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
Whitesand River (Lake Nipigon) and then another southeast to its mouth at Lake Nipigon, for a total distance from Selassie Lake of . Whitesand River (Lake Nipigon) The Whitesand River is a river in Thunder Bay District, Ontario, Canada, that flows south into the northwest side of Lake Nipigon. Another river in Thunder Bay District with the same name, Whitesand River (Hewitson River), lies further southeast and flows into Lake Superior via the Hewitson River. The river begins at Selassie Lake at an elevation of . Selassie Lake is adjacent to Haile Lake, which also flows into Lake Nipigon, but via the Pikitigushi River