Lake Tewaukon, named for a prehistoric Shaman called The Great Khan or Te Wauk Kon, is located in southeastern North Dakota in Sargent County. The white man named it variously "Pole Cat Lake" and "Skunk Lake" in the 1830s--probably due to the smell of rotting vegetation along the edges of the lake.
The lake is fed by the Wild Rice River from the west. The river exits to the east and travels northeast to empty into the Red River of the North.
The terrain surrounding the contains a number of pothole wetlands which complement the rolling glacial till plain which forms the prairie. It has given rise to multi-use Tewaukon National Wildlife Refuge.