Prince George, city in central British Columbia, Canada, at the confluence of the Fraser and Nechako rivers. Prince George is a manufacturing and distribution center for an agriculture and lumber region. Major manufactures include refined petroleum, processed food, alcoholic beverages, chemicals, pulp, paper, lumber, and other forest products. The city is served by Prince George Airport.

Attractions include the Fraser-Fort George Regional Museum in Fort George Park; the Prince George Art Gallery; and Vanier Hall, where concerts by the Prince George Symphony Orchestra are held. Theatre North West is the city’s professional theater company. Situated in an area that affords ample opportunity for outdoor recreation, Prince George includes the Heritage River Trail; Cottonwood Island Nature Park, which is the site of the Prince George Railway Museum; and Forests for the World, nearly 140 hectares (350 acres) of second-growth forest.

In 1807 Canadian explorer Simon Fraser built a fur-trading post for the North West Company and named it Fort George, after King George III of England. Settlement of the site was slow until the 1910s, when a railroad was constructed through the community. The community incorporated as a city in 1915, and the town voted to rename itself for Prince George, the son of King George V of England. In the 1940s the city grew as the forest industry developed. From the 1960s to the early 1980s, Prince George grew into the major manufacturing, supply, government, and education center for north central British Columbia. In 1994 the University of Northern British Columbia opened in the city.

Prince George covers a land area of 315.9 sq km (122 sq mi). Population 69,653 (1991); 72,406 (2001).