It and Seton Lake were originally the same lake, which was cut in half between ten and twenty thousand years ago by a large landslide from the north face of the Cayoosh Range, which fronts Anderson Lake on the east. The slide created a locality known today as Seton Portage, which combined with the steamer Lady of The Lake played a key role on the route of the Douglas Road during the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush of 1858-59. At its head, near the mouth of the Gates River, is the community of D'Arcy, the St'at'imcets name for which is N'quatqua. Also on the lake is the resort/retirement community of McGillivray Falls (pron. McGill-vah-ree) which served as a relocation centre for Japanese-Canadians during their World War II forced exile from the British Columbia Coast.