Good Morning #Canada
#12 on our #CanadaRivers countdown is the 1,287 km long North Saskatchewan River. Starting as glacier-fed in Banff National Park, it flows through Edmonton into Saskatchewan, joining with the South Saskatchewan River to make up the Saskatchewan River, which drains into Lake Winnipeg. The Saskatchewan River system is the largest shared between the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan, with the North Saskatchewan River watershed covering an area of 122,800 km2.
The river acted as a natural boundary between plains Blackfoot of the south and woodland Cree of the north. Archaeologists found evidence of nearly 800 permanent or temporary occupation sites in the Edmonton region alone, dating back hundreds and sometimes thousands of years.
Edmonton's 18,000 km2 North Saskatchewan River valley parks system is the largest system of urban parks in Canada with a network of trails approaching 100 km. Here's the history of its development.

#CanadaIsAwesome #UrbanParks
https://www.ervcc.com/brief-history-of-nsr

#13 is a lucky number for me as I wore it on my hockey jersey for 20+ years of unremarkable performance in industrial and adult leagues and didn't die. And that brings us to #13 on our countdown of #CanadaRivers.
The Ottawa River begins at Lac des Outaouais, north of the Laurentian Mountains of central Quebec, flowing west to Lake Timiskaming. From there its route has been used to define the interprovincial border between Quebec and Ontario. The 1,271 km river has a watershed of 146,300 km2, ultimately draining into the St. Lawrence River. It served as a major trade route for Indigenous people and Ottawa means "to trade" in Algonquin. The river, it's surrounding forests and Indigenous people were all severely impacted by the forestry industry. Lumberjacks brought disease and over-hunted local game, logs jammed the river and dams were constructed to control water levels for moving timber. Today 50 dams, reservoir and hydroelectric, exist on the Ottawa.

#CanadaIsAwesome #Hydrology
https://leveller.ca/2015/11/ottawa-river-watershed/

Good Morning #Canada
Almost all remaining #CanadaRivers on our countdown are legendary and/or have historical significance, and #14 is an example. The Athabasca River in Alberta, Canada, originates at the Columbia Icefield in Jasper National Park and flows more than 1,231 km, or 1,538 km depending on the information source. It is the longest river that flows entirely within Alberta, emptying into Lake Athabasca after draining an area of roughly 95,300 km2. Much of the land along its banks is protected in national and provincial parks, and the river is designated a Canadian heritage river for its historical and cultural importance. The Athabasca River and tributaries have provided vital transportation routes for Indigenous People for 1,000s of years, and a relative heartbeat for European explorers, and the fur traders. Preservation errorts conflict with resource extraction as uranium mines, pulp & paper mills and oil sands all impact the Athabasca.

#CanadaIsAwesome #History
https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/athabasca-river

Good Morning #Canada
The Liard River is #15 on our #CanadaRivers countdown, and it flows through Yukon, British Columbia and the Northwest Territories. Rising in the Saint Cyr Range of the Pelly Mountains in southeastern Yukon, it flows 1,115 km southeast through British Columbia, marking the northern end of the Rocky Mountains and then curving northeast back into Yukon and Northwest Territories, draining into the Mackenzie River at Fort Simpson. The river drains approximately 277,100 km2 of boreal forest and muskeg. Marked by steep drops in the upper reaches, it has an average flow of 2,446 m3/s and has been studied extensively for future hydroelectric. There are no permanent settlements on the river although Indigenous people maintain summer camps and lodges.

#CanadaIsAwesome
https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/liard-river

Good Morning #Canada
The Assiniboine River is 1,070 km long and runs through the prairies of Western Canada in Saskatchewan and Manitoba. The #16 emtry on our #CanadaRivers countdown, the Assiniboine is a typical meandering river with a single main channel embanked within a flat, shallow valley in some places and a steep valley in others. It drains a reasonably sized watershed of 182,000 km2 but a weak flow averaging 45 m3/s means it has changed course numerous times over past centuries, following its modern course for approximately 700 years. Flood control dikes and dams have been added to the upper steeper sections of the Assiniboine to reduce damage during spring melt and runoff.
Where the Red & Assiniboine rivers meet, in the heart of Winnipeg, is a area known as The Forks. It has played a complex role in the history of the region, as a meeting place for Indigenous People for 6,000 years and later as the 1st colonial settlement in western Canada.

