List of longest rivers of Canada

File:Mackenzierivermap-new.png

The Mackenzie River is the longest stream in Canada if measured from its mouth on the Beaufort Sea to the headwaters of the Finlay River, a major upstream tributary. The main stem, a much shorter segment of the Mackenzie, is marked in dark blue.

Among the longest rivers of Canada are 47 streams of at least 600 km (370 mi). In the case of some rivers such as the Columbia, the length listed in the table below is solely that of the main stem. In the case of others such as the Mackenzie, it is the combined lengths of the main stem and one or more upstream tributaries, as noted. Excluded from the list are rivers such as the Dauphin, a short connecting link between lakes Manitoba and Winnipeg, with main stems of 100 km (62 mi) or less. Also excluded are rivers such as the Mississippi, the main stems of which do not enter Canada even though some of their tributaries do.

Nine rivers in this list cross international boundaries or form them. Four—the Yukon, Columbia, Porcupine, and Kootenay—begin in Canada and flow into the United States. Five—the Milk, Pend d'Oreille, Saint Lawrence, Red, and Saint John—begin in the United States and flow into Canada. Of these, the Milk and the Kootenay cross the international border twice, the Milk leaving and then re-entering the United States, the Kootenay leaving and then re-entering Canada. The drainage basins of these nine rivers extend into both countries; in addition, the drainage basins of six others—the Fraser, Assiniboine, South Saskatchewan, Saskatchewan, Nelson, and Winnipeg—extend into the United States even though their main stems flow entirely within Canada.

Sources report hydrological quantities with varied precision. Biologist and author Ruth Patrick, describing a table of high-discharge rivers, wrote that data on discharge, drainage area, and length varied widely among authors whose works she consulted. "It seems," she said, "that the wisest course is to regard data tables such as the present one as showing the general ranks of rivers, and not to place too much importance on minor (10–20%) differences in figures."

Table

The primary source for data in the table below is The Atlas of Canada; other sources are as noted. Discharge refers to the flow at the mouth except as noted. U.S. states appear in italics. Abbreviations are as follows: "km" for "kilometre", "mi" for "mile", "s" for "second", "m" for "metre", and "ft" for "foot".

Key
River is not entirely within Canada.
Watershed is not entirely within Canada.

