The river rises on the east side of the
Sangre de Cristo Mountains, around above sea level, in remote southwestern
Las Animas County, Colorado, roughly north of the New Mexico border. An upper tributary of the Vermejo River heads around in elevation in the Culebra Range and has a confluence with the Canadian south of Maxwell, New Mexico. Overall, the meandering course is from its origin to its confluence with the Arkansas River. The main tributaries are the North Canadian,
Little, and
Deep Fork Rivers. After rising in Colorado, the Canadian flows east-southeast across the New Mexico border, then south, passing west of
Raton, New Mexico. It forms a deep canyon south of
Springer, New Mexico. The
Sabinoso Wilderness area is located in side canyons near the river. At its first
dam at
Conchas Lake, the river turns eastward. It is also dammed at
Logan, New Mexico, where it forms
Ute Lake. From there it crosses the
Texas Panhandle, dammed at
Sanford, Texas, where it forms
Lake Meredith. The canyon the river carves through eastern New Mexico and the Texas Panhandle is the northern border of the
Llano Estacado, separating it from the rest of the
Great Plains. From Texas, the Canadian continues eastward into Oklahoma, passing just south of
Oklahoma City. At
Eufaula, Oklahoma, it flows into
Eufaula Lake, the largest on this river. About downstream, it joins the Arkansas River at
Robert S. Kerr Reservoir, around west of the
Arkansas border. For most of its length, the Canadian is a slow-moving waterway bounded by red mud flats and
quicksand. When sufficient
rain has fallen, the river can carry substantial amounts of water. The river is now under the control of the Canadian River Commission. ==Images==