Chinchaga is a river in north-western Alberta . It is a tributary of the Hay River . Through the Hay River, its waters are carried to the Arctic Ocean via Great Slave Lake and Mackenzie River . The name Chinchaga is First Nations , and means "Big Wood River". Much of the Chinchaga watershed burned in 1950 during the Chinchaga fire .
19-583: Beaverlodge is a town in northern Alberta , Canada. It is located on Highway 43 , 43 km (27 mi) west of Grande Prairie and 48 km (30 mi) east of the British Columbia border. The town was named for the Beaverlodge River, which was known as Uz-i-pa ("temporary lodge") by members of the Beaver First Nation . The first European-Canadian settlers arrived in 1909. In 1953,
38-610: A Specialized Canadian Forces Station was built five miles northeast of the town. It was a General Surveillance Radar Station built as part of the NORAD pact with U.S. The buildings were operated by U.S military members, until the mid 60s when control was handed back to the Royal Canadian Air Force . Operations at the base ceased on April 1, 1988, when the threat of the Cold War decreased. The buildings were all eventually demolished in
57-687: A Giant Beaver statue was unveiled in the town's park, which can be seen from Highway 43 . The town is the home of the Beaverlodge Blades , a hockey team in the North West Junior Hockey League (NWJHL). The team plays out of the Beaverlodge Arena and was established in 2000. The town has an arena, a public library, an indoor swimming pool and play parks. There is an elementary school, grade K-6, Junior High students are bused to Hythe for grades 7–9, St. Mary's Catholic School
76-475: A population density of 422.1/km (1,093.3/sq mi) in 2021. In the 2016 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, the Town of Beaverlodge recorded a population of 2,465 living in 953 of its 1,024 total private dwellings, a 4.2% change from its 2011 population of 2,365. With a land area of 5.73 km (2.21 sq mi), it had a population density of 430.2/km (1,114.2/sq mi) in 2016. In 2004,
95-407: A singular gray fox ( Urocyon cinereoargenteus ) was recorded close to Lake Athabasca , and multiple vagrant birds including northern cardinals ( Cardinalis cardinalis ), wandering tattlers ( Tringa incana ), and northern wheatears ( Oenanthe oenanthe) . Alberta also has reports of wild boars ( Sus scrofa ) coming into the province. Highway 43 and Highway 2 pass through the southwest of
114-815: Is Canada's largest protected area. Other tourist attractions in Northern Alberta include the Fort McMurray Historical Society-Heritage Park, Historic Dunvegan , Kimiwan Birdwalk and Interpretive Centre, Lesser Slave Lake Bird Observatory in the Lesser Slave Lake Provincial Park , Muskoseepi Park , Kakwa Wildland Provincial Park , Willmore Wilderness Park and the Oil Sands Discovery Centre. Northern Alberta contains several diamond bearing diatremes associated with kimberlite fields, including
133-524: Is available for students attending grades 1–9. The high school, Beaverlodge Regional High School (BRHS), is attended by students from Wembley , Valhalla , Hythe , Horse Lakes No. 152B (Indian reserve), Kelly Lake (Metis settlement), Elmworth and St. Mary's in addition to the local Beaverlodge students. Northern Alberta Northern Alberta is a geographic region located in the Canadian province of Alberta . An informally defined cultural region,
152-770: Is controlled by Alberta Health Services . On a provincial level, Northern Alberta is represented in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta by Members of the Legislative Assembly elected in the ridings of Athabasca-Redwater , Barrhead-Morinville-Westlock , Bonnyville-Cold Lake , Dunvegan-Central Peace , Fort McMurray-Conklin , Fort McMurray-Wood Buffalo , Grande Prairie Smoky , Grande Prairie Wapiti , Lac La Biche-St. Paul , Lesser Slave Lake , and Peace River . 57°N 115°W / 57°N 115°W / 57; -115 Chinchaga River Chinchaga River originates in
171-920: The Buffalo Head Hills and Birch Mountains kimberlite fields which in turn form the Northern Alberta kimberlite province . Animals of Northern Alberta include the Mackenzie Valley gray wolf ( Canis lupus occidentalis ), British Columbian red fox ( Vulpes vulpes abietorum ), fishers ( Pekania pennanti ), American black bear ( Ursus americanus ), northwestern moose ( Alces alces anderson i), white-tailed deer ( Odocoileus virginianus ), wood bison ( Bison bison athabascae ), groundhogs ( Marmota monax canadensis ), northern coyotes ( Canis latrans incolatus ), wolverines ( Gulo gulo ), and mountain lions ( Puma concolor ). Multiple elusive and out-of-range animals have been reported in this region, including
