Methye Portage

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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 Although 'Methye Portage' is often used the official name since 1957 is Portage La Loche.[2] Both names are used in historical documents, books and journals.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]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Nw2001 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Natural Resources Canada, Geographical Names (Portage La Loche)". Retrieved 2015-02-11.
  3. ^ 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