Thunder Creek is a river in the

Canadian province Within the geographical areas of Canada, the ten provinces and three territories are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North ...

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, 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 t ...

. The

watershed Watershed is a hydrological term, which has been adopted in other fields in a more or less figurative sense. It may refer to: Hydrology * Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins * Drainage basin, called a "watershe ...

of Thunder Creek is within the semi-arid Palliser's Triangle in south-central Saskatchewan. It begins at small, man-made reservoir near Lake Diefenbaker and flows in a south-easterly direction towards the city of

Moose Jaw Moose Jaw is the fourth largest city in Saskatchewan, Canada. Lying on the Moose Jaw River in the south-central part of the province, it is situated on the Trans-Canada Highway, west of Regina. Residents of Moose Jaw are known as Moose Javians ...

and the

Moose Jaw River Moose Jaw River is a river in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It is located in the southern part of the province in a region called the Prairie Pothole Region of North America, which extends throughout three Canadian provinces and fiv ...

. The Moose Jaw River is a major tributary of the

Qu'Appelle River The Qu'Appelle River is a river in the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba that flows east from Lake Diefenbaker in south-western Saskatchewan to join the Assiniboine River in Manitoba, just south of Lake of the Prairies, near t ...

For most of its course, Thunder Creek follows a valley called the Thunder Creek meltwater channel that was formed over 10,000 years ago near the end of the last ice age. During the drought of the 1980s, the river, and the marshes and lakes along its course, almost ran dry. To stabilise water levels, a reservoir was built at the head of the river. The reservoir is supplied by pumping in water from nearby Lake Diefenbaker.

Description

Thunder Creek begins at the man-made reservoir and flows into the Thunder Creek meltwater channel. Once in the valley, the river meanders its way along the valley floor. Along the way, it is joined by several creeks flowing in from the coulees. The western tributaries of upper Thunder Creek watershed drain a hilly plateau called the Vermilion Hills. There are four small lakes in a chain along the course that are part of two

Important Bird Area An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations. IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...

s, including Paysen (Horfield) Lake, Williams Lake, Kettlehut Lake, and Pelican Lake. As the water level of Pelican Lake–the last lake in the chain of lakes–isn't always high enough to provide an outflow, Sandy Creek, which is about one kilometre downstream from Pelican Lake, becomes the primary water source for the last leg of Thunder Creek. Communities found along the river's course include Moose Jaw,

Boharm Boharm is a rural parish in the Speyside area of north Scotland, midway between Aberlour and Fochabers, and north of Dufftown. It lies on minor roads to either side of the A95. The main settlements in the parish are Maggieknockater and Mulben. ...

, and Caron. Highways 1, 19,

627 __NOTOC__ Year 627 ( DCXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 627 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Eur ...

, and

643 __NOTOC__ Year 643 (Roman numerals, DCXLIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 643 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno D ...

cross Thunder Creek.

Tributaries

Thunder Creek

tributaries A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainage b ...

include: *Allin Creek *Aquadell Creek *Sandy Creek *Wilson Creek

Important Bird Areas

There are two

s (IBA) of Canada along the course of Thunder Creek. In 1990, the Riverhurst Management Plan, which was developed by Ducks Unlimited through the North American Waterfowl Management Plan, was initiated to stabilise water levels in the lakes and marshes by pumping in water from Lake Diefenbaker. Stable water levels provide habitat for birds and other wildlife.

Paysen /Kettlehut Lake

Paysen/Kettlehut Lake IBA SK 057 encompasses Paysen, Williams, and Kettlehut Lakes and the surrounding river valley. The IBA site totals with an elevation range of to . It is

Crown land Crown land (sometimes spelled crownland), also known as royal domain, is a territorial area belonging to the monarch, who personifies the Crown. It is the equivalent of an entailed estate and passes with the monarchy, being inseparable from it. ...

that is composed of grasslands, ponds, marshes, and creeks. Birds found in the lakes and protected area include the

western grebe The western grebe (''Aechmophorus occidentalis'') is a species in the grebe family of water birds. Folk names include "dabchick", "swan grebe" and "swan-necked grebe". Western grebe fossils from the Late Pleistocene of southwest North America we ...

, black-necked grebe,

Franklin's gull Franklin's gull (''Leucophaeus pipixcan'') is a small (length 12.6–14.2 in, 32–36 cm) gull. The genus name ''Leucophaeus'' is from Ancient Greek ''leukos'', "white", and ''phaios'', "dusky". The specific ''pipixcan'' is a Nahuatl name fo ...

Forster's tern Forster's tern (''Sterna forsteri'') is a tern in the family Laridae. The genus name ''Sterna'' is derived from Old English "stearn", "tern", and ''forsteri'' commemorates the naturalist Johann Reinhold Forster. It breeds inland in North America ...

