Peace Athabasca Inland Delta
The Peace Athabasca Inland Delta is a freshwater inland delta in the northeast of the Canadian province of Alberta . It lies between Lake Athabasca and Lake Claire at the confluence of the Athabasca River with the Peace River and the Slave River .
fauna and Flora
The area with its lakes and the marshes and mud fields in between serves as a nesting place for water birds and a resting place for migratory birds . Every autumn around a million ducks , geese and swans take advantage of this opportunity to take a break. The endangered whooping crane is also one of them. In addition, the flat grass meadows offer ideal conditions for several thousand bison that live there.
protection
Most of the wetland is in Wood Buffalo National Park . In addition, the Ramsar Convention of May 24, 1982 emphasized the global importance of the largest boreal delta in the world.
The influence of the Bennett Dam
The W. A. C. Bennett Dam , built by BC Hydro on the upper reaches of the Peace River in British Columbia in the late 1960s , caused water fluctuations that were later brought to almost the same level as before construction through the construction of three weirs of the dam could be brought.
There are also claims that the dam will reduce the annual spring tides caused by ice dams, but this has not been proven. By examining the sediments, it was possible to detect the spring tides of the last 300 years: While there were many spring tides at the beginning of the last century, their number decreased in the middle of the last century (i.e. before the construction of the dam). Between 1975 and 1995 there were no spring tides at all, while in 1996 and 1997 they did occur again. However, there were no spring tides between 1705 and 1786 and between 1813 and 1839. The studies made on this matter did not prove these claims. All they found was that there was a wet season at the beginning of the previous century, while the dry season was in the middle of the last century. Although this fact has been established, the dam's fault in this development has not been proven. Overall, the development is relatively good in view of climate change . The BC Hydro and the local Indians are also arguing about this matter in a process.
Waters
Lakes
In addition to Lake Claire with its tributary, the Birch River , there are also the following lakes:
- Baril Lake
- Blanche Lake
- Flett Lake
- Four Forks Lake
- French Lake
- Galoot Lake
- Hilda Lake
- Jemis Lake
- Limon Lake
- Mamawi Lake
- Otter Lake
- Pair Lakes
- Pushup Lake
- Richardson Lake
- Welstead Lake
Streams and rivers
In addition to the Riviere Des Roche that connects Lake Athabasca with the origin of the Slave River, there are also the following streams and rivers:
- Alice Creek
- Baril River
- Bolton Creek
- Buckton Creek
- Carolyn Creek
- Chilloneys Creek
- Claire River
- Dempsey Creek
- Edra Creek
- Embarras River
- Frog Creek
- Horse Island Creek
- Mamawi Creek
- McIvor River
- Modere Creek
- Peel Creek
- Peltier Creek
- Powder Creek
- Revillon Coupe
- Sall River
- Scow Channel
- Steepbank River
- Swift Current Creek