List of longest rivers of Canada


Among the longest rivers of Canada are 47 streams of at least. 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 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 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".


#NameMouthLengthSourceWatershed
area
DischargeProvinces,
states
Image
1Mackenzie RiverBeaufort Sea
4241 km
2,635 mi
Thutade Lake
1805200 km2
697,000 mi2
9700 m3/s
340,000 ft3/s
Northwest Territories
2Yukon RiverBering Sea
3185 km
1,979 mi
Teslin Lake
839200 km2
324,000 mi2
6340 m3/s
224,000 ft3/s
British Columbia, Yukon, Alaska
3Saint Lawrence RiverGulf of Saint Lawrence
3058 km
1,900 mi
Seven Beaver Lake
1344200 km2
519,000 mi2
9850 m3/s
348,000 ft3/s
Minnesota, Wisconsin, Ontario, Michigan, Ohio, New York, Quebec
4Nelson RiverHudson Bay
2575 km
1,600 mi
Bow Glacier
892300 km2
344,500 mi2
2370 m3/s
84,000 ft3/s
Manitoba
5Slave RiverGreat Slave Lake
2338 km
1,453 mi
Thutade Lake
616400 km2
238,000 mi2
3437 m3/s
121,400 ft3/s
Alberta, Northwest Territories
6Columbia RiverPacific Ocean
2000 km
1,243 mi
Columbia Lake
671300 km2
259,200 mi2
7730 m3/s
273,000 ft3/s
British Columbia, Washington, Oregon
7Saskatchewan RiverLake Winnipeg
1939 km
1,205 mi
Bow Glacier

335900 km2
129,700 mi2
700 m3/s
25,000 ft3/s
Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba
8Peace RiverSlave River
1923 km
1,195 mi
Thutade Lake
302500 km2
116,800 mi2
2118 m3/s
74,800 ft3/s
British Columbia, Alberta
9Churchill River Hudson Bay
1609 km
1,000 mi
Churchill Lake
281300 km2
108,600 mi2
1200 m3/s
42,000 ft3/s
Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba
10South Saskatchewan RiverSaskatchewan River
1392 km
865 mi
Bow Glacier
146100 km2
56,400 mi2
280 m3/s
9,900 ft3/s
Alberta, Saskatchewan
11Fraser RiverStrait of Georgia
1375 km
854 mi
Fraser Pass
233100 km2
90,000 mi2
3540 m3/s
125,000 ft3/s
British Columbia
12North Saskatchewan RiverSaskatchewan River
1287 km
800 mi
Saskatchewan Glacier
122800 km2
47,400 mi2
245 m3/s
8,700 ft3/s
Alberta, Saskatchewan
13Ottawa RiverSaint Lawrence River
1271 km
790 mi
Laurentian Mountains
146300 km2
56,500 mi2
1950 m3/s
69,000 ft3/s
Quebec, Ontario
14Athabasca RiverLake Athabasca
1231 km
765 mi
Columbia Icefield
95300 km2
36,800 mi2
783 m3/s
27,700 ft3/s
Alberta
15Liard RiverMacKenzie River
1115 km
693 mi
Saint Cyr Range
277100 km2
107,000 mi2
2446 m3/s
86,400 ft3/s
Yukon, British Columbia, Northwest Territories
16Assiniboine RiverRed River
1070 km
660 mi
near Hazel Dell
182000 km2
70,000 mi2
45 m3/s
1,600 ft3/s
Saskatchewan, Manitoba
17Milk RiverMissouri River
1005 km
625 mi
Blackfeet Indian Reservation
61200 km2
23,600 mi2
m3/s
670 ft3/s
Alberta, Montana
18Albany RiverJames Bay
982 km
610 mi
Cat Lake
135200 km2
52,200 mi2
251 m3/s
8,900 ft3/s
Ontario
19Severn RiverHudson Bay
982 km
610 mi
Deer Lake
102800 km2
39,700 mi2
645 m3/s
22,800 ft3/s
Ontario
20Back RiverChantrey Inlet
974 km
605 mi
near Aylmer Lake
106500 km2
41,120 mi2
612 m3/s
21,600 ft3/s
Northwest Territories, Nunavut
21Thelon RiverBaker Lake
904 km
562 mi
Lynx Lake
142400 km2
55,000 mi2
840 m3/s
30,000 ft3/s
Northwest Territories, Nunavut
22La Grande RiverJames Bay
893 km
555 mi
Lac Nichicun
97600 km2
37,700 mi2
1690 m3/s
60,000 ft3/s
Quebec
23Red RiverLake Winnipeg
890 km
545 mi
Wahpeton and Breckinridge
287500 km2
111,000 mi2
236 m3/s
8,300 ft3/s
North Dakota, Minnesota, Manitoba
24Koksoak RiverUngava Bay
874 km
543 mi
Lake Sevestre
133400 km2
51,500 mi2
2800 m3/s
99,000 ft3/s
Quebec
25Churchill River Atlantic Ocean
856 km
532 mi
Ashuanipi Lake
79800 km2
30,800 mi2
1580 m3/s
56,000 ft3/s
Labrador
26Coppermine RiverCoronation Gulf
845 km
525 mi
Lac de Gras
50800 km2
19,600 mi2
262 m3/s
9,300 ft3/s
Northwest Territories, Nunavut
27Dubawnt RiverThelon River
842 km
523 mi
Abitau Lake
57500 km2
22,200 mi2
366 m3/s
12,900 ft3/s
Northwest Territories, Nunavut
28Winnipeg RiverLake Winnipeg
813 km
505 mi
Trap Lake
135800 km2
52,400 mi2
850 m3/s
30,000 ft3/s
Ontario, Manitoba
29Kootenay RiverColumbia River
780 km
485 mi
Beaverfoot Range
50300 km2
19,400 mi2
850 m3/s
30,000 ft3/s
British Columbia, Montana, Idaho
30Nottaway RiverJames Bay
776 km
482 mi

