Location of Methye Portage on the fur trade route from Lake Winnipeg to Lake Athabasca
The Methye Portage or Portage La Loche in northwestern Saskatchewan was one of the most important portages in the old fur trade route across Canada.[1] The 19 km (12 mi) portage connected the Mackenzie River basin to rivers that ran east to the Atlantic. It was reached by Peter Pond in 1778 and abandoned in 1883 when steamboats began running on the Athabasca River with links to the railroad. It ranks with Grand Portage as one of the two most important and difficult portages used during the fur trade era.
'Methye' is Cree and 'La Loche' is French for a fish that is called 'burbot' in English. Although 'Methye Portage' is often used the official name since 1957 is Portage La Loche.[2] Both names are used in historical documents, books and journals. Alexander Mackenzie in his book "Voyages from Montreal" used both Portage la Loche and Mithy-Ouinigam Portage (in 1789–1793).[3]
^Cite error: The named reference Nw2001 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^"Natural Resources Canada, Geographical Names (Portage La Loche)". Retrieved 2015-02-11.
^Mackenzie, Alexander Sir (1801), Voyages from Montreal, London: Printed for T. Cadell, Jun. and W. Davies ..., Cobbett and Morgan ..., and W. Creech, at Edinburgh, by R. Noble ..., ISBN 066533950X, 066533950X
River Frog PortageMethyePortage Île-à-la-Crosse Sturgeon-Weir River Fort Chipewyan Clearwater River Athabasca River The MethyePortage or Portage La Loche...
backs. Portages can be many kilometers in length, such as the 19-kilometre (12 mi) MethyePortage and the 14-kilometre (8+1⁄2 mi) Grand Portage (both in...
Churchill River Frog PortageMethyePortage Île-à-la-Crosse Sturgeon-Weir River Fort Chipewyan Clearwater River Athabasca River The Portage La Loche Brigade...
Located on the northern end of Lac La Loche is the MethyePortage or Portage La Loche. This portage to the Clearwater River was in use for more than a...
as at MethyePortage. Sometimes railways were built (Champlain and St. Lawrence Railroad). The basic purpose of most canals is to avoid portages. Places...
Rapids Saskatchewan River Cumberland House Churchill River Frog PortageMethyePortage Île-à-la-Crosse Sturgeon-Weir River Fort Chipewyan Clearwater River...
enters the Athabasca River from the east at Fort McMurray, and the MethyePortage were part of a primary fur trade route from the Mackenzie River to the...
canoes. During the fur trade, the location of Fort McMurray, west of MethyePortage, was an important junction on the fur trade route from eastern Canada...
upper reaches of the Churchill River, along the Lac Île-à-la-Crosse, MethyePortage, Cold Lake, Heart Lake and Onion Lake. The tribal name is probably a...
inhabited place. This divide was a barrier to transportation until the MethyePortage in northwestern Saskatchewan was discovered in 1778, which opened up...
explorer of the Athabasca region was Peter Pond, who learned of the MethyePortage, which allowed travel from southern rivers into the rivers north of...
Rapids Saskatchewan River Cumberland House Churchill River Frog PortageMethyePortage Île-à-la-Crosse Sturgeon-Weir River Fort Chipewyan Clearwater River...
River Frog PortageMethyePortage Île-à-la-Crosse Sturgeon-Weir River Fort Chipewyan Clearwater River Athabasca River Frog Portage or Portage du Traite...
the first European to see the Athabasca deposits after exploring the MethyePortage which allowed access to the rich fur resources of the Athabasca River...
Athabasca River, east up the Clearwater River to MethyePortage, east down the Churchill River to Frog Portage, south down the Sturgeon-Weir River to the depot...
1819–1822 shows details of the fur trade route from Île-à-la-Crosse to MethyePortage. Churchill Lake is shown as Clear Lake with its northern reaches still...
in Montréal. Fur trade explorer Peter Pond lead the way through the MethyePortage into the vast territory of the north-west where the rivers flowed north...
Lac La Biche Beaver Lake Cumberland House Churchill River Frog PortageMethyePortage Île-à-la-Crosse Sturgeon-Weir River Fort Chipewyan Clearwater River...
House on the Saskatchewan River on 15 June. From there, they reached MethyePortage, mostly by way of the Churchill River system. Simultaneously, most of...
people. The 19-kilometre MethyePortage or Portage La Loche at the northern end of the lake leads to the Clearwater River. The Portage a National Historic...
La Loche and over the 12 mile MethyePortage to the Clearwater River whose waters reach the Arctic. The MethyePortage, which was first reached by Peter...
the first European to see the Athabasca deposits after exploring the MethyePortage, which allowed access to the rich fur resources of the Athabasca River...
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