When measuring from Trident Lake, the Clearwater River has a length of 203 kilometres (126 mi) and descends 350 metres (1,150 ft) to its end at Rocky Mountain House.
The river begins in Banff National Park on the southern slope of Mount Willingdon immediately into the Devon Lakes at Clearwater Pass.
From the Devon Lakes it flows 11 kilometres (7 mi) and descends 400 metres (1,300 ft) to Clearwater Lake.
About 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) after Clearwater Lake and 50 metres (160 ft) down the river hits Trident Lake, where it becomes navigable by canoe, although it is not recommended for paddling until it reaches Timber Creek (40 kilometres (25 mi) downstream) because of dangerous and variable river wide log jams.
After traveling 15 kilometres (9 mi) east and descending 120 metres (390 ft), the river exits Banff National Park. There are two class III rapids, and a dangerous blind corner that feeds "Heart Attack Log Jam" (a nearly river wide log jam that requires very good class III paddling skills and tight maneuvering to successfully navigate) before reaching Banff Park boundary.
The river travels east 18 kilometres (11 mi) more and descends 150 metres (490 ft) before turning north and exiting the Ram Range in the Rocky Mountain Foothills. There is one class III rapid a little outside the park boundary, many tight log gardens, and braided channels that end in complete obstruction by logs, as well as one section just downstream of the wagon crossing where the river dives through mature forest and logs with no navigable channel, requiring a 50 meter portage through dense bush and logs. Due to the lack of road access, the many logs and log jams and relative lack of interesting enough whitewater to make up for the long boat haul to reach the put in, the stretch of river from Trident Lake to about 40 kilometres (25 mi) downstream (Timber Creek) saw its first successful descent by canoe in nearly fifty years, by Warren and Paul Finlay on June 26, 2021, having been first navigated in modern days by the Wild Rivers Survey, Planning Division, Parks Canada in 1973.
About 20 kilometres (12 mi) further along, the river turns east again and meets its first road around Idlewild Mountain.
About 70 kilometres (43 mi) later, the river turns northwest.
About 30 kilometres (19 mi) further, the river empties into the North Saskatchewan River.
clearwater, river, alberta, clearwater, river, northeast, alberta, clearwater, river, saskatchewan, other, rivers, called, clearwater, clearwater, river, disambiguation, clearwater, river, southern, alberta, canada, situated, entirely, canadian, rockies, rocky. For the Clearwater River in northeast Alberta see Clearwater River Saskatchewan For other rivers called Clearwater see Clearwater River disambiguation Clearwater is a river of southern Alberta Canada Situated entirely in the Canadian Rockies and the Rocky Mountain foothills of Alberta it is a glacier fed upper reach tributary of the North Saskatchewan River The upper reach of the Clearwater has become popular for equestrian travelers due to the natural setting along the river The Clearwater River of southwestern Alberta Contents 1 Course 2 Tributaries 3 Photo gallery 4 See also 5 References 6 External linksCourse editWhen measuring from Trident Lake the Clearwater River has a length of 203 kilometres 126 mi and descends 350 metres 1 150 ft to its end at Rocky Mountain House The river begins in Banff National Park on the southern slope of Mount Willingdon immediately into the Devon Lakes at Clearwater Pass From the Devon Lakes it flows 11 kilometres 7 mi and descends 400 metres 1 300 ft to Clearwater Lake About 2 kilometres 1 2 mi after Clearwater Lake and 50 metres 160 ft down the river hits Trident Lake where it becomes navigable by canoe although it is not recommended for paddling until it reaches Timber Creek 40 kilometres 25 mi downstream because of dangerous and variable river wide log jams After traveling 15 kilometres 9 mi east and descending 120 metres 390 ft the river exits Banff National Park There are two class III rapids and a dangerous blind corner that feeds Heart Attack Log Jam a nearly river wide log jam that requires very good class III paddling skills and tight maneuvering to successfully navigate before reaching Banff Park boundary The river travels east 18 kilometres 11 mi more and descends 150 metres 490 ft before turning north and exiting the Ram Range in the Rocky Mountain Foothills There is one class III rapid a little outside the park boundary many tight log gardens and braided channels that end in complete obstruction by logs as well as one section just downstream of the wagon crossing where the river dives through mature forest and logs with no navigable channel requiring a 50 meter portage through dense bush and logs Due to the lack of road access the many logs and log jams and relative lack of interesting enough whitewater to make up for the long boat haul to reach the put in the stretch of river from Trident Lake to about 40 kilometres 25 mi downstream Timber Creek saw its first successful descent by canoe in nearly fifty years by Warren and Paul Finlay on June 26 2021 having been first navigated in modern days by the Wild Rivers Survey Planning Division Parks Canada in 1973 About 20 kilometres 12 mi further along the river turns east again and meets its first road around Idlewild Mountain About 70 kilometres 43 mi later the river turns northwest About 30 kilometres 19 mi further the river empties into the North Saskatchewan River Tributaries editMartin Creek Roaring Creek Malloch Creek Peters Creek Forbidden Creek Timber Creek Washout Creek Peppers Creek Elk Creek Idlewild Creek Cuttoff Creek Rock Creek Limestone Creek Seven Mile Creek Pineneedle Creek Tay River Alford Creek Prairie CreekPhoto gallery edit nbsp Origin of Clearwater River from the Devon Lakes nbsp Trident Lake along the Clearwater River nbsp Clearwater River in the Canadian RockiesSee also editList of rivers of AlbertaReferences editWild Rivers Alberta by Canada Wild Rivers Survey External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Clearwater River Alberta Clearwater River Expedition Archived 2015 04 30 at the Wayback Machine A journal log with photos describing a hike along the Clearwater River 52 21 43 N 114 56 52 W 52 36194 N 114 94778 W 52 36194 114 94778 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Clearwater River Alberta amp oldid 1189616928, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
