The community is located in the
Uinta Basin on the
Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation, approximately southeast of the town of
Altamont and has an elevation of . Upalco was originally named
Lake Fork, after the nearby
Lake Fork River, which flows southerly to the west of the community. The name Upalco came from the initial letters of Utah Power and Light Company, which provided funding for an associated, but unidentified project. Road access to Upalco is primarily by
State Route 87 (SR-87), which passes north–south through the community. ==See also==