François Lake in

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

is about south of

Burns Lake Burns Lake is a rural village in the North-western-Central Interior of British Columbia, Canada, incorporated in 1923. The village had a population of 1,779 as of the 2016 Census. The village is known for its rich First Nations heritage, and ...

and west of

Fraser Lake Fraser Lake is a village in northern British Columbia, Canada. It's located on the southwest side of Fraser Lake between Burns Lake and Vanderhoof alongside the Yellowhead Highway. The small community's population is primarily employed by eithe ...

. The

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

is long, making it the second longest natural lake entirely within British Columbia after

Babine Lake Babine Lake ( ) or Na-taw-bun-kut ("Long Lake") is the longest natural lake in British Columbia, Canada. Babine Lake is located northeast of the town of Burns Lake in central British Columbia, some west northwest of the city of Prince George. ...

Nadina River The Nadina River is a river in Range 4 Coast Land District, British Columbia, Canada. It feeds into François Lake at its west end. François Lake is about south of Burns Lake on Highway 35. Name origin The name is derived from that of Nadina M ...

is the inflow of the lake at the west and

Stellako River The Stellako River is an long river in the Nechako Plateau region of the Canadian province of British Columbia. It flows from François Lake to Fraser Lake, which joins the Nechako River via the short Nautley River Nautley River (Dakelh: Nadleh ...

is the outflow of the lake. The lake is popularly fished for its

rainbow trout The rainbow trout (''Oncorhynchus mykiss'') is a species of trout native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. The steelhead (sometimes called "steelhead trout") is an anadromous (sea-run) form of the coasta ...

and

char Char may refer to: People *Char Fontane, American actress *Char Margolis, American spiritualist * René Char (1907–1988), French poet *The Char family of Colombia: ** Fuad Char, Colombian senator ** Alejandro Char Chaljub, mayor of Barranquilla ...

. Because of its shape, the lake was called Nidabun, meaning "lip lake." The

French-Canadian French Canadians (referred to as Canadiens mainly before the twentieth century; french: Canadiens français, ; feminine form: , ), or Franco-Canadians (french: Franco-Canadiens), refers to either an ethnic group who trace their ancestry to Fr ...

s mistook ''Nidaa'' for ''nedo'', which meant "whiteman," and named it Lac des Français (meaning Lake of the French). The name Français later was altered to François.

References

*
Entry at Bcadventure.com

Lakes of British Columbia Nechako Country Omineca Country Range 4 Coast Land District {{BritishColumbiaInterior-geo-stub

See also

References