page_title: Clearwater River (Saskatchewan)
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Clearwater River (Saskatchewan) / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Part of John Franklin's expedition map of 1819-1820 showing Methye Portage and the Clearwater River.
context_page_description: The Clearwater River is located in the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Alberta. It rises in the northern forest region of northwestern Saskatchewan and joins the Athabasca River in northeastern Alberta. It was part of an important trade route during the fur trade era and has been designated as a Canadian Heritage River.
context_section_description: Rock-paintings  along the upper portion of the river, shapes and symbols on rock surfaces, suggest that the area was already inhabited 5,000 years ago. Before the  European colonisation, native groups of Beaver, Chipewyan, and Cree people lived in the Clearwater River area.
  During European exploration and the fur trade of the 18th century, the lower  Clearwater River was part of an important canoe route  between Hudson Bay and Montreal in the east, and the District of Athabasca in the west. The rough Precambrian upper portion of the Clearwater River was a barrier to the traders until 1778, when explorer Peter Pond crossed the Methye Portage to bypass it. Methye Portage extended between Lac La Loche and the Clearwater River, forming a 19-kilometre (12 mi) overland link on the route from Churchill, Manitoba to Athabasca, Alberta. For almost 40 years, this was the only overland connection for the fur trade in the region, and it continued in use for most of the 19th century.
caption: A section of John Franklin's 1819-20 expedition map showing the Clearwater River fur trade route from Methye Portage to Fort McMurray
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