Its range also includes Lake Michigan in Illinois and the Platte River system in Wyoming. The lake chub is also the only minnow known to live in Alaska. Some scattered populations are also present in the northern United States, more precisely in New England, Michigan, Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota, the Dakotas, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Washington, Idaho and Utah. The lake chub is generally found throughout Canada up to the Arctic Circle.

The females are typically larger than the males. The juveniles are similar to the adults, but have less obvious mottling or stripe.

Breeding males can develop patches of bright orange or red at the base of the pectoral fins and sometimes near the mouth, and small nuptial tubercles on the top of the head, dorsal surface of pectoral rays, and on the belly near the base of the pectorals. The mouth is relatively small and the tail is forked. The pectoral fins are broad and have 13-18, but more usually 15-16, rays. The dorsal, pelvic and anal fins each have 8 rays. The scales are small but well visible, and some may be black and form isolated dark spots on the lower sides. The corners of the mouth each bear a small barbel. The snout is blunt and projects slightly beyond the upper lip. The back is olive-brown or dark brown, and the sides are leaden silver, hence the word plumbeus, referring to lead, in the scientific name of this fish. It is usually 100 to 175 mm (4 to 7 in) long, where the maximum length is approximately 225 mm (9 in).

The body is fusiform and somewhat elongate.

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