Saskatchewan, Saskatchewan, Canada

Facts & Statistics
Place Name	Saskatchewan
Place Status (Type)	river
Location	Saskatchewan, Canada, North America
Latitude	unknown
Longitude	unknown

Saskatchewan , river, c.340 mi/550 km long, formed by the confluence of the North Saskatchewan (c.760 mi/1,220 km long) and the South Saskatchewan (c.550 mi/890 km long) rivers near Prince Albert, central Sask., Canada; flows generally E past Nipawin, across the Man. line, then past The Pas and through Cedar L. to L. Winnipeg. The system drains most of the Can. prairie provs. The North Saskatchewan R. rises in the Columbia ice field at the foot of Mt. Saskatchewan, SW Alta., and flows generally E past Edmonton, into Saskatchewan, and then past North Battleford to Prince Albert. Its chief tributaries are the Clearwater, Brazeau, Vermillion, and Battle rivers. The South Saskatchewan R. is formed in S Alta. by the junction of the Bow and Oldman rivers. It flows E past Medicine Hat, then NE into Sask. prov., past Saskatoon, to Prince Albert; it receives the Red Deer R. The Bow-South Saskatchewan-Saskatchewan system is c.1,200 mi/1,930 km long. Completion (1967) of the Gardiner and Qu'Appelle Valley dams, major elements of the South Sasketchewan R. Project, impound L. Diefenbaker, a huge reservoir. The dams and reservoir provide hydroelectric power and irrigation for a large region S of Saskatoon. The Saskatchewan R. and its branches were once important thoroughfares for explorers and trappers.