Grand Forks, population 4,049, is a city in the Boundary Country of the West Kootenay region of British Columbia, Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Granby River and Kettle River, a tributary of the Columbia. The city is just north of the US-Canada border, approximately 500 km from Vancouver, British Columbia and 200 km from Kelowna, British Columbia and 220 km from Spokane, Washington and 23 km west of the resort area of Christina Lake by road.HistoryGrand Forks was established in the late 19th century when copper mining dominated Boundary and Kootenay regions of BC. The city was laid out in 1895 and Grand Forks was officially established as a city on 15 April 1897. The adjacent City of Columbia was incorporated on May 4, 1899. By 1900, Grand Forks boasted three railways, lumber mills, a smelter, mines, a post office, a school and a hospital. Grand Forks and Columbia amalgamated in 1903. In 1907, it was the home of a local branch of the Western Federation of Miners.In both 1908 and 1911, fires leveled the downtown core, mainly due to the number of wood frame buildings and stores. Between the years of 1909 and 1913, a group of pacifist Russian immigrants known as Doukhobors settled in the area because of the fertile farm land. Today, many residents of Grand Forks are descendants of the Doukhobors. In 1991, the CP Railway Co. abandoned the railway through Grand Forks and the former right of way became part of the Trans-Canada Trail. Over the years, Grand Forks has continued to expand in size and now has around 4,000 residents, with another 10,000 in the area.