#CanadaIsAwesome #Geography
https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/the-forks

Good Morning #Canada
We finally come to a river longer than 1,000 km with #17 on our #CanadaRivers countdown, but it comes with an asterisk. The Milk River, located in the extreme southeastern corner of Alberta, is the only river in Canada to flow into the Gulf of Mexico drainage basin. It has its source in Montana, flows north into Canada and then south to join the Missouri River near Fort Peck, Montana. Only 170 km of its total length of 1173 km is within Canada, and only 6,500 km2 of it's total 61,200 km2 watershed. In Alberta the river cuts a spectacular canyon, 150 m deep and over 1.5 km wide in places, straddling the Canada-US boundary. The river was named by Lewis and Clark because of the milky colour of the water coming off the glacier in the Rocky Mountains.
The best thing about the Milk River area is the nearby Writing-On-Stone Provincial Park, a potential side tour if you're visiting Grasslands National Park.

#CanadaIsAwesome #ProvincialParks

https://youtu.be/5WfG_Snovdg

Good Morning #Canada
The Severn River, #19 on our #CanadaRivers countdown, flows for 982 km, from Deer Lake near Kenora to Fort Severn on the shore of Hudson's Bay. It's the same length as the Albany River (next on our list) and both are the longest rivers entirely within Ontario. The Severn River drainage basin area is 102,800 km2 , a small portion of which is in Manitoba, and it has a modest volume of 645 m3/s as it meanders northeast. Historical records state that the mouth of the river was located by the English in 1631, but I'm pretty sure Indigenous people discovered it a few thousand years before that. Fort Severn was established as a trading post in 1689 by the Hudson's Bay Company but was captured by Pierre le Moyne, sieur d'Iberville in 1690. The post, rebuilt in 1759, has been in continuous operation to this day making this community one of the oldest European settlements in Ontario.

#CanadaIsAwesome #HBC
https://www.canadashistory.ca/explore/settlement-immigration/the-founding-of-fort-severn

Good Morning #Canada
#20 on our countdown of #CanadaRivers is the Back River, which flows for 974km across NWT and Nunavut. It drains an area of 106,500 km2, flowing from Contwoyto Lake north of Great Slave Lake, NWT, northeast across the Barren Lands of Nunavut to Chantrey Inlet in the Arctic. The river is named for Sir George Back, who first explored it in 1834. The original name was Thlew-ee-choh, likely Dogrib for "great fish river." It has a vertical drop of just over 380m over it's length with 83 rapids challenging serious canoists and kayakers. The British film, Beacon Six, was televised by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, showing the rugged landscape during a 1962 canoe expedition.
From 1963–1965, anthropologist Jean Briggs did field research with the Utkusiksalinmiut Inuit living at the opening of Back River and Chantrey Inlet, resulting in her work Never in Anger, as well as helping to compile an Utkuhiksalik dictionary.

#CanadaIsAwesome #Adventure
https://community.nrs.com/duct-tape/2014/10/17/35-days-arctic-canoeing-back-river/

Good Morning #Canada
We still have 20+ rivers to highlight in this #CanadaRivers series and a couple of things stand out. We are now listing rivers that are close to 1,000 kms, and despite the size there are many I've never heard of. Add in several million lakes and you gotta agree that Canada is blessed with #Hydrology features.
The Thelon River, called Akilinik in Inuit, is #21 on our list and stretches 904 kms across northern Canada. Its source is Whitefish Lake in the Northwest Territories, and it flows east to Baker Lake in Nunavut, ultimately draining into Hudson Bay. It is fed by a watershed of 142,400 km2 but with a vertical drop of less than 400 metres over its length it is not suitable for hydroelectric development. The Thelon is one of the easiest tundra rivers to paddle, with a steady current, few rapids and no portages. It therefore is a destination for paddling vacations and tourists looking to experience Canada's north.

#CanadaIsAwesome #Adventure #Canoeing
https://paddlingmag.com/trips/destinations/thelon-river/

#22 on our countdown is the 893 km La Grande River, which drains a modest watershed of 97,600 km2 in Quebec and flows westward into James Bay. In French, La Grande Rivière, and its original Cree name, Chisasibi, both mean "great river") and it is the second-longest river in the province. The river has been extensively developed as a source of hydroelectric power by Hydro-Québec, starting in 1974 a total of 8 hydroelectric dams have been built on the waterway. As a result of the development projects, the Cree people of the region lost parts of their traditional hunting and trapping territories. Organic mercury levels increased in the fish, which forms an important part of their diet, as the organic material is trapped by the rising waters in the new reservoirs.

#CanadaIsAwesome #CanadaRivers
https://chisasibi.ca/about-chisasibi/