The Puskwaskau River is a short river in Northern Alberta, Canada. It is a tributary of the Smoky River flowing westwards in the Peace River Country. Its waters flow through the Smoky River, Peace River, Slave River, Great Slave Lake and Mackenzie River into the Arctic Ocean. The name of the river originates from the Cree word for short grass. The Puskwaskau Formation, a stratigraphical unit of the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin, was named for the river.

Course

The river originates from the Puskwaskau Lake in the Sturgeon Heights, at an elevation of 715 m, north-west from Valleyview. It flows north-west and receives the waters of Little Puskwaskau River before being crossed by Highway 676. It continues flowing in a western direction through a 150 m deep canyon before it empties in the Smoky River, west of Teepee Creek, at an elevation of 440 m, 40 km west of its origin.

Tributaries