Explore Sparwood, British Columbia, Canada, with this interactive street and satellite map. Use the Map and Satellite buttons above the map to switch views. You can “grab” the map and drag it to re-centre it, or use the + and − buttons to zoom in or out to street-level detail.
This page also offers TOPO MAPS — the Canada Base Map with Toporama contours — plus shaded relief, a labelled UTM grid overlay, a distance and bearing tool, and a GPS grid-reference readout. See How to Use This Map below. You will find live weather, local and world news further down the page.
Imagery © Google · for orientation only, not for navigation
This interactive map shows the street layout and satellite imagery for Sparwood, British Columbia. Use the Map and Satellite buttons above to switch between street map and aerial imagery views. Use the + and − buttons to zoom in or out, or scroll your mouse wheel while holding the Control key to zoom. On a touchscreen, use a two-finger pinch gesture to zoom in and out.
Click ⛶ Fullscreen to expand the map to fill your screen for a larger view. To return to the normal page view, press the Escape key on your keyboard, click the ✕ Exit Fullscreen button that appears above the map, or on a mobile device tap the back button (Android) or the close icon (iOS).
Drag the map to pan to any area of British Columbia or beyond. Switch to Satellite view to see high-resolution aerial photography of Sparwood and surrounding areas, including streets, buildings, parks and waterways.
TOPO MAPS — NEW. Click the green 🔍 Search Maps button below the map to open a second map with a Base map row offering three choices. OSM is the standard OpenStreetMap street map. Topo shows the Canada Base Map from Natural Resources Canada with Toporama contours layered over it — the CanVec topographic data behind the printed NTS sheets, and the mapping used for hiking, hunting, canoe routes and back-country travel. Relief shows shaded relief and hypsometric tints. The search box finds any Canadian town, county or landmark by name, so you are not limited to Sparwood.
Reading the map like a paper NTS sheet. Click Grid to overlay the UTM grid, labelled along the edges exactly as a printed topographic sheet is — at normal zoom the squares are one kilometre across, so you can read a six-figure grid reference by eye and judge distance directly off the map. Click Measure, then tap two points, to get the distance between them together with the grid bearing in degrees and mils, the true bearing, and the magnetic bearing to set on a compass — which matters in Canada, where declination runs from about 20 degrees west in Newfoundland to 20 degrees east in the Yukon.
Click 📍 My position to take a single GPS reading from your device. It marks where you are and reports your position as a UTM/MGRS grid reference as well as plain latitude and longitude — the grid reference being what Canadian search and rescue work from — with a Copy position button so you can paste it straight into a text message. It takes one reading and stops, rather than tracking continuously, to conserve your battery. Note that map tiles need cell coverage, but a GPS reading does not — your coordinates stay correct even where the map itself cannot load.
Map search is available for a limited number of queries per session to manage costs. Be specific — search precisely for best results.
| Place | Sparwood |
| Type | District Municipality |
| Province / Territory | British Columbia (BC) |
| Location | Kootenay Land District |
| Country | Canada |
| Latitude | 49.733333 |
| Longitude | -114.885833 |
| Population | 4,148 |
| Postal Code (FSA) | V0B |
| Area Code | 236, 250, 604, 672, 778 |
| Importance | Large city |
| CGN ID | JBMPJ |
Sparwood is a district municipality in Kootenay Land District, British Columbia, Canada. It is classified as a large city. Sparwood is located at 49.7333°N, 114.8858°W.
Sparwood rests within the Kootenay Land District, where the shadows of the Harmer Ridge stretch long across the valley floor as the sun dips behind the high, craggy horizons. It lies 28.5 km north-north-east of Fernie, BC (from Fernie, BC: bearing 27°T), and is situated 3.3 km south of Elk Prairie. The air here holds a crisp, metallic edge, carrying the scent of pine and the cold, rushing clarity of the Elk River that carves its path through the deep basin. When the evening light settles, the landscape takes on a somber, bruised purple hue, grounding the structures of Sparwood against the immense, silent weight of the slopes. This terrain dictates the pace of life, demanding a certain persistence from those who inhabit the narrow corridors between the looming heights. The history of Sparwood finds its pulse in the extraction of coal, an industry that remains the dominant force shaping the local economy and the daily lives of its residents. Large-scale mining operations have long defined the reach of the settlement, drawing men and women to labor in the heart of the mountains. The clatter and hum of heavy machinery often drift through the valley, a persistent reminder of the resources pulled from the earth beneath the Harmer Ridge. While the landscape is rugged and unforgiving, the industry provides a sturdy backbone for the people, maintaining a focus on the work at hand that keeps Sparwood anchored to its utilitarian roots. Beyond the industrial demands, a quiet resilience defines the character of Sparwood, visible in the way residents navigate the seasonal shifts of the high country. Life here exists in relation to the wilderness, with Elk Valley Park located about 13 km away offering a respite where the dense forest meets the sky. There is a particular stillness to be found in the winter months, when the snow muffles the sounds of the valley and the cold forces a deeper appreciation for the warmth of hearth and home. Sparwood possesses an unadorned, stoic beauty, found not in grand monuments, but in the honest endurance of a settlement that persists in the shadow of the peaks.
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Explore Sparwood, British Columbia, Canada, with an embedded street and satellite map — switch between views using the small square in the bottom left-hand corner of the map. Coordinates: 49.733333, -114.885833. Live weather conditions and 7-day forecasts — including hourly outlooks — are provided through Open-Meteo, while real-time local and world news feeds help keep the page current. Editorial summaries provide additional local information and context.
Detailed location data for Sparwood includes the postal code (V0B), telephone area code (236, 250, 604, 672, 778). These are among the most commonly searched location details for any Canadian city or town.
Search Maps opens a second, independent map. It searches OpenStreetMap for any Canadian town, county or landmark by name; offers the Canada Base Map with Toporama contours and shaded relief as base layers; overlays a labelled UTM grid so the map can be read like a printed NTS sheet; measures distance and grid, true and magnetic bearings between any two points; and takes a single GPS fix reporting your position as a UTM/MGRS grid reference and as latitude and longitude. Map tiles require cell coverage, but a GPS position does not, so the coordinates remain correct even where the map cannot load.
Location data for Sparwood is sourced from the Canadian Geographical Names Database (CGN), Natural Resources Canada, and verified by coordinates rather than name matching alone. GPS coordinates, province, administrative location and place type are shown in the information panel above.
| Page generated | October 2026 |
| Location data | Canadian Geographical Names Database (CGN), Natural Resources Canada |
| Map layers | Google Maps; © OpenStreetMap contributors; Canada Base Map, Toporama and CBME © Natural Resources Canada (Open Government Licence — Canada); magnetic declination from NOAA NCEI (World Magnetic Model) |