The Kananaskis River is a mountain river in western

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 ...

, Canada. It is a tributary of the

Bow River The headwaters of the Bow River in Alberta, Canada, start at the Bow Glacier and Bow Lake (Alberta), Bow Lake in Banff National Park in the Canadian Rockies, Canadian Rocky Mountains. The glacial stream that feeds Bow Lake (Alberta), Bow Lake ...

, crossing the length of

Kananaskis Country Kananaskis Country (abbreviated: K-Country) is a multi-use area west of Calgary, Alberta, Canada in the Rocky Mountain Foothills, foothills and front ranges of the Canadian Rockies. Its western edge borders Banff National Park and the Alberta-Br ...

. The river was named by

John Palliser John Palliser (29 January 1817 – 18 August 1887) was an Irish-born geographer and explorer. Following his service in the Waterford Militia and hunting excursions to the North American prairies, he led the British North American Explorin ...

in 1858 after a

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 ...

Course

The Kananaskis originates in the

Canadian Rockies The Canadian Rockies () 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 part of the Canadian Cordillera, w ...

, east of the

continental divide A continental divide is a drainage divide on a continent such that the drainage basin on one side of the divide feeds into one ocean or sea, and the basin on the other side either feeds into a different ocean or sea, or else is endorheic, not ...

, in Peter Lougheed Provincial Park. It flows southeast to the Upper Kananaskis Lake, then turns north into the Lower Kananaskis Lake. From here it has a northbound course on the border of Spray Valley Provincial Park and Elbow-Sheep Wildland Provincial Park, where the Kananaskis Trail follows its itinerary. The lower course flows through Bow Valley Provincial Park, where Barrier Lake is formed along the river. Barrier Lake is an artificial lake used for

hydroelectric power Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...

generation. The Kananaskis merges into the Bow River at Seebe, 30 km east of Canmore. The Kananaskis River has a total length of . The river contains three hydroelectric dams, each of which contains a powerhouse. The Pocaterra Hydroelectric Facility involves a 1.5-kilometre penstock to increase the

hydraulic head Hydraulic head or piezometric head is a measurement related to liquid pressure (normalized by specific weight) and the liquid elevation above a vertical datum., 410 pages. See pp. 43–44., 650 pages. See p. 22, eq.3.2a. It is usually meas ...

and therefore the amount of electricity it generates.

Recreation

Many

hiking A hike is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century. Long hikes as part of a religious pilgrimage have existed for a much longer time. "Hi ...

trails are found along the upper course of the river.

Canoeing Canoeing is an activity which involves paddling a canoe with a single-bladed paddle. In some parts of Europe, canoeing refers to both canoeing and kayaking, with a canoe being called an 'open canoe' or Canadian. A few of the recreational ...

kayaking Kayaking is the use of a kayak for moving over water. It is distinguished from canoeing by the sitting position of the paddler and the number of blades on the paddle. A kayak is a low-to-the-water, canoe-like boat in which the paddler sits fac ...

, and

rafting Rafting and whitewater rafting are recreational outdoor activities which use an inflatable raft to navigate a river or other body of water. This is often done on whitewater or different degrees of rough water. Dealing with risk is often a ...

are also popular activities on the lower Kananaskis, with tours starting from Canmore or Banff.

Lower Kananaskis River description

For whitewater enthusiasts looking to run friendly class II(III) whitewater, the Lower Kananaskis is a popular choice. As the river is dam-controlled, the water levels are predictable, and TransAlta generally posts the release times and flow rates on thei
website
The Canoe Meadows site is home to the popula
Kananaskis Whitewater Festival ("Kanfest")
This is an annual festival, typically occurring in mid-August, which attracts beginner and expert kayakers alike for a fun-filled weekend of kayaking-related activities. The Upper Kananaskis (upstream of Barrier Lake) is not so paddler friendly: low water levels, many snags and sweepers.

Shuttle

* The put-in for the Lower Kananaskis is the parking lot for "Widow Maker" Rapid, located approximately 1 kilometre upstream of the Kananaskis Information Centre. * The take-out for the Lower Kananaskis is Canoe Meadows Campground, approximately 1 kilometre downstream of the Kananaskis Information Centre

Rapids

The first rapid on the Kananaskis is the Widow Maker, which is a class III pool drop that is notoriously tippy. It is easy to put in below the Widow Maker if the paddler is looking to avoid the feature. The first play feature is a small hole on river left called Hollywood. The river then winds down with man-made

eddies In fluid dynamics, an eddy is the swirling of a fluid and the reverse current created when the fluid is in a turbulent flow regime. The moving fluid creates a space devoid of downstream-flowing fluid on the downstream side of the object. Fluid ...

on either side of the river to the second feature called point-break, which is considered the river's best hole for playboating. Downstream is the river's largest wave, called Santa Claus, with an aggressive hole 30 yards below it (dubbed "Santa's Little Helper"). The section finishes off with Canoe Meadows Campground on the right hand shore, with a large "V" wave popular with river surfers, a second wave called the Green Tongue, and a very developed slalom course. Nearly every rapid on this stretch of river was either created or manipulated by man-made boulder placements. The exit of the river to get back to the take-out is anywhere on the right hand shore after the last slalom gate

A major 2013 Alberta floods, flood beginning on June 21, 2013 had a destructive effect on the man-made rapids on the lower Kananaskis River. Very few of them are still considered suitable for

Playboating Canoe freestyle (also known as playboating) is a discipline of whitewater kayaking or canoeing where people perform various technical moves in one place (a playspot), as opposed to downriver whitewater kayaking, whitewater canoeing or kayaking wh ...

, partially due to movement of boulders, and partially due to inconsistent water levels. Soon after, th
Alberta Whitewater Association
reconstructed an interim slalom course, with plans to improve it further with additional time and funding.

References