Mission Creek is a large creek in the Okanagan Region of British Columbia. Originally called N'wha-kwi-sen (smoothing stones), it was later mapped as Rivière de l’Anse-au-Sable (Sandy Bay River), the name Mission Creek was adopted in 1860 in honour of the Catholic Oblate Mission established by

Father Pandosy Jean-Charles-Jean-Baptiste-Félix Pandosy (22 November 1824 – February 1891), commonly known as Father Pandosy, was a French Catholic priest who was the first settler in the Kelowna area in British Columbia. He set up a church and a school and a ...

and other settlers. The Creek rises in the Greystoke Mountain Range and runs west about before emptying into Okanagan Lake south of

Kelowna Kelowna ( ) is a city on Okanagan Lake in the Okanagan Valley in the southern interior of British Columbia, Canada. It serves as the head office of the Regional District of Central Okanagan. The name Kelowna derives from the Okanagan word ''ki� ...

. Its watershed covers about . Mission Creek was designated a BC Heritage River by the province in 1996.

Kokanee

Mission Creek is the main spawning channel of

Kokanee Kokanee is a word from the Okanagan language referring to land-locked lake populations of sockeye salmon (''Oncorhynchus nerka''). It may also refer to: * Kokanee Range, a subrange of the Selkirk Mountains in British Columbia, Canada * Kokanee sal ...

. The landlocked salmon likely made their way into the Okanagan when a remnant of Glacial Lake Penticton was connected by streams to the Pacific Ocean.

Mission Creek Greenway

The Mission Creek Greenway is a linear park extending along the creek from the shores of Okanagan Lake to Mission Creek Falls. Geological features along the trail are numerous and diverse, including; Layer Cake Hill, the Pinnacle, the White Lake Formation,

hoodoos A hoodoo (also called a tent rock, fairy chimney, or earth pyramid) is a tall, thin spire of rock formed by erosion. Hoodoos typically consist of relatively soft rock topped by harder, less easily eroded stone that protects each column from the ...

, exposures of ancient river systems and gigantic boulders dropped by the Fraser Glacier.

Channelization

Mission Creek has been heavily modified through narrowing of the channel by the building of

dikes Dyke (UK) or dike (US) may refer to: General uses * Dyke (slang), a slang word meaning "lesbian" * Dike (geology), a subvertical sheet-like intrusion of magma or sediment * Dike (mythology), ''Dikē'', the Greek goddess of moral justice * Dikes, ...

for flood control from East Kelowna Bridge to the river mouth at Okanagan Lake. The Mission Creek channel has lost natural alluvial geomorphic processes ( riffles, stream pools, and meanders), connection to the floodplain and

wetlands A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...

, fish spawning and incubation habitats, diverse fish rearing habitats, diverse overwintering habitats, and fish refuge from high velocity water. In 1938, much of the Mission Creek channel was significantly wider than it is currently, up to a maximum of . The channel narrowed to from when dyking was completed in 1951 until sometime between 1973 and 1986 when the channel narrowed to . By 2006, channel width had decreased to .

Mining

The creek was first mined in the 1870s. Later people such as Dan Gallagher mined the creek until the 1940s. British Columbia historian

Bill Barlee Neville Langrell "Bill" Barlee (October 15, 1932 – June 14, 2012) was a Canadian politician who was first elected to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia as a New Democrat in 1988. He served as Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries an ...

believes the lost McLean Mine is located between the headwaters of Mission Creek and

Monashee Creek Monashee Creek is located in the Old Cherryville region of British Columbia. The south fork of Cherry Creek (British Columbia), Cherry Creek is called Monashee Creek. The Silver Lead In the early 1870s silver was discovered on the south side of Mo ...

. McLean was a First Nations

prospector Prospector may refer to: Space exploration * Prospector (spacecraft), a planned lunar probe, canceled in 1962 * ''Lunar Prospector'', a NASA spacecraft Trains * Prospector (train), a passenger train operated by the Denver & Rio Grande Western ra ...

who lived near Kelowna. Placer mining occurred in Mission Creek around the early 20th century.

Bridges

Several bridges span the Mission Creek. Here is a list starting from Lake Okanagan: * Lakeshore Road - this bridge was rebuilt in the summer of 2014. * Gordon Drive - this bridge was rebuilt in the summer of 2010 * Casorso Road - this bridge was rebuilt in the summer of 2007 * KLO Road * East Kelowna Road * Bridges above Gallagher's Canyon are not listed (Forestry Roads and Highways)

References

External links

Friends of Mission Creek Society

Mission Creek Restoration Initiative
Rivers of the Okanagan Articles containing video clips {{BritishColumbia-river-stub