The Athabasca River begins at the Columbia Icefields Glacier in Jasper National Park and travels just over 1500 km northeast across Alberta, draining North-East into Lake Athabasca.

Lake Athabasca then flows into Slave River and joins the McKenzie River, which flows to the Arctic Ocean, travelling over 1230 kms from start to glacier to mouth. The Athabasca River flows through a tremendous change in elevation, from 1062 metres at Jasper National Park to 205 metres at its mouth in Lake Athabasca.

Athabasca river's entire basin is approximately 159,000 square kilometers, which is about 24% of Alberta's landmass. Athabasca river is fed by ten smaller watersheds that flow into it.. McLeod, Pembina, La Biche, Lesser Slave, and Clearwater.

Athabasca River Details

The Athabasca River is the longest river in Alberta, Canada at 1,538 km. The first 168 km starts in Jasper National Park and is designated as a Canadian Heritage River. As a tributary to the Mackenzie River, water flowing on the Athabasca River eventually drains into the Arctic Ocean. River flow is highest during the summer and lowest during winter, and is ice-covered from mid-November to about mid-April.

The Athabasca River headwaters are located on the eastern slopes of Canada's Rocky Mountains, at the Columbia Icefield. Athabasca River flows northeast through the steep mountainous region of Jasper National Park and past the foothills region where it is joined by the Berland and McLeod Rivers, before entering Canada's boreal forest region. Between Whitecourt and Athabasca, the Athabasca River is joined by the Pembina River and Lesser Slave River, draining Lesser Slave Lake, and upstream of Athabasca, the Athabasca River and numerous tributaries including.. Clearwater, MacKay, Ells, Firebag and Richardson Rivers; flowing through Alberta's Athabasca oil sands deposit. Approximately 200 km past Fort McMurray, the Athabasca River splits into two main channels and flows alongside Wood Buffalo National Park as it enters the Peace-Athabasca Delta and drains into Lake Athabasca.

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