Red Deer River

Red Deer River
Red Deer River in Drumheller, Alberta
Location
Country	Canada
Physical characteristics
Source
• location	Sawback Range, Red Deer Lakes
• coordinates	51°31′55.96″N 116°02′31.24″W / 51.5322111°N 116.0420111°W / 51.5322111; -116.0420111 (Red Deer River origin)
• elevation	2,200 m (7,200 ft)
Mouth
• location	South Saskatchewan River near Empress
• coordinates	50°55′23.34″N 109°53′41.75″W / 50.9231500°N 109.8949306°W / 50.9231500; -109.8949306 (Red Deer River mouth)
• elevation	579 m (1,900 ft)
Length	724 km (450 mi)
Basin size	45,100 km2 (17,400 sq mi)
Discharge
• average	70 m3/s (2,500 cu ft/s)[1]

The Red Deer River is a river in Alberta and a small portion of Saskatchewan, Canada. It is a major tributary of the South Saskatchewan River and is part of the larger Saskatchewan / Nelson system that empties into Hudson Bay.^[2]

The river has a total length of 724 km (450 mi) and a drainage area of 45,100 km² (17,400 sq mi). Its mean discharge is 70 m³/s (2,500 cu ft/s).^[1]

The river is named for the translation of a native term for the river, wâwâskêsiw sîpiy, which means "elk river" in the Cree language.^[3] "Red deer" was an alternative name for elk, referring to a closely related Eurasian species.

Communities located along the Red Deer River include Sundre, Red Deer, Drumheller, and Empress, The city of Brooks, as well as Dinosaur Provincial Park, are also located in the Red Deer River Basin. A glacial flood about 18,000 years ago eroded out a portion of this basin and apparently all or most of the scenic badlands bearing the dinosaur and other Cretaceous fossils.

History[edit]

Joseph Tyrrell discovered a huge coal seam here in 1883, besides large dinosaur skeletons.^[4]

2013 Alberta flood[edit]

In June 2013, Alberta, Canada, experienced heavy rainfall that triggered catastrophic flooding throughout much of the southern half of the province along the Bow, Elbow, Highwood, Oldman, and Red Deer rivers and tributaries. Twenty-four municipalities declared local states of emergency as water levels rose and numerous communities were placed under evacuation orders.^[5] The Royal Canadian Mounted Police stated four people may have drowned near High River.^[6] Over 100,000 people in the region were displaced.^[7]

Course[edit]

The river originates on the eastern slopes of the Canadian Rockies, in the Sawback Range near the Skoki Valley inside Banff National Park, and then flows east through the mountains and foothills region. It turns north-east before Sundre and flows to an artificial reservoir named Gleniffer Lake, created in 1983 by the Dickson Dam and keeps this heading to the city of Red Deer, where it turns east, and then south before Stettler. It flows south with its valley protected by provincial and regional parks such as Tolman Badlands Heritage Rangeland, Dry Island Buffalo Jump Provincial Park, Dry Island Corridor and Midland Provincial Park. At Drumheller it has a south-east direction, and while it flows through Dinosaur Provincial Park it turns east and flows to the Alberta/Saskatchewan border, which it crosses at Empress. It flows for 16 km (9.9 mi) through Saskatchewan before it merges into the South Saskatchewan River.

Tributaries[edit]

Canadian Rockies and Rocky Mountain Foothills Red Deer Lakes Douglas Creek Douglas Lake, Donald Lake, Gwendolyn Lake Drummond Creek Skeleton (Horseshoe) Lake McConnell Creek Divide Creek Pipit Lake Snowflake Lake Tyrell Creek Scalp Creek Bighorn Creek Eagle Creek Wildhorse Creek Panther River Dormer River Wigwam Creek Yara Creek McCue Creek Logan Creek Bear Creek Burnt Timber Creek Bull Creek Vam Creek Brown Creek Williams Creek Helmer Creek Cartier Creek Coalcamp Creek

Central Alberta Nitchi Creek Fallentimber Creek Bearberry Creek Jackson Creek (Alberta)[8] James River Schrader Creek Eagle Creek Raven River North Raven River Little Red Deer River Medicine River Kenning Lake Sylvan Creek Piper Creek Blindman River Threehills Creek Kneehills Creek Rosebud River Bullpound Creek Berry Creek Blood Indian Creek Ghostpine Creek Pine Lake Waskasoo Creek Piper Creek Alkali Creek

The waters of Ewing Lake, Little Fish Lake also flow into the Red Deer River.^[9][10]

Fish species[edit]

Sport fish include: walleye, northern pike, sauger, lake whitefish, yellow perch, burbot, lake sturgeon, mountain whitefish, goldeye, brown trout, bull trout, rainbow trout, brook trout, and cutthroat trout.

