Description
The Norrth Saskatchewan River, a tributary of the Saskatchewan River, takes its name from the Cree word, kis-is-ska-tche-wan, meaning “swift current.” It flows from the Saskatchewan Glacier in the Columbia Icefield, some 500
km upstream from Edmonton, and has a total length of over 1,200 km. The North Saskatchewan River meets the South
Saskatchewan River about 50 km east of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, to form the Saskatchewan River.
The Blackfoot referred to it as the Omaka-ty, meaning “big river.” French maps dating from the 1790s give it the name
Riviére Bourbon after the French royal family. Alexander Mackenzie noted the Saskatchiwine River in 1793.
The North Saskatchewan River flows for 48 km in a northeasterly direction through Edmonton and forms the river valley, the largest stretch of urban parkland in North America. The river valley includes 22 parks, 150 km of trails and 14
ravines.
Both the Hudson’s Bay Company and the North West Company saw the potential of the river in expanding trade and sited
forts here in 1795. Using the river as a highway, Fort Edmonton soon became the centre of the western Canadian fur
trade. Over the two centuries that followed, Edmonton grew to the northeast and southwest, following the course of the
river valley.
The North Saskatchewan River divided the two earliest communities, Edmonton and Strathcona, until completion of the Low Level Bridge in 1900. Where once the river provided a means to connect the city with outlying regions, it was
increasingly seen as a barrier to trade and communication between the still separate towns lying on the northern and
southern banks of the North Saskatchewan. The two cities were amalgamated in 1912; a year later, the High Level Bridge
was completed.
Feature Type
River
Designation Year
CU