PRINCE GEORGE

city, central British Columbia, Canada. The city lies at the confluence of the Nechako and Fraser rivers, 487 miles (784 km) north of Vancouver by road. It originated in 1807 when Simon Fraser established a North West Company fur-trading post, Fort George, on the site. The settlement grew with the coming of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway (1913). Prince George is now the focus of the province's central and northern transportation systems and regional administration. Its economy is linked with the forest industries, minerals, oil and natural gas, and hydropower of the interior regions. Prince George College was opened in 1962. Inc. city, 1915. Pop. (1991) 69,653.