Alexander Mackenzie: Over the Rockies to Salt Water, 1793

Fur‑trade officer Alexander Mackenzie made two epic journeys: in 1789 he followed a great north‑flowing river to the Arctic; in 1793 he crossed the Rockies and, with Indigenous guidance, reached the Pacific at North Bentinck Arm near today’s Bella Coola. His name still marks a rock on that coast—and a long interior trail that predates him by millennia.

Portrait of Sir Alexander Mackenzie, c. 1800, after Thomas Lawrence
Sir Alexander Mackenzie, c. 1800 (after Thomas Lawrence). Source: Wikimedia Commons file page.

Why he went west

Working for the North West Company out of Fort Chipewyan, Mackenzie hoped to find a practicable transcontinental trade route. The first try (1789) carried him down what he thought might lead to the Pacific but proved to be a north‑running river to the Arctic. He regrouped, built a new base at Fort Fork on the Peace River, and planned a second push toward the Pacific.

The Arctic, 1789

In June–July 1789 Mackenzie’s party travelled from Great Slave Lake down the vast river that now bears his name to the Arctic Ocean. The expedition mapped the channel and coast but confirmed that it did not lead to the Pacific.

1801 map of Mackenzie's 1793 track from Fort Chipewyan to the Pacific (Library of Congress)
“A map of Mackenzie’s track from Fort Chipewyan to the Pacific Ocean in 1793” (published 1801). Source: Library of Congress via Wikimedia Commons.

Up the Peace, to the Fraser—and a change of plan

Wintering 1792–93 at Fort Fork near today’s Peace River, he set out on May 9, 1793. The party tracked and paddled up the Peace and Parsnip rivers, crossed the Rockies, and reached the upper Fraser. Warned about dangerous canyons and long detours ahead, Mackenzie accepted local advice: leave the river and follow an overland trading corridor toward the coast—the Nuxalk‑Carrier Grease Trail.

Across the Grease Trail

The Grease Trail network had linked interior Carrier (Dakelh) peoples with Nuxalk communities on the coast for countless generations, moving with eulachon grease, obsidian, hides and stories. Guided by Indigenous knowledge, Mackenzie’s group turned west at the West Road (Blackwater) River and crossed through today’s Tweedsmuir country to the Bella Coola valley.

Bella Coola River Valley, early 20th-century photograph
Bella Coola River Valley, gateway from the Grease Trail to the sea. Source: Wikimedia Commons file page.

Salt water at North Bentinck Arm

In late July 1793 Mackenzie reached tidewater at North Bentinck Arm near Q’umk’uts (Bella Coola). Borrowing coastal canoes, he went downriver and out into the inlets to take astronomical observations, then marked a shoreline boulder with the famous inscription: “Alex Mackenzie, from Canada, by land, 22d July 1793.” He had crossed the continent north of Mexico.

A photo of Mackenzie’s rock inscription near Dean Channel
The rock at Sir Alexander Mackenzie Provincial Park: “Alex Mackenzie, from Canada, by land, 22d July 1793.” Source: Wikimedia Commons file page.
Historic view of Bella Coola village on North Bentinck Arm
Historic view of the Bella Coola village area on North Bentinck Arm. Source: Wikimedia Commons file page.

A near‑miss with Vancouver

Mackenzie narrowly missed encountering George Vancouver’s survey boats. In early June 1793, a detachment from Vancouver’s expedition had visited the same inlet; Mackenzie arrived a few weeks later.

After 1793: book, knighthood, and a trail that endures

Mackenzie published his account in 1801; he was knighted the next year. The interior overland corridor he used later became known as the Alexander Mackenzie (Nuxalk‑Carrier Grease) Trail—formally recognized as a heritage route and still walked in sections today. On the coast, a tiny provincial park protects his inscription and an older Nuxalk village site.

References

  1. The Canadian Encyclopedia, “Sir Alexander Mackenzie (Explorer).” thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/sir-alexander-mackenzie-explorer
  2. Parks Canada, “First Crossing of North America National Historic Site of Canada.” pc.gc.ca/apps/dfhd/page_nhs_eng.aspx?id=1549
  3. Parks Canada, “Fort Fork National Historic Site of Canada.” pc.gc.ca/apps/dfhd/page_nhs_eng.aspx?id=39
  4. Library of Congress, “A map of Mackenzie’s track from Fort Chipewyan to the Pacific Ocean in 1793” (1801). loc.gov/item/2002625188/
  5. BC Parks, “Sir Alexander Mackenzie Provincial Park.” bcparks.ca/sir-alexander-mackenzie-park/
  6. BC Geographical Names, “Alexander Mackenzie Heritage Trail (Nuxalk‑Carrier Route).” apps.gov.bc.ca/pub/bcgnws/names/68161.html
  7. BC Parks (Tweedsmuir), “Nuxalk‑Carrier Grease / Alexander Mackenzie Heritage Trail” details. bcparks.ca/tweedsmuir-park/hiking/
  8. North Bentinck Arm entry (context for the 1793 arrival and the near‑miss with Vancouver’s boats). en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Bentinck_Arm
  9. Dictionary of Canadian Biography, “Mackenzie, Sir Alexander (1764–1820).” biographi.ca/en/bio/mackenzie_alexander_5E.html