Longest rivers of Canada

#	Name	Mouth	Length	Source	Watershed area	Discharge	Provinces, states	Image
1	Mackenzie River	Beaufort Sea	4,241 km 2,635 mi	Thutade Lake	1,805,200 km2 697,000 mi2	9,700 m3/s 340,000 ft3/s	Northwest Territories	150px
2	Yukon River	Bering Sea	3,185 km 1,979 mi	Teslin Lake	839,200 km2 324,000 mi2	6,340 m3/s 224,000 ft3/s	British Columbia, Yukon, Alaska
3	Saint Lawrence River	Gulf of Saint Lawrence	3,058 km 1,900 mi	Seven Beaver Lake	1,344,200 km2 519,000 mi2	9,850 m3/s 348,000 ft3/s	Minnesota, Wisconsin, Ontario, Michigan, Ohio, New York, Quebec
4	Nelson River	Hudson Bay	2,575 km 1,600 mi	Bow Glacier	892,300 km2 344,500 mi2	2,370 m3/s 84,000 ft3/s	Manitoba	150px
5	Slave River	Great Slave Lake	2,338 km 1,453 mi	Thutade Lake	616,400 km2 238,000 mi2	3,437 m3/s 121,400 ft3/s	Alberta, Northwest Territories	150px
6	Columbia River	Pacific Ocean	2,000 km 1,243 mi	Columbia Lake	671,300 km2 259,200 mi2	7,730 m3/s 273,000 ft3/s	British Columbia, Washington, Oregon
7	Saskatchewan River	Lake Winnipeg	1,939 km 1,205 mi	Bow Glacier	335,900 km2 129,700 mi2	700 m3/s 25,000 ft3/s	Saskatchewan, Manitoba	150px
8	Peace River	Slave River	1,923 km 1,195 mi	Thutade Lake	302,500 km2 116,800 mi2	2,118 m3/s 74,800 ft3/s	British Columbia, Alberta
9	Churchill River (Hudson Bay)	Hudson Bay	1,609 km 1,000 mi	Churchill Lake	281,300 km2 108,600 mi2	1,200 m3/s 42,000 ft3/s	Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba
10	South Saskatchewan River	Saskatchewan River	1,392 km 865 mi	Bow Glacier	146,100 km2 56,400 mi2	280 m3/s 9,900  ft3/s	Alberta, Saskatchewan	150px
11	Fraser River	Strait of Georgia	1,370 km 850 mi	Fraser Pass	233,100 km2 90,000 mi2	3,540 m3/s 125,000 ft3/s	British Columbia	File:Descent of Fraser River 1808.jpg
12	North Saskatchewan River	Saskatchewan River	1,287 km 800 mi	Saskatchewan Glacier	122,800 km2 47,400 mi2	245 m3/s 8,700 ft3/s	Alberta, Saskatchewan
13	Ottawa River	Saint Lawrence River	1,271 km 790 mi	Laurentian Mountains	146,300 km2 56,500 mi2	1,950 m3/s 69,000 ft3/s	Quebec, Ontario	150px
14	Athabasca River	Lake Athabasca	1,231 km 765 mi	Columbia Icefield	95,300 km2 36,800 mi2	783 m3/s 27,700 ft3/s	Alberta
15	Liard River	MacKenzie River	1,115 km 693 mi	Saint Cyr Range	277,100 km2 107,000 mi2	2,446 m3/s 86,400 ft3/s	Yukon, British Columbia, Northwest Territories
16	Assiniboine River	Red River	1,070 km 660 mi	near Hazel Dell	182,000 km2 70,000 mi2	45 m3/s 1,600 ft3/s	Saskatchewan, Manitoba
17	Milk River	Missouri River	1,005 km 625 mi	Blackfeet Indian Reservation	61,200 km2 23,600 mi2	18.9 m3/s 670 ft3/s	Alberta, Montana
18	Albany River	James Bay	982 km 610 mi	Cat Lake	135,200 km2 52,200 mi2	251 m3/s 8,900 ft3/s	Ontario
19	Severn River	Hudson Bay	982 km 610 mi	Deer Lake	102,800 km2 39,700 mi2	645 m3/s 22,800 ft3/s	Ontario
20	Back River	Chantrey Inlet	974 km 605 mi	near Aylmer Lake	106,500 km2 41,120 mi2	612 m3/s 21,600 ft3/s	Northwest Territories, Nunavut
21	Thelon River	Baker Lake	904 km 562 mi	Lynx Lake	142,400 km2 55,000 mi2	840 m3/s 30,000 ft3/s	Northwest Territories, Nunavut
22	La Grande River	James Bay	893 km 555 mi	Lac Nichicun	97,600 km2 37,700 mi2	1,690 m3/s 60,000 ft3/s	Quebec
23	Red River	Lake Winnipeg	890 km 545 mi	Wahpeton and Breckinridge	287,500 km2 111,000 mi2	236 m3/s 8,300 ft3/s	North Dakota, Minnesota, Manitoba
24	Koksoak River	Ungava Bay	874 km 543 mi	Lake Sevestre	133,400 km2 51,500 mi2	2,800 m3/s 99,000 ft3/s	Quebec
25	Churchill River (Atlantic)	Atlantic Ocean	856 km 532 mi	Ashuanipi Lake	79,800 km2 30,800 mi2	1,580 m3/s 56,000 ft3/s	Labrador
