Athabasca

The lower Athabasca River winds north through boreal forest toward the lakes and wetlands of the Peace-Athabasca delta. Its waters join a much larger river system flowing toward the Arctic, while its tributaries and portages connect the country to the east. Cree and Dene peoples knew these waterways and travelled long distances to exchange furs before traders established posts in the region.

In 1778 Peter Pond crossed the Methye Portage and spent the winter on the Athabasca, some forty miles from the lake. There he met Cree and Chipewyan people who had previously undertaken arduous journeys to trade at Hudson Bay. His post helped bring Montreal merchants into direct competition for the northern fur trade. Indigenous people also used the region's naturally occurring bitumen to seal their birchbark canoes and as fuel for smoky fires that kept mosquitoes away.