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
Rapid River (Cree River tributary) flow via the Cree River, the Fond du Lac River and the Mackenzie River to the Arctic Ocean. Rapid River (Cree River tributary) The Rapid River is a river in northern Saskatchewan, Canada. It is part of the Mackenzie River drainage basin. The Rapid River begins at an unnamed lake at an elevation of . It travels north to Kirsch Lake at an elevation of , where it takes in several unnamed tributaries, including one from the left arriving from Halliday Lake. The river continues to Parker Lake at an elevation of where it takes in the left tributary Arnold