta

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La Crete (, also spelled La Crête) is a hamlet in northern Alberta, Canada within Mackenzie County. It is located on Highway 697, approximately southeast of High Level and north of Edmonton, Alberta.

The hamlet is located in census division No. 17 and in the federal riding of Peace River.

Temperatures can range from to .

The name "La Crête" means "the ridge" in French, which is how the earliest settlers described the area they settled.

History

La Crete was first settled in 1914 as La Crête Landing. When the first Mennonites arrived in the 1930s, they settled a short distance southwest of the original settlement on the current site of La Crete. When the first highways were built into the area in the 1960s, the population began to increase as new settlers arrived, and in 1979, La Crete was created into a hamlet.

During the summer months the La Crete Ferry, one of only seven ferries still operating in Alberta, shuttles vehicles across the Peace River on Highway 697 about 70 kilometres southwest of the hamlet. In the winter, an ice bridge is maintained at the same spot. This access connects La Crete to the Mackenzie Highway near Paddle Prairie, offering a considerable time saving when travelling to or from La Crete. During the spring and fall, when the river is unfit for the ferry and the ice too thin to support vehicle traffic, or at other times when the ferry is not operational, travellers must...
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