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18-764: The Puskwaskau River is a short river in Northern Alberta , Canada . It is a tributary of the Smoky River flowing westwards in the Peace River Country . Its waters flow through the Smoky River, Peace River , Slave River , Great Slave Lake and Mackenzie River into the Arctic Ocean . The name of the river originates from the Cree word for short grass . The Puskwaskau Formation ,

36-484: A 150 meters (490 ft) deep canyon before it empties in the Smoky River , west of Teepee Creek , at an elevation of 440 meters (1,440 ft), 40 kilometers (25 mi) west of its origin. Northern Alberta Northern Alberta is a geographic region located in the Canadian province of Alberta . An informally defined cultural region, the boundaries of Northern Alberta are not fixed. Under some schemes,

54-579: A river port on Great Slave Lake, cargo shipment on the Slave River was an important transport route. Locally built wooden vessels were navigating the river into the late 19th century. The rapids required a portage of 26 kilometres (16 mi). Tractors were imported from Germany to assist in the transport of goods around the rapids. Tugs and barges of the Northern Transportation Company 's "Radium Line" were constructed in

72-592: A sanctuary to the birds and are closed to human traffic from April 15 to September 15. Crossing the Slave River has proven to be fatal; the earliest recorded fatalities as a part of Cuthbert Grant's expedition of 1786 at the Rapids of the Drowned (a class II-IV rapid set). The Slave River originates in the Peace-Athabasca Delta , at the forks of Peace River and Rivière des Rochers , which drains

90-407: A singular gray fox ( Urocyon cinereoargenteus ) was recorded close to Lake Athabasca , and multiple vagrant birds including northern cardinals ( Cardinalis cardinalis ), wandering tattlers ( Tringa incana ), and northern wheatears ( Oenanthe oenanthe) . Alberta also has reports of wild boars ( Sus scrofa ) coming into the province. Highway 43 and Highway 2 pass through the southwest of

108-626: A stratigraphical unit of the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin , was named for the river. The river originates from the Puskwaskau Lake in the Sturgeon Heights, at an elevation of 715 meters (2,346 ft), north-west from Valleyview . It flows north-west and receives the waters of Little Puskwaskau River before being crossed by Highway 676 . It continues flowing in a western direction through

126-865: Is Canada's largest protected area. Other tourist attractions in Northern Alberta include the Fort McMurray Historical Society-Heritage Park, Historic Dunvegan , Kimiwan Birdwalk and Interpretive Centre, Lesser Slave Lake Bird Observatory in the Lesser Slave Lake Provincial Park , Muskoseepi Park , Kakwa Wildland Provincial Park , Willmore Wilderness Park and the Oil Sands Discovery Centre. Northern Alberta contains several diamond bearing diatremes associated with kimberlite fields, including

144-774: Is controlled by Alberta Health Services . On a provincial level, Northern Alberta is represented in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta by Members of the Legislative Assembly elected in the ridings of Athabasca-Redwater , Barrhead-Morinville-Westlock , Bonnyville-Cold Lake , Dunvegan-Central Peace , Fort McMurray-Conklin , Fort McMurray-Wood Buffalo , Grande Prairie Smoky , Grande Prairie Wapiti , Lac La Biche-St. Paul , Lesser Slave Lake , and Peace River . 57°N 115°W  /  57°N 115°W  / 57; -115 Slave River The Slave River and

162-733: The Athabasca River and Lake Athabasca . The Slave River flows north into the Northwest Territories and into the Great Slave Lake north of Fort Resolution . From there the water reaches the Arctic Ocean through the Mackenzie River . The river is 434 kilometres (270 mi) long and has a cumulative drainage area of 616,400 square kilometres (238,000 sq mi). Prior to the extension of railway service to Hay River, Northwest Territories ,

180-508: The Athabasca oil sands and Wabasca area in the east of the region. Natural gas is extracted in Peace region and Chinchaga - Rainbow areas in the west, and forestry and logging are also developed in the boreal forests of this region. As of 2023, the region had a population of approximately 374,572. Various definitions exist of Northern Alberta's boundaries. The definition used by

198-878: The Buffalo Head Hills and Birch Mountains kimberlite fields which in turn form the Northern Alberta kimberlite province . Animals of Northern Alberta include the Mackenzie Valley gray wolf ( Canis lupus occidentalis ), British Columbian red fox ( Vulpes vulpes abietorum ), fishers ( Pekania pennanti ), American black bear ( Ursus americanus ), northwestern moose ( Alces alces anderson i), white-tailed deer ( Odocoileus virginianus ), wood bison ( Bison bison athabascae ), groundhogs ( Marmota monax canadensis ), northern coyotes ( Canis latrans incolatus ), wolverines ( Gulo gulo ), and mountain lions ( Puma concolor ). Multiple elusive and out-of-range animals have been reported in this region, including

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216-478: The Slave River that ultimately drains into the Arctic Ocean via Great Slave Lake and the Mackenzie River within the Northwest Territories . Other major rivers are Wapiti , Smoky , Hay , Chinchaga , Petitot Rivers in the west, Wabasca River in the centre and Firebag , Beaver and Clearwater River in the east. Alberta's two largest waterbodies, Lake Athabasca and Lake Claire are located in

234-666: The rapids surrounding Fort Smith are known for whitewater kayaking . The river consists of four sets of named rapids: Pelican, Rapids of the Drowned, Mountain Portage, and Cassette. The rapids range in their difficulty to traverse, ranked from Class I to Class VI according to the International Scale of River Difficulty . Huge volume, massive waves, and the home of the northernmost river pelican colony in North America characterize this river. These islands serve as

252-496: The wetlands of northeastern Alberta , forming the Peace-Athabasca Delta , that drains through the Slave River towards the Arctic Ocean . The Caribou Mountains are an elevated plateau in the relatively flat Albertan north which provide core habitat for an endangered woodland caribou herd. This area is conserved by the Caribou Mountains Wildland Park . The adjacent Wood Buffalo National Park

270-555: The Northern Alberta Development Council, an agency of the provincial government, includes the communities of Whitecourt , Athabasca , Saddle Lake , St. Paul , and Cold Lake , while excluding Hinton , Edson , Mayerthorpe , and Westlock . This definition is also used by the University of Alberta to define eligibility for northern research grants. The region consists of aspen parkland in

288-594: The region encompasses everything north of the centre of the Calgary–Edmonton Corridor , including most of the province's landmass as well as its capital, Edmonton . Other schemes place Edmonton and its surrounding farmland in Central Alberta , limiting Northern Alberta to the northern half of the province, where forestry , oil, and gas are the dominant industries. Its primary industry is oil and gas , with large heavy oil reserves being exploited at

306-633: The region, this being the end of the CANAMEX corridor. Other important routes are the Mackenzie Highway and Bicentennial Highway in the northwest, the Northern Woods and Water Route in the southeast and Highway 63 in the east. Grande Prairie Airport , Peace River Airport , Fort Vermilion (Wop May Memorial) International Airport and Fort McMurray Airport are regional air transportation hubs. Northern Alberta's health region

324-530: The south, grading to boreal forest and muskeg in the north. The southwest of the region is part of the Peace Country , an area that stretches into northeastern British Columbia consisting of fertile prairie , ranchland , and farmland along the Peace River and its tributaries. Northern Alberta is crossed by the Peace River and the Athabasca River , both of which eventually convene to form

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