Chinchaga River

Chinchaga is a river in north-western Alberta. It is a tributary of the Hay River. Through the Hay River, its waters are carried to the Arctic Ocean via Great Slave Lake and Mackenzie River. The name Chinchaga is First Nations, and means "Big Wood River".[1] Much of the Chinchaga watershed burned in 1950 during the Chinchaga fire.[2]

Chinchaga River in Alberta

Course

Chinchaga River originates in the Chinchaga Lakes, a series of small lakes in the muskeg of north-eastern British Columbia, at an elevation of 795 m. It flows east into Alberta, then continues north-east until west of Keg River, where it turns north. It merges into the Hay River between Zama Lake and High Level, at an altitude of 325 m. A series of oxbow lakes are formed on the lower course. The approximate length of the river is 500 km, and the average discharge at its confluence with Hay River is 30 m³/s.[3]

Tributaries
Chinchaga River near Highway 58
  • Lennard Creek
  • Tanghe Creek
  • Werniuck Creek
  • Sloat Creek
  • Vader Creek
  • Thordarson Creek
  • Waniandy Creek
  • Haro River
  • Haig River

Conservation and development

Chinchaga Wildland Park is a large tract of land set aside by the Alberta Government for protection of the habitat of grizzly bears and woodland caribou, as well as nesting sites of trumpeter swan.[4] However, the rest of the Chinchaga area is a well known hunting ground.[5] Significant oil and gas fields (such as Hamburg) and logging are developed in the area.

See also

References
  1. Land Surveyors in Alberta. "Place Names". Archived from the original on 2009-07-10. Retrieved 2009-03-17.
  2. Pyne, Stephen J (2007). Awful Splendour: A Fire History of Canada. Vancouver, BC: UBC Press. pp. 61–63. ISBN 9780774813914.
  3. Alberta Environment Archived 2007-01-16 at the Wayback Machine - Alberta River Basins; Chinchaga Discharge Graph Archived 2011-05-25 at the Wayback Machine
  4. Alberta Community Development Archived 2005-03-16 at the Wayback Machine - Chinchaga Wildland Park
  5. Chinchaga River hunting Archived 2006-08-26 at the Wayback Machine



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