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MacKenzie River
*** Shopping-Tip: MacKenzie River
:''For other uses, see
Mackenzie River (disambiguation)''
{{Infobox_river
|river_name = Mackenzie
|image_name = MackenzieDelta23.jpg
|caption = The lower Mackenzie River at the end of August. Source: NASA.
|origin =
Great Slave Lake, in
Northwest Territories
|mouth =
Arctic Ocean
|basin_countries =
Canada
|length = 1,738 km (1,079 mi) without
headstreams, 4,241 km (2,634 mi) with headstreams
|elevation =
|discharge = 9,700 cubic metres per second
|watershed =
}}
Image:Mackenzie River drainage basin.PNG thumb|300px|Approximate extent of the Mackenzie River watershed
The '''Mackenzie River''' (French: ''fleuve Mackenzie'') originates in
Great Slave Lake, in the
Northwest Territories, and flows north into the
Arctic Ocean. It is the longest river in
Canada at 1,738 km and, together with its headstreams the
Peace River (Canada) Peace and the
Finlay River Finlay, the second longest river in
North America at 4,241 km in length; only the
Mississippi River Mississippi-
Missouri River Missouri is longer. The Mackenzie and its tributaries drain 1,805,200 square kilometers. Its mean discharge is 9,700 cubic metres per second.
The large marshy delta of the Mackenzie River provides habitat for migrating
Snow Goose Snow Geese,
Tundra Swan Tundra Swans, and
Brent Goose Brant as well as breeding habitat for other waterfowl. The estuary is a calving area for
Beluga whales.
The river is navigable for approximately five months of the year. It freezes over in October and the ice on the river breaks up in May. During the winter months, sections of the river are used as an
ice road.
During the ice-free period the river is navigable over its entire length. Barge traffic from an
intermodal freight transport intermodal hub at the
railhead at
Hay River, NWT Hay River serves much of the Western Arctic.
The Mackenzie (previously Disappointment River) was named after
Alexander Mackenzie (explorer) Alexander Mackenzie who travelled the river while trying to reach the
Pacific Ocean. In the
Dene languages it is called ''Deh Cho''.
The divide between the Mackenzie basin and the basin of the
Yukon River to the west forms the central portion of the boundary between
Northwest Territories and the
Yukon.
The Mackenzie River system includes:
*
Great Bear Lake
*
Great Slave Lake
*
Lake Athabasca
and the following rivers:
*
Arctic Red River Arctic Red
*
Athabasca River Athabasca
*
Finlay River Finlay
*
Fond du Lac River Fond du Lac
*
Fort Nelson River Fort Nelson
*
Hay River (Northwest Territories) Hay
*
Liard River Liard
*
Parsnip River Parsnip
*
Peace River (Alberta) Peace
*
Peel River (Canada) Peel
*
Pembina River (Alberta) Pembina
*
Petitot River Petitot
*
Slave River Slave
*
Smoky River Smoky
*
South Nahanni River South Nahanni
See also
*
List of Northwest Territories rivers
*
List of Yukon rivers
External links
-
Information and a map of the Mackenzie's watershed
-
Canadian Council for Geographic Education page with a series of articles on the history of the Mackenzie River.
-
Atlas of Canada's page devoted to Arctic rivers of Canada.
Category:Rivers of the Northwest Territories
de:Mackenzie (Kanada)
et:Mackenzie jõgi
es:RÃo Mackenzie
fr:Mackenzie (fleuve)
ja:マッケンジー�
nl:Mackenzie (rivier)
pl:Mackenzie (rzeka)
pt:Rio Mackenzie
see
Mackenzie_River
see
Mackenzie River
*** Shopping-Tip: MacKenzie River
