Red Deer River

Red Deer River
Red Deer River in Drumheller, Alberta
Country	Canada
Basin features
Main source	Sawback Range, Red Deer Lakes 2,200 m (7,200 ft) 51°31′56″N 116°02′31″W / 51.53221°N 116.04201°W / 51.53221; -116.04201 (Red Deer River origin)
River mouth	South Saskatchewan River near Empress 579 m (1,900 ft) 50°55′23″N 109°53′42″W / 50.92315°N 109.89493°W / 50.92315; -109.89493 (Red Deer River mouth)Coordinates: 50°55′23″N 109°53′42″W / 50.92315°N 109.89493°W / 50.92315; -109.89493 (Red Deer River mouth)
Basin size	45,100 km2 (17,400 sq mi)
Physical characteristics
Length	724 km (450 mi)
Discharge	Average rate: 70 m3/s (2,500 cu ft/s)[1]

The Red Deer River is a river in Alberta and a small portion of Saskatchewan, Canada. It is a major tributary of the South Saskatchewan River and is part of the larger Saskatchewan-Nelson system that empties into Hudson Bay.^[2]

Red Deer River has a total length of 724 kilometres (450 mi) and a drainage area of 45,100 square kilometres (17,400 sq mi). Its mean discharge is 70 cubic metres per second (2,500 cu ft/s).^[1]

The river got its name from the translation of Was-ka-soo which means "elk river" in the Cree.

Communities located along the Red Deer River include Sundre, Red Deer, Drumheller, and Empress, The city of Brooks, as well as Dinosaur Provincial Park, are also located in the Red Deer River Basin. A glacial flood about 18,000 years ago eroded out a portion of this basin and apparently all or most of the scenic badlands bearing the dinosaur and other Cretaceous fossils.

History

Joseph Tyrrell discovered a huge coal seam here in 1883, besides large dinosaur skeletons.^[3]

2013 Alberta flood

In June 2013, Alberta, Canada, experienced heavy rainfall that triggered catastrophic flooding throughout much of the southern half of the province along the Bow, Elbow, Highwood, Oldman, and Red Deer rivers and tributaries. Twenty-four municipalities declared local states of emergency as water levels rose and numerous communities were placed under evacuation orders.^[4] The Royal Canadian Mounted Police stated four people may have drowned near High River.^[5] Over 100,000 people have been displaced throughout the region.^[6]

Course

The Red Deer River (upper left) merging into the South Saskatchewan River at Empress, Alberta

The river originates on the eastern slopes of the Canadian Rockies, in the Sawback Range near the Skoki Valley inside Banff National Park, and then flows east through the mountains and foothills region. It turns north-east before Sundre and flows to an artificial Reservoir named Gleniffer Lake (Alberta), created in 1983 by the Dickson Dam and keeps this heading to the city of Red Deer, where it turns east, and then south before Stettler. It flows south with its valley protected by provincial and regional parks such as Tolman Badlands Heritage Rangeland, Dry Island Buffalo Jump Provincial Park, Dry Island Corridor and Midland Provincial Park. At Drumheller it has a south-east direction, and while it flows through Dinosaur Provincial Park it turns east and flows to the Alberta/Saskatchewan border, which it crosses at Empress. It flows for 16 kilometres (10 mi) through Saskatchewan before it merges into the South Saskatchewan River.

Tributaries

The waters of Ewing Lake, Little Fish Lake also flow into the Red Deer River.^[8][9]

Fish species

Sport fish include: northern pike, sauger, lake whitefish, yellow perch, burbot, lake sturgeon, mountain whitefish, goldeye, brown trout, bull trout, rainbow trout, brook trout, and cutthroat trout.

Other fish include: emerald shiner, river shiner, spottail shiner, flathead chub, longnose dace, quillback carpsucker, longnose sucker, white sucker, shorthead redhorse, silver redhorse, perch, spoonhead sculpine, lake chub, pearl dace, northern redbelly dace, finescale dace, fathead minnow, muskellunge, and brook stickleback.

Gallery

• 
  Flowing through the city of Red Deer
• 
  Through Dry Island Buffalo Jump Provincial Park
• 
  Star Mine Suspension Bridge in Rosedale
• 
  Red Deer River north of emerald shiner Jenner, Alberta ^{[10] [11]}

Environmental concerns

Pipeline leaks

The Red Deer River is the water source for the City of Red Deer, Alberta and the surrounding area. Pipelines cross under the river and there have been leaks disrupting access to potable water.^[12] Increased water flow of the Red Deer River system during heavy rainfall in June 2008 eroded supporting soil, freely exposing a section of Pembina Pipeline Corporation's Cremona crude oil pipeline to the Red Deer River currents. About 75 to 125 barrels of crude oil flowed upstream from the breakpoint under a Red Deer River channel, leaving an oily sheen on Gleniffer Reservoir and 6800 kilograms (15 000 lbs) of oil-soaked debris.^[13][14] The remediation was not completed until 2011.^[15]

Heavy rains in early June 2012 caused a similar but larger leak on a Plains Midstream Canada 46-year-old pipeline on a Red Deer River tributary, Jackson Creek, Alberta (51°52'19" 114°36'23") near Gleniffer Lake (Alberta) and Dickson Dam,^[16] which spilled approximately 1000 and 3000 barrels (160,000-475,000 litres) of light sour crude into the Red Deer River.^[15][17]

See also

• List of crossings of the Red Deer River
• List of longest rivers of Canada
• List of rivers of Alberta
• List of rivers of Saskatchewan
• Glacial Lake Bassano

References