Battle Creek (Milk River tributary)

Last updated

Battle Creek
Wpdms nasa topo milk river.jpg
The Milk River shown highlighted
USA Montana relief location map.jpg
Red pog.svg
Location of mouth in Montana
North America laea relief location map with borders.jpg
Red pog.svg
Battle Creek (Milk River tributary) (North America)
Location
Countries United States and Canada
State Montana
Province
Physical characteristics
Source Cypress Hills
  location 49°37′44″N110°13′14″W / 49.62889°N 110.22056°W / 49.62889; -110.22056
Mouth Milk River
  location
Blaine County, Montana
  coordinates
48°34′39″N109°06′26″W / 48.57750°N 109.10722°W / 48.57750; -109.10722
Length203 km (126 mi)
Basin size2,600 km2 (1,000 sq mi)
Basin features
River system Missouri River

Battle Creek [1] is a river that begins in the south-eastern region of the Canadian province of Alberta, near the border with Saskatchewan, in the Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park. From Alberta, Battle Creek flows east and across the border into Saskatchewan. It flows south out of Saskatchewan across the Canada–United States border into Montana, where it joins the Milk River in Blaine County, Montana.

Contents

Description

Battle Creek begins in the Cypress Hills and Palliser's Triangle region of Alberta, is 203 kilometres (126 mi) long, has a drainage area of 2,600 square kilometres (1,000 sq mi), and flows through Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Montana en route to its mouth at the Milk River. The landscape it runs though is semi-arid with rolling hills, deep-cut valleys, coulees, badlands, and grasslands. Due to the semi-arid climate, the area is prone to drought so several dams and irrigation projects have been built in its watershed. In the 1930s, two notable dam projects were built to help regulate the river's water levels. Near the headwaters of Battle Creek, a dam was built along Adams Creek – a tributary of Battle Creek – that created Adams Lake ( 49°39′30″N109°50′44″W / 49.6582°N 109.8455°W / 49.6582; -109.8455 ). During the dry months, water can be released from Adams Lake to help prevent Battle Creek from dying up, which allows for irrigation throughout the growing season. Another project involved the building of two dams that created Cypress Lake. Cypress Lake, while not along the course of Battle Creek, is supplied by Battle Creek plus other nearby creeks. Cypress Lake is an interbasin transfer reservoir as it is the source of the Frenchman River and can re-supply Battle Creek during dry years. [2]

Battle Creek and the other tributaries of the Milk River watershed in Alberta and Saskatchewan, is one of only three watersheds in Canada where the water ultimately flows into the Gulf of Mexico. The other two watersheds are Poplar River and Big Muddy Creek.

Near the community of Nashlyn in Saskatchewan, Battle Creek flows through a portion of the Govenlock-Nashlyn-Battle Creek Grasslands Important Bird Area (IBA) of Canada. [3]

Fort Walsh was established on the river on the Saskatchewan side of Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park.

Fish species

Fish species commonly found in the river include northern pike, rainbow trout, brook trout, brown trout, burbot, common carp, white sucker, and shorthead redhorse. The Battle Creek, along with Lake Diefenbaker, are the only two bodies of water in Saskatchewan that support a reproducing population of rainbow trout. [4] There is concern that Asian carp, particularly silver carp, may spread up the river and to the other south flowing rivers that drain into the Milk River, such as the Frenchman River.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Milk River (Alberta–Montana)</span> River in Alberta, Canada and Montana, United States

Milk River is a tributary of the Missouri River, 729 miles (1,173 km) long, in the U.S. state of Montana and the Canadian province of Alberta. Rising in the Rocky Mountains, the river drains a sparsely populated, semi-arid watershed of 23,800 square miles (62,000 km2), ending just east of Fort Peck, Montana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saskatchewan River</span> River in western Canada

