Teslin Lake is a large lake spanning the border between British Columbia

British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

 and Yukon in 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 one of a group of large lakes in the region of far northwestern BC, east of the upper Alaska Panhandle

Alaska Panhandle

Southeast Alaska, sometimes referred to as the Alaska Panhandle, is the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of Alaska, which lies west of the northern half of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The majority of Southeast Alaska's area is part of the Tongass National Forest, the United...

, which are the southern extremity of the basin of the Yukon River

Yukon River

The Yukon River is a major watercourse of northwestern North America. The source of the river is located in British Columbia, Canada. The next portion lies in, and gives its name to Yukon Territory. The lower half of the river lies in the U.S. state of Alaska. The river is long and empties into...

, and which are known in the Yukon as "the Southern Lakes" (the other major ones in the group are Atlin Lake

Atlin Lake

Atlin Lake is a lake in northwestern British Columbia and is that province's largest natural lake. The northern tip of the lake is in the Yukon, as is Little Atlin Lake. However, most of the lake lies within the Atlin District of British Columbia...

 and Tagish Lake

Tagish Lake

Tagish Lake is a lake in the Yukon Territory and northern British Columbia, Canada. The lake is more than long and about 2 km wide.It has two arms, the Taku Arm in the east which is very long and mostly in British Columbia and Windy Arm in the west, mostly in the Yukon. The Klondike Highway runs...

 but include Bennett and Lindeman Lake

Lindeman Lake

Lindeman Lake, also known as Lake Lindeman, is a lake on the Chilkoot Trail in far northwestern British Columbia, Canada. Located just south of Bennett Lake and northeast of the summit of the Chilkoot Pass, from which direction it is fed by Lindeman Creek...

s, the headwaters of the Yukon River itself). The lake is fed and drained primarily by the Teslin River

Teslin River

The Teslin River is a river in southern Yukon Territory and northwestern British Columbia, Canada, that flows 393 miles from its source south of Teslin Lake to its confluence with the Yukon River....

, south and north, but is also fed from the east by the Jennings River

Jennings River

The Jennings River is a river in far northern British Columbia, Canada, rising in the northern reaches of the Stikine Ranges of the Cassiar Mountains, at first running southwest, then turning northeast near the Tuya Range to enter Teslin Lake at its southern end, just to the east of the estuary of...

 and the Swift River, and from the west by the Hayes River

Hayes River (British Columbia)

The Hayes River is a river in far northern British Columbia, Canada, flowing into Teslin Lake from the west, just to the west of the entry into that lake of the Teslin River. Other rivers feeding Teslin Lake include the Jennings River and the Swift River....

.

According to the Yukon Geographical Names Project, "Teslin" means "long water", but in the Tlingit language

Tlingit language

The Tlingit language ) is spoken by the Tlingit people of Southeast Alaska and Western Canada. It is a branch of the Na-Dené language family. Tlingit is very endangered, with fewer than 140 native speakers still living, all of whom are bilingual or near-bilingual in English...

 the local kwaan or tribe of Tlingit is called Deisleen Kwáan", meaning "Big Sinew Tribe".

There are three Indian Reserve

Indian reserve

In Canada, an Indian reserve is specified by the Indian Act as a "tract of land, the legal title to which is vested in Her Majesty, that has been set apart by Her Majesty for the use and benefit of a band." The Act also specifies that land reserved for the use and benefit of a band which is not...

s of the Taku River Tlingit First Nation

Taku River Tlingit First Nation

The Taku River Tlingit First Nation are the band government of the Inland Tlinkit in far northern British Columbia, Canada and also in Yukon. They comprise two ḵwaan of the Tlingit people, who are otherwise coastal, the Áa Tlein Ḵwáan of the Atlin Lake area and the Deisleen Ḵwáan of Teslin Lake,...

 around the south end of the lake: Jennings River Indian Reserve No. 8, Teslin Lake Indian Reserve No. 7, and Teslin Lake Indian Reserve No. 9; in the same area had been a Hudson's Bay Company

Hudson's Bay Company

The Hudson's Bay Company , abbreviated HBC, or "The Bay" is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and one of the oldest in the world. A fur trading business for much of its existence, today Hudson's Bay Company owns and operates retail stores throughout Canada...

 trading post. On the Yukon portion of the lake there are three Indian Reserves of the Teslin Tlingit Council

Teslin Tlingit Council

The Teslin Tlingit Council is a First Nation government in the central Yukon in Canada, located in Teslin, Yukon along the Alaska Highway and Teslin Lake. The language originally spoken by the Teslin is Tlingit...

 - Teslin Post Indian Reserve No. 13, Nisutlin Indian Reserve No. 14 and Nisutlin Bay Indian Reserve No. 15, and the community of Teslin

Teslin, Yukon

The community of Teslin includes the Village of Teslin and an adjacent Indian Reserve in the Yukon, Canada. Teslin is situated at historical Mile 804 on the Alaska Highway along Teslin Lake. The Hudson's Bay Company established a small trading post at Teslin in 1903...

, which is located where the Alaska Highway

Alaska Highway

The Alaska Highway was constructed during World War II for the purpose of connecting the contiguous U.S. to Alaska through Canada. It begins at the junction with several Canadian highways in Dawson Creek, British Columbia and runs to Delta Junction, Alaska, via Whitehorse, Yukon...

 meets the lake, following its northern/eastern shore from there towards Whitehorse

Whitehorse, Yukon

Whitehorse is Yukon's capital and largest city . It was incorporated in 1950 and is located at kilometre 1476 on the Alaska Highway in southern Yukon. Whitehorse's downtown and Riverdale areas occupy both shores of the Yukon River, which originates in British Columbia and meets the Bering Sea in...

. The Nisutlin Plateau

Nisutlin Plateau

The Nisutlin Plateau is a plateau in northern British Columbia, Canada, extending from Teslin Lake to the Cassiar Mountains.-References:* in the Canadian Mountain Encyclopedia...

 limns the eastern side of the lake north of the mouth of the Teslin River

Teslin River

The Teslin River is a river in southern Yukon Territory and northwestern British Columbia, Canada, that flows 393 miles from its source south of Teslin Lake to its confluence with the Yukon River....

and extends into the Yukon.