The Heart River is a river in
northern Alberta
Northern Alberta is a geographic region located in the Canadian province of Alberta.
An informally defined cultural region, the boundaries of Northern Alberta are not fixed. Under some schemes, the region encompasses everything north of the ce ...
,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
. It is a major tributary of the
Peace River
The Peace River () is a river in Canada that originates in the Rocky Mountains of northern British Columbia and flows to the northeast through northern Alberta. The Peace River joins the Athabasca River in the Peace-Athabasca Delta to form the ...
.
The motto of the village of
Nampa, Alberta
Nampa is a village in northern Alberta, Canada. It is south of the Peace River, Alberta, Town of Peace River on Alberta Highway 2, Highway 2. Heart River (Alberta), Heart River crosses the Alberta Highway 2, Highway 2 just north of community. Can ...
is ''A Place close to the Heart'', a reference to the river flowing through the community.
Course
The Heart River originates in
Northern Sunrise County
Northern Sunrise County is a municipal district in northern Alberta, Canada. Located in Census Division 17, its municipal office is located east of the Town of Peace River at the intersection of Highway 2 and Highway 688.
History
On July ...
in
Alberta
Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...
, at an elevation of . It flows north through an unnamed lake, then turns westwards as it heads through Harmon Valley Park. It receives the waters from the Harmon Valley Creek as it passes by the settlement of
Harmon Valley, then turns south. Up until this point, it is the North Heart River as differentiated from the South Heart River. It receives the waters of Bearhead Creek (also carrying waters from the Benjamin Creek from the east), then turns again westward. It is paralleled by the
Mackenzie Northern Railway
The Mackenzie Northern Railway is a Canadian railway operating in Alberta and the Northwest Territories. It is the northernmost trackage of the contiguous North American railway network. Since being purchased by CN in 2006, the railway's mainli ...
as it passes by the hamlet of
Reno
Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada–California border. It is the county seat and most populous city of Washoe County, Nevada, Washoe County. Sitting in the High Eastern Sierra foothills, ...
and through the village of
Nampa
The Namibia Press Agency (NAMPA) is the national news agency of the Republic of Namibia. It was founded in 1987 under the name Namibia Press Association as a SWAPO partisan press agency, and resuscitated after independence under its current name ...
. Heart River then receives Myrtle Creek, which is flowing north just east of the village of Nampa. It is crossed by
Highway 2, then continues westwards by the hamlet of
Marie-Reine, then turns north and flows through a deep canyon through the
Greene Valley Provincial Park. It then empties in the
Peace River
The Peace River () is a river in Canada that originates in the Rocky Mountains of northern British Columbia and flows to the northeast through northern Alberta. The Peace River joins the Athabasca River in the Peace-Athabasca Delta to form the ...
, immediately downstream from the
Smoky River
The Smoky River is a river in western Alberta, Canada. It is a major tributary of the Peace River (Canada), Peace River. The name refers to the presence of "smouldering beds of coal in the riverbank" noted by the Cree people, an Indigenous peop ...
mouth, at an elevation of , within the
Peace River
The Peace River () is a river in Canada that originates in the Rocky Mountains of northern British Columbia and flows to the northeast through northern Alberta. The Peace River joins the Athabasca River in the Peace-Athabasca Delta to form the ...
town limits.
Heart River drains an area of approximately .
The watershed can be categorized into three major sub-basins: the North Heart River whose drainage area is about 830 km
2; Bearhead Creek including Benjamin Creek whose drainage area is about 773 km
2 and Myrtle Creek including the Nampa South Drainage Project whose drainage area is 201 km
2.
[
]
Tributaries
*Harmon Valley Creek
*Bearhead Creek
**Benjamin Creek
*Myrtle Creek
See also
*List of rivers of Alberta
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
{{authority control
Rivers of Alberta