River · Canada
North Saskatchewan River
The North Saskatchewan River flows from the Rocky Mountains across the prairies of western Canada. It starts at a glacier in Banff National Park, passes the city of Edmonton and meets the South Saskatchewan east of Prince Albert.
Picture credit: July 15 (CC BY-SA 2.5) · Іван Позігун (CC BY-SA 4.0) · WinterE229 (CC0) · Wikimedia Commons
Where is North Saskatchewan River?
The river starts here: Saskatchewan Glacier, Columbia Icefield, Banff National Park.
It ends in the Joins the South Saskatchewan at the Saskatchewan River Forks, east of Prince Albert.
Countries on the river: Canada.
The story behind it
The North Saskatchewan River begins more than 1 800 metres up, at the foot of the Saskatchewan Glacier in the Columbia Icefield. At first it runs beside a famous mountain road, the Icefields Parkway. Its Cree name means ‘swift current’, and the Blackfoot name means ‘big river’. For thousands of years the river was a natural border between the Blackfoot people of the plains in the south and the Cree of the forests in the north. Later, fur traders built posts on its banks, such as Fort Edmonton in 1795 and Rocky Mountain House, and wooden York boats carried furs along the water. Today Edmonton, the capital of Alberta, lies on the river, and its river valley holds the largest area of city parkland in Canada. In winter the river freezes over. Walleye, northern pike and lake sturgeon swim in its water.
Questions children ask
How long is the North Saskatchewan River?
The North Saskatchewan River is about 1 287 km long. It flows through two Canadian provinces, Alberta and Saskatchewan.
What happens at the Saskatchewan River Forks?
East of Prince Albert the North Saskatchewan meets the South Saskatchewan. Together they form a new river, the Saskatchewan River.
What does the name Saskatchewan mean?
The name comes from the Cree language: the Cree call the river kisiskâciwanisîpiy, which means ‘swift current’. The Blackfoot people call it ‘big river’.
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.
Last checked: