last of the swamps finally drained in 1900, which made the soil more fertile and suitable for agriculture. Steinbach's main geographic feature is the Steinbach Creek, which is now mostly dry, still runs along Elmdale Street. Due to higher levels of precipitation received than in the areas of western Manitoba, the natural prairie near Steinbach is defined as tallgrass prairie. Some of this original prairie can still be viewed at the Manitoba Tall Grass Prairie Preserve south of the city near Vita. The areas to the west and north of Steinbach are defined as flat tallgrass prairie, and part of the Lake Manitoba Plain. The areas south and west of the city progress steadily into treed aspen parkland, eventually growing into Sandilands Provincial Forest and the large boreal forest region extending east and north of the city. Steinbach is close to many Canadian Shield lakes, such as those located in Whiteshell Provincial Park and the Lake of the Woods in Kenora. Lake Winnipeg (the Earth's 11th largest freshwater lake) is located north of the city. Although no rivers flow through Steinbach, the city is sandwiched by the Seine River to the north and the Rat River to the south. Both are tributaries of the Red River, which flows into Lake Winnipeg. Under the Köppen climate classification Steinbach has a warm summer continental climate (Dfb). The highest ever recorded temperature in Steinbach was , while the lowest ever recorded temperature was . The warmest month on average is July, while the coldest month on average is January. The average annual precipitation in Steinbach is , with June being the month with highest average precipitation. Economy As the economic centre of Southeastern Manitoba, service/retail industries employ the majority of the working population. Large manufacturing plants, especially those operated by Barkman, Bausch and Loewen Windows (which is also headquartered in Steinbach), create a significant number of jobs. Since the 1950s, Steinbach has been known as a centre for automobile sales, marketing itself as the "Automobile City". Steinbach has a diversity of jobs and industries within the community. Its rapid growth rate, combined with the lowest taxes in the province by mill rate, has made the community an increasingly popular place for both workers and employers. This combination has helped many different mid-sized and large-sized businesses in manufacturing, transportation, agribusiness, pharmaceuticals, retail, and financial services such as the Steinbach Credit Union, to grow with