Claireville, Pickering

La ville de Claireville (Traditional Chinese: 清河, rarely romanized into Ching Ho; unofficial English name Clear River), or simply as Claireville (2010 population 8,782) is the capital city of Pickering County. It is the smallest capital city by population for all of the autonomous countries in the Imaginary Lands of Nicholas. It is also the second largest city in the county, after Muiléh, which is a twin city of Helium across from the Dawson River.

Claireville is located in southern parts of the county, where the Claire River empties into Lake Haldimond. Claireville is also named after the river, where Claire River in French is "rivière Claire", literally meaning the "Clear River".

History
During the First Kingdom of the Imaginary Lands of Nicholas, the area was used as hunting grounds by the local sporadic Cantonese population, alongside with the Peace River Valley area (near Lisi). The area was not heavily settled partly due to its remote location in the central parts of the continent, as well as the relatively colder climate comparing to the rest of the continent.

In the early 1600s, the French victory in The Western Division has prompted the first kingdom to cede the area, alongside with the nowadays Concord County, Xiehe Autonomous Region and Greater McCallister, thus establishing the French colony of La Pacifique Concorde. Originally a military camp, after the war, it was transformed into a small port, and thus settlement began, and was named "Claireville" after the Claire River. It had once grew into an important trade centre for the area.

After the French lost most of their colonial lands in 1850, the area went under British administration, with the British re-naming the area to become Pickering County, while retaining the settlement name as "Claireville". After the transfer of administration, many French population fled the area, causing a rapid drop a population. Nonetheless, the town still remains to be the largest in the vicinity, and thus was chosen to become the capital of Pickering County in 1852.

The town remained to be a fairly small town since then, with its function being an administrative centre for the county since 1852. The trade, commercial, and service functions have since been overtaken by the nearby City of Lisi in Gravenhurst Region, some 240 km due west, and by Muiléh in the same county.

Geography
Claireville is located on the immediate shores of Lake Haldimond where the Claire River empties to it. The area is in a low-lying swamp, built on the Claire River Delta. Much of the delta is under protection by the Claireville National Park (French: Le parc national de Claireville). Most of the soil in the area is mostly clay, made from the deposits of Claire River.

Claireville features higher terrains of hills and moraines towards the northern end of the city, which serves as a drainage divide between Lake Haldimond and the Source Lake.

Climate
The hills in the north and the lake to the south provides a moderation effect to the otherwise sub-polar climate, which makes the area feature a temperate-like climate. Winters are generally cold and long (6 months), with a relatively shorter summer and occasional heat waves. Most of the precipitation fall during spring and autumn. The area is not prominent to significant storms due to its inland location, though occasional rainstorms may cause devastating floods in the city due to its elevation. In the winter, lake effect snow also adds on to the total snow amount.

Cityscape
The most prominent building in Claireville's skyline is the Pickering Capitol Building, located on the shore of Claire River. Residential and commercial developments are located mostly towards the east shores of Claire River, and around the capitol building.

The largest employer in the area is the Government of Pickering. Other industrial activities are less common in the area, due to the city's limited function in the trade area.

Demographics
According to the 2010 Pickering Census, there are a total of 8,782 people residing in the city, and overwhelmingly, most of the local population is of a French descent, and speaks French as the first language. English and Cantonese follows as the most common language.

Claireville is the second most populated city in the autonomous country.

Transportation
Claireville has been known as the least accessible capital city among all capitals of the autonomous countries in the Imaginary Lands of Nicholas. There are no expressways leading into the city, though Pickering County Route 90, a controlled-access highway does pass by the city's northern limits, and provide 2 interchanges leading into the city.

Claireville Municipal Airport is also located 6.4 km northwest of the city, and provides scheduled flight to selected destinations across the kingdom, as well as a few flights to other sovereign states.

Daily cross-border ferry services to Manchot Island and to Lisi are provided by Gravenhurst Ferries, leaving from Claireville Public Piers (French: Les piliers publiques de Claireville) three times a day. Periodic Ferry also operates a cross-border ferry to Oxygen every day.

Public transit is provided by Pickering Transit (PT), which offers commuter bus services, as well as intercity services to other cities and towns of the county.

While there are no rail services right now (freight rail does exist, though no passenger rail), the Pickering County government is currently negotiating with Gravenhurst Region to extend GO Transit's  Golden Corridor Line  into Claireville, with the Pickering County government providing funding to build Claireville GO Station.