Sunwapta River
River in Alberta, Canada
title: "Sunwapta River" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["jasper-national-park", "rivers-of-alberta"] description: "River in Alberta, Canada" topic_path: "general/jasper-national-park" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunwapta_River" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary River in Alberta, Canada ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox river"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Sunwapta River |
| image | Pdphoto canada 1 bg 062104.jpg |
| image_size | 280px |
| image_caption | Sunwapta Falls |
| subdivision_type1 | Country |
| subdivision_name1 | Canada |
| subdivision_type2 | Province |
| subdivision_name2 | Alberta |
| source1_location | Athabasca Glacier |
| source1_coordinates | |
| mouth_location | Athabasca River |
| mouth_coordinates | |
| source1_elevation | 2037 m |
| mouth_elevation | 1300 m |
| :: |
| name = Sunwapta River | image = Pdphoto canada 1 bg 062104.jpg | image_size = 280px | image_caption = Sunwapta Falls | subdivision_type1 = Country | subdivision_name1 = Canada | subdivision_type2 = Province | subdivision_name2 = Alberta | source1_location = Athabasca Glacier | source1_coordinates= | mouth_location = Athabasca River | mouth_coordinates = | length = | source1_elevation = 2037 m | mouth_elevation = 1300 m | discharge1_avg = | basin_size = The Sunwapta River is a major tributary of the Athabasca River in Jasper National Park in Alberta, Canada.
Course
The headwaters of the Sunwapta River are near the Columbia Icefield in the valley west-northwest of Sunwapta Pass, which divides Jasper National Park from Banff National Park. Several kilometres down the valley from the pass is Sunwapta Lake, at the toe of the Athabasca Glacier, which is considered the nominal source for the river. The Sunwapta River then continues to run northwest through Jasper National Park, following the Icefields Parkway, and finally joins the Athabasca River shortly after Sunwapta Falls.
Sunwapta is a Stoney language word meaning "turbulent river". Geologist A. P. Coleman named the river in 1892.
Tributaries
- Kitchener Creek
- Tangle Creek
- Woolley Creek
- Beauty Creek
- Diadem Creek
- Grizzly Creek
- Jonas Creek
- Poboktan Creek
Image:Melting Toe of Athabasca Glacier.jpg|Sunwapta River originates at the toe of the Athabasca Glacier Image:TangleFallsAB.jpg|Tangle Creek, a tributary of the Sunwapta
References
References
- Mussio Ventures. ''Central Alberta Backroad Mapbook.'' Burnaby: Backroad Mapbooks (2002), pp. 31-32
- Karamitsanis, Aphrodite (1991). ''Place Names of Alberta, Volume 1''. Calgary: University of Calgary Press, pg. 240
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