Mackenzie River

Catchment area of ​​the Mackenzie

Delta of the Mackenzie River

  • 5.1 rivers
  • 5.2 lakes

Discovery history

On June 3, 1789, Alexander Mackenzie made ​​out with some local companions from Fort Chipewyan on the way to explore a hoped-for connection to the Pacific Ocean. Your trip with canoes led the expedition on the Slave River to Great Slave Lake. There they sought a discharge of the water to the northwest. On June 29, they found this place, the beginning here Mackenzie River. The river initially runs from the lake in ( north ) western direction, which increased the mood of the group. A few days later, on 2 July, the expedition saw in the West but on the horizon, the mountain range of the Rocky Mountains jut and the river turned to the north soon after. The rapid flow let the group reach in their canoes on July 10, the river delta, where Alexander Mackenzie recognized the occurrence of the tides, the sea, to be but not the hoped- Pacific arrived. On July 16, the group met on the way back up the river, which turned out to be much more difficult. The expedition members finally arrived on September 10, 1789 back to their place of departure to Fort Chipewyan.

Course

The Mackenzie begins at the western tip of Great Slave Lake and flows in a northwesterly direction, the valleys between the Mackenzie Mountains, which is a northern extension of the Rocky Mountains, and the Franklin Mountains, which form a low mountain range to the west of Great Bear Lake, before large in a River Delta, the Mackenzie Delta, flows into the Mackenzie Bay of the Beaufort Sea.

Catchment area

The catchment area of the Mackenzie comprises from Great Slave 886.3 thousand km ². Together with the below mentioned throughout the river system, the multiple source rivers, numerous small and three large lakes involving, it consists of a total of 1,743,058 km ².

Rivers

During the 1903 km long Mackenzie River just across the river area north-west of Great Slave Lake is referred to, may, with respect to its headwaters two rivers are differentiated, the total of 3568 ( Athabasca - Slave - Mackenzie ) and 4260 km ( Finlay - Peace - Slave - Mackenzie ) long are:

Athabasca - Slave - Mackenzie

The Athabasca - Slave - Mackenzie river covers the entire flow path from the source of the Athabasca River to the Beaufort Sea ( Northwest Territories ). The Athabasca rises on the border with British Columbia in the southwestern Alberta and flows through the latter province in a northeasterly direction to empty into the western tip of the Athabascasees. The same sea area entfließt the River Slave ( Slave River ) which flows north and joins after crossing the border with the Northwest Territories in the Great Slave Lake. This eventually entfließt west side of the Mackenzie, the running concludes the 3568 km long Athabasca - Slave - Mackenzie river in a northwesterly direction to the Beaufort Sea.

Finlay - Peace - Slave - Mackenzie

The Finlay - Peace - Slave - Mackenzie river covers the entire flow path from the source of the Finlay River to the Beaufort Sea. The Finlay rises in British Columbia in the Rocky Mountains mountain ranges Finlay, Sifton and Muskwa and ends after about 90 kilometers in the Williston Lake. This entfließt the Peace River, which continues its way towards and through Alberta predominantly eastward flowing. It meanders through the highlands of the Great Plains and joins only a little north or below the Athabascasees with the Slave River already mentioned. The latter is evident in the Athabasca from the aforementioned Athabasca. As with the former course of the river close to the Slave River, which flows into the Northwest Territories in the Great Slave Lake and the Mackenzie, the entfließt this lake west side, the 4260 km long Finlay - Peace - Slave - Mackenzie river in a northwesterly direction to extend to the Beaufort Sea off.

Mackenzie River system

The river system of the Mackenzie River (source and tributaries ) consists among other of these rivers and lakes:

  • Athabasca River
  • Finlay River
  • Mackenzie River
  • Athabasca - Slave - Mackenzie - river, consisting of Athabasca, Slave and Mackenzie River
  • Finlay - Peace - Slave - Mackenzie - river, consisting of Finlay, Peace, Slave and Mackenzie River
  • Peace River
  • Slave River
  • Liard River

Lakes

  • Lake Athabasca - flow: Athabasca River drainage: Slave River
  • Great Slave Lake - inflow: Yellowknife River, Slave River, Drain: Mackenzie River
  • Big Bear Lake - inflow: Small watercourses, drainage: Great Bear River

Places on the Mackenzie

Kakisa River Redknife River Trout River (Northwest Territories) North Nahanni River Redstone River Keele River Mountain River (Mackenzie) Arctic Red River Horn River Municipality Wrigley, Northwest Territories Alexander Mackenzie (explorer) Fort Chipewyan, Alberta Franklin Mountains (Northwest Territories) Integrated Authority File
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