In fur trade days the term Athabasca Country was used for the fur-producing region around

Lake Athabasca Lake Athabasca ( ; French: ''lac Athabasca''; from Woods Cree: , " herethere are plants one after another") is in the north-west corner of Saskatchewan and the north-east corner of Alberta between 58° and 60° N in Canada. The lake is ...

. The area was important for two reasons. The cold climate produced some of the densest and thickest beaver fur in North America. The number of furs produced was somewhat greater than its only rival, the Saskatchewan River fur trade. Secondly, the great distance from Montreal and Hudson Bay required the highly developed and efficient transportation system that characterized the Hudson's Bay Company in the nineteenth century.Catton, Ted. (2000) ''The environment and the fur trade experience in Voyageurs National Park, 1730-1870.'' National Park Service. Midwest Region, pp. 8-9. The natural centre of the trade was the Peace-Athabasca Delta at the west end of Lake Athabasca. The lake itself led eastward into relatively poor country. To the north, the Slave River and

Mackenzie River The Mackenzie River (French: ; Slavey language, Slavey: ' èh tʃʰò literally ''big river''; Inuvialuktun: ' uːkpɑk literally ''great river'') is a river in the Canadian Canadian boreal forest, boreal forest and tundra. It forms, ...

led to the Arctic Ocean. To the west, the Peace River led to the Rocky Mountains. To the south, the

Athabasca River The Athabasca River (French: ''Rivière Athabasca'') in Alberta, Canada, originates at the Columbia Icefield in Jasper National Park and flows more than before emptying into Lake Athabasca. Much of the land along its banks is protected in nationa ...

led southwest to the Rocky Mountains with connections to the

Columbia District The Columbia District was a fur-trading district in the Pacific Northwest region of North America, in both the United States and British North America in the 19th century. Much of its territory overlapped with the temporarily jointly occupi ...

across the mountains on the Pacific coast and to the

North Saskatchewan River The North Saskatchewan River is a glacier-fed river that flows from the Canadian Rockies continental divide east to central Saskatchewan, where it joins with the South Saskatchewan River to make up the Saskatchewan River. Its water flows event ...

to the south. The administrative centre of the region was the depot at Fort Chipewyan on the west end of the lake where out-going furs and in-coming trade goods were stored. The route eastward was south up the Athabasca River, east up the Clearwater River to

Methye Portage The Methye Portage or Portage La Loche in northwestern Saskatchewan was one of the most important portages in the old North American fur trade, fur trade route across Canada. The portage connected the Mackenzie River basin to rivers that ran east ...

, east down the Churchill River to Frog Portage, south down the Sturgeon-Weir River to the depot at

Cumberland House, Saskatchewan Cumberland House () is a community in Division No. 18, Saskatchewan, Census Division No. 18 in northeast Saskatchewan, Canada on the Saskatchewan River. It is the oldest community in Saskatchewan and has a population of about 2,000 people. Cum ...

, east down the

Saskatchewan River The Saskatchewan River (Cree: , "swift flowing river") is a major river in Canada. It stretches about from where it is formed by the joining of the North Saskatchewan River and South Saskatchewan River just east of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan ...

Lake Winnipeg Lake Winnipeg () is a very large, relatively shallow lake in North America, in the Canadian province of Manitoba. Its southern end is about north of the city of Winnipeg. Lake Winnipeg is Canada's sixth-largest freshwater lake and the third- ...

and from there either to Hudson Bay or Montreal.

References

{{Authority control Fur trade History of Alberta by location Geography of Alberta

See also

References