Okanagan Lake ( oka, kɬúsx̌nítkw) is a

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 lar ...

in the Okanagan Valley of

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

, Canada. The lake is long, between wide, and has a surface area of 348 km² (135 sq. mi.).

Hydrography

Okanagan Lake is called a fjord lake as it has been carved out by repeated glaciations. Although the lake contains numerous lacustrine terraces, it is not uncommon for the lake to be deep only offshore. Major inflows include Mission, Vernon, Trout, Penticton, Equesis, Kelowna, Peachland and Powers Creeks. The lake is drained by the Okanagan River, which exits the lake's south end via a canal through the city of

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 populati ...

to Skaha Lake, whence the river continues southwards into the rest of the South Okanagan and through Okanogan County, Washington to its confluence with the

Columbia Columbia may refer to: * Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America Places North America Natural features * Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region in ...

. The lake's maximum depth is near

Grant Island Grant Island is an ice-covered island, long and wide, lying east of the smaller Shepard Island off the coast of Marie Byrd Land, Antarctica. Like Shepard Island, Grant Island is surrounded by the Getz Ice Shelf on all but the north side. G ...

(Nahun Weenox). There are three other islands: one known as

Rattlesnake Island Rattlesnake Island refers, variously, to the following places: United States * Rattlesnake Island (Clear Lake), in Lake County, California * A previous name for Terminal Island, in Los Angeles County, California * Rattlesnake Island (New Hampsh ...

, much farther south by Squally Point. The other two are near Grant Island. They are unnamed and are located just north of the north-point of Whisky Cove at Carrs Landing. Some areas of the lake have up to of glacial and post-glacial sediment fill which were deposited during the Pleistocene Epoch. Notable features of the Okanagan Valley include terraces which were formed due to the periodic lowering of the lake's predecessor, glacial Lake Penticton. These terraces are now used extensively for agriculture such as fruit cultivation.

Geographical context

Cities bordering the lake include Vernon in the north,

in the south, and

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 ' ...

, as well as the municipalities of

Lake Country Lake Country is a district municipality with a population of approximately 15,000 in the Okanagan Valley region of British Columbia, Canada. It is a part of the Central Okanagan Regional District, and of the Kelowna metropolitan area. The ci ...

(north of Kelowna),

West Kelowna West Kelowna, formerly known as Westbank and colloquially known as Westside, is a city in British Columbia's Okanagan Valley. The city encompasses several distinct neighbourhoods, including Casa Loma, Gellatly, Glenrosa, Lakeview Heights, Sha ...

(west of Kelowna),

Peachland Peachland is a district municipality in the Okanagan Valley on the west side of Okanagan Lake in British Columbia, Canada. It was founded in 1899 by John Moore Robinson, although the region had long been home to the Okanagan people. Peachlan ...

(south of West Kelowna), and Summerland (north-west of Penticton). Unincorporated communities include

Naramata Naramata is an unincorporated community in the Okanagan region of south central British Columbia. On the eastern shore of southern Lake Okanagan, the locality is by road about north of Penticton. Name origin In November 1906, John Moore Ro ...

(north-east of Penticton). Various lake features include

(a small island east of

), Squally Point (a popular cliff-diving area) & Fintry Delta on the west side. The five-lane William R. Bennett Bridge, a floating bridge with a high boat passage

arch An arch is a vertical curved structure that spans an elevated space and may or may not support the weight above it, or in case of a horizontal arch like an arch dam, the hydrostatic pressure against it. Arches may be synonymous with vau ...

connects

to the city of

and the community of Westbank. This bridge replaced the three-lane floating Okanagan Lake Bridge on May 30, 2008, which had a lift span for passage of large boats.

Steamboats of Lake Okanagan

During the early days of settlement and development of the

Okanagan 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 pa ...

region, the lack of roads in the region made the lake a natural corridor for passenger travel and freight. The

Canadian Pacific Railway Lake and River Service The Canadian Pacific River Lake and River Service, also known as the British Columbia Lake and River Service, was a division of Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) which began operating passenger and cargo shipping routes along British Columbia's inla ...

was the main carrier on the lakes, providing freight and passenger connections between

, on the Kettle Valley Railway (the Southern Mainline) and

Okanagan Landing Okanagan Landing was an unincorporated settlement and steamboat port at the north end of Okanagan Lake in the Southern Interior of British Columbia. Located southwest of the city of Vernon, it was the terminus station for the Shuswap and Okana ...

