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17-526: In fur trade days the term Athabasca Country was used for the fur-producing region around Lake Athabasca . The area was important for two reasons. The cold climate produced some of the densest and thickest beaver fur in North America. The number of furs produced was somewhat greater than its only rival, the Saskatchewan River fur trade . Secondly, the great distance from Montreal and Hudson Bay required

34-431: A " Provincial Wilderness Park " in 1992. Lake Athabasca contains 23 species of fish, with a world record lake trout of 46.3 kilograms (102 lb) caught from its depths in 1961 by means of a gillnet . Other fish species include walleye , yellow perch , northern pike , goldeye , lake whitefish , cisco , Arctic grayling , burbot , white sucker , and longnose sucker . Slave River The Slave River and

51-653: A billion litres of slurry poured into the Plante and Apetowun Creeks. The plume of waste products then joined the Athabasca River, travelling downstream for a month before settling in Lake Athabasca near Fort Chipewyan , over 500 kilometres (310 mi) away. The Lake Athabasca Sand Dunes , the largest active sand dunes in the world north of 58°, are adjacent to the southern shore in Saskatchewan. The dunes were designated

68-560: A river port on Great Slave Lake, cargo shipment on the Slave River was an important transport route. Locally built wooden vessels were navigating the river into the late 19th century. The rapids required a portage of 26 kilometres (16 mi). Tractors were imported from Germany to assist in the transport of goods around the rapids. Tugs and barges of the Northern Transportation Company 's "Radium Line" were constructed in

85-574: A sanctuary to the birds and are closed to human traffic from April 15 to September 15. Crossing the Slave River has proven to be fatal; the earliest recorded fatalities as a part of Cuthbert Grant's expedition of 1786 at the Rapids of the Drowned (a class II-IV rapid set). The Slave River originates in the Peace-Athabasca Delta , at the forks of Peace River and Rivière des Rochers , which drains

102-609: Is 283 kilometres (176 mi) long, has a maximum width of 50 kilometres (31 mi), and a maximum depth of 124 metres (407 ft), and holds 204 cubic kilometres (49 cu mi) of water, making it the largest and one of the deepest lakes in both Alberta and Saskatchewan (nearby Tazin Lake is deeper), and the eighth largest in Canada. Water flows northward from the lake via the Slave River and Mackenzie River systems, eventually reaching

119-702: Is in the north-west corner of Saskatchewan and the north-east corner of Alberta between 58° and 60° N in Canada. The lake is 26% in Alberta and 74% in Saskatchewan. The lake is fed by the Athabasca River and other rivers, and its water flows northward via the Slave River to the Mackenzie River system, eventually reaching the Arctic Ocean . The name in the Woods Cree language originally referred only to

136-474: The Arctic Ocean . Fort Chipewyan , one of the oldest European settlements in Alberta, is on the western shore of the lake, where the Rivière des Rochers drains the lake and flows toward Slave River , beginning its northward journey along the eastern boundary of Wood Buffalo National Park . The eastern section of the lake narrows to a width of about 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) near the community of Fond du Lac on

153-588: The Athabasca River and Lake Athabasca . The Slave River flows north into the Northwest Territories and into the Great Slave Lake north of Fort Resolution . From there the water reaches the Arctic Ocean through the Mackenzie River . The river is 434 kilometres (270 mi) long and has a cumulative drainage area of 616,400 square kilometres (238,000 sq mi). Prior to the extension of railway service to Hay River, Northwest Territories ,

170-617: The Peace–Athabasca Delta formed by the confluence of the Peace and Athabasca rivers at the southwest corner of the lake. Prior to 1789, Sir Alexander Mackenzie explored the lake. In 1791, Philip Turnor , cartographer for the Hudson's Bay Company , wrote in his journal, "low swampy ground on the South side with a few willows growing upon it, from which the Lake in general takes its name Athapison in

187-589: The rapids surrounding Fort Smith are known for whitewater kayaking . The river consists of four sets of named rapids: Pelican, Rapids of the Drowned, Mountain Portage, and Cassette. The rapids range in their difficulty to traverse, ranked from Class I to Class VI according to the International Scale of River Difficulty . Huge volume, massive waves, and the home of the northernmost river pelican colony in North America characterize this river. These islands serve as

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204-645: The Rocky Mountains. To the south, the Athabasca River led southwest to the Rocky Mountains with connections to the Columbia District across the mountains on the Pacific coast and to the North Saskatchewan River to the south. The administrative centre of the region was the depot at Fort Chipewyan on the west end of the lake where out-going furs and in-coming trade goods were stored. The route eastward

221-550: The Southern Cree tongue which signifies open country such as lakes with willows and grass growing about them". Peter Fidler originally recorded the name for the river in 1790 as the Great Arabuska . By 1801, the name had gained a closer spelling to the current name—Athapaskow Lake. By 1820, George Simpson referred to both the lake and the river as "Athabasca". The lake covers 7,850 square kilometres (3,030 sq mi),

238-561: The highly developed and efficient transportation system that characterized the Hudson's Bay Company in the nineteenth century. The natural centre of the trade was the Peace-Athabasca Delta at the west end of Lake Athabasca. The lake itself led eastward into relatively poor country. To the north, the Slave River and Mackenzie River led to the Arctic Ocean. To the west, the Peace River led to

255-471: The northern shore resulted in the birth of Uranium City, Saskatchewan , which was home to mine workers and their families. While the last mine closed in the 1980s, the effects of mining operations had already heavily contaminated the northern shores. The large oil sands mining nearby is suspected to have added to the current pollution levels in the lake. On October   31, 2013, one of Obed Mountain coal mine 's pits failed, and from between 600 million to

272-933: The northern shore then continues to its most easterly point at the mouth of the Fond du Lac River. Fidler Point on the north shore of Lake Athabasca is named for Peter Fidler , a surveyor and map maker for the Hudson's Bay Company . Along with other lakes such as the Great Bear Lake and Great Slave Lake , Lake Athabasca is a remnant of the vast Glacial Lake McConnell . Tributaries of Lake Athabasca include (going clockwise); Fond du Lac River, Otherside River, Helmer Creek, MacFarlane River, Archibald River, William River, Ennuyeuse Creek, Dumville Creek, Debussac Creek, Jackfish Creek, Claussen Creek, Old Fort River, Crown Creek, Athabasca River, Colin River, Oldman River, Bulyea River, Grease River and Robillard River. Uranium and gold mining along

289-726: Was south up the Athabasca River, east up the Clearwater River to Methye Portage , east down the Churchill River to Frog Portage , south down the Sturgeon-Weir River to the depot at Cumberland House, Saskatchewan , east down the Saskatchewan River to Lake Winnipeg and from there either to Hudson Bay or Montreal. Lake Athabasca Lake Athabasca ( / ˌ æ θ ə ˈ b æ s k ə / ATH -ə- BASK -ə ; French: lac Athabasca ; from Woods Cree: ᐊᖬᐸᐢᑳᐤ aðapaskāw , "[where] there are plants one after another")

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