The Pembina River is a tributary of the

Athabasca River The Athabasca River (French: ''Rivière Athabasca'') is a river in Alberta, Canada, which originates at the Columbia Icefield in Jasper National Park and flows more than before emptying into Lake Athabasca. Much of the land along its banks is pro ...

in central

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. "Pembina" is a

Canadian French Canadian French (french: français canadien) is the French language as it is spoken in Canada. It includes Varieties of French#Canada, multiple varieties, the most prominent of which is Quebec French, Québécois (Quebec French). Formerly ''Can ...

name for the high bush cranberry ''(

Viburnum trilobum ''Viburnum trilobum'' (cranberrybush viburnum, American cranberrybush, high bush cranberry, or highbush cranberry) is a species of '' Viburnum'' native to northern North America, from Newfoundland west to British Columbia, south to Washington sta ...

)''. The river gives the name to the

Pembina oil field The Pembina oil field is one of the largest and most prolific conventional oil fields in the province of Alberta, Canada. The mature field is centered on Drayton Valley and is named for the Pembina River, which crosses the region from southwest to ...

, an oil- and gas-producing region centered on

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

. The environmentalist group

Pembina Institute The Pembina Institute is a Canadian think tank and registered charity focused on energy. Founded in 1985, the institute has offices in Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto, Ottawa, and Vancouver. The institute's mission is to "advance a prosperous clean en ...

also took its name from the river.

Course

The Pembina River originates in the

Canadian Rockies The Canadian Rockies (french: Rocheuses canadiennes) or Canadian Rocky Mountains, comprising both the Alberta Rockies and the British Columbian Rockies, is the Canadian segment of the North American Rocky Mountains. It is the easternmost part ...

foothills, south of

Cadomin Cadomin is a hamlet in the west-central Alberta, Canada within Yellowhead County. It is located along the McLeod River in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, approximately south of Hinton near the Bighorn Highway. It is served by a spur of th ...

, at ''Pembina Forks''. It flows eastwards for before it merges with the

west of the town of

Athabasca Athabasca (also Athabaska) is an anglicized version of the Cree name for Lake Athabasca in Canada, āthap-āsk-ā-w (pronounced ), meaning "grass or reeds here and there". Most places named Athabasca are found in Alberta, Canada. Athabasca may a ...

, and has a drainage area of . Water originating in the Pembina River goes through numerous merges until reaching the Mackenzie River, discharging into the

Arctic Ocean The Arctic Ocean is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five major oceans. It spans an area of approximately and is known as the coldest of all the oceans. The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) recognizes it as an ocean, a ...

. Communities located along the Pembina River include

Westlock Westlock is a town in central Alberta, Canada. Founded in 1913, the town is primarily an agricultural, business, and government administration centre serving communities and rural areas within surrounding Westlock County. Geography Westlock i ...

, Sangudo, Entwistle and Evansburg.

Pembina River Provincial Park Pembina River Provincial Park is a provincial park in central Alberta, Canada. It is located between the towns of Entwistle and Evansburg, a short distance from the Yellowhead Highway. The short 16A highway spur crosses the southern edge of th ...

is along the gorges of the river between Evansburg and Entwistle. Another protected area along the river is the ''Pembina River Natural Area'', northeast of

Cherhill Cherhill is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. The village is about east of the town of Calne, on the A4 road towards Marlborough. The parish includes the village of Yatesbury. Overview Cherhill has a population of around 700 ...

aspen parkland Aspen parkland refers to a very large area of transitional biome between prairie and boreal forest in two sections, namely the Peace River Country of northwestern Alberta crossing the border into British Columbia, and a much larger area stretchi ...

.Alberta Community Development
- Pembina River Natural Area

Tributaries

*Rat Creek *Bailey Creek *Hanson Creek *Crooked Creek *Centre Creek *

Lovett River The Lovett River is a short river in the Alberta foothills. The Lovett is an early tributary of the Pembina River (Alberta), Pembina River, itself a major tributary of the Athabasca River. The Lovett River was formerly known as the ''Little Pembi ...

*Moose Lake *Lund Creek *Fairfax Lake *Errot Lake *Dismal Creek *Wolf Creek ** Wolf Lake *Zeta Lake *Rat Creek *Paddy Creek *Sinkhole Lake *Bigoray River *Mishow Creek *

Lobstick River The Lobstick River is a small river in originating in west-central Alberta, Canada. It flows north from the foothills before entering Chip Lake. It then flows eastward through the community of Lobstick before joining the Pembina River, which in ...

Chip Lake Chip Lake is a large lake in west-central Alberta. The Lobstick River flows through the lake. It in turn is a tributary of the Pembina River, which eventually flows into the Athabasca River. Poison Creek flows into the north-west corner of Chi ...

, Deep Creek, Alpha Lake, Poison Creek, Beta Lake, Sunset Lake, Brule Creek, Little Brule Creek *Michaud Lake *Coyote Lake Creek ** Ice Lake *Oldman Lake *MacDonald Creek **

Lac La Nonne Lac la Nonne is a lake in northern Alberta, Canada. It is located between Lac Ste. Anne County and the County of Barrhead No. 11, 85 km north-west from Edmonton, east of the Grizzly Trail. The lake is located within the Athabasca River ba ...

*Newton Creek ** Newton Lake, George Lake, Kirchner Lake *

Paddle River The Paddle River is a short river in northern Alberta, Canada. Known as Pimiskāw sīpiy (Paddle River) by the Cree, the river was named because of its slow speed. During the fur trade era, a canoe could be easily ''paddled'' up the river, in co ...

** Paddle River Reservoir, Little Paddle River *Wabash Creek ** Fernand Lake *Dapp Creek ** Lac des Jones, Bolloque Creek, Muskeg Lake *Shoal Creek ** Shoal Lake, Baird Lake, Camp Creek *Crane Lake *Killsyth Creek ** Killsyth Lake *Flatbrush Creek Numerous small lakes such as Brock Lake, Oldman Lake, Majeau Lake,

, George Lake, Armstrong Lake, Shoal Lake, Steele Lake, Cross Lake are also located within the river's basin.

References

{{authority control Rivers of Alberta

Course

Tributaries

See also

References