Browse "Rivers"

Albany River, 982 km long, is the second longest and largest river in Ontario.

The Alsek River originates in the highest mountains in Canada, the St Elias Range.

Anderson River, 692 km long, originates in a group of lakes north of Great Bear Lake in the Northwest Territories and meanders north and west to empty into Liverpool Bay, an arm of the Beaufort Sea, just east of the Mackenzie Delta.

The Arctic Red River flows 499 km north-northwest from glaciers in the North Mackenzie Mountains, crossing 4 mountain ranges before it winds its way through the Mackenzie Lowlands, crossing the Arctic Circle and joining the MACKENZIE RIVER just south of the Mackenzie River Delta.

The Assiniboine River, 1070 km long and with a mean discharge of 45 m3/s, rises in southeastern Saskatchewan.

The Athabasca River is the longest river in Alberta (1,538 km). The first 168 km (located in Jasper National Park) are designated as a Canadian Heritage River. As a tributary to the Mackenzie River, water flowing on the Athabasca River eventually drains into the Arctic Ocean. River flow is highest during the summer and lowest during winter, and it is ice-covered from mid-November to mid-April.

Attawapiskat River, 748 km long, formed by the confluence of the Pineimuta, Trading and Otoskwin rivers at Attawapiskat Lake, in northeastern Ontario, flows east, jogs north and runs east to the flatland by James Bay. Its drainage area is 50 200 km2 and its mean discharge 626 m3/s.

Back River, 974 km long, rises in Contwoyto Lake, north of Great Slave Lake, NWT, and flows northeast across the Barren Lands of Nunavut to Chantrey Inlet, south of King William Island.

Named, perhaps, for the red granite stripes running through the bedrock near its source, the Bloodvein River begins in the vast wilderness of the Canadian Shield, 600 km northwest of Thunder Bay, Ont, and 500 km northeast of Winnipeg.

The Bonnet Plume River begins its journey in the Mackenzie Mountains on the Yukon and NWT border.

​The Bow River runs through the most populated region of Alberta, intersecting cities such as Banff, Canmore, Cochrane and Calgary.

Rivers are part of our lives and our heritage. They are the threads that bind the fabric of nature and humanity together.

Clearwater River, 280 km long, rises in Patterson, Forest and Lloyd lakes in northwest Saskatchewan, flows southeast to Careen Lake and abruptly turns west to join the ATHABASCA RIVER at Fort McMurray, Alberta.

The Columbia River runs from the southeast corner of British Columbia through Washington and Oregon states to the Pacific Ocean.

The Coppermine River, 845 km long, rises in the Barren Lands of the Northwest Territories in Lac de Gras and flows northwest through Point Lake to Coronation Gulf on the Arctic Ocean. The majority of its course lies in Nunavut.

Dean River, 241 km long, world-famous steelhead- and salmon-fishing stream, rises in the Fraser Plateau of west-central BC, flows northwest and west through the COAST MOUNTAINS and empties near the head of Dean Channel.

The Detroit River, 52 km long, flows south from Lake ST CLAIR to the west end of Lake ERIE, forming part of the boundary between Ontario and Michigan. Detroit, Michigan, and WINDSOR, Ontario, dominate its shores. Part of the ST LAWRENCE SEAWAY, it is heavily used by commercial traffic.

A drainage basin is an area of land that contributes the water it receives as precipitation to a river or network of rivers.

Dubawnt River, 842 km long, rises from a web of lakes in the Northwest Territories, 120 km northeast of Lake Athabasca, flows northeast, gathering the waters of Wholdaia, Boyd, Barlow, Nicholson, Dubawnt, Wharton and Marjorie lakes, and turns abruptly northwest to join the Thelon River at Beverly Lake. 

The Exploits River, 246 km long is the longest river on the Island of Newfoundland. Its tributaries, the Lloyds and Victoria rivers, rise in the southwest corner of the Island and flow northeast into Red Indian Lake (250 km2).