, marsh wren,

sedge wren The sedge wren (''Cistothorus stellaris'') is a small and secretive passerine bird in the family Troglodytidae. It is widely distributed in North America. It is often found in wet grasslands and meadows where it nests in the tall grasses and sed ...

common yellowthroat The common yellowthroat (''Geothlypis trichas'') is a New World warbler. In the U.S. Midwest, it is also known as the yellow bandit. It is an abundant breeder in North America, ranging from southern Canada to central Mexico. The genus name ''Geot ...

LeConte's sparrow LeConte's sparrow (''Ammospiza leconteii'') is one of the smallest New World sparrow species in North America.Terres, J.K. (1980). The Audubon Society Encyclopedia of North American Birds. New York: Alfred A. Knopf It is a very secretive bird th ...

, and

Nelson's sparrow Nelson's sparrow (''Ammospiza nelsoni'') is a small New World sparrow. This bird was named after Edward William Nelson, an American naturalist. Formerly, this bird and the saltmarsh sparrow were considered to be a single species, the sharp-tail ...

Pelican Lake

Pelican Lake IBA SK 059 is about downstream and south-east of SK 057 Paysen/Kettlehut Lake IBA and encompasses all of Pelican Lake and much of the surrounding landscape. Pelican Lake is the largest of the four lakes along the course of Thunder Creek and is recognised as a regional

Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network The Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network (WHSRN) is a conservation strategy targeting shorebirds in the Americas launched in 1985. Its aim is to protect the nesting, breeding and staging habitats of migratory shorebirds. The first site to ...

(WHSRN) site. The IBA covers an area of with an elevation range of to . Ducks Unlimited built three cross- dykes on Pelican Lake in 1964, 1973, and 1989 to help maintain water levels. Some of the birds commonly found at the IBA include the American avocet,

marbled godwit The marbled godwit (''Limosa fedoa'') is a large migratory shorebird in the family Scolopacidae. On average, it is the largest of the four species of godwit. Taxonomy In 1750 the English naturalist George Edwards included an illustration and a ...

Wilson's phalarope Wilson's phalarope (''Phalaropus tricolor'') is a small wader. This bird, the largest of the phalaropes, breeds in the prairies of North America in western Canada and the western United States. It is migratory, wintering in inland salt lakes nea ...

grey plover The grey plover or black-bellied plover (''Pluvialis squatarola'') is a large plover breeding in Arctic regions. It is a long-distance migrant, with a nearly worldwide coastal distribution when not breeding. Taxonomy The grey plover was forma ...

tundra swan The tundra swan (''Cygnus columbianus'') is a small swan of the Holarctic. The two taxa within it are usually regarded as conspecific, but are also sometimes split into two species: Bewick's swan (''Cygnus bewickii'') of the Palaearctic and the w ...

, mallard duck, gadwall duck, western grebe, blue-winged teal,

northern pintail The pintail or northern pintail (''Anas acuta'') is a duck species with wide geographic distribution that breeds in the northern areas of Europe and across the Palearctic and North America. It is migratory and winters south of its breeding ra ...

, and the

American white pelican The American white pelican (''Pelecanus erythrorhynchos'') is a large aquatic soaring bird from the order Pelecaniformes. It breeds in interior North America, moving south and to the coasts, as far as Central America and South America, in winte ...

Besant Recreation Site

Besant Recreation Site () is a 300-acre provincial recreation site along the course of Sandy Creek in the RM of Caron No. 162. Access to the park is off 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 o ...

, east of Mortlach. Besant Recreation Site is well treed and has about 100 campsites, sandhills, a spring-fed pond, a swimming area, and access to Sandy Creek. The pond is stocked with fish. The park was home to the Sandy Creek Gospel Jamboree.

Fish species

The most commonly found fish in the Thunder Creek river system is the

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 ...

. Other species include the

common carp The Eurasian carp or European carp (''Cyprinus carpio''), widely known as the common carp, is a widespread freshwater fish of eutrophic waters in lakes and large rivers in Europe and Asia.Fishbase''Cyprinus carpio'' Linnaeus, 1758/ref>Arkive The ...

burbot The burbot (''Lota lota'') is the only gadiform (cod-like) freshwater fish Freshwater fish are those that spend some or all of their lives in fresh water, such as rivers and lakes, with a salinity of less than 1.05%. These environments di ...

largemouth bass The largemouth bass (''Micropterus salmoides'') is a carnivorous freshwater gamefish in the Centrarchidae ( sunfish) family, a species of black bass native to the eastern and central United States, southeastern Canada and northern Mexico, but ...

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 Samu ...

, and

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 ...

References

{{Authority control Rivers of Saskatchewan Tributaries of Hudson Bay Important Bird Areas of Saskatchewan Enfield No. 194, Saskatchewan Caron No. 162, Saskatchewan Tributaries of the Assiniboine River

Description

Tributaries

Important Bird Areas

Paysen /Kettlehut Lake

Pelican Lake

Besant Recreation Site

Fish species

See also

References