MOOSE JAW

city, south-central Saskatchewan, Canada. It lies along the Moose Jaw River (a tributary of the Qu'Appelle River) and the Trans-Canada Highway, 44 miles (71 km) west of Regina. Its name is possibly derived from an Indian source suggesting that the contours of the river resemble the jawbone of a moose. Founded in 1882 with the arrival of the main line of the Canadian Pacific Railway, the settlement grew as a rail terminus and distribution centre for a large wheat-growing area. The city is now one of the most industrialized in Saskatchewan, with major oil refineries, a sheet steel mill, flour-milling operations, large grain-storage facilities, extensive stockyards, and a slaughterhouse. Other industries include meat-packing, dairying, wine making, lumber and woolen milling, and garment making. Moose Jaw is the site of an air force training base, a community college, a provincial technical institute, a wild animal park, and the Western Development (transportation) Museum. The city's annual (May) International Band Festival is one of the biggest events of its kind. Buffalo Pound Provincial Park is a few miles northeast. Inc. town, 1884; city, 1903. Pop. (1991) city, 33,593; metropolitan area, 36,552.