Rat Creek

Rat Creek is a tributary to the North Saskatchewan River. Rat Creek was once part of a much larger system which formerly almost connected to the Sturgeon River. However, Rat Creek is now defined as a lost creek, due to the city of Edmonton's encroachment on the surrounding area for urban use. Rat Creek was fed by sloughs that occurred north of Edmonton.

History of Rat Creek

Rat Creek was once a large water system, which brought plenty of water downstream into the Saskatchewan River. The creek itself was comparable to that of Mill Creek or Whitemud Creek, and was one of the longest creeks in the north of Edmonton. The North West Mounted Police camped near Rat Creek on their way to establish themselves at Fort Saskatchewan in 1874, and they complained that their horses and wagons were constantly mired in the thick mud and the many sloughs that were present in this area.

1905 Post-Edmonton development site

In the early period of Edmonton's post developments, Rat Creek was an area used extensively as a city dump, which filled the ravines of Kennedale and Kinnaird. Also, the city of Edmonton decided to fill the creek in, by paving it over as a more cost effective way instead of building bridges over it. This affected the creek greatly as it had no longer a way of flowing- progressively draining in the last hundred years.

The neighbourhood of Norwood is and was once where the original route of the creek took place. Rat Creek currently flows through Kennedale Ravine and Kinnaird Ravine, and it is now fed by storm drain culverts.

Possible city restoration efforts

Rat Creek is a place of interest for many environmentalists, who believe in preserving the natural habitat that the creek provides and re-introducing a clean proper flow to the creek so that it may flow again. There are quite a few plans that are under debate by the city of Edmonton.

References

    External links

    [1] [2] [3] [4]

    1. ↑ http://avenuehistory.org/?wpdmact=process&did=MTkuaG90bGluaw==. Missing or empty |title= (help); External link in |website= (help);
    2. ↑ Hughes, Katherine. "Lost Creeks and Wetlands". http://www.ualberta.ca/~ersc/water/urban/lost2.htm. External link in |website= (help);
    3. ↑ http://www.ratcreek.org/uploads/3/0/5/2/3052544/rcp_vol16_iss9_sept_2014.pdf. i. Missing or empty |title= (help); External link in |website= (help);
    4. ↑ http://avenuehistory.org/walkingtour/2-rat-creek/. Missing or empty |title= (help); External link in |website= (help);
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