About the North Saskatchewan River
The North Saskatchewan River is a glacier-fed river that flows from the Canadian Rockies continental divide east to central Saskatchewan, where it joins with the South Saskatchewan River to make up the Saskatchewan River. Its water flows eventually into the Hudson Bay.
The Saskatchewan River system is the largest shared between the Canadian provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan. Its watershed includes most of southern and central Alberta and Saskatchewan.
Apart from the Big Horn and Brazeau Dams, the North Saskatchewan is mostly a wild and untamed river that unergoes substantial seasonal changes in waterflow.
Waltedale, Rossdale Flats, Riverdale, and Cloverdale are prone to flooding
John Walter
John Walter (where the Walterdale name comes from) moved to Edmonton from the Orkney Islands in Scotland at the age of 21 and soon became one of Edmonton's foremost successful enterpreneurs. He operated many businesses such as the ferry, two lumber mills, a blacksmith shop a general store, acoal mine, and a riverboat and became Edmonton's first millionaire.
The Flood Event
Edmontonians had always known that the river was prone to flooding as the first location of Fort Edmonton had to be relocated from Rossdale for this very reason in 1830. Despite the risk of flooding, the flats down by the river were desirable to economic reasons having direct access to water with many businesses such as boat building, coal mines, lumber mills, tanneries, and breweries.
John Walter was woken by a phone call at 2am on June 27, 1915. “My God, Edmonton, look out; the river is up 20 feet and still jumping!” This warning from Rocky Mountain House was the first notice that a massive flood was on the way to Edmonton.
Over the next several days the North Saskatchewan River rose steadily, until finally peaking at ten meters above its normal level.
One of the most famous photos is of a fully laden Edmonton, Yukon, and Pacific parked atop the Low Level Bridge due to the very real possibility tha the bridge could be lifted off of its foundations and floated away. This harebrained scheme worked and the bridge was saved!
An EY&P train was parked atop the Low Level Bridge to weigh it down amongst the high river flow and river debris
Following the Distaster
The flood ultimately proved disasterous and the city struggled to recover especially with so many able-bodied man deployed in Europe for the Great War. The Rossdale Power plant flooded and failed and the water treatment plant also went offline.
This was Edmonton’s worst flood in recorded history. Thankfully, there was no loss of life, however it is estimated that 2000 people were displaced, 50 buildings were destroyed, and over 700 homes submerged.
We may never know the full extent of the damage due to lost records from the time although property losses are estimated between $500,000 to $1,000,000 in 1915 dollars.
The aftermath of the flood
John Walter's empire never recovered from this distaster since his ferry and riverboat business was already being undercut by the Walterdale Bridge, the arrival of the railway, and the Great Depression and the 1915 Flood was the final nail in the coffin. He unfortunately passed away on Christmas Day 5 years later but was survived by his wife who continued to reside in one of the three houses which still stands today in Kinsmen Park.
To Log This Virtual Cache
There is no physical stage or log to find for this geocache. To log a find, you must e-mail me the answers to these questions through the Geocaching Messenger to my profile to prove your visit. Any incomplete logs will be deleted.
- Stage 1: Under the piers of the new Walterdale Bridge, you should be able to see four very visible flood level lines from the pedestrian walkway. What are the four dates?
- Stage 2: The river rose how many feet in how many hours? Look for old-timey speak!
References
City of Edmonton. (n.d.). The Flood | City of Edmonton. The Flood. Retrieved October 29, 2024, from https://www.edmonton.ca/city_government/edmonton_archives/the-flood
City of Edmonton. (n.d.). The North Saskatchewan River - Maker & Breaker of Fortunes [Interpretive sign]. In The Flood. Walterdale Museum, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Retrieved October 29, 2024, from https://www.edmonton.ca/city_government/edmonton_archives/the-flood
Virtual Rewards 4.0 - 2024-2025
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between January 17, 2024 and January 17, 2025. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards 4.0 on the Geocaching Blog.