The Arctic Red River is a tributary to the
Mackenzie River in the
Northwest Territories, Canada.
[
][
]
In 1993 the river was designated as part of the
Canadian Heritage Rivers System The Canadian Heritage Rivers System (CHRS; french: Le réseau de rivières du patrimoine canadien) is a joint program administered by the federal, provincial and territorial governments to conserve and protect the best examples of Canada's river her ...
. It was also the name of a community on the Mackenzie where the river joins, now known as
Tsiigehtchic
Tsiigehtchic ( ; "mouth of the iron river"), officially the ''Charter Community of Tsiigehtchic'', is a Gwich'in community located at the confluence of the Mackenzie and the Arctic Red Rivers, in the Inuvik Region of the Northwest Territories, ...
. The
Dempster Highway
The Dempster Highway, also referred to as Yukon Highway 5 and Northwest Territories Highway 8, is a highway in Canada that connects the Klondike Highway in Yukon to Inuvik, Northwest Territories on the Mackenzie River delta. The highway crosses ...
crosses the Mackenzie at this point.
The Arctic Red River's headwaters are in the
Mackenzie Mountains
The Mackenzie Mountains are a Canadian mountain range forming part of the Yukon- Northwest Territories boundary between the Liard and Peel rivers. The range is named in honour of Canada's second prime minister, Alexander Mackenzie. Nahanni Na ...
, from where it flows northwest to its confluence with the Mackenzie.
[
The river flows through a deep canyon as it flows through the ]Peel Plateau
Peel or Peeling may refer to:
Places Australia
* Peel (Western Australia)
* Peel Island, Queensland
*Peel, New South Wales
* Peel River (New South Wales)
Canada
* Peel Parish, New Brunswick
* Peel, New Brunswick, an unincorporated community ...
. The Gwich'in name for the river, ''Tsiigèhnjik'', translates as ''iron river''. The lower of the river are navigable by kayakers and canoe
A canoe is a lightweight narrow water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using a single-bladed paddle.
In British English, the ter ...
rs, without requiring portaging
Portage or portaging (Canada: ; ) is the practice of carrying water craft or cargo over land, either around an obstacle in a river, or between two bodies of water. A path where items are regularly carried between bodies of water is also called a ...
.
Measured at a gauge about from the mouth,[
] the average flow between 1968 and 2011 was . The highest recorded discharge was in May 1991. The minimum flow was in December 1973.
See also
*List of rivers of the Northwest Territories
This is a list of rivers that are in whole or partly in the Northwest Territories, Canada.
By watershed
Arctic Ocean watershed
* Back River ( Nunavut)
;Canadian Arctic Archipelago
*Hornaday River (Nunavut)
* Kagloryuak River (Nunavut)
* Nanoo ...
References
External links
Map from the Canadian Heritage Rivers site
{{Authority control
Rivers of the Northwest Territories
Canadian Heritage Rivers
Canyons and gorges of Canada
Tributaries of the Mackenzie River