Carrot River is a river in
Western Canada
Western Canada, also referred to as the Western provinces, Canadian West, or Western provinces of Canada, and commonly known within Canada as the West, is a list of regions of Canada, Canadian region that includes the four western provinces and t ...
in the north-eastern part
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...
and the north-western part of
Manitoba
Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...
. The outlet of
Wakaw Lake in Saskatchewan marks the beginning of the Carrot River and, from there, it flows north-east past several communities and
Indian reserve
In Canada, an Indian reserve () or First Nations reserve () is defined by the '' Indian Act'' as a "tract of land, the legal title to which is vested in Her Majesty, that has been set apart by Her Majesty for the use and benefit of a band." ...
s until it joins the
Saskatchewan River in the
Cumberland Delta in Manitoba. The
river's mouth is west and upstream of the
Pasquia River and
The Pas on the Saskatchewan River.
Historically, Carrot River has been important to local
First Nations
First nations are indigenous settlers or bands.
First Nations, first nations, or first peoples may also refer to:
Indigenous groups
*List of Indigenous peoples
*First Nations in Canada, Indigenous peoples of Canada who are neither Inuit nor Mé ...
, early explorers, fur traders, and settlers. Along the river's course and within its
watershed, there are
National Wildlife Areas, migratory bird sanctuaries, recreational parks, and notable fossil discoveries. Multiple major highways cross the river and provide access to it. The watershed is home to over 25,500 people and covers an area of about , of which nearly is in Saskatchewan. The south-west part of Carrot River's watershed is made up of a
terminal basin called Lenore Lake Basin that, while not directly connected to Carrot River, is considered part of its watershed.
History
The Carrot River valley was initially inhabited by
Cree
The Cree, or nehinaw (, ), are a Indigenous peoples of the Americas, North American Indigenous people, numbering more than 350,000 in Canada, where they form one of the country's largest First Nations in Canada, First Nations. They live prim ...
and
Saulteaux Aboriginal people. English fur trader and explorer
Henry Kelsey explored the river in the summer of 1691.
Louis de la Corne, Chevalier de la Corne and
Anthony Henday also explored the valley during the 1750s.
Description
Carrot River's headwaters originate in the Cudworth and Tiger Hill Plains near the town of
Wakaw, Saskatchewan and its mouth is in the
Saskatchewan River Delta near
The Pas, Manitoba. The river begins at the eastern end of
Wakaw Lake and flows north-east into Manitoba, paralleling the course of the
South Saskatchewan and
Saskatchewan Rivers. At no point is the Carrot River farther than from either of those river. The
Pasquia Hills make up much of the river's southern watershed boundary. Carrot River is about in length and serves as the main watershed (which, at its maximum, is about wide) for north-eastern Saskatchewan.
Some of the notable parks and protected areas in Carrot River's watershed include Tway National Wildlife Area,
Raven Island National Wildlife Area,
Lenore Lake Migratory Bird Sanctuary,
Basin and Middle Lakes Migratory Bird Sanctuary,
Ingvald Opseth Wildlife Refuge,
Wildcat Hill Provincial Park,
Mountain Cabin Recreation Site, Pasquia Regional Park,
Rice River Canyon Ecological Reserve, and
Pasquia Hills North Recreation Site.
Communities along Carrot River's course include
Tway,
Crystal Springs,
Kinistino,
Fairy Glen,
Ridgedale,
Red Earth First Nation,
Shoal Lake Cree Nation, and
Pasquia.
Melfort, while not along the course of the river, is the only city within the drainage basin. Major highways that cross the river include
Highways 20,
3,
6,
35,
23,
55, and
9. Once Saskatchewan's Highway 9 reaches the border with Manitoba, it becomes Manitoba's
Provincial Road 283. Provincial Road 283 follows the Carrot River to its mouth at the Saskatchewan River, upstream from The Pas.
Tributaries
The Carrot River's
tributaries
A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream ('' main stem'' or ''"parent"''), river, or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries, and the main stem river into which the ...