Lake Gilles
65800 km2
25,400 mi2
1190 m3/s
42000 ft3/s
Quebec
31Rupert RiverJames Bay
763 km
474 mi
north of Lake Mistassini
43400 km2
16,800 mi2
900 m3/s
32,000 ft3/s
Quebec
32Eastmain RiverJames Bay
756 km
470 mi
Lac Bréhat
46400 km2
17,900 mi2
930 m3/s
33,000 ft3/s
Quebec
33Attawapiskat RiverJames Bay
748 km
465 mi
Attawapiskat Lake
50500 km2
19,500 mi2
263 m3/s
9,300 ft3/s
Ontario
34Kazan RiverThelon River
732 km
455 mi
Ennadai Lake
71500 km2
27,600 mi2
540 m3/s
19,000 ft3/s
Nunavut
35Red Deer RiverSouth Saskatchewan River
724 km
450 mi
Sawback Range
45100 km2
17,400 mi2
70 m3/s
2,500 ft3/s
Alberta
36Great Whale RiverHudson Bay
724 km
450 mi
Lake Saint-Lusson
42700 km2
16,500 mi2
680 m3/s
24,000 ft3/s
Quebec
37Porcupine RiverYukon River
721 km
448 mi
Ogilvie Mountains
117900 km2
45,500 mi2
414 m3/s
14,600 ft3/s
Yukon, Alaska
38Pend d'Oreille RiverColumbia River
703 km
437 mi
near Butte
66900 km2
25,800 mi2
820 m3/s
29,000 ft3/s
Idaho, Washington, British Columbia
39Hay RiverGreat Slave Lake
702 km
436 mi
near Zama Lake
48200 km2
18,600 mi2
113 m3/s
4,000 ft3/s
Alberta, Northwest Territories
40Saguenay RiverSaint Lawrence River
698 km
434 mi
near Otish Mountains
88000 km2
34,000 mi2
1750 m3/s
62,000 ft3/s
Quebec
41Anderson RiverBeaufort Sea
692 km
430 mi
northwest of Great Bear Lake
142 m3/s
5,000 ft3/s
Northwest Territories
42Peel RiverMackenzie River
684 km
425 mi
Gill Lake
73600 km2
28,400 mi2
103 m3/s
3,600 ft3/s
Yukon, Northwest Territories
43Saint John RiverBay of Fundy
673 km
418 mi
Somerset County
55200 km2
21,300 mi2
1130 m3/s
40,000 ft3/s
Maine, New Brunswick
44Stewart RiverYukon River
644 km
400 mi
Selwyn Mountains
51000 km2
20,000 mi2
675 m3/s
23,800 ft3/s
Yukon
45Horton RiverFranklin Bay
618 km
384 mi
Kitikmeot Region, Nunavut
26680 km2
10,300 mi2
Nunavut, Northwest Territories
46English RiverWinnipeg River
615 km
382 mi
near Marmion Lake
52300 km2
20,200 mi2
Ontario
47Pelly RiverYukon River
608 km
378 mi
Mackenzie Mountains
51000 km2
20,000 mi2
410 m3/s
14,000 ft3/s
Yukon

Works cited