The Ferguson River passes through a series of rapids before entering the western arm of Qamanirjuaq Lake.

The lake is irregularly shaped with several inlets and unnamed islands, in a permafrost area of north-northwest ice flow, north of the tree line.

[5] Arctic explorer, Joseph Tyrrell, described the lake in his Geological Survey of Canada 1894 canoe expedition report: Qamanirjuaq Lake is within the northern Hearne Domain, Western Churchill province of the Churchill Craton, northwest section of the Canadian Shield in northern Canada.

The herd returns annually after travelling an inconsistent, unpredictable 800 km (500 mi) range through Manitoba/Nunavut, northeastern Saskatchewan, and southeastern Northwest Territories.

The herd, a keystone species, has been safeguarded by the Beverly and Qamanirjuaq Caribou Management Board since 1982.