Adopted 6 October 1936 on 92H in OBF 1528. Also Harrison Hot Springs and Harrison River.

Source: Canadian Geographical Names Database, Ottawa

Named by HBC Governor Simpson, after Benjamin Harrison, a director (later Deputy Governor) of the Hudson's Bay Company.

Source: BC place name cards, or correspondence to/from BC's Chief Geographer or BC Geographical Names Office

Lake and river are not compiled on Arrowsmith's 1824 "...map exhibiting all the new discoveries...". Harrison's River [sic] labelled on 1832 edition of Arrowsmith's map of British North America. "Pinkslitsa or Harrison River" labelled on 1837 edition of same. Harrison Lake labelled on subsequent maps.

Source: BC place name cards, or correspondence to/from BC's Chief Geographer or BC Geographical Names Office

It is said that the Indian name of the lake is "roaring water", but long-time resident of Harrison Hot Springs, Mrs. Will Lamont, advised that Roaring Water was never a local name, rather a fictional name given by the writer Bertrand Sinclair in his book "Big Timber".

Source: Nelson, Denys; Place Names of the Delta of the Fraser River; 1927, unpublished manuscript held in the Provincial Archives

qwáol'sa is the Ucwalmícwts name - the language of the Lower Lillooet people - for Harrison Lake. (June 2007 advice from Maurice DePaoli, Cultural Researcher and Heritage Resources Advisor for In-SHUCK-ch Nation.) [pronunciation and origin information to follow.]

Source: included with note