Akasu is the Cree Indian word meaning "sick." The name for the lake is taken after the nearby hill. There is no confirmation on the precise origin of the name; however, there is some evidence to suggest that the name is taken after the smallpox epidemic of the 1870s where many Indians died. There is also a story which involves a native who drank the alkaline water of the area, and it made him sick. Still another origin possibility suggests that this is the hill where old Indians came to die.

Approximately 10 km east of Vegreville.