Saskatchewan River

Saskatchewan River
River
Country	Canada
Regions	Manitoba, Saskatchewan
Source confluence	North and South Saskatchewan Rivers
- location	40 kilometres (25 mi) east of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan
- elevation	380 m (1,247 ft)
- coordinates	53°14′6″N 105°4′58″W
Mouth	Lake Winnipeg
- location	Grand Rapids, Manitoba
- elevation	220 m (722 ft)
- coordinates	53°11′6″N 99°15′22″W
Length	547 km (340 mi)
Basin	335,900 km2 (129,700 sq mi)
Discharge	for The Pas, Manitoba
- average	634 m3/s (22,389 cu ft/s)
- max	3,000 m3/s (105,944 cu ft/s)
- min	54 m3/s (1,907 cu ft/s)
Saskatchewan River Watershed

The Saskatchewan River (Cree: kisiskāciwani-sīpiy, "swift flowing river") is a major river in Canada, approximately 550 km (340 mi) long, flowing roughly eastward across Saskatchewan and Manitoba to empty into Lake Winnipeg. Through its tributaries the North Saskatchewan and South Saskatchewan, its watershed encompasses much of the prairie regions of central Canada, stretching westward to the Rocky Mountains in Alberta and northwestern Montana in the United States. It reaches 1,939 kilometres (1,205 mi) to its farthest headwaters on the Bow River, a tributary of the South Saskatchewan in Alberta.

Description

It is formed in central Saskatchewan, approximately 40 km (25 mi) east of Prince Albert, by the confluence of its two major branches, the North Saskatchewan and the South Saskatchewan, at the Saskatchewan River Forks. Both source rivers originate from glaciers in the Alberta Rockies. The St. Mary River, draining the Hudson Bay Divide region of Glacier National Park, also empties into the Saskatchewan River via the south fork.

The combined stream flows east-northeast, into Codette Lake formed by the Francois Finlay Dam at Nipawin then into Tobin Lake, formed by the E.B. Campbell Dam. It then flows northeast, passing through a region of marshes, where it is joined from the northwest by the Torch River and the Mossy River. At the northern edge of the marshes it flows east, twisting between a series of small lakes into west-central Manitoba to The Pas, where it is joined from the southwest by the Carrot River. Southeast of The Pas, it forms several streams in a delta on the northwest side of Cedar Lake, then exiting the lake on its southeast end and flowing approximately 5 km (3 mi) to Lake Winnipeg, entering on the northwest shore north of Long Point. The waters of Lake Winnipeg eventually drain into Hudson Bay, via the Nelson River.

The river, like the province of Saskatchewan, takes its name from the Cree word kisiskāciwani-sīpiy, meaning "swift flowing river". The river and its tributaries provided an important route of transportation for First Nations and early European trappers.

Hydroelectric power plants are built on the river at Nipawin, and E.B. Campbell Dam (formerly Squaw Rapids) in Saskatchewan and at Grand Rapids in Manitoba.

Fish species

Fish species include: walleye, sauger, yellow perch, northern pike, lake whitefish, mooneye, goldeye, white sucker, longnose sucker, shorthead redhorse, burbot, rainbow trout and lake sturgeon.

History

Forks of the North Saskatchewan, Mistaya and Howse rivers

The Saskatchewan River and its two major tributaries formed an important transportation route during the precontact, fur trade, and early settlement periods in the Canadian West.

First Nations inhabiting the area of the rivers included at one time or another the Atsina, Cree, Saulteaux, Blackfoot Confederacy, Assiniboine, and Sioux.

Henry Kelsey penetrated the area in the 1690s for the Hudson's Bay Company, and Louis de la Corne, Chevalier de la Corne, established the farthest western post of the French Empire in America (See New France) just east of the Saskatchewan River Forks at Fort de la Corne. In addition to this the Hudson's Bay Company and North West Company both ran numerous fur posts up the river and its two branches throughout the late eighteenth to late nineteenth centuries. York boats and canoes formed the primary means of travel during the fur trade period.

In the mid nineteenth century Metis settlements became important along stretches of the rivers (notably at the Southbranch Settlement, Prince Albert, Saskatchewan and St. Albert, Alberta).

Riverboats were introduced from the Red River of the North in the nineteenth century and remained an important means of transportation until the 1890s and the coming of railways to the area.

The earliest settlements in Saskatchewan and Alberta generally were established around the rivers. Examples include Fort Edmonton (Edmonton, Alberta), Fort Battleford (Battleford, Saskatchewan), Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, and Cumberland House, Saskatchewan.

In popular culture

The Saskatchewan River is featured in The Arrogant Worms' song "The Last Saskatchewan Pirate", which implies incorrectly that it flows past Regina, Saskatchewan.

See also

• List of longest rivers of Canada
• List of rivers of Manitoba
• List of rivers of Saskatchewan
• List of rivers of Alberta
• Manitoba Hydro
• Watershed management
• North Saskatchewan River
• South Saskatchewan River

External links

• Canadian Council for Geographic Education page with a series of articles on the history of the Saskatchewan River.
• Partners FOR the Saskatchewan River Basin
• Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan