Reindeer Lake

Reindeer Lake is a vast northern lake with a deeply indented shore and countless islands. Its waters drain south by the Reindeer River into the Churchill. Near the southern end lies the nearly circular Deep Bay, the trace of an ancient impact. The lake stretches far into the forested country between the Churchill and Lake Athabasca, where Cree and Dene peoples travelled and hunted.

In 1796 the Hudson's Bay Company surveyor David Thompson travelled north from the Reindeer River with two Chipewyan guides, crossing towards Wollaston Lake and reaching the eastern end of Lake Athabasca. The route proved difficult for loaded trading canoes. Later that year Thompson and Malcolm Ross were forced to spend the winter at Bedford House on Reindeer Lake's western shore. Several posts appeared around the lake in those years, but few remained open for long.