The Saskatchewan River is a major river in Canada. It stretches about 550 kilometres (340 mi) from where it is formed by the joining together of the North Saskatchewan River and South Saskatchewan River just east of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, to Lake Winnipeg. It flows roughly eastward across Saskatchewan and Manitoba to empty into Lake Winnipeg. Through its tributaries the North Saskatchewan and South Saskatchewan, its watershed encompasses much of the prairie regions of Canada, stretching westward to the Rocky Mountains in Alberta and north-western Montana in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Saskatchewan River</span> River in Western Canada

The South Saskatchewan River is a major river in the Canadian provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan. The river begins at the confluence of the Bow and Oldman Rivers in southern Alberta and ends at the Saskatchewan River Forks in central Saskatchewan. The Saskatchewan River Forks is the confluence of the South and North Saskatchewan Rivers and is the beginning of the Saskatchewan River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Mary River (Alberta–Montana)</span> River in Montana, United States and Canada

The Saint Mary River is a cross-border tributary of the Oldman River, itself a tributary of the South Saskatchewan River. The Saint Mary together with the Belly River and Waterton River drains a small portion of Montana, in the United States, to the Hudson Bay watershed in Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cypress Hills (Canada)</span> Hills in Alberta and Saskatchewan, Canada

The Cypress Hills are a geographical region of hills in southwestern Saskatchewan and southeastern Alberta, Canada. The hills are part of the Missouri Coteau upland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oldman River</span> River in Alberta, Canada

The Oldman River is a river in southern Alberta, Canada. It flows roughly west to east from the Rocky Mountains, through the communities of Fort Macleod, Lethbridge, and on to Grassy Lake, where it joins the Bow River to form the South Saskatchewan River, which eventually drains into the Hudson Bay.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park</span> Park in Alberta and Saskatchewan, Canada

Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park is a natural park in Canada straddling the Alberta / Saskatchewan boundary and jointly administered by the two provinces. Located south-east of Medicine Hat in the Cypress Hills, it became Canada's first interprovincial park in 1989.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southern Alberta</span> Region of Alberta, Canada (est. 1905)

Southern Alberta is a region located in the Canadian province of Alberta. In 2016, the region's population was approximately 291,112. The primary cities are Lethbridge and Medicine Hat. The region is known mostly for agricultural production, but other sectors, such as alternative energy, film production and tourism, are emerging.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manitou Lake (Saskatchewan)</span> Salt lake in Saskatchewan, Canada

Manitou Lake is a salt lake located mostly in the RM of Manitou Lake No. 422 in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan, about 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) east of the provincial border with Alberta. The eastern shore of the lake is in the RM of Hillsdale No. 440. Manitou Lake is located in a region called the Prairie Pothole Region of North America, which extends throughout three Canadian provinces and five U.S. states. It is also within Palliser's Triangle and the Great Plains ecoregion. Manitou Lake is part of an Important Bird Area (IBA) of Canada that covers 699.66 km2 (270.14 sq mi) of land and serval neighbouring lakes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rural Municipality of Reno No. 51</span> Rural municipality in Saskatchewan, Canada

The Rural Municipality of Reno No. 51 is a rural municipality (RM) in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan within Census Division No. 4 and SARM Division No. 3. Located in the southwest corner of the province, it is adjacent to the United States border to the south and the Alberta boundary to the west.

Carmichael is a special service area within the Rural Municipality of Carmichael No. 109, Saskatchewan, Canada that held village status prior to 2019. The population was 58 at the 2016 Census. Carmichael lies 1 km (1 mi) south of Highway 1 commonly known as the Trans Canada Highway, approximately 158 km (98 mi) east of city of Medicine Hat, Alberta.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Torch River (Saskatchewan)</span> River in Saskatchewan, Canada

Torch River is a river in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The river's source is the dam at Candle Lake, near Candle Lake Provincial Park, and it travels east through boreal forest and muskeg en route to its mouth in the Saskatchewan River Delta. Torch River Provincial Forest, a conservation area, is located along the course of the river, near where White Fox River flows into Torch River. Torch River is a significant tributary of the Saskatchewan River and it is part of the Hudson Bay drainage basin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frenchman River</span> River in Saskatchewan and Montana

