Chilcotin Lake is a lake

Lake

A lake is a body of relatively still fresh or salt water of considerable size, localized in a basin, that is surrounded by land. Lakes are inland and not part of the ocean and therefore are distinct from lagoons, and are larger and deeper than ponds. Lakes can be contrasted with rivers or streams,...

 in the Chilcotin District

Chilcotin District

The Chilcotin District of British Columbia is usually known simply as "the Chilcotin", and also in speech commonly as "the Chilcotin Country" or simply Chilcotin. It is a plateau and mountain region in British Columbia on the inland lea of the Coast Mountains on the west side of the Fraser River....

 of the Central Interior of British Columbia

British Columbia Interior

The British Columbia Interior or BC Interior or Interior of British Columbia, usually referred to only as the Interior, is one of the three main regions of the Canadian province of British Columbia, the other two being the Lower Mainland, which comprises the overlapping areas of Greater Vancouver...

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. It is located on the Chilcotin River

Chilcotin River

The Chilcotin River is a long tributary of the Fraser River in southern British Columbia, Canada. It drains the Chilcotin Plateau, which lies between the Fraser River and the Coast Mountains...

 to the north of Puntzi Lake

Puntzi Lake

Puntzi Lake is a lake in the Chilcotin District of the Central Interior of British Columbia. It is located on the western side of the upper Chilcotin River to the northeast of Tatla Lake, and is connected to the Chilcotin River via Puntzi Creek, of which it is an expansion...

.

The name is derived from that of the Chilcotin River, which in turn is derived from an anglicization of Tsilhqot'in

Tsilhqot'in

The Tsilhqot'in are a Northern Athabaskan First Nations people that live in British Columbia, Canada...

, the name of the local indigenous people

Indigenous peoples of the Americas

The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...

, whose name in their language

Chilcotin language

Chilcotin is a Northern Athabaskan language spoken in British Columbia by the Tsilhqot’in people....

 means "people of the red ochre river" (the "red ochre river" being the Chilko River

Chilko River

The Chilko River is a 75 km waterway in the Chilcotin District of the Central Interior of British Columbia, Canada, connecting Chilko Lake to the Chilcotin River. Its main tributary is the Taseko River....

).

The community of Chezacut

Chezacut

Chezacut is an unincorporated ranching settlement and former post office in the Chilcotin District of the Central Interior of British Columbia, Canada. Its name means "bird without wings" in the Chilcotin language...

 is located on the north shore of the lake, as is Chezacut Cemetery Indian Reserve No. 5 nearby. Many other reserves of the Alexis Creek First Nation

Alexis Creek First Nation

The Alexis Creek First Nation is the band government of the Tsi Del Del subgroup of the Tsilhqot'in people, located in the Chilcotin District in the western Central Interior region of the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is a member of the Tsilhqot'in Tribal Council.The Alexis Creek First...

are also in the vicinity, generally to the west and northwest.