Hay River is a large river in northern 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 southern Northwest Territories

Northwest Territories

The Northwest Territories is a federal territory of Canada.Located in northern Canada, the territory borders Canada's two other territories, Yukon to the west and Nunavut to the east, and three provinces: British Columbia to the southwest, and Alberta and Saskatchewan to the south...

, 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...

.

It originates in the muskeg

Muskeg

Muskeg is an acidic soil type common in Arctic and boreal areas, although it is found in other northern climates as well. Muskeg is approximately synonymous with bogland but muskeg is the standard term in Western Canada and Alaska, while 'bog' is common elsewhere. The term is of Cree origin, maskek...

 of north western Alberta, flows west to British Columbia

British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

, then returns to Alberta, where it follows a northern course towards the Northwest Territories, where it discharges in the Great Slave Lake

Great Slave Lake

Great Slave Lake is the second-largest lake in the Northwest Territories of Canada , the deepest lake in North America at , and the ninth-largest lake in the world. It is long and wide. It covers an area of in the southern part of the territory. Its given volume ranges from to and up to ...

. From there its waters are carried to the Arctic Ocean

Arctic Ocean

The Arctic Ocean, located in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Arctic north polar region, is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five major oceanic divisions...

 by the Mackenzie River

Mackenzie River

The Mackenzie River is the largest river system in Canada. It flows through a vast, isolated region of forest and tundra entirely within the country's Northwest Territories, although its many tributaries reach into four other Canadian provinces and territories...

.

Hay River has a total length of 702 km and a drainage area of 48,200 km².

Tributaries of the Hay River are the Chinchaga River

Chinchaga River

Chinchaga is a river in north-western Alberta. It is a tributary of the Hay River.Through the Hay River, its waters are carried to the Arctic Ocean via Great Slave Lake and Mackenzie River.The name Chincaga is native, and means "Big Wood River".- Course :...

, Meader River, Steen River, Melvin River and Little Hay River. Zama Lake

Zama Lake

Zama Lake is a large lake in the Mackenzie County, in north-western Alberta, Canada.It is located approximately west of High Level, at the confluence of Zama River and Hay River. The lake covers and forms an intricate river, lakes and wetland system. The Hay-Zama Lakes complex is a Ramsar site...

 and Hay Lake are also located in the Hay River basin. Rainbow Lake

Rainbow Lake, Alberta

Rainbow Lake is a small town in northern Alberta, Canada. It is located west of High Level at the end of Highway 58, in MacKenzie County.The town carries the name of the nearby lake, formed on the Hay River, that was so called due to its curved shape....

 is formed along the river itself.

Communities along the Hay River basin include Rainbow Lake

Rainbow Lake, Alberta

Rainbow Lake is a small town in northern Alberta, Canada. It is located west of High Level at the end of Highway 58, in MacKenzie County.The town carries the name of the nearby lake, formed on the Hay River, that was so called due to its curved shape....

, Meander River

Meander River, Alberta

Meander River, is a settlement in Upper Hay River 212, a part of the Dene Tha' Band, in Northern Alberta. It serves as a transportation service center between Alberta and the Northwest Territories.-Geography:...

, Steen River

Steen River, Alberta

Steen River is a settlement in northern Alberta within Mackenzie County, located on Highway 35, north of High Level....

, Indian Cabins

Indian Cabins, Alberta

Indian Cabins is an unincorporated community in northern Alberta in Mackenzie County, located on Highway 35, north of High Level....

 in Alberta and Enterprise

Enterprise, Northwest Territories

Enterprise is a hamlet in the South Slave Region of the Northwest Territories, Canada, located between Great Slave Lake and the Alberta border on the Hay River....

 and the homonymous Hay River

Hay River, Northwest Territories

Hay River , known as "the Hub of the North," is a town in the Northwest Territories, Canada, located on the south shore of Great Slave Lake, at the mouth of the Hay River. The town is separated into two sections, a new town and an old town with the Hay River Airport between them...

 in the Northwest Territories.

At the Alberta/Northwest Territories border, the annual discharge is 3,630,000 dam³.

Tributaries

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...

• Rainbow Lake
  Rainbow Lake, Alberta
  Rainbow Lake is a small town in northern Alberta, Canada. It is located west of High Level at the end of Highway 58, in MacKenzie County.The town carries the name of the nearby lake, formed on the Hay River, that was so called due to its curved shape....
  
  

British Columbia

British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

• Little Buffalo River
  • Bivouac Creek
• Kotcho River

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...

• • Shekilie River
  • White Spruce Creek
  • Sahcho Creek
  • Townsoitoi Creek
• Little Hay River
  • Fire Creek
• Zama Lake
  Zama Lake
  Zama Lake is a large lake in the Mackenzie County, in north-western Alberta, Canada.It is located approximately west of High Level, at the confluence of Zama River and Hay River. The lake covers and forms an intricate river, lakes and wetland system. The Hay-Zama Lakes complex is a Ramsar site...
  
  
  • Sousa Creek
  • Moody Creek
  • Zama River
  • Omega River
  • Amber River
  • Mega River
  • Vardie River
• Adair Creek
• Chinchaga River
  Chinchaga River
  Chinchaga is a river in north-western Alberta. It is a tributary of the Hay River.Through the Hay River, its waters are carried to the Arctic Ocean via Great Slave Lake and Mackenzie River.The name Chincaga is native, and means "Big Wood River".- Course :...
  
  
• Negus Creek
• Henderson Creek
• Meander River
  Meander River, Alberta
  Meander River, is a settlement in Upper Hay River 212, a part of the Dene Tha' Band, in Northern Alberta. It serves as a transportation service center between Alberta and the Northwest Territories.-Geography:...
  
  
• Adair Creek
• Melvin River
• Slavey Creek
• Roe River
• Lutose Creek
• Little Rapids Creek
• Steen River
• Dizzy Creek
• James Creek
  • Lessard Creek
• Jackpot Creek

Northwest Territories

Northwest Territories

The Northwest Territories is a federal territory of Canada.Located in northern Canada, the territory borders Canada's two other territories, Yukon to the west and Nunavut to the east, and three provinces: British Columbia to the southwest, and Alberta and Saskatchewan to the south...

• Swan Lake
• Goose Egg Lakes
• Swede Creek
• Twin Falls Creek