Keremeos () is a village in the

Southern Interior of British Columbia Southern may refer to: Businesses * China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China * Southern Airways, defunct US airline * Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US * Southern Airways Express, ...

, Canada. The name originated from the Similkameen dialect of the

Okanagan language Okanagan, or Colville-Okanagan, or Nsyilxcən (n̓səl̓xcin̓, n̓syilxčn̓), is a Salish language which arose among the indigenous peoples of the southern Interior Plateau region based primarily in the Okanagan River Basin and the Columbia R ...

word "Keremeyeus" meaning "creek which cuts its way through the flats" referring to Keremeos Creek which flows down from the Upper Benchlands to the

Similkameen River The Similkameen River runs through southern British Columbia, Canada, eventually discharging into the Okanagan River near Oroville, Washington, in the United States. Through the Okanagan River, it drains to the Columbia River. The river is said ...

that runs by the village.

History

With K Mountain as a backdrop, Keremeos is a community whose "Wild West" looks date back to 1909 when the postmaster of the now-abandoned community of Upper Keremeos, Mr. George Kirby, purchased land alongside the Similkameen River in anticipation of the V.V. & E. Railway passing through the area. Eventually the Great Northern Railway from the US built a branch line up to Hedley and other businesses soon followed. Keremeos was incorporated in 1956.

Geography

The geography of the Keremeos area ranges from cottonwood groves along the river, to dense orchards and farms, to desert-like landscapes along the bases of the surrounding mountains, up to alpine peaks and plateaux on top.

Climate

Keremeos has a

semi-arid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of sem ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...

''BSk'') with cool but short winters and hot, dry summers. Precipitation is low at and evenly distributed throughout the year.

Demographics

In the

2021 Census of Population The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population with a reference date of May 11, 2021. It follows the 2016 Canadian census, which recorded a population of 35,151,728. The overall response rate was 98%, which is sli ...

conducted by Statistics Canada, Keremeos had a population of 1,608 living in 809 of its 852 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 1,502. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.

Economy

Keremeos' main industries are

horticulture Horticulture is the branch of agriculture that deals with the art, science, technology, and business of plant cultivation. It includes the cultivation of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, herbs, sprouts, mushrooms, algae, flowers, seaweeds and no ...

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people t ...

, ranching, and

wine making Winemaking or vinification is the production of wine, starting with the selection of the fruit, its fermentation into alcohol, and the bottling of the finished liquid. The history of wine-making stretches over millennia. The science of wine and w ...

, among others.

Fruit stand A fruit stand is a primarily open-air business venue that sells seasonal fruit and many fruit products from local growers. It might also sell vegetables and various processed items derived from fruit. The fruit stand is a small business structure ...

s are also a major component of the local economy, making it the self-titled "fruit stand capital of

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 ...

." All sorts of soft fruits, apples, cherries, peaches, etc. and vegetables are grown in the South Similkameen's dry warm climate, and vineyards and wineries are quickly being added as the valley's wine-growing potential is being recognized.

Attractions

Attractions include the Keremeos Grist Mill.

Infrastructure

Transportation

Keremeos is served by public transit in the South Okanagan-Similkameen Transit System along Route 50 thrice weekly year round. Buses go as far as Coalmont, British Columbia to the west and

Penticton Penticton ( ) is a city in the Okanagan Valley of the Southern Interior of British Columbia, Canada, situated between Okanagan and Skaha lakes. In the 2016 Canadian Census, its population was 33,761, while its census agglomeration The ce ...

in the East, with connections on

BC Transit BC Transit is a provincial crown corporation responsible for coordinating the delivery of public transportation within British Columbia, Canada, outside Greater Vancouver. BC Transit is headquartered in Victoria, British Columbia. In , the syst ...

to Kelowna and

Osoyoos Osoyoos (, ) is the southernmost town in the Okanagan Valley in British Columbia between Penticton and Omak. The town is north of the United States border with Washington state and is adjacent to the Osoyoos Indian reserve. The origin of the n ...

. The thrice-weekly public transit service is the only intercity transportation available to residents after

Greyhound The English Greyhound, or simply the Greyhound, is a breed of dog, a sighthound which has been bred for coursing, greyhound racing and hunting. Since the rise in large-scale adoption of retired racing Greyhounds, the breed has seen a resurgenc ...

terminated their services along the

Hope, British Columbia Hope is a district municipality at the confluence of the Fraser and Coquihalla rivers in the province of British Columbia, Canada. Hope is at the eastern end of both the Fraser Valley and the Lower Mainland region, and is at the southern end ...

-Penticton corridor on June 1, 2019. The nearest airport with scheduled flights is the Penticton Regional Airport 41 km to the north. The nearest major airport with international flights is

Kelowna International Airport Kelowna International Airport is a Canadian airport located approximately 10 minutes or northeast of Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada, on Highway 97. The single runway airport operates scheduled air service to Vancouver, Victoria, Calgary, E ...

. Keremeos historically had a train station, though no tracks remain in the Similkameen Valley with either the Great Northern Railway or the

Kettle Valley Railway The Kettle Valley Railway was a subsidiary of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) that operated across southern British Columbia, west of Midway running to Rock Creek, then north to Myra Canyon, down to Penticton over to Princeton, Coalmont, Br ...

Education

Schools in Keremeos' vicinity include Cawston primary school, Penticton Secondary School, Princess Margaret Secondary School, Osoyoos, Princeton, and Similkameen Elementary Secondary School.

In popular culture

Keremeos was featured on the historical television series ''

Gold Trails and Ghost Towns ''Gold Trails and Ghost Towns'' is a Canadian historical documentary show, created and produced by television station CHBC-TV in Kelowna, British Columbia for Canadian syndication and hosted by Mike Roberts with historian/storyteller Bill Barle ...

'', Season 3, Episode 12.

References

External links

* * {{authority control Villages in British Columbia Populated places in the Similkameen