Makwa River is a river in the

Canadian province Within the geographical areas of Canada, the ten provinces and three territories are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British Nort ...

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a province in western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North ...

in the transition zone between parkland and

boreal forest Taiga (; rus, тайга́, p=tɐjˈɡa; relates to Mongolic and Turkic languages), generally referred to in North America as a boreal forest or snow forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests consisting mostly of pines, spruces ...

. ''Makwa'' is Cree for ''

Loon Loons (North American English) or divers ( British / Irish English) are a group of aquatic birds found in much of North America and northern Eurasia. All living species of loons are members of the genus ''Gavia'', family Gaviidae and order G ...

''. The upper reaches of the Makwa River's

watershed Watershed is a hydrological term, which has been adopted in other fields in a more or less figurative sense. It may refer to: Hydrology * Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins * Drainage basin, called a "watershe ...

reach just across the border into

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 ...

and includes lakes such as Hewett, Ministikwan, Makwa, and

Jumbo Jumbo (about December 25, 1860 – September 15, 1885), also known as Jumbo the Elephant and Jumbo the Circus Elephant, was a 19th-century male African bush elephant born in Sudan. Jumbo was exported to Jardin des Plantes, a zoo in Paris, and ...

Description

Makwa River begins at the north-east corner of Makwa Lake in

Makwa Lake Provincial Park Makwa Lake Provincial Park is a recreational provincial park in the west-central region of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan in the transition zone between parkland and boreal forest. The park was established in 1986 and is centred aro ...

and flows east then north-east to meet the Beaver River. Downstream water flows are controlled by Makwa Lake Control dam at the outflow point of Makwa Lake. The main tributary for Makwa Lake is Ministikwan Creek, which has its source at Ministikwan Lake. As Makwa River heads east, it is met by the south-flowing Horsehead Creek.

Makwa Lake Control

Makwa Lake Control () was originally built as a timber dam in 1965. It is located north-west of the village of Loon Lake at the outflow of Makwa Lake in Makwa Lake Provincial Park. In 2010, the dilapidated timber dam was replaced by a concrete one. The dam is high and has two radial gates and a riparian outlet. The original dam did not have a

fish ladder A fish ladder, also known as a fishway, fish pass, fish steps, or fish cannon is a structure on or around artificial and natural barriers (such as dams, locks and waterfalls) to facilitate diadromous fishes' natural migration as well as mo ...

but one was built for the 2010 concrete one. The dam regulates water levels on Makwa, Upper Makwa, Jumbo, and Little Jumbo Lakes. Access to the dam is from Highway 26.

References

{{Authority control Rivers of Saskatchewan Meadow Lake No. 588, Saskatchewan Loon Lake No. 561, Saskatchewan Tributaries of Hudson Bay

Description

Makwa Lake Control

See also

References