It is on the Taltson River to the east of Great Slave Lake, and is just south of the tree line.

[1] Hearne left Prince of Wales Fort on Hudson Bay on 7 December 1770 with a party of Chipewyan people, aiming to reach the Arctic Ocean by summer.

[6] Based on Hearne's account, it seems possible that Slavey and Dogrib Dene people habitually gathered at the lake to build canoes.

[1] It was given its present name on 6 June 1957 in honour of Warrant Officer Edwin Matthew McArthur, 405 Squadron of the Royal Canadian Air Force, who died in action during World War II on 1 September 1943.

From there it flows to the southern shore of Great Slave Lake at the western end of the Simpson Island chain.