Liard River

Liard River
Liard River, Nahanni Ranges on western horizon
Country	Canada
Regions	Yukon Territory, British Columbia, Northwest Territories
Tributaries
- left	Frances River (Yukon), Hyland River, Coal River (Canada), Smith River (British Columbia), Graying River, Scatter River, Beaver River (Laird River), South Nahanni River
- right	Meister River, Rancheria River (Yukon), Dease River, Kechika River, Rabbit River, Vents River, Trout River (British Columbia), Toad River, Fort Nelson River
Source	Mount Lewis
- elevation	1,500 m (4,921 ft)
- coordinates	61°14′12″N 131°37′39″W / 61.23667°N 131.62750°W / 61.23667; -131.62750
Mouth	Mackenzie River
- location	Fort Simpson, Northwest Territories
- elevation	120 m (394 ft)
- coordinates	61°50′23″N 121°17′58″W / 61.83972°N 121.29944°W / 61.83972; -121.29944Coordinates: 61°50′23″N 121°17′58″W / 61.83972°N 121.29944°W / 61.83972; -121.29944
Length	1,115 km (693 mi)
Basin	277,100 km2 (106,989 sq mi)
Discharge	for near mouth
- average	2,434 m3/s (85,956 cu ft/s)
- max	11,000 m3/s (388,000 cu ft/s)
- min	300 m3/s (10,594 cu ft/s)

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 1,115 kilometres (693 mi) southeast through British Columbia, marking the northern end of the Rocky Mountains and then curving northeast back into the Yukon and Northwest Territories, draining into the Mackenzie River at Fort Simpson, Northwest Territories. The river drains approximately 277,100 square kilometres (107,000 sq mi) of boreal forest and muskeg.

The river habitats are a subsection of the Lower Mackenzie Freshwater Ecoregion. The area around the river in the Yukon Territory is called the Liard River Valley, and the Alaska Highway follows the river for part of its route. This surrounding area is also referred to as the Liard Plain, and is a physiographic section of the larger Yukon–Tanana Uplands province, which in turn is part of the larger Intermontane Plateaus physiographic division.

The Liard River is a crossing area for Nahanni wood bison.

The origin of the river's name is obscure, but is derived from the French word for "Eastern Cottonwood" (a kind of poplar) which grow in abundance along sections of the river. Among the early fur traders, the Liard above the Fort Nelson River was referred to as the "West Branch," while the Fort Nelson River was the "East Branch."

The first European to traverse most of the river was John McLeod of the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC). Leaving Fort Simpson on June 28, 1831, McLeod and eight others ascended the river, reaching and naming the Dease River in just over six weeks. Four days later, they reached the Frances River, and mistakenly ascended it, thinking it was the Liard's main branch. Nine years later, another HBC employee, Robert Campbell, journeyed to the source of the Liard in the St. Cyr Range, renaming the river McLeod had ascended for Frances Ramsay Simpson, the wife of the Sir George Simpson, the HBC's governor who had authorised both expeditions.