Sagitawa is a Cree word meaning, “Where the rivers meet.”
It’s delightful to see the Smoky and Peace Rivers coming together, either right in front of you from a canoe (or a Peace River Adventures jet boat) or from the top of Judah Hill at Sagitawa Lookout.
My friend Marie Plaizier told me she and her husband Bill donated the triangle of land to the Town of Peace River during the centennial year of 1967, so this little park, “Sagitawa Lookout,” could be created.
“People were always stopping here,” she said. “And they wanted tourists to have a safe place to pull off the road.”
One beautiful autumn day Marie and I went to Sagitawa Lookout with a bottle of white clover wine she had made 30 years previous on the farm, and we gave a toast to the beauty of the Peace. She inspired me to look at the river with curiosity, to explore its source and its destiny.
The primary source of the Peace River is Thutade Lake near the Great Divide in Northern British Columbia.
And, the primary source of the Smoky River is Adolphus Lake in the northern area of Jasper National Park.
The rivers meet and become one as they approach the town of Peace River.
They flow together as the Mighty Peace, north and east, inspiring life and sport along the way. They cause quite a “splash” as they plunge over the limestone cliffs east of Fort Vermilion.
From there, the river flows peacefully toward the beautifully biodiverse Athabasca Delta. It dips southeast slightly to join the Slave River, winding north into Great Slave Lake. Then, the waters flow into the Mackenzie River on its journey to the Beaufort Sea.
The Mighty Peace is an awe-inspiring, majestic river with a fascinating history and a future worthy of protection.
I’m grateful to the Mighty Peace Watershed Alliance and other such river lovers for all they do.
Viewing the Peace River close up on Google Earth, especially from Vermilion Falls to Lake Athabasca, is like looking at an intriguing work of abstract art. You can see (and imagine) all the tributaries, the curving bow lakes and traces of where the river has been and has changed course and brought growth and life to the land.
(To be continued in the next issue with photos and stories of the widest waterfall in North America!)
By Sharon Krushel, author of Mother Earth: Boreal Beauty of the Peace Country with Flora, Fauna, & Fungi ID, including Latin, French, Beaver, and Cree
All images are in the Mother Earth book.
Photo credits:
Photo of Marie and Sharon by Jackie Hockey, p. 129
Peace River Aerial Autumn photo by Sharon Krushel (pilot: Terry Krushel), p. 137
Peace River Watershed Wikipedia map with additions by Sharon Krushel, p. 259
Vermilion Falls photo by Steven Simpson, p. 262 (2nd edition)
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