Petitot is a river in northern
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 ...
and
British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
,
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 ...
. It is a tributary of the
Liard River.
![Petitot River looking toward the Liard river](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/91/Petitot_River_looking_toward_the_Liard_river.JPG)
Petitot River originates from
Bistcho Lake in northwestern Alberta, and flows westwards along the northern borders of Alberta and British Columbia. It then passes in the
Northwest Territories, where it discharges in the Liard River at the village of
Fort Liard
Fort Liard (Slavey language: ''Echaot'l Koe'' "people from the land of the giants" or ''Acho Dene Kue'') is a hamlet in the Dehcho Region of the Northwest Territories, Canada. It is located north of the British Columbia border. It became acces ...
. From there, its waters are carried to 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 ...
through the
Mackenzie River.
The river takes its name from Father
Émile Petitot, one of the first European to reach the area in 1867–68. The name in the
Dene
The Dene people () are an indigenous group of First Nations who inhabit the northern boreal and Arctic regions of Canada. The Dene speak Northern Athabaskan languages. ''Dene'' is the common Athabaskan word for "people". The term "Dene" ha ...
language of the
Slavey
The Slavey (also Slave and South Slavey) are a First Nations indigenous peoples of the Dene group, indigenous to the Great Slave Lake region, in Canada's Northwest Territories, and extending into northeastern British Columbia and northwestern ...
First Nations
First Nations or first peoples may refer to:
* Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area.
Indigenous groups
*First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including:
**First Natio ...
is ', "The Black".
Hamlet of Fort Liard
- Petitot River
It has a total length of and a drainage area of .
Tributaries
*Thinahtea Lake Creek
*July Lake Creek
*Sahdoanah Creek
*Thetlaandoa Creek
* Tsea River
*Dilly Creek
*D'Easum 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 r ...
*List of rivers of British Columbia
The following is a partial list of rivers of British Columbia, organized by watershed. Some large creeks are included either because of size or historical importance
(See Alphabetical List of British Columbia rivers ). Also included are lakes tha ...
References
Rivers of British Columbia
Rivers of Alberta
Fort Nelson Country
Canyons and gorges of Canada
Tributaries of the Liard River
{{BritishColumbia-river-stub