List of rivers of Canada facts for kids
Canada is a huge country, and it has thousands of rivers! This page helps you explore many of them. The rivers in Canada are organized in two main ways: by the large areas of land they drain into (called drainage basins) and by the provinces and territories they flow through.
Canada's Major River Basins
A drainage basin (also called a watershed) is like a giant funnel. It's an area of land where all the rain and snowmelt eventually flows into a single river, lake, or ocean. Canada has five very large drainage basins, meaning its rivers flow into five different major bodies of water:
- Arctic Ocean: Many rivers in northern Canada flow into the cold Arctic Ocean.
- Pacific Ocean: Rivers in western Canada, especially from British Columbia, flow west into the Pacific Ocean.
- Hudson Bay: A huge part of central Canada drains into Hudson Bay, including its smaller parts like James Bay and Ungava Bay.
- Atlantic Ocean: Rivers in eastern Canada flow into the Atlantic Ocean. This includes the very important Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River system.
- Gulf of Mexico: A small part of southern Canada, mostly in Alberta and Saskatchewan, actually drains south into the Mississippi River basin, which then flows into the Gulf of Mexico.
You can find more details about the rivers in each of these major basins by clicking on these links:
- Rivers flowing to the Pacific Ocean
- Rivers flowing to the Arctic Ocean
- Rivers flowing to Hudson Bay
- Rivers flowing to the Atlantic Ocean
Rivers by Canadian Provinces and Territories
Because Canada is so big, it's also helpful to look at rivers based on which province or territory they are in. Each province and territory has its own unique rivers, some of which are very long and important for transportation, power, or wildlife.
You can explore the rivers in each part of Canada using the links below:
- List of rivers of Alberta
- List of rivers of British Columbia
- List of rivers of Manitoba
- List of rivers of New Brunswick
- List of rivers of Newfoundland and Labrador
- List of rivers of the Northwest Territories
- List of rivers of Nova Scotia
- List of rivers of Nunavut
- List of rivers of Ontario
- List of rivers of Prince Edward Island
- List of rivers of Quebec
- List of rivers of Saskatchewan
- List of rivers of Yukon
See also
In Spanish: Anexo:Ríos de Canadá para niños
- Canadian Rivers Day
- Geography of Canada
- List of longest rivers of Canada
- List of rivers of the Americas
- List of rivers of the Americas by coastline
