Pat's Creek is a tributary of the Peace River

Peace River (Canada)

The Peace River is a river in Canada that originates in the Rocky Mountains of northern British Columbia and flows to the northeast through northern Alberta. The Peace River flows into the Slave River, a tributary of the Mackenzie River. The Mackenzie is the 12th longest river in the world,...

 in northern Alberta

Northern Alberta

Northern Alberta is a region located in the Canadian province of Alberta.Its primary industry is oil and gas, with large heavy oil reserves being exploited at the Athabasca Oil Sands and Wabasca Area in the east of the region...

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 whose mouth is located within the Town of Peace River

Peace River, Alberta

Peace River is a town in northwestern Alberta, Canada, situated along the banks of the Peace River, at its confluence with the Smoky River, the Heart River and Pat's Creek. It is located northwest of Edmonton, and northeast of Grande Prairie, along Highway 2. The Peace River townsite is nearly ...

.

It is named after Patrick Wesley, a Métis man who lived in a cabin adjacent to the creek on his property. He deeded to the Anglican Church 5 acres of his land, including the creek, as tokens of his appreciation for care given to him during his final days in the battle with smallpox.

Course

Pat's Creek originates in Northern Sunrise County

Northern Sunrise County, Alberta

Northern Sunrise County is a municipal district in northern Alberta, Canada. It is located in Census Division 17.On July 10, 2002, the name changed from Municipal District of East Peace No. 131 to Northern Sunrise County...

, Alberta

Alberta

Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...

 at an elevation of 745 metres (2,444.2 ft). It is formed by two legs from two separate sets of small connected unnamed lakes east of the community of St. Isidore

St. Isidore, Alberta

St. Isidore is a hamlet in northwest Alberta, Canada, within Northern Sunrise County. It is located approximately east of the Town of Peace River on Range Road 204 off Highway 688. St. Isidore is flanked by deep ravines cut by Pat's Creek to the north and Pat's Creek tributary to the south. The...

. Flowing westwards, it receives waters from a small unnamed creek just east of St. Isidore and then passes the community just to the north of it less than 500 m away curving deep ravines on its course. Pat's Creek then receives another slightly larger creek just west of the community before being crossed by Highway 688 while flowing northwesterly. It continues westwards then southwesterly flowing between Kaufmann and Grouard hills. It is then channeled in 3 metre culvert for the remaining 1.5 kilometre under the roads, sidewalks, and parks of the Town of Peace River, before emerging to join the Peace River at an elevation of 320 metres (1,049.9 ft).

Flooding

While the open creek through town posed as flooding is a concern especially during spring break-up, several days of torrential rains on July 2, 1935 caused the Pat's Creek burst its banks sending water gushing down Main Street Peace River along with and tree debris. The rains and flood waters from the tributaries caused the Peace River to rise more than 6.1 metres (20 ft) above its normal July levels.

Highway Slumpage

Highway 2 used to follow Pat's Creek into the Town of Peace River but had to be abandoned due to massive landslides on the section between Grouard Hill and Kauffman Hill. It is currently a 3 km (1.9 mi) wilderness interpretive trail above the creek.