Pin Quest Alberta

Bighorn Municipal District shares its name with the nearby Bighorn River, Bighorn Dam, Bighorn Canyon, Bighorn River, and Bighorn Mountain Range. This naming convention comes from the abundance of bighorn sheep in the area.

Bonnyville takes its name from from a French Catholic missionary who arrived with the first wave of European settlers. Reverend Father Francis Bonny was the first priest to become a resident of the community, and built the first Catholic church in 1908. Two years later when the first post office opened, it was given the name Bonnyville in his honour. 

Brazeau County takes its name from Joseph Edward Brazeau, a clerk and postmaster for the Hudson’s Bay Company. When Captain Palliser led a survey expedition through western Canada, Brazeau served as an interpreter with Palliser noting in his log that Brazeau “spoke Stoney, Sioux, Salteau, Cree, Blackfoot and Crow… [and] also spoke English, French and Spanish fluently."

Clearwater County takes its name from the nearby Clearwater River which is fed by glaciers in Banff National Park, runs through southern Alberta, then empties into the North Saskatchewan River. 

Forty Mile takes its name from the Forty Mile Coulee, a geographical channel formed by glacial meltwater. The Coulee is one of several in the county that form a network of waterways, lakes, and natural spaces that attract visitors to the area. 

Northern Lights County unsurprisingly takes its name from the Aurora Borealis or ‘northern lights’ that can be seen often because of the town's location at the north of Alberta. 

Northern Sunrise County adopted its name in 2002, to reflect its location at the north of Alberta, and unsurprisingly the sunrises in the area. The community’s name changed from the Municipal District of East Peace, taken from its location on the east bank of the Peace River.

Pincher Creek is unsurprisingly named after the creek of the same name. The creek is said to have been given its name from a pair of pincers used to trim horse hooves that was lost in the river by early prospectors passing through, and were found years later by a Northwest Mounted Police patrol.