from its source at
Wakaw Lake in Saskatchewan to its mouth at the Saskatchewan River, upstream from The Pas, Manitoba:
*McCloy Creek
**Coldwell Creek
*Goosehunting Creek
*
Melfort Creek
*Sweetwater Creek
*Sandhill Creek
*Little Bridge Creek
*Leather River
**Doghide River
**Presbyterian River
**Trapper Creek
**Crooked River
*Burntout Brook
*Jordan River
*Emmons Creek
*Connell Creek
*Papikwan River
**Redwillow Creek
***Fournier Creek
*Kennedy Creek
*Cracking River
*Red Earth Creek
**Halfway Creek
**Man River
*McVey Creek
*
Rice River
*Sipanok Channel
*Nitenal River
**Mountain Creek
*Culdesac River
*
Birch River
**Petabec Creek
***Sapaskoo Creek
**Junction Creek
***Mink Creek
****Bloodsucker Creek
*****Cut Beaver River
******
Dragline Channel — a man-made
channel connecting the Carrot River watershed to the Saskatchewan River
**Dead Moose Creek
Lenore Lake basin
At the south-western most point of Carrot River's watershed is the
terminal Lenore Lake basin. It consists of 15 individual lakes, two of which are fresh water while the others are salt water. The more prominent
salt lakes include
Basin,
Lenore, Middle, Frog, Ranch, Murphy, Flat, Mantrap, Houghton, Deadmoose, and
Waldsea. The two
fresh water
Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salt (chemistry), salts and other total dissolved solids. The term excludes seawater and brackish water, but it does include ...
lakes are St. Brieux and Burton. The basin is in the
aspen parkland
Aspen parkland refers to a very large area of ecotone, transitional biome between prairie and boreal forest in two sections, namely the Peace River Country of northwestern Alberta crossing the border into British Columbia, and a much larger area ...
ecozone of Saskatchewan and its lakes are important for various birds and other wildlife. As such, large sections of the basin have been carved out as
protected areas. Lenore Lake has been designated an
Important Bird Area of Canada and a migratory bird sanctuary. At the southern end of the lake is Raven Island, which is a
National Wildlife Area of Canada. Basin Lake and neighbouring Middle Lake have also been designated as an Important Bird Area and migratory bird sanctuary.
Fossils and historical finds
During the 1980s, the
Royal Saskatchewan Museum explored the banks and rock edges of the Carrot River, because a local farmer had been finding numerous fossils in that area. The tests on the found fossils showed them to be approximately 92 million years old. The sites along the Carrot River proved to be some of the wealthiest deposits of fossils and showed deposits from numerous other species including sharks and fish.
The most notable find was in 1991, when the Royal Saskatchewan Museum and the
Canadian Museum of Nature unearthed the six-metre fossil skeleton of an ancient crocodile, a ''
Terminonaris robustus'' specimen named "Big Bert". Big Bert turned out to be very well-preserved and the only one of its kind found in Canada. They also found a complete fossil of ''
Xiphactinus'' and toothed birds.
Tway National Wildlife Area
Tway National Wildlife Area () is a
National Wildlife Area (NWA) along the course of the Carrot River in the
RM of Invergordon No. 430. By 1970, three-quarters of the marshland in the area had been drained. In 1971, to help restore the marshland,
Canadian Wildlife Service acquired land for a
Ducks Unlimited Canada project. The project included flood control, raising water levels, and improve haying and grazing for neighbouring farmers. The NWA is north of the community of
Tway along Carrot River's course from the eastern shore of Tway Lake eastward coving the marshland. The NWA is an important habitat for birds, such as
Canada geese,
grebes,
coots, owls, and song birds.
Pasquia Regional Park
Pasquia Regional Park () is a regional park along the course of the Carrot River in the
RM of Arborfield No. 456, downstream and east of where the Burntout Brook meets it. The park is on the northern bank of the river and has a campground with over 200 campsites, a golf course, licensed restaurant, mini golf, junior Olympic sized swimming pool, river access, and hiking trails. The Dickson Hardie Interpretive Centre that houses "Big Bert" is at the park. It is about south of the town of
Carrot River and access is from
Highway 23.
Pasquia Park Golf Club is a 9-hole course with grass greens. There is a driving range and it is a par 37 with 3,241 yards. There is a licensed club house with cart and club rentals.
Fish species
Fish commonly found in the river include
walleye
The walleye (''Sander vitreus'', Synonym (taxonomy), synonym ''Stizostedion vitreum''), also called the walleyed pike, yellow pike, yellow pikeperch or yellow pickerel, is a freshwater perciform fish native to most of Canada and to the Northern ...
,
yellow perch,
northern pike
The northern pike (''Esox lucius'') is a species of carnivorous fish of the genus ''Esox'' (pikes). They are commonly found in brackish water, moderately salty and fresh waters of the Northern Hemisphere (''i.e.'' holarctic in distribution). T ...
,
burbot, and
white sucker.
See also
*
List of rivers of Manitoba
*
List of rivers of Saskatchewan
*
Hudson Bay drainage basin
*
List of protected areas of Saskatchewan
References
External links
Royal Saskatchewan Museum - Pasquia Hills ProjectFish Species of Saskatchewan
{{Authority control
Rivers of Saskatchewan
Rivers of Northern Manitoba
Tributaries of Hudson Bay
Saskatchewan River
Arborfield No. 456, Saskatchewan
Invergordon No. 430, Saskatchewan
Hoodoo No. 401, Saskatchewan