Oldman River
The Oldman River is a river in southern Alberta, Canada. It flows roughly west to east from the Rocky Mountains, through the communities of Fort Macleod, Lethbridge, and on to Grassy Lake, where it joins the Bow River to form the South Saskatchewan River, which eventually drains into the Hudson Bay.
Oldman River has a total length of and a drainage area of.
Etymology
The river is named after Napi, a figure in Blackfoot mythology, who is also referred to as the "Old Man."History
The Oldman River was, at one time, known as the Belly River. The Belly River is now a separate river that is a tributary of the Oldman.In 1991, the Alberta government finished construction of the Oldman River Dam. The Piikani activist Milton Born With A Tooth had attempted to divert the Oldman River away from the Lethbridge Northern Irrigation District canal intake. This led to an armed standoff and his eventual imprisonment. The dam was constructed where the Oldman, Crowsnest, and Castle river systems converge.
2013 floods
On June 21, 2013, during the 2013 Alberta floods Alberta experienced heavy rainfall that triggered catastrophic flooding throughout much of the southern half of the province along the Bow, Elbow, Highwood and Oldman rivers and tributaries. A dozen municipalities in Southern Alberta declared local states of emergency on June 21 as water levels rose and numerous communities were placed under evacuation orders.Tributaries
From headwaters to mouth, Oldman River receives:
- Livingstone River
- Crowsnest River
- Castle River
- Pincher Creek
- Beaver Creek
- Willow Creek
- Belly River
- *Waterton River
- St. Mary River
- *Lee Creek
- Little Bow River
Nature
The river and some of its tributaries have formed coulees in Southern Alberta, and the strata revealed by these formations guide local prospectors to ammolite deposits.