Pontiac is a census-designated place in southern Ozark County, Missouri, United States. It lies six miles south of Isabella and 18.5 miles southwest of Gainesville, on the northeast shore of Bull Shoals Lake. A post office called Pontiac has been in operation since 1887. The community was named in honor of the Ottawa Indian chief Pontiac, perhaps via Pontiac, Michigan. The town is on a ridge above the lake at an elevation of about 820 feet. The lake has a normal surface elevation of 654 feet.