Beaver River is a large river in east-central Alberta

Alberta

Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...

 and central Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

.

Beaver River has a catchment area of 14,500 km² in Alberta, where it drains the lake system in Lac La Biche County. The total length is 491 km.

It was first documented on the Turnor map of 1790, and then confirmed on the Harmon map of 1820.

Course

Beaver River originates in Beaver Lake (Alberta)

Beaver Lake (Alberta)

Beaver Lake is a lake in Alberta, Canada. It is located just southeast of the hamlet of Lac La Biche, Alberta. It is the source of Beaver River ....

, south of Lac la Biche and the Northern Woods and Water Route

Northern Woods and Water Route

The Northern Woods and Water Route is a route through northern British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. As early as the 1950s community groups came together to establish a northern travel route; this was proposed as the Northern Yellowhead Transportation Route...

. It flows south and then turns east and flows toward the Alberta/Saskatchewan border, which it crosses south of Cold Lake

Cold Lake, Alberta

Cold Lake is a city in northeastern Alberta, Canada, named after the lake it is situated near.-Geography:The city is situated in Alberta's "Lakeland" district, 300 km northeast of Edmonton, near the Alberta-Saskatchewan provincial border. The area surrounding the city is sparsely populated,...

. At this point, the Beaver river has an average annual discharge of 653,000,000 m³. It continues east in Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....

 on to the village of Green Lake

Green Lake, Saskatchewan

Green Lake is a village in Saskatchewan, Canada. Its residents are predominantly Métis people.Green Lake is located northeast of Meadow Lake, and northwest of Big River...

, where it turns north and flows toward the Lac Île-à-la-Crosse in the Churchill Lake

Churchill Lake

Churchill Lake is a glacial lake of Saskatchewan, Canada. It lies east of Peter Pond Lake, near the village of Buffalo Narrows in northwestern Saskatchewan...

 system. From here, its waters are carried to the Hudson Bay

Hudson Bay

Hudson Bay , sometimes called Hudson's Bay, is a large body of saltwater in northeastern Canada. It drains a very large area, about , that includes parts of Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan, Alberta, most of Manitoba, southeastern Nunavut, as well as parts of North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota,...

 by the Churchill River

Churchill River (Hudson Bay)

The Churchill River is a major river in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, Canada. From the head of the Churchill Lake it is 1,609 km long. It was named after John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough and governor of the Hudson's Bay Company from 1685 to 1691...

. Both George Simpson

George Simpson (administrator)

Sir George Simpson was a Scots-Quebecer and employee of the Hudson's Bay Company . His title was Governor-in-Chief of Rupert's Land and administrator over the Northwest Territories and Columbia Department in British North America from 1821 to 1860.-Early years:George Simpson was born in Dingwall,...

 and David Thompson

David Thompson (explorer)

David Thompson was an English-Canadian fur trader, surveyor, and map-maker, known to some native peoples as "Koo-Koo-Sint" or "the Stargazer"...

 used this route. They left the main Methye Portage

Methye Portage

The Methye Portage or Portage La Loche in northwestern Saskatchewan was one of the most important portages in the old fur-trade route across Canada. It connected the Mackenzie River basin to rivers that ran east to the Atlantic. It was reached by Peter Pond in 1778 and abandoned in 1883 when...

 route at Lac Île-à-la-Crosse and went up the Beaver and over a bad divide to Lac la Biche and down the La Biche River to the Athabasca River

Athabasca River

The Athabasca River originates from the Columbia Glacier of the Columbia Icefield in Jasper National Park in Alberta, Canada...

. The river was too shallow and meandering to serve as a trade route.

Tributaries

• Amisk River
  Amisk River
  The Amisk River is a short river in east-central Alberta. The Amisk River forms at Amisk Lake and travels in a south-east direction, flowing through the Buffalo Lake and Kikino Metis settlements before being bridged by Alberta Highway 36. It joins the Beaver River near Alberta Secondary Highway...
  
  
• Fork Creek
• Columbine Creek
• Mooselake River
  • Thinlake River
• Sand River
  Sand River (Alberta)
  Sand River is a river in Alberta, Canada. It is a major tributary of the Beaver River.-Course:The river originates in a system of lakes in northern Alberta, between Winefred Lake and Cold Lake and at an elevation of . From there it flows generally towards the south and west...
  
  
  • Wolf River
• Manatokan Creek
• Jackfish Creek
• Marie Creek
• Muriel Creek
• Reita Creek
• Redspring Creek
• Makwa River
• Meadow River
• Waterhen River

Conservation and Development

Beaver River flows through a predominantly flat area with rolling and undulating hills, and many lakes are drained through meander

Meander

A meander in general is a bend in a sinuous watercourse. A meander is formed when the moving water in a stream erodes the outer banks and widens its valley. A stream of any volume may assume a meandering course, alternately eroding sediments from the outside of a bend and depositing them on the...

ing streams into the river (among the larger ones are Lac La Biche

Lac La Biche

Lac la Biche is a large lake in north-central Alberta, Canada. It is located along the Northern Woods and Water Route, 95 km east of Athabasca.Lac la Biche has a total area of , including islands area...