190-646: The Slave River that ultimately drains into the Arctic Ocean via Great Slave Lake and the Mackenzie River within the Northwest Territories . Other major rivers are Wapiti , Smoky , Hay , Chinchaga , Petitot Rivers in the west, Wabasca River in the centre and Firebag , Beaver and Clearwater River in the east. Alberta's two largest waterbodies, Lake Athabasca and Lake Claire are located in
209-546: The wetlands of northeastern Alberta , forming the Peace-Athabasca Delta , that drains through the Slave River towards the Arctic Ocean . The Caribou Mountains are an elevated plateau in the relatively flat Albertan north which provide core habitat for an endangered woodland caribou herd. This area is conserved by the Caribou Mountains Wildland Park . The adjacent Wood Buffalo National Park
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#1732851435530228-518: The Chinchaga Lakes, a series of small lakes in the muskeg of north-eastern British Columbia , at an elevation of 795 m. It flows east into Alberta , then continues north-east until west of Keg River , where it turns north. It merges into the Hay River between Zama Lake and High Level , at an altitude of 325 m. A series of oxbow lakes are formed on the lower course. The approximate length of
247-535: The Northern Alberta Development Council, an agency of the provincial government, includes the communities of Whitecourt , Athabasca , Saddle Lake , St. Paul , and Cold Lake , while excluding Hinton , Edson , Mayerthorpe , and Westlock . This definition is also used by the University of Alberta to define eligibility for northern research grants. The region consists of aspen parkland in
266-542: The boundaries of Northern Alberta are not fixed. Under some schemes, the region encompasses everything north of the centre of the Calgary–Edmonton Corridor , including most of the province's landmass as well as its capital, Edmonton . Other schemes place Edmonton and its surrounding farmland in Central Alberta , limiting Northern Alberta to the northern half of the province, where forestry , oil, and gas are
285-614: The dominant industries. Its primary industry is oil and gas , with large heavy oil reserves being exploited at the Athabasca oil sands and Wabasca area in the east of the region. Natural gas is extracted in Peace region and Chinchaga - Rainbow areas in the west, and forestry and logging are also developed in the boreal forests of this region. As of 2023, the region had a population of approximately 374,572. Various definitions exist of Northern Alberta's boundaries. The definition used by
304-455: The mid 1990s. Beaverlodge experiences a subarctic climate ( Köppen climate classification Dfc ) that borders on a humid continental climate (Köppen Dfb ). In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada , the Town of Beaverlodge had a population of 2,271 living in 923 of its 1,022 total private dwellings, a change of -7.9% from its 2016 population of 2,465. With a land area of 5.38 km (2.08 sq mi), it had
323-613: The region, this being the end of the CANAMEX corridor. Other important routes are the Mackenzie Highway and Bicentennial Highway in the northwest, the Northern Woods and Water Route in the southeast and Highway 63 in the east. Grande Prairie Airport , Peace River Airport , Fort Vermilion (Wop May Memorial) International Airport and Fort McMurray Airport are regional air transportation hubs. Northern Alberta's health region
342-579: The river is 500 km, and the average discharge at its confluence with Hay River is 30 m /s. Chinchaga Wildland Park is a large tract of land set aside by the Alberta Government for protection of the habitat of grizzly bears and woodland caribou , as well as nesting sites of trumpeter swan . However, the rest of the Chinchaga area is a well known hunting ground. Significant oil and gas fields (such as Hamburg ) and logging are developed in
361-574: The south, grading to boreal forest and muskeg in the north. The southwest of the region is part of the Peace Country , an area that stretches into northeastern British Columbia consisting of fertile prairie , ranchland , and farmland along the Peace River and its tributaries. Northern Alberta is crossed by the Peace River and the Athabasca River , both of which eventually convene to form
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