Pouce Coupe River

Infobox River
river_name = Pouce Coupe


image_size =
caption = Pouce Coupe River canyon after the confluence with Saskatoon Creek
origin = Saddle Hills County, Alberta
mouth = Peace River
coord|56.13158|-119.91116|type:river_region:CA-AB|name=Peace River
basin_countries = Canada
length =
elevation = m to ft|860|abbr=yes
mouth_elevation = m to ft|380|abbr=yes
discharge =
watershed =

Pouce Coupe is a river in Alberta and British Columbia, Canada. It is a major tributary of the Peace River.

Originating in Alberta's Saddle Hills County, it flows into British Columbia's Peace River Regional District, then returns in Alberta in Clear Hills County, where it empties into the Peace River.

The region of Pouce Coupe Prairie, from which the river and village of Pouce Coupe take their names, was called that for a Beaver Indian Chief named 'Pouscapee'. The first European settler in the region was Hector Tremblay, who built a cabin there in 1898. Mr. Tremblay, of French origin, translated 'Pouskapee's Prairie' into the nearest French words of similar sound ( _fr. "cut- thumb").

Course

Pouce Coupe originates in a small lake in northern Alberta, at an elevation of m to ft|860, in the "Pouce Coupe Prairie" of the southern Peace River Country, west of Spirit River and Woking, between Saddle Hills and Blueberry Hill. It flows west and receives the waters of Boone Creek before reaching the British Columbia/Alberta border.

The river then turns north-west to the village of Pouce Coupe. The "Pouce Coupe Regional Park" is established on the banks of the river east of the village and Highway2, at the confluence with Bissette Creek. [Cite web|url=http://www.nbctourism.com/communities/Pouce_Coupe|title=Pouce Coupe|author=Northern BC Tourism|accessdate=2008-02-18]

It receives the waters of Dawson Creek east of the city of Dawson Creek, then turns north-east, entering once again the province of Alberta, north of Highway 49. The course runs through a canyon that reaches depths of m to ft|220 in this section. Ammonite fossils harvested from the geological formations opened in the canyon can be found in the Dawson Creek "Northern Alberta Railways Park" museum. The river continues north and empties into the Peace River, south of Highway 64, at an elevation of m to ft|380.

Tributaries and crossings

From its origin to its mouth, Pouce Coupe River encounters the following tributaries and crossings:

ee also

*List of British Columbia rivers
*List of Alberta rivers

References