Mackenzie River down the spread of essential nutrients which builds up in the form of sediments, thus causing the river to become more polluted. Other smaller hydroelectric plants are located along the Snare and Taltson River tributaries, providing power to mines in the Great Slave Lake region. There have been many proposals to dam the tributaries of the Mackenzie River which would lead to further impacts on water quality and seasonal flow patterns. The Site C Dam on the Peace River, which would generate enough power for about 460,000 households, has been controversial since the 1970s, and a final decision on the
Mackenzie River is scant, despite the efforts of many researchers. Many archaeological sites have probably been destroyed by flooding, freeze-thaw and erosion. The Inuvialuit, Gwich'in and other indigenous peoples have lived along the river for thousands of years; however, the oldest evidence of continuous occupation stretches back only about 1300–1400 years, at the Gwich'in community of Tsiigehtchic. The Mackenzie provided the major route into Canada's northern interior for European explorers as early as the late 18th century. Scottish explorer Alexander Mackenzie travelled the river in the hope it would lead to the Pacific Ocean, but instead reached its mouth on the Arctic