Cardinal River is a short river in western

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...

. It flows from the

Canadian Rockies The Canadian Rockies (french: Rocheuses canadiennes) or Canadian Rocky Mountains, comprising both the Alberta Rockies and the British Columbian Rockies, is the Canadian segment of the North American Rocky Mountains. It is the easternmost par ...

, and empties into the Brazeau River, itself a major tributary of the

North Saskatchewan River The North Saskatchewan River is a glacier-fed river that flows from the Canadian Rockies continental divide east to central Saskatchewan, where it joins with the South Saskatchewan River to make up the Saskatchewan River. Its water flows eventual ...

. At its origin, just east of

Jasper National Park Jasper National Park is a national park in Alberta, Canada. It is the largest national park within Alberta's Rocky Mountains spanning . It was established as a national park in 1930 and declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984. Its locatio ...

, the Cardinal River forms in a basin between Tripoli, Cheviot, Prospect, Climax, and Blackface Mountains, as well as Mount Cardinal, in the

Nikanassin Range The Nikanassin Range is a group of mountain ranges in the Canadian Rockies on the eastern edge of Jasper National Park in Alberta, Canada. It is developed south-east of the Fiddle Range, and one of the front ranges. ''Nikanassin'' means "first ra ...

. From there it flows east, through the eastern slopes of the

and into the foothills. A portion of Grave Flats Road follows the river before it reaches the Bighorn Highway, where it empties into the Brazeau River south of Pembina Forks. The Cardinal river and other surrounding landmarks are named for Jacques Cardinal, a local fur trader. His grave is located on the banks of the river.Karamitsanis, Aphrodite (1991). ''Place Names of Alberta, Volume 1''. Calgary: University of Calgary Press, pg. 41

Tributaries

*Toma Creek *Russell Creek *Nomad Creek *Ruby Creek **Ruby Lakes, Flapjack Lake, Flapjack Creek *Grave Creek *Muskiki Creek **Muskiki Lake

References

Rivers of Alberta {{Alberta-river-stub

Tributaries

See also

References