Descharme Lake is a northern settlement on Descharme Lake in the

boreal forest Taiga or tayga ( ; , ), also known as boreal forest or snow forest, is a biome characterized by pinophyta, coniferous forests consisting mostly of pines, spruces, and larches. The taiga, or boreal forest, is the world's largest land biome. I ...

of northwest

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...

. A access road leads west to the community from the Saskatchewan Highway 955 turn-off 87 km (54 miles) north of La Loche. The northern settlement is an unincorporated community in the

Northern Saskatchewan Administration District The Northern Saskatchewan Administration District (NSAD) is the unincorporated area of Northern Saskatchewan, Canada. It encompasses approximately half of Saskatchewan's land mass. Despite its extent, the majority of Saskatchewanians live in the ...

History

Across the lake from Descharme where the Descharme River flows to the Clearwater River is the old town site of Descharme. In the 1950s it had a filleting plant and a store. In 1974, Descharme had 48 people with no facilities and no road. An unpaved road has since been constructed linking the community with Secondary Highway 955. Most of the residents have been encouraged to relocate to the town of La Loche. In 2013, 42 people remained in the community. Descharme may be the last of the old winter camps used by the

Dene The Dene people () are an Indigenous group of First Nations who inhabit the northern boreal, subarctic and Arctic regions of Canada. The Dene speak Northern Athabaskan languages and it is the common Athabaskan word for "people". The term ...

residents of La Loche.

Swan Lake

Descharme Lake was once known as Swan Lake. The community of Swan Lake is mentioned as one of the mission villages of La Loche in 1895. It was then the main winter hunting camp for the residents of La Loche with a small permanent population of 25 people and a winter population of 50. Father Penard of the La Loche Mission wrote in 1895: "at the end of about 25 leagues (75 miles from La Loche), we arrive at Swan Lake. If we are expected, we would find about 50 people, if not we would have to get them from the vicinity, perhaps up to 20 leagues (60 miles) from there, somewhere in the woods."(translation) "Des charmes" means beautiful or charming place in French. The date of the name change from Swan Lake to Descharme Lake was made in 1944. Swan Lake was the name used in a 1943 newspaper article.: Swan Lake had 18 people in three families in the 1906 Census.

Demographics

In the

2021 Census of Population The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population with a reference date of May 11, 2021. It follows the 2016 Canadian census, which recorded a population of 35,151,728. The overall response rate was 98%, which is sli ...

conducted by

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; ), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and culture. It is headquartered in ...

, Descharme Lake had a population of 26 living in 13 of its 13 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 5. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.

References

{{coord, 57.108725, N, 109.21967, W, display=title, region:CA_type:city_source:GNS-enwiki Designated places in Saskatchewan Division No. 18, Unorganized, Saskatchewan Northern settlements in Saskatchewan Dene communities

History

Swan Lake

Demographics

See also

References