Other fish include: emerald shiner, river shiner, spottail shiner, flathead chub, longnose dace, quillback (quillback carpsucker), longnose sucker, white sucker, shorthead redhorse, silver redhorse, perch, spoonhead sculpin, lake chub, northern pearl dace, northern redbelly dace, finescale dace, fathead minnow and brook stickleback.

Gallery[edit]

• 
  Flowing through the city of Red Deer
• 
  Through Dry Island Buffalo Jump Provincial Park
• 
  Star Mine Suspension Bridge in Rosedale
• 
  Red Deer River north of emerald shiner Jenner, Alberta^[11][12]

Environmental concerns[edit]

Pipeline leaks[edit]

The Red Deer River is the water source for the City of Red Deer and the surrounding area. Pipelines cross under the river and there have been leaks disrupting access to potable water.^[13] Increased water flow of the Red Deer River system during heavy rainfall in June 2008 eroded supporting soil, freely exposing a section of Pembina Pipeline Corporation's Cremona crude oil pipeline to the Red Deer River currents. About 75 to 125 barrels (11,900 to 19,900 L; 2,600 to 4,400 imp gal; 3,200 to 5,200 US gal) of crude oil flowed upstream from the break point under a Red Deer River channel, leaving an oily sheen on Gleniffer Reservoir and 6,800 kg (15,000 lb) of oil-soaked debris.^[14][15] The remediation was not completed until 2011.^[16]

Heavy rains in early June 2012 caused a similar but larger leak on a Plains Midstream Canada 46-year-old pipeline on a Red Deer River tributary, Jackson Creek, Alberta (51°52′19″N 114°36′23″W / 51.87194°N 114.60639°W / 51.87194; -114.60639 (Jackson Creek)^[17]) near Gleniffer Lake and Dickson Dam,^[18] which spilled approximately 1,000 and 3,000 barrels (160,000 and 480,000 L; 35,000 and 105,000 imp gal; 42,000 and 126,000 US gal) of light sour crude oil into the Red Deer River.^[16][19]

Climate[edit]

Red Deer[edit]

Red Deer has a humid continental climate (Köppen Dfb), with something of a semi-arid influence due to the city's location within Palliser's Triangle. The highest temperature ever recorded in Red Deer was 37.2 °C (99.0 °F) on 8 July 1906,^[20] 2 July 1924,^[21] and 28 & 29 June 1937.^[22] The lowest recorded temperature was −50.6 °C (−59.1 °F) on 17 December 1924.^[23] The city lies in the 4a plant hardiness zone.^[24] Summers are typically warm and rainy with cool nights. Winters are typically long, cold, and very dry.

Empress[edit]

Empress is located in the steppe region known as Palliser's Triangle and experiences a semi-arid climate (Köppen climate classification BSk). Winters are long, cold and dry, while summers are short, but with average daytime highs that are warm to hot, though nighttime lows are cool. Spring and autumn are quite short, essentially transition periods between winter and summer. Wide diurnal temperature ranges are regular, due to the aridity and moderately high elevation. Low humidity is prevalent throughout the year. Annual precipitation is very low, with an average of 311.6 mm (12.27 in), and is heavily concentrated in the warmer months. On average, the coldest month is January, with a mean temperature of −12 °C (10 °F), while the warmest is July, with a mean temperature of 19.8 °C (67.6 °F). The driest month is February, with an average of 8.6 mm (0.34 in) of precipitation, while the wettest is June, with an average of 68.9 mm (2.71 in).^[27]

See also[edit]

• List of crossings of the Red Deer River
• List of longest rivers of Canada
• List of rivers of Alberta
• List of rivers of Saskatchewan
• Glacial Lake Bassano

References[edit]