Horton River (Canada)

For the river in the New South Wales, Australia, see Horton River (Australia).

Horton River
Horton River
Horton River mouth location
Location
Country	Canada
Territories	Northwest Territories, Nunavut
Region	Inuvik, Sahtu, Kitikmeot
Physical characteristics
Source	Lake
• location	Kitikmeot Region, Nunavut
• coordinates	67°50′38″N 120°45′02″W
• elevation	584 m (1,916 ft)
Mouth	Franklin Bay
• location	Inuvik Region, Northwest Territories
• coordinates	69°56′01″N 126°48′10″W
• elevation	0 m (0 ft)
Length	618 km (384 mi)
Basin features
River system	Arctic Ocean drainage basin

The Horton River is a river in Inuvik and Sahtu Regions, Northwest Territories and Kitikmeot Region, Nunavut, Canada. It is a tributary of the Beaufort Sea and hence part of the Arctic Ocean drainage basin. Only the first few kilometres from its source are within Nunavut.

Course

Horton River Delta in 2012

The river begins at a small lake about 100 kilometres (62 mi) north of the northeast Dease Arm of Great Bear Lake. It passes through the Smoking Hills and reaches its mouth on the east side of Cape Bathurst at Franklin Bay on the Amundsen Gulf of the Beaufort Sea, where it forms a small delta, about 125 kilometres (78 mi) northwest of the community of Paulatuk. The mouth had been 100 kilometres (62 mi) further north at Harrowby Bay on the west side of Cape Bathurst until about 1800 when a meander eroded through.

There is an airstrip just north of the mouth.

DEW Line/NWS

Located about 8.5 km (5.3 mi) north northwest of the rivers mouth, at 70°00′59″N 126°56′35″W, lies the Horton River Short Range Radar Site (BAR-E), also known as Malloch Hills. Originally opened as a Distant Early Warning Line site it closed in 1963. The site was reopened in 1991 as a North Warning System short range radar.

See also

• List of longest rivers of Canada
• List of rivers of the Northwest Territories

References

• Zoltai, SC (March 4, 2015). "Horton River". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Historica Canada. Archived from the original on February 3, 2013. Retrieved 2011-02-04.
• "Horton River". Geographical Names Data Base. Natural Resources Canada. Retrieved 2011-02-04.
• "Topographic Map sheet 97C11". Atlas of Canada. Natural Resources Canada. 2010-02-04. Archived from the original on 2010-08-03. Retrieved 2011-02-04.

External links

• Inuvialuit Television's documentary on the Horton River DEW Line site cleanup