Petitot is a river in northern 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...

 and 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...

, 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...

. It is a tributary of the Liard River

Liard River

The Liard River flows through Yukon, British Columbia and the Northwest Territories, Canada. Rising in the Saint Cyr Range of the Pelly Mountains in southeastern Yukon, it flows southeast through British Columbia, marking the northern end of the Rocky Mountains and then curving northeast back...

.
Petitot River originates from Bistcho Lake

Bistcho Lake

Bistcho Lake is a large lake in north western Alberta, Canada.Bistcho Lake has a total area of , and lies at an elevation of...

 in northwestern Alberta, and flows westwards along the northern borders of Alberta and British Columbia. It then passes in the Northwest Territories

Northwest Territories

The Northwest Territories is a federal territory of Canada.Located in northern Canada, the territory borders Canada's two other territories, Yukon to the west and Nunavut to the east, and three provinces: British Columbia to the southwest, and Alberta and Saskatchewan to the south...

, where it discharges in the Liard River

Liard River

The Liard River flows through Yukon, British Columbia and the Northwest Territories, Canada. Rising in the Saint Cyr Range of the Pelly Mountains in southeastern Yukon, it flows southeast through British Columbia, marking the northern end of the Rocky Mountains and then curving northeast back...

 at the village of Fort Liard

Fort Liard, Northwest Territories

Fort Liard is a hamlet in the Dehcho Region of the Northwest Territories, Canada. It is located 37 km north of the British Columbia border...

. From there, its waters are carried to the Arctic Ocean

Arctic Ocean

The Arctic Ocean, located in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Arctic north polar region, is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five major oceanic divisions...

 through the Mackenzie River

Mackenzie River

The Mackenzie River is the largest river system in Canada. It flows through a vast, isolated region of forest and tundra entirely within the country's Northwest Territories, although its many tributaries reach into four other Canadian provinces and territories...

.

The river takes its name from Father Émile Petitot

Émile Petitot

Father Émile-Fortuné Petitot Father Émile-Fortuné Petitot (also known as Émile-Fortuné-Stanislas-Joseph Petitot) Father Émile-Fortuné Petitot (also known as Émile-Fortuné-Stanislas-Joseph Petitot) (Inuk name, Mitchi Pitchitork Tchikraynarm iyoyé, meaning "Mr...

, one of the first European to reach the area in 1867-68. The name in the Dene

Dene

The Dene are an aboriginal group of First Nations who live in the northern boreal and Arctic regions of Canada. The Dené speak Northern Athabaskan languages. Dene is the common Athabaskan word for "people" . The term "Dene" has two usages...

 language of the Slavey

Slavey

The Slavey are a First Nations aboriginal people of the Dene group, indigenous to the Great Slave Lake region, in Canada's Northwest Territories, and extending into northeastern British Columbia and northwestern Alberta....

 First Nation is mbehcholah, "The Black".

It has a total length of 404 km and a drainage area of 23,200 km².

Tributaries

• Thinahtea Lake Creek
• July Lake Creek
• Sahdoanah Creek
• Thetlaandoa Creek
• Tsea River
• Dilly Creek
• D'Easum Creek