, Pinehurst Lake

Pinehurst Lake

Pinehurst Lake is a lake in Northeastern Alberta. Located northeast of Edmonton, in the Lakeland Provincial Recreation Area just east of the Lakeland Provincial Park, it is a popular destination for anglers and hunters alike....

, Cold Lake (Alberta)

Cold Lake (Alberta)

Cold Lake is a large lake in Northern Alberta and Saskatchewan, Canada. The lake straddles the Alberta/Saskatchewan border, and has a water area of . It is also one of the deepest lakes in Alberta with a maximum depth of . It has around 24 known species of fish in it and is a major ice fishing lake...

 and Primrose Lake

Primrose Lake

Primrose Lake is a large lake in Saskatchewan and Alberta, Canada. The lake straddles the Alberta/Saskatchewan border, with most of the water surface in Saskatchewan. It is close to the better known Cold Lake, Alberta....

.

Lakeland Provincial Park

Lakeland Provincial Park

Lakeland Provincial Park and Lakeland Provincial Recreation Area are located east of Lac La Biche, Alberta, Canada, in Lac La Biche County....

, Moose Lake Provincial Park

Moose Lake Provincial Park

Moose Lake Provincial Park is a provincial park in northern Alberta, Canada, located west of Bonnyville.The park is situated around Moose Lake, at an elevation of and has a surface of...

 and Cold Lake Provincial Park

Cold Lake Provincial Park

Cold Lake Provincial Park is a provincial park in north eastern Alberta, Canada.It is located 3km east of the city of Cold Lake, on Highway 28, and extends to the Saskatchewan border....

 all lie in the river basin on the Alberta side, while the Meadow Lake Provincial Park

Meadow Lake Provincial Park

Meadow Lake Provincial Park is a northern boreal forest recreational park accessed centrally through Goodsoil. The village of Goodsoil is located approximately 78 km west of Meadow Lake. The eastern entrance to the park is located north of Dorintosh. The western gateway into the Meadow...

 protects a large area in Saskatchewan.

The Cold Lake Area Weapons Range occupies much of the northern area of the river basin.

Fish Species

The fish

Fish

Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...

 species include walleye

Walleye

Walleye is a freshwater perciform fish native to most of Canada and to the northern United States. It is a North American close relative of the European pikeperch...

, sauger

Sauger

The sauger is a freshwater perciform fish of the family Percidae which resembles its close relative the walleye. They are members of the largest vertebrate order, Perciforms. They are the most migratory percid species in North America. Saugers obtain two dorsal fins, the first is spiny and the...

, yellow perch

Yellow perch

The yellow perch is a species of perch found in the United States and Canada, where it is often referred to by the shortform perch. Yellow perch look similar to the European perch, but are paler and more yellowish, with less red in the fins. They have six to eight dark, vertical bars on their sides...

, northern pike

Northern Pike

The northern pike , is a species of carnivorous fish of the genus Esox...

, lake trout

Lake trout

Lake trout is a freshwater char living mainly in lakes in northern North America. Other names for it include mackinaw, lake char , touladi, togue, and grey trout. In Lake Superior, they can also be variously known as siscowet, paperbellies and leans...

, lake whitefish

Lake whitefish

The lake whitefish , also called the Sault whitefish or gizzard fish, is a species of freshwater whitefish from North America. Lake whitefish are found throughout much of Canada and parts of the northern United States, including all of the Great Lakes. A valuable commercial fish, they are also...

, cisco

Cisco (fish)

The ciscoes are salmonid fish of the genus Coregonus that differ from other members of the genus in having upper and lower jaws of approximately equal length and high gillraker counts...

, white sucker

White Sucker

The White Sucker is a bottom-feeding freshwater fish inhabiting North America from Labrador in the north to Georgia and New Mexico in the south. It is a long, round-bodied fish with a dark green, grey, copper, brown, or black back and sides and a light underbelly. When fullgrown, it is between 12...

, longnose sucker

Longnose sucker

The longnose sucker, Catostomus catostomus, is a freshwater species of fish inhabiting cold, clear waters in North America from northern USA to the top of the continent. In addition, it is one of two species of sucker to inhabit Asia, specifically the rivers of eastern Siberia...

 and burbot

Burbot

The burbot is the only gadiform fish inhabiting freshwaters. It is also known as mariah, the lawyer, and eelpout. It is closely related to the marine common ling and the cusk...

.