Lake Chibougamau

Dotted with islands and divided by projecting shores, Lake Chibougamau drains westward through the Chibougamau River towards the Waswanipi. Cree families have long hunted around this lake and neighbouring Lake Opémisca. Between 1815 and 1822, the Hudson's Bay Company maintained a trading post at Lake Chevrillon on the river downstream. The meaning of Chibougamau has been variously explained; one interpretation connects it with a narrow passage where the water appears blocked.