Mackenzie River basins, mostly in Alberta. The cold northern permafrost regions beyond the Arctic Circle are very sparsely populated, mainly by indigenous peoples. Most of the Mackenzie watershed is unbroken wilderness and human activities have little influence on the overall water quality, although there are some localized impacts. Some parts of the Mackenzie basin are rich in natural resources – oil and gas in the Northwest Territories and in central Alberta, lumber in the Peace River headwaters, uranium in Saskatchewan, gold and zinc in the Great Slave Lake area and tungsten in the Yukon. As of 2003 there were two operational gold
Redknife River upstream from Jean Marie River. Redknife River The Redknife River is a river in the Northwest Territories of Canada. It is a major tributary of the Mackenzie River. The Redknife Formation, a stratigraphical unit of the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin was named for the river. The Redknife river originates in the "Redknife Hills", at an elevation of . It flows east down the slopes of the hill, then turns north, draws water from a lake system, then turns north-east. It is crossed by the Mackenzie Highway, then turns north and flows into the Mackenzie River at an elevation of ,