Dragline Channel | |
---|---|
Location | Northern Saskatchewan Administration District |
Coordinates | 53°49′38″N102°55′19″W / 53.8273°N 102.9219°W |
Type | Channel |
Part of | Saskatchewan River Delta |
Primary inflows | Old Saskatchewan River Channel |
Primary outflows | Cut Beaver River |
Basin countries | Canada |
Managing agency | Ducks Unlimited Canada |
Built | 1930s |
Settlements | None |
Dragline Channel [1] is a man-made channel in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. Originally built by the Hudson's Bay Company in the 1930s, it connects the Old Saskatchewan River Channel to Cut Beaver River [2] at the western end of the Cumberland Marshes. [3] Cut Beaver is a tributary of the Birch River, which in turn is a tributary of the Carrot River. The Dragline Channel connects the Saskatchewan River to the Carrot River watershed. The Carrot River joins the Saskatchewan River downstream, just west of The Pas in Manitoba. [4]
In the 1930s, the Hudson's Bay Company leased 130,000 hectares (320,000 acres) from the Saskatchewan government in the Cumberland Marshes. The Cumberland Marshes, also known as the Saskatchewan River Delta, is one of the largest inland deltas in North America. [5] The lease was bounded by the Dragline Channel on the west, Old Saskatchewan River Channel on the north, Birch River [6] on the south, and the Manitoba border on the east. The channel was constructed as part of a greater project by the Hudson's Bay Company to control water levels in the marsh to increase wildlife, specifically the muskrat for the fur trade. The project involved the building of a dam on the Birch River (downstream from Cut Beaver River), the building of Dragline Channel to supply the water, and a series of ditches and small water control structures within the system to distribute the water.
In 1960, with the fur trade no longer economically viable enough to justify the upkeep and the needed upgrades to the system, the Hudson's Bay Company gave Ducks Unlimited Canada a 15-year lease over the land. The first thing Ducks Unlimited did was build a major control structure farther downstream on the Birch River, which greatly increased the stored water volume. Ducks Unlimited then built a structure on Dragline Channel to regulate water flows. In 1975, when the 15-year lease expired, the Hudson's Bay Company surrendered the lease rights to Ducks Unlimited, at which point Ducks Unlimited entered into an agreement with the province of Saskatchewan to maintain the land. [7]
Dragline Channel Recreation Site ( 53°50′00″N102°56′37″W / 53.8332°N 102.9437°W ) [8] is a 30-hectare (74-acre) provincial recreation site at the spot where Dragline Channel connects to the Saskatchewan River. The small park has free camping and access to the river and channel. Access to the site is from Highway 123. [9] [10]
The Saskatchewan River is a major river in Canada. It stretches about 550 kilometres (340 mi) from where it is formed by the joining 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.
The Mackenzie River is a river in the Canadian boreal forest. It forms, along with the Slave, Peace, and Finlay, the longest river system in Canada, and includes the second largest drainage basin of any North American river after the Mississippi.
The North Saskatchewan River is a glacier-fed river that flows from the Canadian Rockies continental divide east to central Saskatchewan, where it joins with the South Saskatchewan River to make up the Saskatchewan River. Its water flows eventually into the Hudson Bay.
The Hudson Bay drainage basin is the drainage basin in northern North America where surface water empties into the Hudson Bay and adjoining waters. Spanning an area of about 3,861,400 square kilometres (1,490,900 sq mi) and with a mean discharge of about 30,900 m3/s (1,090,000 cu ft/s), the basin is almost entirely within Canada. It encompasses parts of the Canadian Prairies, Central Canada, and Northern Canada. A small area of the basin is in the northern part of the Midwestern United States.
Highway 123 is a provincial highway in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It runs from Highway 55, 600 metres (2,000 ft) east of its intersection with Highway 23, to Cumberland House on Cumberland Island. It is about 137 kilometres (85 mi) long.
Last Mountain Lake, also known as Long Lake, is a prairie lake formed from glaciation 11,000 years ago. It is located in south central Saskatchewan, Canada, about 40 kilometres (25 mi) north-west of the city of Regina. It flows into the Qu'Appelle River via Last Mountain Creek, which flows past Craven. It is approximately 93 km (58 mi) long, and 3 km (1.9 mi) wide at its widest point. It is the largest naturally occurring body of water in southern Saskatchewan. Only Lake Diefenbaker, which is man-made, is larger. The lake is a popular resort area for residents of south-eastern Saskatchewan.
Carrot River is a river in Western Canada in the north-eastern part Saskatchewan and the north-western part of Manitoba. The outlet of Wakaw Lake in Saskatchewan marks the beginning of the Carrot River and, from there, it flows north-east past several communities and Indian reserves until it joins the Saskatchewan River in the Cumberland Delta in Manitoba. The river's mouth is west and upstream of the Pasquia River and The Pas on the Saskatchewan River.
