Swift Current Creek 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 ...

. In the 1800s, Métis buffalo hunters called it ''Rivière au Courant'' (lit: "River of the Current"). This name was also adopted by the North-West Mounted Police on their

March West The March West was the initial journey of the North-West Mounted Police (NWMP) to the Canadian Prairies, Canadian prairies, made between July 8 and October 9, 1874. It was the result of the force being deployed to what is now southern Alberta in ...

in 1874. In 1883, the name ''Swift Current Creek'' was first published on official maps by the Department of the Interior. The river begins at an elevation of over in the Cypress Hills and flows in a north-easterly direction through valleys and coulees en route to

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 ...

of the

South Saskatchewan River The South Saskatchewan River is a major river in Canada that flows through the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan. For the first half of the 20th century, the South Saskatchewan would completely freeze over during winter, creating spectacular ...

in the

semi-arid A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi- ...

region known as

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 ...

. Notable communities along the river's course include

Swift Current Swift Current is the fifth largest city in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It is situated along the Trans Canada Highway west of Moose Jaw, and east of Medicine Hat, Alberta. Swift Current grew 6.8% between 2011 and 2016, ending up at ...

, Waldeck, and South Fork.

Course

Swift Current Creek begins at an elevation of in the Cypress Hills. From its source, it flows south past Pine Cree Regional Park through valleys and

coulee Coulee, or coulée ( or ) is a term applied rather loosely to different landforms, all of which refer to a kind of valley or drainage zone. The word ''coulee'' comes from the Canadian French ''coulée'', from French ''couler'' 'to flow'. The ...

s towards the south-eastern slopes of the hills. As it flows out of the Cypress Hills, it turns sharply north towards the community of South Fork where it follows a

glacial meltwater channel A meltwater channel (or sometimes a glacial meltwater channel) is a channel cut into ice, bedrock or unconsolidated deposits by the flow of water derived from the melting of a glacier or ice-sheet. The channel may form on the surface of, within, ...

that was formed during the last ice age. The river continues in a north-easterly direction and empties into Reid Lake. Reid Lake is a man-made lake that was formed with the construction of the Duncairn Dam along the course of Swift Current Creek in 1942. The dam was built by the

Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration The Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration (PFRA) was a branch under Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), a department of the Federal Government of Canada. The Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration was established by an Act of Parliam ...

(PFRA) to supply water for the Rush Lake, Waldeck, and Herbert irrigation projects. The dam and reservoir are now owned and managed by the

Saskatchewan Water Security Agency The Saskatchewan Water Security Agency (before 2013, the Saskatchewan Watershed Authority) is an arm's length organization responsible for the management of water resources to ensure safe drinking water sources and reliable water supplies for eco ...

. Continuous releases are made from the reservoir "to meet the municipal requirements of

" and to regulate and maintain downstream water levels of Swift Current Creek. From the dam at the north-eastern end of the lake, Swift Current Creek carries on in a north-easterly direction towards the city of Swift Current. After Swift Current, the river heads in a more easterly direction following the

Trans-Canada Highway The Trans-Canada Highway (French: ; abbreviated as the TCH or T-Can) is a transcontinental federal–provincial highway system that travels through all ten provinces of Canada, from the Pacific Ocean on the west coast to the Atlantic Ocean on ...

for about . About east of Waldeck, Swift Current Creek changes direction and heads north towards

, still following the meltwater channel. It empties into Swift Current Bay of Lake Diefenbaker, east of

Saskatchewan Landing Provincial Park Saskatchewan Landing Provincial Park (often shortened to ''Sask Landing'') is a provincial park in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It is located in the valley of the South Saskatchewan River at the western end of Lake Diefenbaker in the ...

Fish species

Fish species found in the river system include brown trout,

walleye The walleye (''Sander vitreus'', synonym ''Stizostedion vitreum''), also called the yellow pike or yellow pickerel, is a freshwater perciform fish native to most of Canada and to the Northern United States. It is a North American close relat ...

yellow perch The yellow perch (''Perca flavescens''), commonly referred to as perch, striped perch, American perch, American river perch or preacher is a freshwater perciform fish native to much of North America. The yellow perch was described in 1814 by Sam ...

, and

northern pike The northern pike (''Esox lucius'') is a species of carnivorous fish of the genus ''Esox'' (the pikes). They are typical of brackish and fresh waters of the Northern Hemisphere (''i.e.'' holarctic in distribution). They are known simply as a p ...

References

External links

* {{Authority control Rivers of Saskatchewan Tributaries of Hudson Bay Excelsior No. 166, Saskatchewan Saskatchewan Landing No. 167 Arlington No. 79, Saskatchewan

Course

Fish species

See also

References

External links