McLeod River

For the river in British Columbia, see McLeod River (British Columbia).
McLeod River

The McLeod River near Edson, Alberta
Basin
Main source Cardinal Divide
52°59′00″N 117°20′15″W / 52.98333°N 117.33750°W / 52.98333; -117.33750
Source elevation 1,621 m (5,318 ft)
River mouth Athabasca River
52°51′55″N 115°42′01″W / 52.86528°N 115.70028°W / 52.86528; -115.70028
Mouth elevation 690 m (2,260 ft)
Country  Alberta  Canada

The McLeod River is a river in west-central Alberta, Canada. It forms in the foothills of the Canadian Rockies, and is a major tributary of the Athabasca River.

The McLeod River south of Hinton, Alberta

Course

The river begins just outside the eastern border of Jasper National Park, at the confluence of Thornton and Cheviot Creeks. These creeks are fed by the meltwater on the western slopes of Tripoli and Cheviot Mountains. The McLeod River then follows the Grave Flats Road, taking on Prospect, Whitehorse, and Cadomin Creeks before emptying into Lac des Roches, south of the town of Cadomin.

The river then snakes through the foothills, and is soon joined by four major tributaries, the Gregg, Erith, Embarrass, and Edson rivers before meeting the Athabasca River near the town of Whitecourt, Alberta.

Planned dam

Throughout the 1950s and the 1960s the Alberta Government undertook a number of planning studies that discussed diverting water from the Athabasca-Mackenzie watershed to the North and South Saskatchewan Rivers. In 1970, a preliminary engineering report on the McLeod Valley Dam was released by the provincial Department of Agriculture.

The dam was to be located 20 miles (32 km) northeast of Edson, Alberta, near the hamlet of Peers, Alberta. The diverted water would have been sent via a canal to Chip Lake. The report read:

"The main embankment would be 5810 feet long with crest elevation at 2780 feet and a maximum height of 140 feet. Dykes, 13,230 feet long and with a maximum height of 15 feet would also be required. Two diversion tunnels, one of which will later be converted to a low level outlet, are proposed to handle river flow during the construction period. A gated ogee crest spillway has been designed with a discharge capacity sufficient to route a 1:500 year flood through the reservoir. The dam would create a reservoir approximately 12 miles long with a total storage area of 562,700 acre feet (694,100,000 m3) at full supply level of 2770 feet."[1]

The McLeod Valley Dam, as well as the larger Athabasca-to-Saskatchewan diversion scheme, was shelved in the 1970s due to rising construction costs and environmental concerns.

Tributaries

Tributaries of the McLeod River, from headwaters to the Athabasca River, include:

See also

References

  1. Development Planning Branch, Water Resources Division, Alberta Department of Agriculture, Preliminary Engineering Report on the Investigation and Design of the McLeod Valley Dam, Edmonton: 1970.
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