Horsefly Lake is a lake in the eastern Cariboo

Cariboo

The Cariboo is an intermontane region of British Columbia along a plateau stretching from the Fraser Canyon to the Cariboo Mountains. The name is a reference to the woodland caribou that were once abundant in the region...

 region 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 lies at the head of the Horsefly River

Horsefly River

The Horsefly River is a river in the Cariboo district of British Columbia, Canada. Originating near the Wells Gray Provincial Park, it is a tributary to the Quesnel River, which in turn is a major tributary of the Fraser River. The Horsefly River is a spawning ground for sockeye, chinook and coho...

, a tributary of the Quesnel River

Quesnel River

The Quesnel River is a major tributary of the Fraser River in the Cariboo District of central British Columbia. It begins at the outflow of Quesnel Lake, at the town of Likely and flows for about northwest to its confluence with the Fraser at the city of Quesnel.- History :Just downstream from...

, and is one of several large lakes at the verge of the Cariboo Plateau

Cariboo Plateau

The Cariboo Plateau is a volcanic plateau in south-central British Columbia, Canada. It is part of the Fraser Plateau that itself is a northward extension of the North American Plateau...

 (W) and the Cariboo Mountains

Cariboo Mountains

The Cariboo Mountains are the northernmost subrange of the Columbia Mountains, which run down into the Spokane, Washington area of the United States and include the Selkirks, Monashees and Purcells. The Cariboo Mountains are entirely within the province of British Columbia, Canada. The range is...

 (E); Quesnel Lake

Quesnel Lake

Quesnel Lake is a glacial lake or fjord in British Columbia, Canada, and is the origin of the Quesnel River. With a maximum depth of 610 meters , it is the deepest lake in British Columbia, though not the deepest lake in Canada, as is often claimed. That distinction belongs to Great Slave Lake...

, the largest of those, is to its north and northwest. The lake's name first appeared on maps with Joseph Trutch

Joseph Trutch

Sir Joseph William Trutch, KCMG was an English-born Canadian engineer, surveyor and politician.-Early life and career:...

's 1871 publication, and is credited with being so named because of the preponderance of horseflies in the area during summer.

Horsefly Lake Provincial Park

Horsefly Lake Provincial Park

Horsefly Lake Provincial Park is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada....

is located on its northwestern shore.