Assiniboine River

Assiniboine River
A view of the Assiniboine River looking southeast from the Maryland Bridge in Winnipeg
Red River drainage basin, with the Assiniboine River highlighted
River mouth in Manitoba Show map of Manitoba Assiniboine River (Canada) Show map of Canada
Location
Country	Canada
Provinces	Saskatchewan  Manitoba
Physical characteristics
Source	Windy Lake east of Kelvington
• location	Saskatchewan
• coordinates	52°18′15″N 103°06′01″W / 52.30417°N 103.10028°W / 52.30417; -103.10028
• elevation	640 m (2,100 ft)
Mouth	Red River of the North
• location	The Forks in Winnipeg, Manitoba
• coordinates	49°53′09″N 97°07′44″W / 49.88583°N 97.12889°W / 49.88583; -97.12889
• elevation	230 m (750 ft)
Length	1,070 km (660 mi)
Basin size	182,000 km2 (70,000 sq mi)
Discharge
• average	45 m3/s (1,600 cu ft/s)
Basin features
River system	Red River
[1][2]

The Assiniboine River (/əˈsɪnɪbɔɪn/; French: Rivière Assiniboine)^[3] is a 1,070-kilometre (660 mi) river that runs through the prairies of Western Canada in Saskatchewan and Manitoba. It is a tributary of the Red River. The Assiniboine is a typical meandering river with a single main channel embanked within a flat, shallow valley in some places and a steep valley in others. Its main tributaries are the Qu'Appelle, Souris, and Whitesand Rivers. For early history and exploration see Assiniboine River fur trade.

The river takes its name from the Assiniboine First Nation. Robert Douglas of the Geographical Board of Canada (1933) made several comments as to its origin: "The name commemorates the Assiniboine natives called by La Vérendrye in 1730 'Assiniboils' and by Governor Knight in 1715 of the Hudson's Bay Company 'stone Indians.' Assiniboine is the name of an Indian tribe and is derived from 'assine' a stone and 'bwan' native name of the Sioux, hence Stony Sioux name was possibly given because they used heated stones in cooking their food."^[4]