Athabasca River

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Athabasca River
Athabasca River watershed in western Canada
Origin	Columbia Icefield 52°10′4″2, N°117′25″50
Mouth	Lake Athabasca 58°37′35″N, 110°50′05″W
Basin countries	Canada
Length	1,231 km[1]
Source elevation	1,520 m (foot of glacier)
Mouth elevation	205 m
Avg. discharge	20,860,000 dam³[2]
Basin area	95,300 km²[1]

The Athabasca River (French: rivière Athabasca) originates from the Columbia Glacier of the Columbia Icefield in Jasper National Park in Alberta, Canada. The impressive and scenic Athabasca Falls is located upstream about 30 km from the Jasper townsite.

In Woods Cree, the word āthapāskāw means "clumps of plants" - likely a reference to the spotty vegetation along the river. The Canadian Heraldic Authority has named Athabaska Herald after the river.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Heritage 2 Course 2.1 Tributaries 3 Gallery 4 See also 5 References

[edit] History

Sekani, Shuswap, Kootenay, Salish, Stoney and Cree tribes hunted and fished along the river proir to the european colonization. David Thompson and Thomas the Iroquois travelled through the Athabasca Pass in 1811. In 1862, the Atahbasca springs area was crossed during the Cariboo Goldrush.

[edit] Heritage

This river has been designated a Canadian Heritage River for its importance to the fur trade and the construction of railways and roads opening up the Canadian west, as well as for its natural heritage.^[3]

[edit] Course

The river flows along icefields, through gorges, offers wildlife habitat on its shores and adjacent marshes. National and provincial parks were established to protect this habitats and landscapes, such as Jasper National Park, Sundance Provincial Park, Carson-Pegasus Provincial Park, Obed Lake Provincial Park, William A. Switzer Provincial Park. The river also crosses the southeast limits of Wood Buffalo National Park, where its course is marked by rapids, impeding navigation north of Fort McMurray.^[4]

The Athabasca River travels 1500 km before draining into the Peace-Athabasca Delta near Lake Athabasca, south of Fort Chipewyan and Wood Buffalo National Park. From there, its waters flow north as Slave River into the Great Slave Lake, which discharges through the Mackenzie River system into the Arctic Ocean. The cumulative drainage area is 133,000 km² (at Fort McMurray).^[2]

Many communities are located on the banks of this river. Among the larger ones are Jasper, Hinton, Whitecourt, Athabasca and Fort McMurray.

[edit] Tributaries

Rocky Mountains Sunwapta River Maligne River Snaring River Rocky River Snake Indian River Berland River Windfall Creek Oldman Creek Sakwatamau River

Foothills and plains McLeod River Freeman River Timeu Creek Pembina River Lesser Slave River Lawrence Lake Creek Baptiste Lake Creek Tawatinaw River La Biche River Calling River McMillan Lake Creek Parallel Creek

Lakeland Pelican River House River Horse River Clearwater River Steepbank River Muskeg River Mackay River Ells River Firebag River Richardson River

[edit] Gallery

Athabasca Glacier

Athabasca River flowing into the linn at the Athabasca Falls

Athabasca River with Colin Range in the background

Athabasca River at the mouth of Brule Lake

[edit] See also

• Geography of Alberta
• List of Alberta rivers

[edit] References

v • d • e Rivers and Lakes of Alberta
Major Rivers	Athabasca · Beaver · Hay · Milk · North Saskatchewan · Peace · Red Deer · Slave · South Saskatchewan
Other Rivers	Battle · Bow · Brazeau · Chinchaga · Crowsnest · Clearwater · Elbow · Firebag · Lesser Slave · Little Smoky · Oldman · Pembina · Petitot · Sheep · Smoky · Sunwapta · Wabasca · Wapiti · (more...)
Major Lakes	Athabasca · Bistcho · Claire · Lesser Slave
Other Lakes	Abraham · Beaverhill · Brûlé · Calling · Cold · La Biche · Louise · Maligne · Minnewanka · Moraine · Peyto · Pigeon · Pinehurst · Pyramid · Skeleton · Sylvan · Utikuma · Vermilion · Wabamun · Waterton · Zama · (more...)