Hydrochemistry of the Athabasca and North Saskatchewan Rivers in the Rocky Mountains of Canada

The hydrochemical behavior of the Athabasca and North Saskatchewan rivers at their points of departure from the Rocky Mountains during the period May 1967 to February 1970 is shown to be well represented by a model based upon the mixing of two water bodies. These component sources contribute varying proportions of the total discharge through the year. One of them has properties that are in keeping with the theoretically expected and the observed characteristics of surface runoff water in the area and essentially represents snowmelt water. The properties of the other component are similarly in keeping with those expected and observed for groundwater in the rock and glacial aquifers of the area.