Utah Lake is a shallow freshwater lake in the center of Utah County, Utah, United States. It lies in Utah Valley, surrounded by the Provo-Orem metropolitan area. The lake's only river outlet, the Jordan River, is a tributary of the Great Salt Lake. Evaporation accounts for 42% of the lake's outflow, which leaves the lake slightly saline. The elevation of the lake is at 4,489 feet (1,368 m) above sea level. If the lake's water level rises above that, the pumps and gates on the Jordan River are left open.

The first European to see Utah Lake was Father Silvestre Vélez de Escalante in 1776. He stayed with the Timpanogots band of Ute Tribe for three days. Mormon settlers later settled near the lake beginning in 1849, with the Timpanogots becoming mostly displaced from the area by 1872. The native fish species of the lake were overharvested by the settlers and subsequently restocked with non-native species.

Although thirteen species of fish were native to the lake, only the Utah sucker and the previously critically endangered, now threatened, June sucker remain. The dominant species in the lake is the common carp, introduced in 1883 as an alternative to the overharvested native fish. The carp is now estimated at 90% of the biomass of the lake and contributes to a decline in native fish populations by severely altering the ecosystem. Pollution has also caused problems with the lake's ecosystem. Raw sewage was dumped into the lake as late as 1967. Pollution problems still remain; the lake's phosphorus and mineral salt levels are in violation of the Clean Water Act. In recent years, the lake has been prone to harmful algal blooms or HABs.

Utah Lake is managed cooperatively by the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire & State Lands and the Utah Lake Authority. The Division manages public use and issues a permit for commercial users of the lakebed and shoreline while the Commission facilitates development. The lakebed and surrounding shoreline are made up of State Sovereign Lands. Utah Lake is one of three lakes in the state that were deemed "navigable" at statehood and granted to the State of Utah. Sovereign lands are managed under the public trust doctrine.

The Utah State Legislature has designated the Division of Forestry, Fire & State Lands as the executive authority for the management of sovereign lands and the state's mineral estates on lands other than school and institutional trust lands. Sovereign lands are defined by the Utah State Legislature as "those lands lying below the ordinary high water mark of navigable bodies of water at the date of statehood and owned by the state by virtue of its sovereignty."

The Commission was created by State statute in Utah's 2007 General Legislative Session, House Concurrent Resolution 1, under the authority of the Interlocal Cooperation Act. The Commission is funded and empowered by 17 area governments, including; Utah County and its municipalities, the Central Utah Water Conservancy District, and three state agencies. Founded in 2007, the Commission seeks to promote multiple public uses of the lake, facilitate orderly planning and development in and around the lake, and enable individual Commission members to govern their own areas.

European explorers initially called the lake "Lake Timpanogos" after the Timpanogos band of the Shoshone tribe. From 1825-1827, Belgian cartographer Philippe Vandermaelen (1795-1869) created and published Atlas Universel. Map number 47 in volume 4 of the atlas is titled "Partie du Mexique" and features an early illustrative depiction of Lac de Timpanogos. An 1827 letter written by American explorer Jedidiah Strong Smith contains an early reference to "Utah" as the name of the lake. In an article titled "Notes of Upper California" published in the Journal of the Royal Geographical Society of London in 1835, author Thomas Coulter indicated that "Lake Timpanogos" may have also been known as "Black Lake" by local hunters. While 1827 may date the earliest known reference to the name "Utah" for the lake, it is apparent from the 1835 article by Coulter that the change in name did not take hold right away. The precise origin of the name "Utah Lake" is unknown. One possible explanation is that it was named for the abundant reeds in and around the lake, called "Eu-tah". Another explanation is that it was incorrectly named after the Ute Tribe (Timpanogos are often incorrectly referred to as Ute).

Utah Lake is within Utah Valley in north-central Utah. Mountains surround Utah Valley on three sides: the Wasatch Range to the east, Traverse Mountains to the north, and the Lake Mountains to the west. Mount Nebo reaches an altitude of 11,863-foot (3,616 m), and Mount Timpanogos reaches an altitude of 11,745-foot (3,580 m), nearly 7,250 feet (2,210 m) above the valley floor. Jutting into the south portion of the lake is 6,805-foot (2,074 m) West Mountain, which divides Goshen Bay and Lincoln Beach. Utah Lake is situated on the western edge of the valley and covers more than 25% of Utah Valley's floor. Because of its location on the western side of the valley, the eastern shore has a gentle slope and the western shore rises abruptly against the Lake Mountains. Connected to the main body of the lake are two large, shallow bays: the aforementioned Goshen Bay (north Goshen Valley) to the south and Provo Bay to the east. Major cities such as Provo and Orem are located between the lake's eastern shore and the Wasatch Range.