La Ronge

La Ronge is a northern town of 2,743 people (2011 census) in the boreal forest of central Saskatchewan, Canada. Its location is approximately 250 km (160 mi) north of Prince Albert where Highway 2 becomes Highway 102. La Ronge lies on the western shore of Lac la Ronge, is adjacent to Lac La Ronge Provincial Park, and is on the edge of the Canadian Shield.

This town is also the namesake of the larger La Ronge population centre comprising the community, the Northern Village of Air Ronge and the Kitsakie 156B and Lac La Ronge 156 reserves of the Lac La Ronge First Nation.

History

The name of La Ronge comes from the lake. The origin of the name is uncertain; the most likely explanation is that early French fur traders named it "la ronge" (literally "the chewed") because of the large amount of beaver activity along the shoreline—many of the trees would have been chewed down for beaver dam construction.

In 1782, the Swiss born fur trader Jean-Étienne Waddens had a fur trade post on Lac La Ronge. In March 1782, Waddens was fatally wounded in a quarrel with his associate Peter Pond.