Alexander Mackenzie was a fur trader for the North West Company who became one of Canada's most famous explorers.

He set out in 1789 by canoe from Lake Athabasca to find a river that would lead to the Pacific Ocean.

Accompanying Dene guides, he set off down a river called Deh Cho. After a 40-day paddle, they reached the mouth of the river, finding a vast ice-covered expanse before of them.

At first, Mackenzie thought they had reached a large inland lake. However, he soon noticed the rise and fall of tides, and one day saw whales off-shore. He had come to the Beaufort Sea, an extension of the Arctic Ocean.

Even though Mackenzie had navigated the Deh Cho in error, and the river had been populated by the Dene First Nation for thousands of years before his voyage, the river is officially named for the Scottish fur trader. The Deh Cho is just one of many Canadian rivers that has been renamed for European adventurers even though they already had long-established Native names.

Disappointed, Mackenzie and his guides paddled back to Lake Athabasca.

In May of 1793, he tried a second time, heading west instead of north. He followed the Peace River westward to the continental divide and reached the headwaters of the Fraser River which flows into the Pacific at present-day Vancouver.

His First Nations guides knew of the dangerous river's reputation and advised Mackenzie against attempting to descend it. Instead, Mackenzie descended the Bella Coola river and became the first European to cross North America north of Mexico.

Top