McLeod Lake, British Columbia

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Country	Canada
McLeod Lake, British Columbia TseK'hene
Province	British Columbia
Regional District	Fraser-Fort George
Established	1805
Area
- Total	10 km² (3.9 sq mi)
Elevation	2,496 m (8,189 ft)
Population (2006)
- Total	70
Time zone	PST (UTC-8)
Postal code span	V0J 2G0
Area code(s)	250

Website: District of Mackenzie

McLeod Lake is a lake and a community located on Highway 97 in Northeast British Columbia, Canada, 88 miles (140 km) north of Prince George. It is notable for being the first continuously inhabited European settlement established west of the Rocky Mountains in present-day Canada. Originally named Trout Lake Fort, it was founded by the explorer Simon Fraser in 1805. The present name of the town and lake honours Archibald McLeod, an employee of the North West Company.

It currently has a population of around 70, the main residents being an Athabascan Sekani people known as "Tse'Khene" (the people of the rock, in reference to the Rocky Mountains). Having signed Treaty 8 in the year 2000, the natives of the community are trying to direct themselves towards self government and employment stability.

The lake itself is 2290 ha. (5656.3 ac.).

A point in the marshes on its southern shore of nearby Summit Lake marks the low point of the divide between the drainages of the Fraser and Peace Rivers, As such it is significant as the prominence col between all points south in the Rockies and beyond and their "parent" summits in northern BC and Alaska (see Topographic prominence). In the case of the Summit Lake col, which is 710m in elevation, it provides the low point on the mountain spine of the Americas that connects Pico de Orizaba (5640m) in Mexico with its next-higher "parent" peak, Mount Logan (5959m).