26	Coppermine River	Coronation Gulf	845 km 525 mi	Lac de Gras	50,800 km2 19,600 mi2	262 m3/s 9,300 ft3/s	Northwest Territories, Nunavut
27	Dubawnt River	Thelon River	842 km 523 mi	Abitau Lake	57,500 km2 22,200 mi2	366 m3/s 12,900 ft3/s	Northwest Territories, Nunavut
28	Winnipeg River	Lake Winnipeg	813 km 505 mi	Trap Lake	135,800 km2 52,400 mi2	850 m3/s 30,000 ft3/s	Ontario, Manitoba
29	Kootenay River	Columbia River	780 km 485 mi	Beaverfoot Range	50,300 km2 19,400 mi2	850 m3/s 30,000 ft3/s	British Columbia, Montana, Idaho	150px
30	Nottaway River	James Bay	776 km 482 mi	Lake Gilles	65,800 km2 25,400 mi2	1,190 m3/s 42000 ft3/s	Quebec
31	Rupert River	James Bay	763 km 474 mi	north of Lake Mistassini	43,400 km2 16,800 mi2	900 m3/s 32,000 ft3/s	Quebec
32	Eastmain River	James Bay	756 km 470 mi	Lac Bréhat	46,400 km2 17,900 mi2	930 m3/s 33,000 ft3/s	Quebec
33	Attawapiskat River	James Bay	748 km 465 mi	Attawapiskat Lake	50,500 km2 19,500 mi2	263 m3/s 9,300 ft3/s	Ontario
34	Kazan River	Thelon River	732 km 455 mi	Ennadai Lake	71,500 km2 27,600 mi2	540 m3/s 19,000 ft3/s	Nunavut
35	Red Deer River	South Saskatchewan River	724 km 450 mi	Sawback Range	45,100 km2 17,400 mi2	70 m3/s 2,500 ft3/s	Alberta	150px
36	Great Whale River	Hudson Bay	724 km 450 mi	Lake Saint-Lusson	42,700 km2 16,500 mi2	680 m3/s 24,000 ft3/s	Quebec
37	Porcupine River	Yukon River	721 km 448 mi	Ogilvie Mountains	117,900 km2 45,500 mi2	414 m3/s 14,600 ft3/s	Yukon, Alaska	150px
38	Pend d'Oreille River	Columbia River	703 km 437 mi	near Butte	66,900 km2 25,800 mi2	820 m3/s 29,000 ft3/s	Idaho, Washington, British Columbia
39	Hay River	Great Slave Lake	702 km 436 mi	near Zama Lake	48,200 km2 18,600 mi2	113 m3/s 4,000 ft3/s	Alberta, Northwest Territories	A medium-sized river flows in bright sunlight through a forest.
40	Saguenay River	Saint Lawrence River	698 km 434 mi	near Otish Mountains	88,000 km2 34,000 mi2	1,750 m3/s 62,000 ft3/s	Quebec	150px
41	Anderson River	Beaufort Sea	692 km 430 mi	northwest of Great Bear Lake		142 m3/s 5,000 ft3/s	Northwest Territories
42	Peel River	Mackenzie River	684 km 425 mi	Gill Lake	73,600 km2 28,400 mi2	103 m3/s 3,600 ft3/s	Yukon, Northwest Territories
43	Saint John River	Bay of Fundy	673 km 418 mi	Somerset County	55,200 km2 21,300 mi2	1,130 m3/s 40,000 ft3/s	Maine, New Brunswick
44	Stewart River	Yukon River	644 km 400 mi	Selwyn Mountains	51,000 km2 20,000 mi2	675 m3/s 23,800 ft3/s	Yukon	150px
45	Horton River	Franklin Bay	618 km 384 mi	Kitikmeot Region, Nunavut	26,680 km2 10,300 mi2		Nunavut, Northwest Territories	150px
46	English River	Winnipeg River	615 km 382 mi	near Marmion Lake	52,300 km2 20,200 mi2		Ontario
47	Pelly River	Yukon River	608 km 378 mi	Mackenzie Mountains	51,000 km2 20,000 mi2	410 m3/s 14,000 ft3/s	Yukon	150px

Map

Rivers on this list shown on a map of Canada

See also

• List of rivers of Canada

Notes and references

Notes

References

Works cited

• Benke, Arthur C., ed., and Cushing, Colbert E., ed. Rivers of North America. Burlington, Massachusetts: Elsevier Academic Press. ISBN 0-12-088253-1.

• From The Atlas of Canada unless otherwise noted
• Measured at the mouth unless otherwise noted
• Benke and Cushing, p. 796
• Benke and Cushing, p. 843
• Benke and Cushing, p. 646
• Benke and Cushing, p. 844
• Benke and Cushing, p. 845
• Benke and Cushing, p. 815
• Benke and Cushing, p. 842
• Benke and Cushing, p. 475
• Benke and Cushing, p. 896
• Benke and Cushing, p. 898
• Benke and Cushing, p. 802
• Benke and Cushing, p. 848
• Benke and Cushing, p. 850
• Benke and Cushing, p. 800