#3: [10-Jan-02]

21-Jun-2001 -- The confluence of 54N 115W is located in west central Alberta approximately 130 km north west of the city of Edmonton. Having visited the secondary confluence of 53N 116W earlier in the day I set out driving north after having my lunch at the Brazeau Reservoir. It was my plan to celebrate the summer solstice by visiting the two confluences the same day.

The confluence of 54N 115W was shown on the MapQuest map as being within a kilometre of Hwy. 18. After a pleasant drive of two hours on paved roads my GPS 12 steadily counted down to less than seven kilometres as I turned onto Hwy. 18 north of the small town of Sangudo. The distance to the confluence was less than 700 meters when I parked my car at the side of the highway and set out on foot.

It was an easy walk along a old road allowance to within 100 metres of the confluence. Leaving the trail I headed west into the forest bushwhacking through the brush to reach the confluence a few minutes later at 3:05 PM. The confluence was situated on level ground in a stand of tall Aspen Poplar with an understory of Alder and Wild Rose bushes. This site would be indistinguishable from thousands of square kilometres of similar deciduous forest in central Alberta.

The GPS showed an elevation of 757 metres and the EPE(estimated postion error) was about five meters as I created a waypoint at the confluence. Views in all four directions were virtually the same and after taking several almost identical photographs I packed up and returned to my car.