South Saskatchewan
South Saskatchewan is a mapped river in the YearMaps hydrographic index. River courses organise settlement, agriculture and frontier-making more durably than any political boundary, and this reach is indexed against the dams, lakes and cities within its catchment.
- Feature Class
- River
- Coordinates
- 50.89°, -110.02°
About South Saskatchewan
The South Saskatchewan River is a major river in the Canadian provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan. The river begins at the confluence of the Bow and Oldman Rivers in southern Alberta and ends at the Saskatchewan River Forks in central Saskatchewan. The Saskatchewan River Forks is the confluence of the South and North Saskatchewan Rivers and is the beginning of the Saskatchewan River.
For the first half of the 20th century, the South Saskatchewan would completely freeze over during winter, creating spectacular ice breaks and dangerous conditions in Saskatoon, Medicine Hat, and elsewhere. At least one bridge in Saskatoon was destroyed by ice carried by the river. The construction of the Gardiner Dam in the 1960s, however, lessened the power of the river by diverting a substantial portion of the South Saskatchewan's natural flow into the Qu'Appelle River. By the 1980s many permanent sandbars had formed due to the lowering of the level of the river.
From the headwaters of the Bow River, the South Saskatchewan flows for 1,392 kilometres (865 mi).
Encyclopedic summary adapted from Wikipedia: South Saskatchewan River (CC BY-SA 4.0).
South Saskatchewan in Depth
Course
The river originates at the confluence of the Bow and Oldman Rivers, north of Grassy Lake, Alberta at the incorporated community of Bow Island, not to be confused with the town of Bow Island, Alberta. The waters of these two rivers, in turn, originate from winter snowpack and rainfall in the Rocky Mountains near the British Columbia and Montana border. Glacier and snowmelt from the Rocky Mountains and foothills contributes nearly 90% of the annual flow, with most of that contribution during July and August. The Red Deer River is a major tributary of the South Saskatchewan merging 16 kilometres (10 mi) east of the Alberta-Saskatchewan border. The Lake Diefenbaker reservoir was created with the construction of the Gardiner and Qu'Appelle River dams in Saskatchewan.
Geology
Sections of the riverbank along the South Saskatchewan River are prone to slumping. Since its founding, the city of Saskatoon has dealt with a number of slope failures. Controlling riverbank development was a factor in establishing the Meewasin Valley Authority in 1979.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: South Saskatchewan River (CC BY-SA 4.0).
South Saskatchewan: Key Facts
| Length | 1,004 km |
|---|---|
| Average discharge | 249 m³/s |
| Drainage basin | 146,100 km² |
| Source | Bow River |
| Mouth | Saskatchewan River |
| Drainage system | Lake Winnipeg basin |
| Tributaries | Red Deer River, Swift Current Creek |
Facts from Wikidata Q2242 (CC0).
Major River Dossiers
Hand-written studies of the great river systems of history.
Connected Reaches
Nearby watercourses in the same drainage network.
Water Bodies in the Catchment
Settlements Along the Reach
Hydraulic Infrastructure Nearby
Surrounding Terrain
South Saskatchewan: Quick Answers
- Where is South Saskatchewan?
- South Saskatchewan is located in Canada, at 50.8938° N, 110.0176° W.
- Are there dams on the South Saskatchewan?
- No dam on the South Saskatchewan is recorded in the YearMaps dam index, which covers major structures only.