Great Slave Lake

Great Slave Lake is an immense northern water, known to Dene peoples by names including Tu Nedhé and Tideè. The Slave, Hay and Taltson rivers enter the lake, while the Mackenzie carries its waters west and north to the Arctic Ocean. Its eastern arm reaches deep into rocky country, contrasting with the low shores farther west. The lake and its surrounding lands have long been home to Dene peoples, and archaeological remains record thousands of years of human presence.

In the winter of 1771 Samuel Hearne crossed the frozen lake with his Dene companions on the return from the Coppermine River. Traders Laurent Leroux and Cuthbert Grant established competing posts on the southern shore in 1786; a later North West Company post stood on Moose Deer Island. In 1789 Alexander Mackenzie left the lake with Dene guide Aw-gee-nah and other companions, following its great outlet in search of a route to the Pacific. They reached the Arctic coast instead.