River · Canada
Athabasca River
The Athabasca River flows through the Canadian province of Alberta. It begins at the Columbia Icefield in Jasper National Park, winds north-east through forests and ends in Lake Athabasca, near the border with Saskatchewan.
Picture credit: Ethan Sahagun (CC BY 4.0) · Wheateater (Public domain) · Royalbroil (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Wikimedia Commons
Where is Athabasca River?
The river starts here: Columbia Icefield in Jasper National Park, Alberta.
It ends in the Lake Athabasca via the Peace-Athabasca Delta.
Countries on the river: Canada.
The story behind it
The Athabasca River is born from meltwater of the Columbia Icefield, the largest icefield in the Rocky Mountains. About 30 km upstream from the town of Jasper it thunders over Athabasca Falls. The falls are only 23 metres high, but they are among the most powerful in the mountain national parks, and the water has carved round potholes and a short canyon into the rock. Elk, grizzly bears, harlequin ducks and ospreys live along the upper river, and this first 168 km stretch is a Canadian Heritage River. In 1811 the explorer David Thompson, guided by a man named Thomas, crossed the Rockies at Athabasca Pass, and for more than fifty years fur traders used this route. From mid-November to mid-April the river is covered with ice. Near Fort McMurray lie huge oil sands, and mining there can pollute the water.
Questions children ask
How long is the Athabasca River?
The Athabasca River is about 1 231 km long. The length varies with the measurement: one Canadian encyclopedia even gives 1 538 km.
Where does the water of the Athabasca end up?
The Athabasca flows through the Peace-Athabasca Delta into Lake Athabasca. It is the southernmost part of the Mackenzie River system, so its water finally reaches the Arctic Ocean.
What are the Athabasca Falls?
The Athabasca Falls are a 23-metre waterfall in Jasper National Park, about 30 km upstream from Jasper. The water pours over hard quartzite and has cut potholes and a short canyon into the softer limestone below.
Where these numbers come from
Every figure on this page was checked against public reference sources before publication. Where sources genuinely disagree, the text says so.
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