Pat's Creek is a tributary of the
Peace River
The Peace River (french: links=no, rivière de la Paix) is a river in Canada that originates in the Rocky Mountains of northern British Columbia and flows to the northeast through northern Alberta. The Peace River joins the Athabasca River in th ...
in
northern Alberta
Northern Alberta is a geographic region located in the Canadian province of Alberta.
An informally defined cultural region, the boundaries of Northern Alberta are not fixed. Under some schemes, the region encompasses everything north of the cent ...
,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
whose mouth is located within the Town of
Peace River
The Peace River (french: links=no, rivière de la Paix) is a river in Canada that originates in the Rocky Mountains of northern British Columbia and flows to the northeast through northern Alberta. The Peace River joins the Athabasca River in th ...
.
It is named after Patrick Wesley, a Métis man who lived in a cabin adjacent to the creek on his property. He deeded to the Anglican Church 5 acres of his land, including the creek, as tokens of his appreciation for care given to him during his final days in the battle with smallpox.
Course
Pat's Creek originates in
Northern Sunrise County
Northern Sunrise County is a municipal district in northern Alberta, Canada. Located in Census Division 17, its municipal office is located east of the Town of Peace River
The Peace River (french: links=no, rivière de la Paix) is a river ...
,
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 ...
at an elevation of . It is formed by two legs from two separate sets of small connected unnamed lakes east of the community of
St. Isidore. Flowing westwards, it receives waters from a small unnamed creek just east of St. Isidore and then passes the community just to the north of it less than 500 m away curving deep ravines on its course. Pat's Creek then receives another slightly larger creek just west of the community before being crossed by
Highway 688 while flowing northwesterly. It continues westwards then southwesterly flowing between Kaufmann and Grouard hills. It is then channeled in 3 metre culvert for the remaining 1.5 kilometre under the roads, sidewalks, and parks
of the Town of Peace River, before emerging to join the Peace River at an elevation of .
Contemporary history
Flooding
While the open creek through town posed a flooding concern especially during spring break-up, several days of torrential rains on July 2, 1935 caused the Pat's Creek burst its banks sending water gushing down Main Street Peace River along with and tree debris. The rains and flood waters from the tributaries caused the Peace River to rise more than above its normal July levels.
Highway slumpage
Highway 2 used to follow Pat's Creek into the Town of Peace River but had to be abandoned due to massive landslides on the section between Grouard Hill and Kauffman Hill. It is currently a wilderness interpretive trail above the creek.
See also
*
List of rivers of Alberta
Alberta's rivers flow towards three different bodies of water, the Arctic Ocean, the Hudson Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. Alberta is located immediately east of the continental divide, so no rivers from Alberta reach the Pacific Ocean.
List of riv ...
References
{{authority control
Rivers of Alberta