The Brazeau River is a river in western

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

, Canada. It is a major tributary of the

North Saskatchewan River 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 event ...

. The river was named for Joseph Brazeau, a linguist associated with the Palliser Expedition.

Course

The river originates in the heights of the Canadian Rockies from Brazeau Lake (which is fed by creeks that flow from Coronet Glacier and the

Queen Elizabeth Ranges The Queen Elizabeth Ranges is a group of mountain ranges in the Canadian Rockies on the southeastern side of Jasper National Park, Canada. The northern end of the ranges begins east of Medicine Lake (Alberta), Medicine Lake and extends in a south ...

) and flows east through the Rocky Mountains foothills until it merges into the North Saskatchewan River between

Drayton Valley Drayton Valley is a town in central Alberta, Canada. It is located on Highway 22 (Cowboy Trail), approximately southwest of Edmonton. It is surrounded by Brazeau County, known for its vast oil fields. The town is located between the North Sas ...

and

Rocky Mountain House Rocky Mountain House is a town in west-central Alberta, Canada. It is approximately west of Red Deer at the confluence of the Clearwater and North Saskatchewan Rivers, and at the crossroads of Highway 22 (Cowboy Trail) and Highway 11 (David T ...

at Brazeau Forks. The upper course runs eastwards from

Jasper National Park Jasper National Park is a national park in Alberta, Canada. It is the largest national park within Alberta's Rocky Mountains spanning . It was established as a national park in 1930 and declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984. Its locatio ...

into Brazeau Canyon Wildland Provincial Park. The

O'Chiese First Nation The O'Chiese First Nation () is a Saulteaux First Nation in Alberta, Canada. The First Nation's homeland is the O'Chiese 203 Indian reserve, located approximately 52 km northwest of Rocky Mountain House. Also reserved is the O'Chiese Cemeter ...

is established at the confluence with Nordegg River. The total length of the river is . The river, and various other local geographic features, were named after Joseph Brazeau, a Missouri-born fur trader working for the

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC; french: Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson) is a Canadian retail business group. A fur trading business for much of its existence, HBC now owns and operates retail stores in Canada. The company's namesake business di ...

in the area between 1852 and 1864.

Hydroelectric development

The Brazeau River has long been seen as a potential site for hydroelectric power generation. The earliest scheme to harness the power of the river was hatched in 1913 and involved a

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use ...

and storage on Brazeau Lake. The potential power generation was estimated at 5,000 to 10,000 kilovolt-amperes, and power would have been transmitted to

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

and Calgary, both roughly from the generator (this was a relatively ambitious plan: long-distance transmission was not common at the time). The plan was scuttled after the discovery of a large underflow at Brazeau Lake, precluding its use as a storage facility.C. H. Attwood, ''Proposed Hydro-electric Development Scheme on the Brazeau River'', (Ottawa: Water Power Branch, 1915). The

Brazeau Reservoir Brazeau Reservoir is a large man made reservoir in Alberta, Canada. It is located in Brazeau County of central Alberta, south-west of Drayton Valley. It was developed along the Brazeau River, at the confluence with Elk River, in the hydrogra ...

was created on the lower course through the construction of the Brazeau Dam. Its hydroelectric power plant is Alberta's largest, with a capacity of 355 megawatts and an annual production of about 394,000 megawatt hours of electrical energy. An unusual feature of this hydroelectric development, commissioned in 1965, is a pump system capable of lifting water from the reservoir into the long canal leading to the power plant so that it can operate at low reservoir water levels.

Tributaries

*Boulder Creek *Four Point Creek *Brazeau Lake **John-John Creek *Upper Longview Lake *Job Creek **Whisker Creek, Whisker Lakes, Job Lake, Leah Lake, Samson Lake *Isaac Creek *Race Creek * Southesk River **Southesk Lake *Thistle Creek **Chimney Creek *Marshybank Creek **Marshybank Lake *Canyon Creek *Moosehound Creek * Cardinal River *

Blackstone River The Blackstone River is a river in the U.S. states of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. It flows approximately 48 mi (80 km) and drains a watershed of approximately 540 sq. mi (1,400 km2). Its long history of industrial use has left ...

* Elk River * Nordegg River

References

External links

{{authority control Rivers of Alberta North Saskatchewan River

Course

Hydroelectric development

Tributaries

See also

References

External links