Located in the Columbia Valley at the confluence of the tumbling Columbia and Kootenay Rivers, Castlegar, called the 'Heart of the Kootenays' was a housing community for Cominco employees in Trail to the south, but quickly grew into a town in its own right, experiencing positive growth in difficult times. This is the home of many of British Columbia's Doukhobors, a pacifist group of political refugee emigrants from Russia that settled in the Ootichena Valley in 1908. Their history has now become part of the attraction of Castlegar, as many visitors come to see the Zuckerburg Island Heritage Park, the Russian Orthodox Chapel House and similar sites. Castlegar today reflects a vibrant mix of commerce, industry and recreation. The Arrow Lakes waterway offers a navigable recreation corridor some 400 km long, providing access to boating, sailing and world-class fishing. Castlegar is located in the Kootenays at the junction of Highways 3, 3A and Highway 22, 26 miles (41 km) southwest of Nelson and 26 miles (41 km) west of Salmo.