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Location

Saskatoon is nestled centrally in the Province of Saskatchewan, just over 300 kilometres from the U.S. border. The city is 482 metres (1581 feet) above sea level. The city is located at 52 degrees (north) and 10 minutes of latitude and 106 degrees (west) and 41 minutes of longitude. The city uses Central Standard Time, the same time zone as Chicago and Houston (but does not move the Daylight Savings Time in the summer). Saskatoon is located on the banks of the South Saskatchewan River making for seven bridges within the city limits. The city covers an area of 144 sq. kilometers which includes over 300 acres of riverbank parklands. Saskatoon is 258 kilometres from the provincial capital Regina.

Name

The first settlers arrived in Saskatoon in the summer of 1883, even though the area has been inhabited for over 6,000 years. The name "Saskatoon" is from the Cree Indian name 'mis-sask-quah-toomina', for a local indigenous berry which grows on Saskatoon willows. The berries were a staple foodstuff (today, very popular for jams) and the branches made excellent arrow shafts, so the area was important for Cree Indians stocking up on arrows and berries.

Population

Saskatoon is Saskatchewan's largest city with a population of 229,749.

Saskatchewan joined confederation in 1905 and has 1,031,933 residents in its 652,000 square kilometres (251,000 sq miles).

Industries

Saskatoon is the world's largest exporter of uranium, and has two-thirds of the world's complete recoverable potash reserve. Saskatchewan grows half of Canada's major export crops, and Saskatoon is a majorprovider of goods and services to this sector.

Weather

It boasts an average of 2,381 hours of sunshine annually. Average temperature in January is -18°C. Summer is hot and humid warm and dry with average temperatures of 17°C. Average annual rainfall is 254 mm (about 10 inches), and annual snowfall is 105 cm (4 inches). In the summer time, you can generally expect hot and sunny weather, with occasional precipitation. In the fall and spring time, expect cooler weather and cloud. The winters are typical of northern Canada, being both continuous and generally cold. Travellers should wear sweaters in fall, and appropriate warm coats and boots in the winter. Saskatoon was rated the number one city in Canada for air and water quality by Chatelaine magazine.

Average daily temperatures are:

Tipping

Some hotels include tips or gratuities with group programs to simplify bookkeeping. This will usually include gratuities for housekeeping, bell service and food service. In a hotel, bell service should be tipped about $1 per bag, and housekeeping $1 to $5 dollars a day (in proportion to your room rate). Visitors should know that the standard tip in restaurants is 10%-15% (on restaurant bills, an average tip will be 50% higher the GST & tax), with 20% (about double the GST & tax) for very outstanding service. This is especially important for visitors from countries where tipping on meals is not done: here the waitering staff depend on tips for a significant portion of their incomes. Tip taxis about 10%, and a dollar a bag they carry for you (not just unload), or at the very least round fares up to the nearest dollar.

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