The Elk River is a short river rising in the eastern portion of the Alberta foothills. The river begins south of the ghost town of Coalspur and heads east before draining into the Brazeau Reservoir created by the Brazeau Dam on the Brazeau River, a tributary of the North Saskatchewan River.
The river follows the Elk River Road for much of its course. The Elk River Provincial Recreation Area is also located on the river.Mussio Ventures. Central Alberta Backroad Mapbook. Burnaby: Backroad Mapbooks (2002), pp. 7-8
Physical characteristics Alberta Environment, a Ministry of the Government of Alberta, undertook a survey of the Elk River in the 1980s. The following data was generated from the survey:Alberta Environment, Environmental Engineering Support Division. Brazeau-Pembina River Classification Study. Edmonton: Alberta Department of the Environment, 1980.
Reach number 1 Terrain Surrounding Valley: Rolling hills, ground moraine Valley characteristics Description: Wide, stream cut valley Terraces: 2 fragmentary levels Valley Flat Width: 750 m Description: Broad alluvial floodplain occasionally marked by oxbow cutoffs River Channel Pattern: Irregular meanders Islands: None Bar type: Point bars Bed material: Sand with local gravel Bank material: Sand and gravel overlain by silt
Reach number 2 Terrain surrounding valley: Rolling hills, ground moraine Valley characteristics Description: Broad glacial spillway channel now occupied by a smaller underfit stream Terraces: None Valley flat Width: 500 m Description: Broad alluvial floodplain marked by numerous cutoffs River channel Pattern: Irregular to tortuous meanders Islands: None Bar type: Point bars Bed material: Sand with local gravel Bank material: Sand and gravel overlain by silt, occasional till where channel is confined
Reach number 3 Terrain surrounding valley: Rolling hills, fluted ground moraine Valley characteristics Description: Wide, stream cut valley Terraces: None Valley flat Width: 400 m Description: Alluvial valley marked by oxbow cutoffs River channel Pattern: Irregular meanders Islands: None Bar type: Point bars, side bars Bed material: Sand with local gravel Bank material: Sand, gravel, and till
Reach number 4 Terrain surrounding valley: Fluted ground moraine, some outwash Valley characteristics Description: Narrow stream cut valley Terraces: None Valley flat Width: >100 m Description: Highly variable River channel Pattern: Irregular Islands: None Bar type: Point bars, side bars Bed material: Sand with local gravel Bank material: Sand, gravel, and till
Reach number 5 Terrain surrounding valley: Rolling hills, ground moraine Valley characteristics Description: Narrow stream cut valley Terraces: None Valley flat Width: >100 m Description: Fragmentary River channel Pattern: Irregular to sinuous Islands: None Bar type: Side bars Bed material: Gravel Bank material: Gravel, outwash, and till
Reach number 6 Terrain surrounding valley: Rolling upland, ground moraine Valley characteristics Description: Wide, stream cut valley Terraces: None Valley flat Width: 400 m Description: Wide alluvial flat marked by oxbow cutoffs River channel Pattern: Tortuous meanders Islands: None Bar type: Point bars Bed material: Sand Bank material: Sand overlain by silt
References
See also List of Alberta rivers