Little Shuswap Lake is a small 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 Thompson River

Thompson River

The Thompson River is the largest tributary of the Fraser River, flowing through the south-central portion of British Columbia, Canada. The Thompson River has two main branches called the South Thompson and the North Thompson...

 basin of the southern 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...

, which sits at the transition between the Thompson Country

Thompson Country

The Thompson Country, also referred to as The Thompson and in some ways as the Thompson Valley and historically known as the Couteau Country or Couteau District, is a historic geographic region of the Southern Interior of British Columbia, based around the basin of the Thompson River, a tributary...

 to the west and the Shuswap Country

Shuswap Country

The Shuswap Country, or simply "the Shuswap" is a term used in the Canadian province of British Columbia to refer to the environs of Shuswap Lake. The upper reaches of the Shuswap basin, southeast of Shuswap Lake and northeast of the Okanagan, are generally considered to be part of Okanagan or of...

 to the east. It is fed by the Little River

Little River (Shuswap)

The Little River, also known as the Little Shuswap River, is a river in the Shuswap Country region of British Columbia, Canada. It drains Shuswap Lake just below the mouth of the Adams River and feeds Little Shuswap Lake, which is the head of the South Thompson River...

, which flows from Shuswap Lake

Shuswap Lake

Shuswap Lake is a lake located in south-central British Columbia, Canada that drains via the Little River into Little Shuswap Lake. Little Shuswap Lake is the source of the South Thompson River, a branch of the Thompson River, a tributary of the Fraser River...

, and is the main source of water for the South Thompson River, which begins at the lake's outlet at its southwestern end. The lake is approximately 7.8 km in length, NE to SW, and averages 2.4 km in width and is approximately 18 km² in area.

The recreational and Secwepemc

Secwepemc

The Secwepemc , known in English as the Shuswap people, are a First Nations people residing in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Their traditional territory ranges from the eastern Chilcotin Plateau and the Cariboo Plateau southeast through the Thompson Country to Kamloops and the Shuswap...

 First Nations community of Chase

Chase, British Columbia

Chase is a village located in the Interior of British Columbia, Canada. It has a population of roughly 2,500, and its main industries are forestry and tourism. It is located at the outlet of Little Shuswap Lake, which is the source of the South Thompson River...

 (known as Quaaout in the Secwepemc language) is at the lake's southern end. The smaller community of Squilax

Squilax, British Columbia

Squilax is a settlement in British Columbia....

 lies at the lake's northern end, on the north side of the estuary of the Little River. The TransCanada Highway and Canadian Pacific Railway

Canadian Pacific Railway

The Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...

run along the lake's eastern shore.