River

The Red Deer River is estimated at being 10,000 years old and used to flow due north into the Arctic Ocean but was diverted by the last Ice Age across the Southern Canadian Prairies.

The Red Deer River rises in small alpine glaciers east of Lake Louise in Banff National Park traversing the front ranges before emerging onto the prairies.

It flows through the Eastern Slopes of the Rocky Mountains, passing through several geological strata where fossils may be found. It is held back at Glennifer Lake by the Dickson Dam which regulates the output for the users downstream and also provides electricity with turbines situated in the dam. The river meanders up through Red Deer then on down through Drumheller and on into Lake Diefenbaker. From here it carries across the prairies and then veers north and empties into the Hudson Bay.