Alexandra River (Alberta)

Alexandra River
The Alexandra River near its confluence with Terrace Creek in Banff National Park
Map
Location
CountryCanada
ProvinceAlberta
Physical characteristics
SourceUnnamed lake
 • coordinates52°00′17.4″N 117°08′10.12″W / 52.004833°N 117.1361444°W / 52.004833; -117.1361444
MouthNorth Saskatchewan River at Grave Flats
 • coordinates
52°03′59.5″N 116°55′37″W / 52.066528°N 116.92694°W / 52.066528; -116.92694
Length20 kilometres (12 mi)
Basin features
Tributaries 
 • leftCastleguard River, Terrace Creek,
 • rightRidges Creek, Amery Creek

The Alexandra River is a tributary of the North Saskatchewan River in Alberta, Canada. Its source is an unnamed lake at 1,563 metres (5,128 ft) of elevation, which is fed by the Alexandra Glacier. From there it flows for about 20 kilometres (12 mi) through a remote valley until it reaches its mouth at the North Saskatchewan River.[1]

Looking down over Castleguard meadows, north of the Alexandra valley.

A decommissioned Parks Canada access road follows the north bank upstream until the river's confluence with the Castleguard River, allowing foot access to the Castleguard Meadows, a revered but seldom-visited hiking destination. The trail is no longer maintained and most bridges have decayed or been removed, making the two days of travel to the meadows very challenging.[2] In addition, Castleguard Cave is accessible from the upper reaches of the trail.

Other major tributaries of the river include Ridges Creek, Terrace Creek, and Amery Creek.[3]

  1. ^ Oegema, Bart. "North Saskatchewan River". ESask. University of Regina. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
  2. ^ Patton, Brian (2011). Canadian Rockies Trail Guide (9th ed.). Banff, Alta.: Summerthought Pub. ISBN 9780981149189.
  3. ^ "CanMatrix – Georeferenced, CanMatrix – Print Ready and CanTopo collections are now available under one folder! | Natural Resources Canada". Archived from the original on 2019-01-31. Retrieved 2019-01-31.