The Palliser River is a tributary

Tributary

A tributary or affluent is a stream or river that flows into a main stem river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean...

 of the Kootenay River

Kootenay River

The Kootenay is a major river in southeastern British Columbia, Canada and the northern part of the U.S. states of Montana and Idaho. It is one of the uppermost major tributaries of the Columbia River, which is the largest North American river that empties into the Pacific Ocean...

 in the Canadian province

Provinces and territories of Canada

The provinces and territories of Canada combine to make up the world's second-largest country by area. There are ten provinces and three territories...

 of British Columbia

British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

. It is part of the Columbia River

Columbia River

The Columbia River is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, Canada, flows northwest and then south into the U.S. state of Washington, then turns west to form most of the border between Washington and the state...

 basin, as the Kootenay River is a tributary of the Columbia River.

The Palliser River is named in honor of John Palliser

John Palliser

John Palliser was an Irish-born geographer and explorer. Born in Dublin, Ireland, he was the son of Colonel Wray Palliser and a brother of Major Sir William Palliser , all descendants of Dr William Palliser, Archbishop of Cashel .From 1839 to 1863, Palliser served in the Waterford Militia,...

, whose Palliser Expedition explored the Canadian Rockies from 1857 to 1859.

Course

The Palliser River originates in Height of the Rockies Provincial Park

Height of the Rockies Provincial Park

Height of the Rockies Provincial Park is a provincial park in the Canadian Rockies of south eastern British Columbia, Canada.It is located west of the condinental divide ....

, in the Rocky Mountains

Rocky Mountains

The Rocky Mountains are a major mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in western Canada, to New Mexico, in the southwestern United States...

 on the west slopes of the Continental Divide

Continental Divide

The Continental Divide of the Americas, or merely the Continental Gulf of Division or Great Divide, is the name given to the principal, and largely mountainous, hydrological divide of the Americas that separates the watersheds that drain into the Pacific Ocean from those river systems that drain...

. Its headwaters are located near Palliser Pass. The river flows south then west to join the Kootenay River. Albert River joins the Palliser River shortly before its confluence with the Kootenay River.