Mistaya River

Mistaya River
Mistaya River before the falls
Location
Country	Canada
Province	Alberta
Protected area	Banff National Park
Physical characteristics
Source
• coordinates	51°58′03″N116°43′23″W / 51.96750°N 116.72306°W / 51.96750; -116.72306 [1]
Mouth
• location	Peyto Lake
Length	38 km (24 mi)
Basin features
River system	North Saskatchewan River
Topo map	NTS 82N15 Mistaya Lake [1]

The Mistaya River is a short river in western Alberta, Canada. It flows through Banff National Park in the Canadian Rockies, and a section of the Icefields Parkway was built along its course.

Mistaya River originates in Peyto Lake, a glacial lake of typical blue colour (due to rock flour). Mistaya flows north-west, receiving the waters of creeks such as Delta, Silverhorn, Cirque, Noyes, Chephren, Totem, Epaulette, Bison, Kaufmann and Sarbach. A series of elongated lakes are formed along the river: Mistaya Lake and Waterfowl Lakes.

Mistaya merges into the North Saskatchewan River at the Saskatchewan River Crossing. ^[2]

From its headwaters of Peyto Creek, Mistaya River has a total length of 38 km.

The origin of the name is from the Cree language: ᒥᐢᑕᐦᐊᔭ (mistahaya) means 'grizzly bear'. ^{[3] [4] [5]}

See also

• List of rivers of Alberta

References

1. "Mistaya River". Geographical Names Data Base . Natural Resources Canada . Retrieved 22 November 2025.
2. Oegema, Bart. "North Saskatchewan River". Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan. University of Regina. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
3. Koller, Brenda (December 2011). The Canadian Rockies Adventure Guide. Hunter Publishing. ISBN   9781588435996.
4. Fromhold, Joachim (14 January 2013). 2001 INDIAN PLACE NAMES OF THE WEST, Part 2: Listings by Nation. Lulu.com. ISBN   9781300389118.
5. "Search results". www.creedictionary.com. Retrieved 19 November 2020.