Peace
River
The Peace River commences its journey to the Arctic east of the confluence
of the Parsnip Reach and Finlay Reach of Williston Lake, the
largest body of water in the British Columbia. Once joined, they form
Peace Reach, which drains by way of the Peace River eastward through
the Rocky Mountains out of British Columbia, through Alberta, eventually
joining the MacKenzie River and flowing to the Arctic Ocean.
Since the W.A.C.
Bennet Dam was built northwest of Chetwynd in Northern British
Columbia, thereby creating Williston Lake, the Peace River has lost
what spunk it once had. The dam was built at the end of the roughest
sections of the river, and flooded out the entire river valley for
hundreds of kilometres back up the original course of the river.
The 183-metre monstrosity is a wonder of modern engineering, a half-mile
wide at its base. When the floodgates are opened in early spring,
the gushing water is truly an impressive sight.
Past the dam,
the Peace River flows gently east through the foothills of the Rockies
and on into the Prairies, lacing the provinces of British Columbia
and Alberta together topographically and economically. Rich farmland
flanks the river on both sides of the provincial border, creating
a common agricultural zone whose hub is Grande Prairie, Alberta.
Nearest Town: Hudson's
Hope, Fort St. John,
Taylor
Nearest
Lake: Williston Lake
Nearest
Park: Taylor Landing Provincial Park
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