The Frenchman River,, also known locally as the Whitemud River, is a river in Saskatchewan, Canada and Montana, United States. It is a tributary of the Milk River, itself a tributary of the Missouri and in turn a part of the Mississippi River watershed that flows to the Gulf of Mexico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thunder Creek (Saskatchewan)</span> River in Saskatchewan, Canada

Thunder Creek is a river in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The watershed of Thunder Creek is within the semi-arid Palliser's Triangle in south-central Saskatchewan. It begins at small, man-made reservoir near Lake Diefenbaker and flows in a south-easterly direction towards the city of Moose Jaw and the Moose Jaw River. The Moose Jaw River is a major tributary of the Qu'Appelle River For most of its course, Thunder Creek follows a valley called the Thunder Creek meltwater channel that was formed over 10,000 years ago near the end of the last ice age.

Wood River is a river in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It has its source in the Wood Mountain Hills of south-western Saskatchewan and flows in a north-easterly direction to its mouth at Old Wives Lake. Old Wives Lake is a salt water lake with no outflow. As a result, the drainage basin of Wood River is an endorheic one. Along the course of the river, there are several parks, historical sites, and small towns.

Wood Mountain Hills are a hilly plateau in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The hills are located in the southern part of the province and are part of the Missouri Coteau, which is part of the Laurentian Divide between the watersheds of the Hudson Bay drainage basin of the Arctic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico of the Atlantic Ocean. The hills are in a semi-arid region known as Palliser's Triangle in the Great Plains ecoregion of North America.

Cypress Lake is an interbasin transfer reservoir in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan on the southern slopes of the Cypress Hills in the Rural Municipality of Reno No. 51. The reservoir was created by the damming of the east and west sides of a much smaller Cypress Lake in the late 1930s. There is a provincial recreation site on the southern shore and a wildlife refuge on Heglund Island in the lake. Access to the lake is from Township Road 60 off of Highway 21.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bigstick Lake</span> Lake in Saskatchewan, Canada

Bigstick Lake is a shallow endorheic alkali lake in the south-west region of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The lake was named after the Big Stick Trail that ran between the town of Maple Creek and the South Saskatchewan River. The trail was notable for a large, solitary tree along its route. The lake and its drainage basin are in a semi-arid region known as Palliser's Triangle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maple Creek (Saskatchewan)</span> River in Saskatchewan, Canada

Maple Creek is a river in the south-west region of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The river is in the semi-arid region known as Palliser's Triangle. It begins in the Cypress Hills and flows generally in a northward direction and empties into the endorheic Bigstick Lake. The town of Maple Creek is the only notable community along the course of the river. Due to the generally dry and drought-prone conditions of the area, reservoirs were built along the river's course and in its watershed to ensure a stable water supply for irrigation. Two Important Bird Areas (IBA) of Canada cover much of the lower watershed of the river.

Eyehill Creek is a river in the Canadian provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan. The river begins at Sounding Lake in Alberta and flows east and north into Manitou Lake in Saskatchewan. Eyehill Creek is the primary inflow for Manitou Lake, which has no outflow. The Manitou Lake watershed is a large endorheic basin between the Battle River watershed to the north and the South Saskatchewan River watershed to the south.

References

  1. "Battle Creek". Canadian Geographical Names Database. Government of Canada. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
  2. "Adams and Cypress Lake Reservoirs". Consul Museum. Consul Museum. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
  3. "Govenlock-Nashlyn-Battle Creek Grasslands". IBA Canada. Birds Canada. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
  4. "Fishing on the fly in southwest Saskatchewan". Tourism Saskatchewan. Government of Saskatchewan. 23 May 2019. Retrieved 9 February 2023.