Clearwater River (Athabasca River)

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Clearwater River
The Clearwater River south of Fort McMurray

The Clearwater River south of Fort McMurray

Data
location Alberta , Saskatchewan ( Canada )
River system Mackenzie River
Drain over Athabasca River  → Slave River  → Mackenzie River  → Arctic Ocean
origin Broach Lake
57 ° 43 ′ 1 ″  N , 109 ° 18 ′ 57 ″  W.
Source height 460  m
muzzle at Fort McMurray in the Athabasca River Coordinates: 56 ° 44 '54 "  N , 111 ° 23' 4"  W 56 ° 44 '54 "  N , 111 ° 23' 4"  W.
Mouth height approx.  310  m
Height difference approx. 150 m
Bottom slope approx. 0.51 ‰
length 295 km
Outflow at the gauge at the outflow from Lloyd Lake
A Eo : 4250 km² 		MQ 1973/1995
Mq 1973/1995
 		23 m³ / s
5.4 l / (s km²)
Discharge at the gauge above Christina River
A Eo : 17,000 km² 		MQ 1966/2000
Mq 1966/2000
 		73 m³ / s
4.3 l / (s km²)
Discharge at the gauge at Draper
A Eo : 30,800 km² 		MQ 1931/2000
Mq 1931/2000
 		119 m³ / s
3.9 l / (s km²)
Left tributaries Mirror River , Virgin River , McLean River , Christina River
Right tributaries Descharme River
Flowing lakes Preston Lake , Forrest Lake , Lloyd Lake
Medium-sized cities Fort McMurray

The Clearwater River ( English clear water for "clear water") is a right tributary of the Athabasca River in the Canadian provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan . The river is a Canadian Heritage River because of its history .

The 295 km long river has its source at 460  m in Broach Lake on the Canadian Shield . The river then flows over several smaller waterfalls, rapids and a gorge into the Interior Plains , where it meanders between sandbanks and smaller islands . Even further down the valley is bounded again by steep limestone slopes . There is also a dolomite gorge on the path of the river. After 108 km of the river in Alberta, the river, which is also called The Chant in the lower reaches, flows into the Athabasca River at Fort McMurray at an altitude of about 310  m .

Tributaries

protection

Since the Clearwater River is a river in untouched nature, there is the 2240 km² Clearwater River Provincial Park in Saskatchewan . The river received Canadian Heritage River status in Saskatchewan in 1986 and in Alberta in 2004.

history

Before the arrival of the Europeans, the Chipewyan , Cree and Danezaa Indian tribes had lived in the area of ​​the river for 5000 years, as the rock paintings prove .

During the discovery of the Europeans and the fur trade in the 18th century, the lower reaches gained importance as a trade route between the Athabasca district in the west and Hudson Bay in the east. However, the upper course - due to the Canadian shield as a barrier - remained unaffected. The explorer Peter Pond was the first to use the Methye Portage between Lac La Loche and the upper reaches of the river on the way between Athabasca and Churchill . This connection was the only one for the regional fur trade for nearly forty years.

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Clearwater River at the gauge at the outlet from Lloyd Lake - hydrographic data from R-ArcticNET
  2. ↑ Clearwater River at the gauge above Christina River - hydrographic data from R-ArcticNET
  3. ↑ Clearwater River at the gauge at Draper - hydrographic data from R-ArcticNET
  4. ↑ The Rivers. Canadian Heritage Rivers System (CHRS), accessed March 23, 2019 .