McLeod River
| McLeod River | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Country |
 Alberta  Canada
|
| Basin features | |
| Main source | Cardinal Divide 1,621 m (5,318 ft) 52°59′00″N 117°20′15″W / 52.98333°N 117.33750°W |
| River mouth |
Athabasca River 690 m (2,260 ft) 52°51′55″N 115°42′01″W / 52.86528°N 115.70028°WCoordinates: 52°51′55″N 115°42′01″W / 52.86528°N 115.70028°W |
The McLeod River is a river in west-central Alberta, Canada. It forms in the foothills of the Canadian Rockies, and is a major tributary of the Athabasca River.
The river begins just outside the eastern border of Jasper National Park, at the confluence of Thornton and Cheviot Creeks. These creeks are fed by the meltwater on the western slopes of Tripoli and Cheviot Mountains. The McLeod River then follows the Grave Flats Road, taking on Prospect, Whitehorse, and Cadomin Creeks before emptying into Lac des Roches, south of the town of Cadomin.
The river then snakes through the foothills, and is soon joined by four major tributaries, the Gregg, Erith, Embarrass, and Edson rivers before meeting the Athabasca River near the town of Whitecourt, Alberta.
Throughout the 1950s and the 1960s the Alberta Government undertook a number of planning studies that discussed diverting water from the Athabasca-Mackenzie watershed to the North and South Saskatchewan Rivers. In 1970, a preliminary engineering report on the McLeod Valley Dam was released by the provincial Department of Agriculture.
The dam was to be located 20 miles (32 km) northeast of Edson, Alberta, near the hamlet of Peers, Alberta. The diverted water would have been sent via a canal to Chip Lake. The report read:
The McLeod Valley Dam, as well as the larger Athabasca-to-Saskatchewan diversion scheme, was shelved in the 1970s due to rising construction costs and environmental concerns.
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