Moose Jaw River is a river in the
Canadian province of
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a province in western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dak ...
. It is located in the southern part of the province in a region called the
Prairie Pothole Region
The Prairie Pothole Region (PPR; french: Région des cuvettes/fondrières des prairies) is an expansive area of the northern Great Plains that contains thousands of shallow wetlands known as potholes. These potholes are the result of glacier ac ...
of
North America, which extends throughout three Canadian provinces and five
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...
s. It is also within
Palliser's Triangle
Palliser's Triangle, or the Palliser Triangle, is a semi-arid steppe occupying a substantial portion of the Western Canadian Prairie Provinces, Saskatchewan, Alberta and Manitoba, within the Great Plains region. While initially determined to be un ...
and the
Great Plains ecoregion.
The Moose Jaw River
drainage basin
A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...
is one of five sub-basins that make up the
Upper Qu'Appelle Watershed.
Craven Dam
Craven Dam is at the confluence of the Qu'Appelle River and Last Mountain Creek and immediately east of the village of Craven on the Qu'Appelle River at SW 24-20-21 W2. It is in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan in the RM of Longlaket ...
at the village of
Craven is the dividing point between the upper and lower watersheds of the Qu'Appelle River. The river and its tributaries drain a total of . The total combined drainage area for the five sub-basins of the Upper Qu'Appelle Watershed is .
The Qu'Appelle River system is part of the much larger
Hudson Bay drainage basin
The Hudson Bay drainage basin is the drainage basin in northern North America where surface water empties into Hudson Bay and adjoining waters. Spanning an area of about , the basin is almost totally in Canada (spanning parts of the Prairies, cen ...
.
Course
The
source
Source may refer to:
Research
* Historical document
* Historical source
* Source (intelligence) or sub source, typically a confidential provider of non open-source intelligence
* Source (journalism), a person, publication, publishing institute o ...
of the Moose Jaw River is Ibsen Lake, which is about west of
Yellow Grass. From there, the river travels in a north-westerly direction following
Highway 39 most of the way to the city of
Moose Jaw
Moose Jaw is the fourth largest city in Saskatchewan, Canada. Lying on the Moose Jaw River in the south-central part of the province, it is situated on the Trans-Canada Highway, west of Regina. Residents of Moose Jaw are known as Moose Javian ...
. Once the river reaches the city, it heads east and then north where it meets the
Qu'Appelle River
The Qu'Appelle River is a river in the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba that flows east from Lake Diefenbaker in south-western Saskatchewan to join the Assiniboine River in Manitoba, just south of Lake of the Prairies, near t ...
about east and downstream of
Buffalo Pound Lake
Buffalo Pound Lake is a eutrophic prairie lake in Saskatchewan, Canada, formed from glaciation about 10,000 years ago, on the Qu'Appelle River approximately north of Moose Jaw and north-east of Tuxford. The lake gets its name from the metho ...
in the
Nicolle Flats Marsh at the eastern end of
Buffalo Pound Provincial Park
Buffalo Pound Provincial Park is a provincial park located in southern Saskatchewan, Canada, about north-east of downtown Moose Jaw and north-west of the city of Regina.
The park centres on Buffalo Pound Lake, a prairie lake formed from gl ...
. Several highways cross the river's path, including
Highways 6,
334
__NOTOC__
Year 334 ( CCCXXXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Optatus and Caesonius (or, less frequently, year 1087 ...
,
623,
339
Year 339 ( CCCXXXIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Constantius and Claudius (or, less frequently, year 1092 '' Ab urb ...
,
2,
1, and
301
__NOTOC__
Year 301 ( CCCI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Postumius and Nepotianus (or, less frequently, year 1054 ...
.
Tributaries
There are two main tributaries of the Moose Jaw River.
Avonlea Creek
Avonlea Creek is a river in the southern part of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It is 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 wi ...
begins near the
Piapot Cree First Nation 75G and flows in a north-west direction paralleling Moose Jaw River until near the village of
Avonlea where it turns north and meets Moose Jaw River about south-west of
Rouleau. Along the course of Avonlea Creek is
Watson Reservoir, which is about south-east of the town of Avonlea. At the north end of the reservoir is
Dunnet Regional Park
Avonlea Creek is a river in the southern part of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It is 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 wi ...
.
The other main tributary is
Thunder Creek. Thunder Creek begins near
Lake Diefenbaker
Lake Diefenbaker is a reservoir and bifurcation lake in Southern Saskatchewan, Canada. It was formed by the construction of Gardiner Dam and the Qu'Appelle River Dam across the South Saskatchewan and Qu'Appelle Rivers respectively. Construc ...
and travels in a south-easterly direction and meets up with the Moose Jaw River in the city of
Moose Jaw
Moose Jaw is the fourth largest city in Saskatchewan, Canada. Lying on the Moose Jaw River in the south-central part of the province, it is situated on the Trans-Canada Highway, west of Regina. Residents of Moose Jaw are known as Moose Javian ...
. There are four shallow, marshy lakes, Paysen (Horfield), Kettlehut, Williams, and Pelican along Thunder Creek's course and four main tributaries, Allin Creek, Aquadell Creek, Sandy Creek, and Wilson Creek.
See also
*
List of rivers of Saskatchewan
This is a list of rivers of Saskatchewan, a province of Canada.
The largest and most notable rivers are listed at the start, followed by rivers listed by drainage basin and then alphabetically.
Principal river statistics
''SourcSt ...
*
Hudson Bay drainage basin
The Hudson Bay drainage basin is the drainage basin in northern North America where surface water empties into Hudson Bay and adjoining waters. Spanning an area of about , the basin is almost totally in Canada (spanning parts of the Prairies, cen ...
References
{{Authority control
Rivers of Saskatchewan
Tributaries of Hudson Bay
Tributaries of the Assiniboine River