Beaver River (Canada)
Beaver River  |
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 The Beaver south of Lac La Biche, Alberta |
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| Origin | Beaver Lake (Alberta) |
| Mouth | Lac Île-à-la-Crosse, Saskatchewan 55°25′51″N 107°45′23″W / 55.43087°N 107.75635°WCoordinates: 55°25′51″N 107°45′23″W / 55.43087°N 107.75635°W |
| Basin countries |  Canada |
| Length | 491 kilometers (305 mi) |
| Mouth elevation | 421 meters (1,381 ft) |
| Avg. discharge | 653,000,000 m3/year (AB/SK border) |
| Basin area | 14,500 km2 (Alberta) |
Beaver River is a large river in east-central Alberta and central Saskatchewan, Canada.
Beaver River has a catchment area of 14,500 km2 in Alberta[1], where it drains the lake system in Lac La Biche County. The total length is 491 km.[2]
It was first documented on the Turnor map of 1790, and then confirmed on the Harmon map of 1820.[3]
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[edit] Course
Beaver River originates in Beaver Lake (Alberta), south of Lac La Biche and the Northern Woods and Water Route. It flows south and then turns east and flows toward the Alberta/Saskatchewan border, which it crosses south of Cold Lake. At this point, the Beaver river has an average annual discharge of 653,000,000 m3[1]. It continues east in Saskatchewan on to the village of Green Lake, where it turns north and flows toward the Lac Île-à-la-Crosse in the Churchill Lake system. From here, its waters are carried to the Hudson Bay by the Churchill River. Both George Simpson and David Thompson used this route. They left the main Methye Portage route at Lac Île-à-la-Crosse and went up the Beaver and over a bad divide to Lac la Biche and down the La Biche River to the Athabasca River. The river was too shallow and meandering to serve as a trade route.
[edit] Tributaries
- Amisk River
- Fork Creek
- Columbine Creek
- Mooselake River
- Thinlake River
- Sand River
- Wolf River
- Manatokan Creek
- Jackfish Creek
- Marie Creek
- Muriel Creek
- Reita Creek
- Redspring Creek
- Makwa River
- Meadow River
- Waterhen River
[edit] Conservation and Development
Beaver River flows through a predominantly flat area with rolling and undulating hills, and many lakes are drained through meandering streams into the river (among the larger ones are Lac la Biche, Pinehurst Lake, Cold Lake (Alberta) and Primrose Lake.
Lakeland Provincial Park, Moose Lake Provincial Park and Cold Lake Provincial Park all lie in the river basin on the Alberta side, while the Meadow Lake Provincial Park protects a large area in Saskatchewan.
The Cold Lake Area Weapons Range occupies much of the northern area of the river basin.
[edit] Fish Species
The fish species include walleye, sauger, yellow perch, northern pike, lake trout, lake whitefish, cisco, white sucker, longnose sucker and burbot.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- [1] Fish Species of Saskatchewan
- Meadow Lake Provincial Park
- ^ a b Environment Alberta - River basins
- ^ Atlas of Canada. "Rivers in Canada". http://atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/site/english/learningresources/facts/rivers.html#bay. Retrieved 2007-05-01.
- ^ Atlas of Alberta Lakes - Beaver Lake
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