( Vernon) for connections to the CPR Mainline at Sicamous via the

Shuswap and Okanagan Railway Shuswap may refer to: * Secwepemc, an indigenous people in British Columbia, Canada, also known in English as the Shuswap ** Shuswap Nation Tribal Council, a multi-band regional organization of Secwepemc governments based in Kamloops, British Colu ...

. Smaller vessels such as the SS ''Naramata'' provided passenger service to smaller settlements around the lake, as well as excursions for tourists.Penticton Museum displays, and heritage signs at the Okanagan Lake Heritage Shipyard on Okanagan Beach in Penticton. Aberdeen (sternwheeler)

Vessels

* (freight) * (luxury-class passenger service) * (luxury-class passenger service) * (luxury-class passenger service) * (sternwheeler) * SS ''Naramata'' (excursion and water-taxi) * (''Fintry Queen'', excursion and water-taxi) * - 1950-1960 (''Bowen Queen'' 1960-1965, MV ''Vesuvius Queen'' 1965-1998) * (steel ferry) * (steam tug) * (steam tug) * (ferry) * (ferry) * (1919 ferry) * (1923 ferry) *''

Canadian National Tug no. 6 ''Canadian National Tug no. 6'' was a diesel-powered tugboat owned and operated by the Canadian National Railway (CNR) company on Okanagan Lake, British Columbia. It was launched in 1948 and transferred railway barges between Penticton and Kelown ...

'' (diesel tug) *''

Canadian National Tug no. 5 ''Canadian National Tug no. 5'', or ''CN Tug no. 5'', was a tugboat owned and operated by the Canadian National Railway (CNR) company on Okanagan Lake in British Columbia, Canada. She was launched on May 8, 1930 and was a steel tug that pushed rail ...

'' (tug) * MV ''Kelowna-Westbank'' (ferry) * (1912 ferry) * (1906 ferry) * (ferry) * (ferry) *''

Colleen Colleen is an Irish language name and is of Irish origin and a generic term for women or girls, from the Irish '' cailín'' 'girl/woman', the diminutive of '' caile'' 'woman, countrywoman'. Although it originates in the Irish language, Colleen ...

'' (rowboat) * (ferry) * (ferry) * (ferry) * (tug) * (early steamship) *''

Ruth Shorts ''Ruth Shorts'' was pioneer Captain Thomas Shorts' first boat on Okanagan Lake in British Columbia, Canada and starting with her, Shorts was the first boater on the lake, beginning a long history of ships and steam transportation that enabled the d ...

'' (rowboat) * (early steamship) * (early steamship)

Landings

* Summerland * Okanagan Mission *

( Vernon) * Fintry *

Carr's Landing Carr's Landing, officially Carrs, is a neighbourhood and formal ward in District Municipality of Lake Country, which is located in the Okanagan region of British Columbia, Canada. It is located by the Okanagan Lake, east of Grant Island, and ...

Ewing Ewing may refer to: People * Ewing (surname) * Ewing (given name) Places ;United States * Ewing Township, Boone County, Arkansas * Ewing, Illinois, a village * Ewing Township, Franklin County, Illinois * Ewing, Indiana, an unincorporated communi ...

(Ewing's Landing) * Killiney Beach

Recreation

Many parks and beaches are found along the shores of the lake, which make boating and swimming very popular activities. The lake is home to several species of fish, including

rainbow trout The rainbow trout (''Oncorhynchus mykiss'') is a species of trout native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. The steelhead (sometimes called "steelhead trout") is an anadromous (sea-run) form of the coast ...

and

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 ...

. It is said by some to be home to its own lake monster – a giant serpent-like creature named Ogopogo.

Images

File:Maude Roxby Wetlands sunset.jpg, Maude Roxby Wetlands sunset File:Okanagan Lakeshore at Boyce-Gyro Beach on a Winter Afternoon.webm, Boyce-Gyro Beach on a Winter Afternoon File:Swimmers in Peachland.jpg, Swimmers in Peachland File:Half Way Bay on Lake Okanagan during Golden Hour in Winter.webm, Half Way Bay during Golden Hour in Winter File:Okanagan Lake.jpg, Clouds over Okanagan Lake

References

External links

Bacon Magazine: The Ogo PogoGallery of Okanagan Lake steamboats
* {{Authority control Okanagan Lake Lakes of the Okanagan Articles containing video clips Osoyoos Division Yale Land District