Nicola Lake is located roughly 10 km northeast of Merritt in the southern central
interior of British Columbia.
The lake was named after famous Nlaka'pamux head chief, Hwistesmexe'quen, who was
given the nickname Nicolas by early fur traders.1 “Nicolas” was recognized by traders as the most powerful and influential chief in
the southern interior of British Columbia.2John Tod, an HBC trader at Kamloops, wrote that Nicola was a very great chieftain and a bold man.3
1. G. P. V. Akrigg and H. B. Akrigg, British Columbia Place Names (Vancouver: UBC Press, 1997), 190.