The 113-kilometre-long (70 mi) Great Bear River, which drains the Great Bear Lake westward through marshes into the Mackenzie River, forms an important transportation link during its four ice-free months.

Historic air photos show no evidence of bank erosion or channel migration in a 50-year period.

The low discharge rate is due to small amount of precipitation in watershed area.

[4] Great Bear River contained open reaches that had melted out in place over 80 percent of its length in 1972 and 1974.

Other animals regularly found in the Great Bear River include various fish species such as Arctic grayling, Burbot, Cisco (lake herring), Northern Pike, Nelma (inconnu), Walleye, Fourhorn sculpin, Slimy sculpin, Round whitefish, Longnose sucker, Sphaeriidae molluscs, and opossum shrimp; amphibians such as the Wood frog; mammals such as the North American river otter and North American beaver; and amphipods such as gammarus lacustris, and pontoporia affinis.