JASPER

county, southern South Carolina, U.S. It is bounded to the west by the Savannah River border with Georgia. The county's short southern coast along the Atlantic Ocean includes a portion of the Sea Islands and, at the southern tip, Tybee National Wildlife Refuge. Jasper county consists of coastal terrain featuring salt marshes and, farther inland, flat Coastal Plain lowlands. Savannah National Wildlife Refuge, noted for its profusion of migratory birds, lies along the Savannah River. Most of the county is forested, with pine plantations and lowland hardwoods predominant. In the colonial era the region was the site of battles with Cusabo Indians. During the American Civil War it was devastated by Union troops who were moving northward after their capture of Savannah, Georgia. Jasper county was formed in 1912 and named for William Jasper, a soldier in the American Revolution. The lumber industry is the basis of the economy, which is also aided by the county's proximity to the city of Savannah. Ridgeland is the county seat, and Hardeeville is the largest town. Area 654 square miles (1,695 square km). Pop. (1990) 15,487; (1998 est.) 16,995. unincorporated place, western Alberta, Canada. It lies at the confluence of the Athabasca and Miette rivers, near the British Columbia border, and is the headquarters of Jasper National Park. Jasper Hawes of the North West Company established a fur-trading post on nearby Jasper Lake about 1801. Since the conservation of the area (1907) as a national park and the building of the Jasper Park Lodge (1922) and the Jasper-Banff highway, the locality, overlooked by spectacular peaks, has become a popular Canadian Rocky Mountain resort. Maligne and Pyramid lakes, Miette Hotsprings, and the Columbia Icefield are among the local attractions. Jasper is also a divisional point on the Canadian National Railway. Pop. (1981) 3,269. city, seat (1824) of Walker county, in northwestern Alabama, U.S. Settled in 1822, it was named for Sergeant William Jasper, a defender of Fort Moultrie during the Revolutionary War. It developed after the arrival of the Kansas City, Memphis and Birmingham Railroad in 1886. Coal, agriculture, and light manufacturing are its economic assets. William B. Bankhead, speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives (193640), and his actress-daughter, Tallulah, lived in Jasper. The William B. Bankhead National Forest is 15 miles (24 km) north. Jasper is the seat of Walker (junior) College (1938). Inc. 1840. Pop. (1992 est.) 13,872.