Chinchaga River in Alberta 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.

Course

Chinchaga River originates in 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 the river is 500 km, and the average discharge at its confluence with Hay River is 30 m3/s.

Tributaries

Conservation and development

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 the area.