Wapiti River

For the river in New Zealand, see Wapiti River (New Zealand).

Wapiti River Wapiti River in western Canada
Origin	Tuck Lake, Wapiti Pass
Mouth	Smoky River
Basin countries	Canada
Source elevation	1,370 m (4,490 ft)
Mouth elevation	485 m (1,591 ft)
Avg. discharge	100 m3/s (3,500 cu ft/s)

The Wapiti River is a river in eastern British Columbia and western Alberta, Canada. It is a major tributary of the Smoky River, located in the southern area of the Peace River Basin.

Wapiti is named after the Cree word for elk (waapiti).

Course

Wapiti River crossed by Highway 40 south of Grande Prairie

Wapiti River originates as the outflow of Tuck Lake, east of Wapiti Pass, in Wapiti Lake Provincial Park, west-central British Columbia, in the Canadian Rockies. It then runs in a north-eastern direction, crosses into Alberta, where it becomes more meandered as it continues through the County of Grande Prairie No. 1. It merges into the Smoky River 30 kilometres (19 mi) east of Grande Prairie.

From west to east, Wapiti River flows through the alpine environment of the Rocky Mountains, the rolling foothills, then farmlands and aspen parkland in western Alberta. Wapiti Lake Provincial Park, Bear River Park, O'Brien Provincial Park and Pipestone Creek Park are protected areas along the river.

Close to its mouth, Wapiti has an average discharge of 100 cubic metres per second (3,500 cu ft/s).

Tributaries and crossings

Tributary/Crossing	Location	Remarks
Tuck Lake		Originates from Tuck Lake in Wapiti Pass
Wapiti Lake		Flows into Wapiti Lake
Wapiti Lake		Flows from Wapiti Lake
Wapiti Lake Provincial Park		Leaves Park
Fearless Creek		Left tributary, also waters of Dokken Creek
Calliou Creek		Left tributary
Red Deer Creek		Right tributary
Belcourt Creek		Right tributary
Mistanusk Creek		Right tributary, from Boundary Lake
Alberta/British Columbia		Crosses into the province of Alberta
Chinook Creek		Right tributary, from Chinook Ridge
Narraway River		Right tributary
Lingrell Creek		Right tributary, from Lingrell Lake
Nose Creek		Right tributary
Calahoo Creek		Left tributary
Smith Creek		Left tributary
Pinto Creek		Right tributary
West Iroquois Creek		Right tributary
Iroquois Creek		Right tributary
Redwillow River		Left tributary, carries waters from Beaverlodge River as well
Pipestone Creek		Left tributary
Spring Creek		Left tributary
Highway 40		Crossed by road bridge
Big Mountain Creek		Right tributary
Grande Prairie-Grande Cache Railway		Crossed by railway bridge
Bear River		Left tributary
Smoky River		Empties into the Smoky River as left tributary

See also

• List of British Columbia rivers
• List of Alberta rivers