Yorath Island is a small island, in size, in 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 ...

just outside the southern boundaries of the city of

Saskatoon Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Hig ...

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 ...

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 ...

. The island is relatively new, and did not exist when the land was first surveyed in 1903. This island is managed by the

Meewasin Valley Authority The Meewasin Valley Authority is a conservation organization created by the Provincial Government of Saskatchewan in Canada and is dedicated to conserving the cultural and natural resources of the South Saskatchewan River Valley. The authority's ...

; it is not accessible by road (although some maps of the area plot a non-existent north–south grid road on the island), but can be seen from the Maple Grove (formally Leisureland) area. The island is named after

Christopher J. Yorath Christopher James Yorath (1879 – April 2, 1932) was a Welsh-Canadian engineer and urban planner. Biography Yorath was born in Cardiff, Wales in 1879 and attended grade school there from 1889 to 1895. He graduated in engineering from the Un ...

, who in 1913 became the commissioner of Saskatoon. Yorath is best known for an extensive, forward-thinking planning document published in 1913 that proposed future residential and road layout for Saskatoon, and he originated the idea of the City developing an "Encircling Boulevard"; in 2013 this proposal came to fruition with the completion of the

Circle Drive Circle Drive is a major road constructed as a ring road in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. Its route constitutes both part of the Yellowhead Highway and Highway 11, signed as both along the entire length. It was first conceived in 1913 by th ...

freeway project. Ironically, Yorath's document proposed the Encircling Boulevard cross through what would later be named Yorath Island; the final Circle Drive passes to the north of the island, which is undeveloped save for a set of power lines that cross the river at the northern tip of the island. Within North America the Island is one of the farthest northern examples of a cottonwood forest. The island also support 23 different types of shrubs and a mixture of wildlife (including the Cooper's Hawk, coyotes, red foxes, river otter, porcupine, beaver and deer).

References

Uninhabited islands of Saskatchewan Corman Park No. 344, Saskatchewan River islands of Saskatchewan South Saskatchewan River {{Saskatchewan-geo-stub