Great Bear River
Great Bear River exits Great Bear Lake near Deline
Native nameSahtúdé (Slave)
Location
CountryCanada
Physical characteristics
Source 
 • locationGreat Bear Lake, Northwest Territories, Canada
 • coordinates65°08′03″N 123°30′45″W / 65.13417°N 123.51250°W / 65.13417; -123.51250
 • elevation186 m (610 ft)
MouthMackenzie River
 • location
Tulita, Northwest Territories, Canada
 • coordinates
64°54′21″N 125°36′12″W / 64.90583°N 125.60333°W / 64.90583; -125.60333
 • elevation
60 m (200 ft)
Length113 km (70 mi)
Basin size156,500 km2 (60,400 sq mi)
Discharge 
 • locationMackenzie River[1]
 • average528 m3/s (18,600 cu ft/s)
 • maximum995 m3/s (35,100 cu ft/s)
[2][3]
Barge traffic on the Great Bear River, in 1933.

The 113-kilometre-long (70 mi) Great Bear River, which drains the Great Bear Lake westward through marshes into the Mackenzie River, forms an important transportation link during its four ice-free months. It originates at south-west bay of the lake. The river has irregular meander pattern 350-metre-wide (1,150 ft) channel with average depth 6 metres (20 ft). Historic air photos show no evidence of bank erosion or channel migration in a 50-year period.

The low discharge rate is due to small amount of precipitation in watershed area.[4] Great Bear River contained open reaches that had melted out in place over 80 percent of its length in 1972 and 1974.[1]

The settlement of Tulita is located at the mouth of the river.

Tributaries

The tributaries of the Great Bear River include;[3]

  • Porcupine River
  • Rosalie Creek
  • Stick Creek
  • Wolverine Creek
  • St. Charles Creek
  • Brackett River

See also

References

  1. 1 2 HARE INDIAN RIVER. TABLE 6-1 Great Bear River
  2. ↑ "Natural Resources Canada-Canadian Geographical Names (Great Bear River)". Retrieved 2014-12-21.
  3. 1 2 "Atlas of Canada Toporama". Retrieved 2014-12-21.
  4. ↑ Archived 2006-05-07 at the Wayback Machine Maps of Canada Annual Precipitation
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.