Wood Lake is a lake in a chain of five major lakes which occupies portions of the

Okanagan Valley The Okanagan ( ), also known as the Okanagan Valley and sometimes as the Okanagan Country, is a region in the Canadian province of British Columbia defined by the basin of Okanagan Lake and the Canadian portion of the Okanagan River. It is p ...

in the interior 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. The lakes of the Okanagan Valley were formed by about 8900 BP. Wood Lake is immediately south of Kalamalka Lake and in 1908 was connected to it by a dredged channel (the Oyama canal). Situated between Oyama and Winfield, it has a solid reputation for rainbow trout fishing. The lake is named after Tom Wood, who settled on the south end of the lake around 1860. The dry climate and suitable soil has encouraged development of a substantial tree fruit industry around the lake and throughout the valley. The upper watershed is heavily forested and has been logged for several decades. The lower elevation of the watershed is described as a

Ponderosa pine ''Pinus ponderosa'', commonly known as the ponderosa pine, bull pine, blackjack pine, western yellow-pine, or filipinus pine is a very large pine tree species of variable habitat native to mountainous regions of western North America. It is the ...

bunchgrass Tussock grasses or bunch grasses are a group of grass species in the family Poaceae. They usually grow as singular plants in clumps, tufts, hummocks, or bunches, rather than forming a sod or lawn, in meadows, grasslands, and prairies. As perenni ...

area.

Physical data

*Normal range of annual water level fluctuation: 1.2 m *Number of beaches: 4 There is also a Wood Lake in

Fraser Valley The Fraser Valley is a geographical region in southwestern British Columbia, Canada and northwestern Washington State. It starts just west of Hope in a narrow valley encompassing the Fraser River and ends at the Pacific Ocean stretching from the ...

, an area of

Images

Trumpeters by Oyama BC.jpg, An adult and three juvenile trumpeter swans on the shore of Wood Lake, near Oyama, British Columbia Loons Swimming in Wood Lake BC on a Summer Morning.webm, Loons Swimming in Wood Lake BC on a Summer Morning Wood Lake, Lake Country, British Columbia.jpg, Wood Lake from Oyama in 2023

References

* Anonymous (1974a). Kalamalka-Wood Lake Basin Water Resource Management Study.

Water Water (chemical formula ) is an Inorganic compound, inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and Color of water, nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living ...

Investigations Branch,

Water Resources Service,

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

, B.C., 209 pp. * Anonymous (1974b). Limnology of the Major Lakes in the

Okanagan Basin The Okanagan Basin spans two countries and comprises the basin of Okanagan Lake, the Okanogan River and tributary valleys such as that of the Similkameen and Chelan Rivers. In Canada the basin constitutes two distinct regions within British Colum ...

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 ...

Okanagan Basin Agreement, Final Report, Technical Supplement V.

Water Resources Service, Victoria,

, 261 pp. * Anonymous (1974c). The Main Report of the Consultative Board.

Agreement.

Water Resources Service, Victoria,

. * Stockner, J.G. and Northcote, T.G. (1974). Recent

limnological Limnology ( ; from Greek λίμνη, ''limne'', "lake" and λόγος, ''logos'', "knowledge") is the study of inland aquatic ecosystems. The study of limnology includes aspects of the biological, chemical, physical, and geological characterist ...

studies of

lakes and their contribution to comprehensive water resource planning. Journal of the Fisheries Research Board of

, 31, 955–976. * Walker, I. R., E. D. Reavie, S. Palmer, and R. N. Nordin, 1993. A palaeoenvironmental assessment of human impact on Wood Lake,

. Quaternary International 20: 51–70. Osoyoos Division Yale Land District Lakes of the Okanagan Articles containing video clips {{CentralOkanagan-geo-stub