Wawaskesiw Sipiy

Wâwâskêsiw-sîpiy, “Elk River,” is a Cree name for the Red Deer River. Rising in the Rocky Mountains, it flows east across Alberta and joins the South Saskatchewan River. European speakers called the elk “red deer,” giving the river its English name. Its valley passes from forested foothills into dry prairie and badlands, linking the mountains with the river systems of the northern Plains.