The Pouce Coupe River is a major tributary of the

Peace River The Peace River (french: links=no, rivière de la Paix) 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 ...

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

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include ...

, Canada. Its name is officially spelled ''Pouce Coupé River'', but it is commonly written without the acute accent. Originating in Alberta's

Saddle Hills County Saddle Hills County is a municipal district situated in the central portion of the Peace Country in northwest Alberta, Canada. Located approximately northwest of Edmonton and north of Grande Prairie, its municipal office is located approxima ...

, it flows into British Columbia's

Peace River Regional District The Peace River Regional District is a regional district in northeastern British Columbia, Canada. The regional district comprises seven municipalities and four electoral areas. Its member municipalities are the cities of Fort St. John and D ...

, then returns in Alberta in Saddle Hill County, where it empties into the Peace River. The region of Pouce Coupe Prairie, from which the river and village of

Pouce Coupe The Village of Pouce Coupe (; French for "cut thumb") is a small town in northeastern British Columbia, Canada, and a member municipality of the Peace River Regional District. It was originally named 'Pouskapie's Prairie', after the name of the ...

take their names, was called that for a Beaver Indian Chief named 'Pouscapee'. The first European settler in the region was Hector Tremblay, who built a cabin there in 1898. Tremblay, of

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with France ...

origin, translated 'Pouskapee's Prairie' into the nearest French words of similar sound (, meaning "cut thumb" or "cut-off thumb").

Course

The Pouce Coupe originates in a small lake 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 ...

, at an elevation of , in the ''Pouce Coupe Prairie'' of the southern

Peace River Country The Peace River Country (or Peace Country; french: Région de la Rivière-de-la-paix) is an aspen parkland region centring on the Peace River in Canada. It extends from northwestern Alberta to the Rocky Mountains in northeastern British Columbia, ...

, west of Spirit River and

Woking Woking ( ) is a town and borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in northwest Surrey, England, around from central London. It appears in Domesday Book as ''Wochinges'' and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settlement o ...

, between Saddle Hills and Blueberry Hill. It flows west and receives the waters of Boone Creek before reaching the British Columbia–Alberta border. The river then turns northwest to the village of

. The Pouce Coupe Regional Park is established on the banks of the river east of the village and Highway2, at the confluence with Bissette Creek. It receives the waters of Dawson Creek east of the city of

Dawson Creek Dawson Creek is a city in northeastern British Columbia, Canada. The municipality of had a population of 12,978 in 2016. Dawson Creek derives its name from the creek of the same name that runs through the community. The creek was named after ...

, then turns northeast, entering once again the province of Alberta, north of

Highway 49 The following highways are numbered 49: Australia * Queensland State Route 49 **Wide Bay Highway **Bunya Highway **Moonie Highway **Balonne Highway * Central Coast Highway Canada * Alberta Highway 49 * British Columbia Highway 49 * Manitoba High ...

. The course runs through a canyon that reaches depths of in this section.

Ammonite Ammonoids are a group of extinct marine mollusc animals in the subclass Ammonoidea of the class Cephalopoda. These molluscs, commonly referred to as ammonites, are more closely related to living coleoids (i.e., octopuses, squid and cuttle ...

fossils harvested from the geological formations opened in the canyon can be found in the Dawson Creek Northern Alberta Railways Park museum. The river continues north and empties into the

, south of Highway 64, at an elevation of .

Tributaries and crossings

From its origin to its mouth, Pouce Coupe River encounters the following

tributaries A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or 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 drain the surrounding drainage ...

and crossings:

References

{{authority control Rivers of British Columbia Rivers of Alberta Peace River Country Peace River Regional District

Course

Tributaries and crossings

See also

References