Seen in its calmest state in late fall, the Elbow River at Elbow Falls is a beautiful site.

The Elbow River begins its journey near the top of the Highwood Pass at Elbow Lake in Peter Lougheed Provincial Park. From there, it makes its way down through the limestone canyons of the Front Ranges and Foothills, passing through the small town of Bragg Creek before entering the Glenmore Reservoir in Calgary. Because of a lack of glaciers in the Elbow River valley, recharge of the river relies on annual winter snowfall. Soils in the watershed of the Elbow River near its headwaters lack the absorbing power of many old-growth soils, so the Elbow River is particularly susceptible to flash flooding during intense thunderstorms.

Some of the most noteworthy floods occurred in the 1920s and 1930s when the Elbow River's discharge rate rose from an average of 30 m³/s to over 300 m³/s, over 10 times its normal discharge.

-Nathan Kneisel-

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