The Saskatchewan River Delta (SRD), also known as Cumberland Marshes, is a large alluvial delta that straddles the border of the provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba in Western Canada. Currently terminating at Cedar Lake, Manitoba, the delta is composed mainly of various types of wetlands, shallow lakes, and active and abandoned river channels bordered by forested natural levees. Sixty-five percent of the delta is occupied by vegetated wetlands, over one third of which comprise peat-forming fens and bogs. Geographically, the SRD consists of two parts – western and eastern – separated by a prominent moraine that was deposited by the Laurentide Ice Sheet during late stages of the Wisconsinan glacial epoch. These two components, commonly termed the "upper delta" and "lower delta", together occupy an area of approximately 10,000 km2 (3,900 sq mi) making the SRD one of the largest active inland deltas in North America. The broad wetland tracts of the upper delta in Saskatchewan are sometimes referred to as the Cumberland Marshes. Approximately 5% of the delta surface has been drained for agricultural use following feasibility studies by the Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration in the 1950s.
This article covers the water based Canadian canoe routes used by early explorers of Canada with special emphasis on the fur trade.
Lac Île-à-la-Crosse is a Y-shaped lake in the north-central region of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan along the course of the Churchill River. At the centre of the "Y" is the town of Île-à-la-Crosse, the second oldest town in Saskatchewan. Situated at the confluence of the Churchill and Beaver Rivers, the lake was an important fur trading centre in the 18th and 19th centuries. The lake, and the community of Île-à-la-Crosse, are named after the game of Lacrosse as French voyageurs had witnessed local Indians playing the game on an island in the lake.
Last Mountain Creek is a river in south-central Saskatchewan. It is a tributary of the Qu'Appelle River 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.
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.
Eyebrow Lake is a man-made marshy lake that parallels the Qu'Appelle River in the southern region of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. Located in the RM of Huron No. 223, it is the first lake in a series of lakes along the Qu'Appelle River after Qu'Appelle River Dam and Lake Diefenbaker. The next lake downstream is Buffalo Pound Lake. The closest community is the village of Tugaske and while there are no public recreation sites at the lake, it can be accessed by Highway 627. The lake gets its name from the nearby Eyebrow Hills, which are shaped like an eyebrow. The nearby town of Eyebrow and RM of Eyebrow No. 193 are also named after these hills.
Hanson Lake is a lake in the east-central part of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan in the boreal forest ecozone of Canada. The lake is irregularly shaped with many bays, islands, and channels as it was formed by glaciers during the last ice age. It is fed by multiple rivers and creeks from surrounding hills, smaller lakes, and muskeg. Hanson Lake's outflow is through a short river at the eastern end of the lake as it flows into the Sturgeon-Weir River, a tributary of the Saskatchewan River.
The Cub Hills are a hilly plateau located south-east of the geographical centre of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The hills are in the boreal forest ecozone of Canada and the landforms of the hills were shaped more than 10,000 years ago during last ice age. Throughout the Cub Hills, there are dozens of lakes and rivers and several parks. The Cubs Hills are 150 km (93 mi) north-east of Prince Albert and are in the Northern Saskatchewan Administration District and Census Division #18. Several highways criss-cross the plateau to provide access to the various parks and other amenities.
Cowan River is a river in the west-central part of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan in the boreal forest ecozone of Canada. The river begins at Cowan Lake Dam near the northern end of Cowan Lake and flows north-west through muskeg and forest to meet Beaver River. Beaver River then flows into Lac Île-à-la-Crosse and the Churchill River. The entirety of Cowen River is within the Northern Saskatchewan Administration District and while there are no communities along its course, the towns of Big River and Spiritwood are in its watershed.
Culdesac Lake is a lake in the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba. It is situated in the Saskatchewan River Delta and is in the Mid-Boreal Lowland ecoregion. It is surrounded by muskeg and boreal forest. Its primary inflow is from a channel connected to Culdesac River, which is a tributary of Carrot River. An outlet from the eastern end of Culdesac Lake connects it to the Pasquia River — a tributary of the Saskatchewan River. The lake falls within the Cumberland Marshes Important Bird Area of Canada.
Pasquia River is a river in the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Saskatchewan. It begins in Saskatchewan in the Pasquia Hills and traverses boreal forests and muskeg in the Boreal Plains Ecozone, moving from the Mid-Boreal Upland of the Pasquia Hills east to the Mid-Boreal Lowland. It meets the Saskatchewan River in Manitoba at The Pas. Near the river's mouth, several small dams, dykes, and other water control structures have been built to control water flows.