The Taltson River is a roughly river in the
Northwest Territories
The Northwest Territories (abbreviated ''NT'' or ''NWT''; french: Territoires du Nord-Ouest, formerly ''North-Western Territory'' and ''North-West Territories'' and namely shortened as ''Northwest Territory'') is a federal territory of Canada. ...
of
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 ...
that drains into the
Great Slave Lake
Great Slave Lake (french: Grand lac des Esclaves), known traditionally as Tıdeè in Tłı̨chǫ Yatıì (Dogrib), Tinde’e in Wıìlıìdeh Yatii / Tetsǫ́t’ıné Yatıé (Dogrib / Chipewyan), Tu Nedhé in Dëne Sųłıné Yatıé (Chi ...
.
There are three
hydroelectric power
Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined and ...
control structures on the river, and one power station.
Name
The river was formerly known as the Copper Indian River in reference to the
Dene
The Dene people () are an Aboriginal peoples in Canada, indigenous group of First Nations in Canada, First Nations who inhabit the northern Boreal forest of Canada, boreal and Arctic regions of Canada. The Dene speak Northern Athabaskan languag ...
known as the
Yellowknives
The Yellowknives, Yellow Knives, Copper Indians, Red Knives or T'atsaot'ine (Dogrib language, Dogrib: ''T'satsąot'ınę'') are indigenous peoples of Canada, one of the five main groups of the First Nations in Canada, First Nations Dene who live ...
or Copper Indians. The name is derived from ''Tatsan'' which means "scum of water" and is an expression for copper.
A 1918 government source says the name means "between high rocks".
Other names formerly used include Copper Indian, Rocher, Rock, T'altsan and Yellow Knife.
Basin
The Taltson River basin has a subhumid, high boreal ecoclimate.
Summer are typically cool and winters are very cold.
The basin covers about in the region between
Lake Athabasca
Lake Athabasca (; French: ''lac Athabasca''; from Woods Cree: , "herethere are plants one after another") is located in the north-west corner of Saskatchewan and the north-east corner of Alberta between 58° and 60° N in Canada. The lake ...
and
Great Slave Lake
Great Slave Lake (french: Grand lac des Esclaves), known traditionally as Tıdeè in Tłı̨chǫ Yatıì (Dogrib), Tinde’e in Wıìlıìdeh Yatii / Tetsǫ́t’ıné Yatıé (Dogrib / Chipewyan), Tu Nedhé in Dëne Sųłıné Yatıé (Chi ...
.
It contains a complex of interconnected lakes that drain first in a southwest direction and then northward into the Slave River lowland zone.
The Tazin River is a major tributary.
There are three hydroelectric control structures in the basin, at
Nonacho Lake, Tazin Lake and Twin Gorges.
Sub-catchment areas are:
Course
The Taltson River rises near a series of lakes, including Coventry Lake and Dymond Lake in the northeast of the basin.
It flows north to
McArthur Lake, then west to Gray Lake, an arm of
Nonacho Lake.
Nonacho Lake is the largest lake in the river basin.
It discharges to the Taltson River directly via the Nonacho Dam and indirectly via the Tronka Chua Gap, Tronka Chua Lake and Thekulthili Lake to rejoin the river at Lady Grey Lake.
From Nonacho Lake to the Twin Gorges Forebay the river flows through a series of lakes, low-gradient reaches, rapids and waterfalls.
Often there is just a short section of rapids between the outflow of one lake and the backwaters of the next lake.
Taltson Lake, King Lake and Lady Grey Lakes are the larger lakes in this section.
Below the outflow of Lady Grey Lake, about from Nonacho Lake, the river flows to the Twin Gorges Forebay, passing through several smaller lakes such as Benna Thy Lake but generally with a more standard river course.
It is joined in this section by the Tazin River, its largest tributary.
There is a hydroelectric generating plant at the Twin Gorges Forebay, from where the water flows over Elsie Falls and then for to Tsu Lake over a series of rapids and through the Nende Chute, a narrow gorge, before entering Tsu Lake.
The Konth River drains from the northeast into Tsu Lake.
The average flow from 1960 to 1995, measured at a gauge at Tsu Lake Dam, was . The drainage area above the dam is about .
Downstream of Tsu Lake the river runs north for to Great Slave Lake through Deskenatlata Lake.
It receives the outflows of the Rutledge River and Tethul River in this stretch.
Rocher River
Rocher River is an abandoned community in the South Slave Region of the Northwest Territories, Canada. The community was situated near the mouth of the Taltson River (aka Rocher River, or Roche River), which drains into Great Slave Lake. Dene trad ...
, on the east bank of the lower Taltson River, was originally a trading post of the
Hudson's Bay Company
The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC; french: Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson) is a Canadian retail business group. A fur trading business for much of its existence, HBC now owns and operates retail stores in Canada. The company's namesake business div ...
.
It had a school, but that was burned down in 1958, and the trading post closed in 1963.
The government put pressure on the residents to move to Fort Resolution.
The river enters the southern shore of Great Slave Lake at the western end of the Simpson Island chain.
Hydroelectricity
A dam on Tazin Lake diverts most of the water to the Charlot River system where it drives hydroelectric facilities that feed the Saskatchewan power grid.
The Taltson dam was built in 1966 to supply power to the
lead-zinc mine at
Pine Point.
The Taltson Hydro plant is about north of
Fort Smith on the Taltson River at Twin Gorges Forebay.
An 18 MW hydro unit with a 300 kW emergency standby diesel generator provides power via of transmission lines to Fort Smith,
Hay River,
Hay River Reserve
Hay River Reserve (also known as ''Kʼatlodeeche/Katlʼodeeche First Nation'' or ''Hay River Dene 1'') is one of only three Indian reserves in Canada's Northwest Territories. Located in the South Slave Region, it is a Slavey community with a pop ...
,
Fort Resolution
Fort Resolution (''Denı́nu Kų́ę́'' (pronounced "deh-nih-noo-kwenh") "moose island place") is a hamlet in the South Slave Region of the Northwest Territories, Canada. The community is situated at the mouth of the Slave River, on the shores o ...
and
Enterprise
Enterprise (or the archaic spelling Enterprize) may refer to:
Business and economics
Brands and enterprises
* Enterprise GP Holdings, an energy holding company
* Enterprise plc, a UK civil engineering and maintenance company
* Enterprise ...
.
Flooding below the dam has been blamed on the power plant.
However, the
Northwest Territories Power Corporation
The Northwest Territories Power Corporation (NTPC) is an electric utility in the Northwest Territories of Canada. NTPC was formed in 1988 to acquire and operate the former assets of the Northern Canada Power Commission in the Northwest Territories ...
(NTPC) states that the operation is similar to a run-of-river generation facility and has minimal impact on the river's natural flow.
High water flows upstream of the dam will cause high flows downstream.
In 2007 the Dezé Energy Corporation presented a proposal to expand the Taltson River hydroelectric capacity with a new 36 MW hydroelectric plant at Twin Gorges Forebay to increase total capacity there to 54 MW, and to build a transmission line to carry power via Taltson Lake and Noncho Lake to the north of Great Slave Lake.
The project would also involve construction of a new control structure and rock-cut discharge canal beside the Nonacho rock-fill dam.
See also
*
List of rivers of the Northwest Territories
This is a list of rivers that are in whole or partly in the Northwest Territories, Canada.
By watershed
Arctic Ocean watershed
* Back River (Nunavut)
;Canadian Arctic Archipelago
*Hornaday River (Nunavut)
* Kagloryuak River (Nunavut)
* Nanook ...
*
Taltson River Airport
References
Sources
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{{authority control
Rivers of the Northwest Territories