Located at 1°20′N 17°9′E / 1.333°N 17.150°E / 1.333; 17.150 in the north-eastern area of the Republic of the Congo, Lake Tele was formed in Pliocene alluvial sediments by an unknown geological process.

It is elliptical, almost round, in shape and is surrounded by the Likouala-aux-Herbes swamp forests which are gradually covering it.

The water of Lake Tele is turbid, it has high content of organic materials and is acidic (pH < 4).

The 1996 book Congo Journey, by British travel writer Redmond O'Hanlon, describes in some detail his journey through Congo to Lake Tele in search of Mokèlé-mbèmbé, as well as giving a rich description of local fauna, flora and Congolese cultural practices and relations with the indigenous Pygmy peoples.

[2] Surveys conducted by the Wildlife Conservation Society in 2006 and 2007 found more than 100,000 previously unreported gorillas have been living in the swamp forests of Lake Tele Community Reserve and in neighbouring Marantaceae (dryland) forests in the Republic of the Congo.