Owikeno Lake, also Owekeeno Lake, Owekano Lake, Oweekayno Lake and other spellings (pron. "o we KEE no"), is a large

fjord In physical geography, a fjord or fiord () is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Alaska, Antarctica, British Columbia, Chile, Denmark, Germany, Greenland, the Faroe Islands, Ice ...

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

in the Central Coast region of

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. It connects to the head of

Rivers Inlet Rivers Inlet is a fjord in the Central Coast region of the Canadian province of British Columbia, its entrance off Fitz Hugh Sound, about southwest of the community of Bella Coola and about north of the northern tip of Vancouver Island and the ...

by the short

Wannock River The Wannock River is a short river in the Central Coast region of British Columbia, Canada, draining Owikeno Lake and entering Rivers Inlet at the head of that inlet, adjacent to the town of the same name, which is the main modern settlement of t ...

(Wanukv). The lake's name comes from the indigenous people of the region, the

Wuikinuxv The Wuikinuxv , ("Backbone people"), also rendered Oweekano (Pre-1976); ''Oowekeeno'' (1976-2003) (variation: ''Oweekeno, Owekano, Oweekayno, Wuikenukv, Wikeno, Owikeno, Awikenox'', and also known as the Rivers Inlet people, are an Indigenous Fir ...

, whose settlements and territory lie around the lake. Their largest and principal settlement was on an island in the lower reaches of the lake named '' Katit''. Owikeno Lake is fed by several large rivers, the Tzeo (Ciu), Inziana, Machmell,

Sheemahant River The Sheemahant River is a river in the Central Coast region of British Columbia, Canada, flowing generally west out of the Pacific Ranges into the head of Owikeno Lake. See also *List of British Columbia rivers The following is a partial list of ...

s. Feeding the Sheemahant is the

Neechantz River The Neechantz River is a river in the Central Coast region of British Columbia, Canada, flowing north out of the Pacific Ranges into the Machmell River just before its mouth into the head of Owikeno Lake Owikeno Lake, also Owekeeno Lake, Owekano L ...

, joining the Sheemahant just above its mouth into the lake. The

Washwash River The Washwash River is a river in the Central Coast region of British Columbia, Canada, flowing generally west out of the Pacific Ranges into the Tzeo River just above the Tzeo's mouth into the head of Owikeno Lake Owikeno Lake, also Owekeeno Lake, ...

similarly joins the Tzeo just above that river's estuary into the lake.

References

* Lakes of British Columbia Central Coast of British Columbia Range 2 Coast Land District {{BritishColumbiaCoast-geo-stub