Lac La Biche ( ) is a hamlet in Lac La Biche County within northeast Alberta, Canada. It is located approximately northeast of the provincial capital of Edmonton. Previously incorporated as a town, Lac La Biche amalgamated with Lakeland County to form Lac La Biche County on August 1, 2007. Etymology The indigenous peoples of the area referred to the lake as Elk Lake (Nêhiyawêwin: wâwâskesiwisâkahikan, Dënesųłiné: tzalith tway). The earliest Europeans translated this name into English as "Red Deer Lake" and in French as "Lac la biche" ("Lake of the doe"). Over time, the French name came to be used in English as well. History Historic voyageur highway Lac La Biche was on the historical voyageur route that linked the Athabaskan region to Hudson Bay. David Thompson and George Simpson used the fur trade route via the Beaver River from the main Methye Portage route that reached the Athabasca River. Thompson was the first known European to record his sojourn on Lac La Biche. Thompson, who referred to the lake as Red Deers Lake, arrived October 4, 1798 and overwintered there. He entered copious notes in his diary on the Nahathaway (the Cree), their customs, traditions, and the Western Forest Land, including the large supply of whitefish and beaver. Fur trade posts Although the Montreal-based North West Company was already active in the area, Thompson established the first permanent settlement in Lac La Biche on his 1798 trip, a Hudson's Bay Company trading post which he named Red Deers Lake House. In 1799, Peter Fidler arrived in the area after Thompson's departure, and as the post. This new structure was known as Greenwich House. It was also abandoned by 1801, but Lac La Biche was established as a permanent place of residence for some French-Canadian and Métis freetraders and their families. Fur trade activity continued unbroken, due to the importance of the portage, and Lac La Biche was visited by fur traders such as Gabriel Franchère and Ross Cox. David Thompson returned in 1812. Another temporary Hudson's Bay Company post was erected in 1817, but the portage was abandoned by the company in 1825. Almost no written records exist for the following two decades. Oblate mission A Roman Catholic mission was established in 1853 by Oblate missionaries. Historian Paul Robert Magocsi notes how the settlement grew over the next few decades: The Lac La Biche Mission is now a