The Mackenzie River system dominates the Northwest Territories. The Mackenzie runs northwest through the Northwest Territories, from Great Slave Lake to the Beaufort Sea. Its total drainage basin — 1.8 million sq. km — is the largest of any river in Canada and its mean discharge of 9,700 m3/s is second only to that of the St. Lawrence River. The Mackenzie and its tributaries encompass about 20% of Canada. The river’s peak discharge occurs in June, but its flow is generally uniform because of the flat topography east of the river and the many large lakes in the system. The Mackenzie is free of ice by early June and stays open until November. Much of the basin lies in permafrost, permanently frozen ground which forms when the mean annual temperature is below 0°C. The climate is either tundra (NE region and the high Cordillera) or subarctic, although the Mackenzie Valley itself has a milder climate. Ice break-up begins at the Liard River in late April to early May.
Deh Cho, the Dene name for the Mackenzie River, translates literally as “Big River.” The Inuvialuktun name, Kuukpak, means “Great River,” and the Gwich’in name, Nagwichoonjik, means “River Flowing through a Big Country.” Each captures the great scale of this river. Its English name comes from Alexander Mackenzie, the first European to travel the length of the river to its mouth in 1789.
The Thomsen River is considered the farthest north river in the Northwest Territories. This seasonal river runs north across Banks Island to reach the Beaufort Sea.
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Black Wolf Expedition: First Descent Packrafting in the Canadian North
Black Wolf Creek Packraft Expedition Video
Packrafting the Mountain River, Northwest Territories
Packrafting the Northwest Territories
Mackenzie Mountains-Packrafting the Tischu, Keele, and Carcajou rivers
The Nahanni Whisperer – Trailer
The Nahanni Whisperer – Trailer 2
The Canol Heritage Trail – Taking on 221 Miles of Canada’s Most Remote Terrain by Bike & Packraft
Traversing The Canol Road – A BikeRafting Adventure Across A Failed Alaskan Pipeline
To the Nahanni River on Foot (Did he ever make it down the river?)
Oh Canada:Packrafting the Northwest Territories
The Whirlpool that ate Dylan (Redstone River)
A Raft, a Rope and Three Weeks in the Wilderness
Packrafts on the Hornaday: 15 Days in Tuktut Nogait National Park