North Saskatchewan River

North Saskatchewan River
Headwaters of the North Saskatchewan in Banff National Park
Country	Canada
Provinces	Alberta, Saskatchewan
Tributaries
- left	Brazeau River
- right	Clearwater River, Vermilion River, Battle River
Cities	Edmonton, AB, North Battleford, SK, Prince Albert, SK
Source	Rocky Mountains
- location	Saskatchewan Glacier, Alberta
- elevation	2,080 m (6,824 ft)
- coordinates	52°09′22″N 117°10′54″W / 52.15611°N 117.18167°W / 52.15611; -117.18167
Mouth	Saskatchewan River
- location	Saskatchewan River Forks, Saskatchewan
- elevation	380 m (1,247 ft)
- coordinates	53°14′07″N 105°04′58″W / 53.23528°N 105.08278°W / 53.23528; -105.08278Coordinates: 53°14′07″N 105°04′58″W / 53.23528°N 105.08278°W / 53.23528; -105.08278
Length	1,287 km (800 mi)
Basin	122,800 km2 (47,413 sq mi)
Discharge	for Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, 53 km (33 mi) from the mouth
- average	238 m3/s (8,405 cu ft/s)
- max	5,660 m3/s (199,881 cu ft/s)
- min	19 m3/s (671 cu ft/s)
The North Saskatchewan River drainage basin

The North Saskatchewan River is a glacier-fed river that flows east from the Canadian Rockies to central Saskatchewan. It is one of two major rivers that join to make up the Saskatchewan River.

The Saskatchewan River system is the largest shared between the Canadian provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan. It includes most of southern Alberta and southern Saskatchewan, before crossing into central Manitoba.

North Saskatchewan River has a length of 1,287 kilometres (800 mi), and a drainage area of 122,800 square kilometres (47,400 sq mi). At its end point at Saskatchewan River Forks it has a mean discharge of 245 cubic metres per second (8,700 cu ft/s). The yearly discharge at the Alberta–Saskatchewan border is more than 7 cubic kilometres (1.7 cu mi).

The river begins above 1,800 metres (5,900 ft) at the toe of the Saskatchewan Glacier in the Columbia Icefield, and flows southeast through Banff National Park alongside the Icefields Parkway. At the junction of the David Thompson Highway (Highway 11), it initially turns northeast for 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) before switching to a more direct eastern flow for about 30 kilometres (19 mi). At this point, it turns north where it eventually arrives at Abraham Lake. Bighorn Dam constricts the north end of Abraham Lake, where the North Saskatchewan emerges to track eastward to Rocky Mountain House. At Rocky Mountain House, the river abruptly turns north again for 100 kilometres (62 mi) where it switches east towards Edmonton, Alberta. In Edmonton, the river passes through the centre of the city in a northeasterly direction and out towards Smoky Lake at which point it quickly changes to the southeast and then more to the east as it makes its way to the Alberta–Saskatchewan boundary.