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ABOUT THE WATERSHED
Your Watershed, Everyone's Water
The Oldman River Watershed, located in southwestern Alberta, extends north to High River, east to Grassy Lake, west to the Crowsnest Pass in the Rocky Mountains, and dips south across the 49th parallel into Glacier International Peace Park in Montana.
View the Oldman River Basin Map (PDF 179 KB).
The main tributaries of the Oldman River are the Livingston, Crowsnest, Castle, Waterton, Belly and St. Mary Rivers, in turn supplied upstream by numerous small streams, springs and wetlands. The Oldman River joins the South Saskatchewan River upstream from Medicine Hat. Since water flows downhill, our water - and everything we do that affects its quality - ultimately finds its way across western Canada and the Arctic Ocean.
As residents of the Oldman River Basin Watershed, we are responsible for the health of our watershed and the quality of our water.
Our basin is home to 161,400 rural and urban residents. There are about 70 small towns, villages and hamlets in the Basin, as well as the City of Lethbridge with a population near 73,000. The Watershed encompasses 28,000 km2 and has an average population density of just less than six people/km2.
Basin residents enjoy a wide variety of beautiful and productive landscapes. The headwaters of the Oldman River rise in the west among the Montane foothills of fir and pine forests, which support several historical ranches and provide critical habitat for wildlife. The central and eastern portions of the Watershed consist of dryer Fescue Grasslands and Mixed Grass areas, where some native prairie vegetation remains.
Due to the changing landscape, there are many different types of land use within the watershed. About 33% of the Watershed's land cover is agricultural, 29% is forested and 17% is native vegetation. Recreation, concentrations of urban and industrial development, dry land farming, and intensive livestock agriculture all directly impact the health of the Oldman Watershed.
Source: Alberta Environment 2000
View the Oldman River Basin Map (PDF 179 KB).
The main tributaries of the Oldman River are the Livingston, Crowsnest, Castle, Waterton, Belly and St. Mary Rivers, in turn supplied upstream by numerous small streams, springs and wetlands. The Oldman River joins the South Saskatchewan River upstream from Medicine Hat. Since water flows downhill, our water - and everything we do that affects its quality - ultimately finds its way across western Canada and the Arctic Ocean.
As residents of the Oldman River Basin Watershed, we are responsible for the health of our watershed and the quality of our water.
Our basin is home to 161,400 rural and urban residents. There are about 70 small towns, villages and hamlets in the Basin, as well as the City of Lethbridge with a population near 73,000. The Watershed encompasses 28,000 km2 and has an average population density of just less than six people/km2.
Basin residents enjoy a wide variety of beautiful and productive landscapes. The headwaters of the Oldman River rise in the west among the Montane foothills of fir and pine forests, which support several historical ranches and provide critical habitat for wildlife. The central and eastern portions of the Watershed consist of dryer Fescue Grasslands and Mixed Grass areas, where some native prairie vegetation remains.
Due to the changing landscape, there are many different types of land use within the watershed. About 33% of the Watershed's land cover is agricultural, 29% is forested and 17% is native vegetation. Recreation, concentrations of urban and industrial development, dry land farming, and intensive livestock agriculture all directly impact the health of the Oldman Watershed.
Source: Alberta Environment 2000
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