The Fiddle River is a medium-sized
tributary
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 they ...
of the
Athabasca River
The Athabasca River (French: ''Rivière Athabasca'') in Alberta, Canada, originates at the Columbia Icefield in Jasper National Park and flows more than before emptying into Lake Athabasca. Much of the land along its banks is protected in nationa ...
, flowing into the river near the east gate of
Jasper National Park
Jasper National Park, in Alberta, Canada, is the largest national park within Alberta's Rocky Mountains, spanning . It was established as Jasper Forest Park in 1907, renamed as a national park in 1930, and declared a UNESCO world heritage site ...
in Alberta, Canada. The Fiddle River forms at the base of Fiddle Pass, with meltwater from
Mount Bryant,
Mount Gregg,
Mount Sir Harold Mitchel, and
Mount Barry. The river flows in a general northeast direction before its
confluence
In geography, a confluence (also ''conflux'') occurs where two or more watercourses join to form a single channel (geography), channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main ...
with the Athabasca. The Fiddle River parallels the road to the popular
Miette Hot Springs for a portion of its course.
There are two competing stories for the naming of the Fiddle River (as well as
Fiddle Peak, Fiddle Pass, and the
Fiddle Range). The first contends that wind flowing over the Fiddle Range with a certain speed and direction mimicks the sound of a #4
fiddle
A fiddle is a Bow (music), bowed String instrument, string musical instrument, most often a violin or a bass. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including European classical music, classical music. Althou ...
string. The second story argues that the outline of the range resembles that of a
violin
The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...
. The name Fiddle River first appeared in 1846.
[Karamitsanis, Aphrodite (1991). ''Place Names of Alberta, Volume 1''. Calgary: University of Calgary Press, pg. 87]
Tributaries
*Poachers Creek
*Slide Creek
*Sulphur Creek
*O'Hagan Creek
*Mystery Creek
*Villeneuve Creek
*Morris Creek
*Ashlar Creek
See also
*
List of Alberta rivers
Alberta's rivers flow towards three different bodies of water, the Arctic Ocean, the Hudson Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. Alberta is located immediately east of the continental divide, so no rivers from Alberta reach the Pacific Ocean.
List of riv ...
References
Rivers of Alberta
{{Alberta-river-stub