Puskwaskau River Puskwaskau River The Puskwaskau River is a short river in Northern Alberta, Canada. It is a tributary of the Smoky River flowing westwards in the Peace River Country. Its waters flow through the Smoky River, Peace River, Slave River, Great Slave Lake and Mackenzie River into the Arctic Ocean. The name of the river originates from the Cree word for "short grass". The Puskwaskau Formation, a stratigraphical unit of the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin, was named for the river. The river originates from the Puskwaskau Lake in the Sturgeon Heights, at an elevation of , north-west from Valleyview. It flows
Mackenzie River Providence, which was historically an important ferry crossing in the summer, and used as an ice bridge in the winter for traffic along the Yellowknife Highway. In 2012 the Deh Cho Bridge was completed at a point about upstream, providing a safer permanent crossing. It is the only bridge across the main stem of the Mackenzie. West of Fort Providence the Mackenzie widens considerably, resembling a shallow, swampy lake more than a river; one large widening here is known as Mills Lake. After heading west for about the Mackenzie narrows and turns northwest through a long stretch of fast water