Athabasca River summary

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Learn about the Athabasca River and its chief tributaries

Below is the article summary. For the full article, see Athabasca River.

Athabasca River, River, west-central Canada. A tributary of the Mackenzie River in Alberta, it rises in the Rocky Mountains in Jasper National Park and flows northeast and north 765 mi (1,231 km) into Lake Athabasca. Its chief tributaries are the Pembina, Lesser Slave, McLeod, and Clearwater rivers. Extensive petroleum deposits lie in oil-impregnated sands (Athabasca Tar Sands) along a 70-mi (113-km) stretch of the river.