Olalla is an unincorporated settlement in the

South Okanagan South Okanagan was a provincial electoral district in the Canadian province of British Columbia beginning with the election of 1916. Following the 1975 election boundary revisions accompanied the riding's renaming to Okanagan South. The ridi ...

region of 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, M ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, located southwest of

Penticton Penticton ( ) is a city in the Okanagan, Okanagan Valley of the British Columbia, Canada, situated between Okanagan Lake, Okanagan and Skaha Lake, Skaha lakes. In the 2021 Canadian Census, its population was 36,885, while its Census geographic un ...

(the nearest large city) and just north of

Keremeos Keremeos () is a village in British Columbia, Canada. The name originated from the Similkameen dialect of the Okanagan language word "Keremeyeus" meaning "creek which cuts its way through the flats" referring to Keremeos Creek which flows down fr ...

Kaleden Kaleden () is an unincorporated community about midway along the western shore of Skaha Lake in the Okanagan region of south central British Columbia. Adjacent to BC Highway 97, the locality is by road about south of Penticton. Agriculture As e ...

, just northeast beyond Olalla along BC Highway 3A, occupies the pass dividing the Okanagan Valley beyond and the

Similkameen Country The Similkameen Country, also referred to as the Similkameen Valley or Similkameen District, but generally referred to simply as The Similkameen or more archaically, Similkameen, is a region roughly coinciding with the basin of the river of the sam ...

of which Olalla is a part. Olalla is a retirement community.

School

The

Similkameen Elementary Secondary School Similkameen Elementary Secondary School (SESS) is a public school in the village of Keremeos, British Columbia, Canada. It is a combined elementary and high school with about 300 students from grades five to twelve. SESS is part of BC School ...

in Keremeos serves as the primary education centre for the region.

Name & History

Olalla's name is a local adaptation of the

Salish Salish () may refer to: * Salish peoples, a group of First Nations/Native Americans ** Coast Salish peoples, several First Nations/Native American groups in the coastal regions of the Pacific Northwest ** Interior Salish peoples, several First Na ...

and

Chinook Chinook may refer to: Chinook peoples The name derives from a settlement of Indigenous people in Oregon and Washington State. * Chinookan peoples, several groups of Indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest ** Chinook Indian Nation, an organiza ...

word for "berries", a reference to locally abundant Saskatoon berries. The word is listed as ''olallie'' or ''ollalie'' in many

Chinook Jargon Chinook Jargon (' or ', also known simply as ''Chinook'' or ''Jargon'') is a language originating as a pidgin language, pidgin trade language in the Pacific Northwest. It spread during the 19th century from the lower Columbia River, first to othe ...

lexicons. Olalla was the site of a mining boom in the 1890s. Briefly it was the bustling centre for several productive mines, but ore deposits did not meet expectations; the town faded and it became a small collection of homes on the highway between Keremeos and Penticton.

References

* Unincorporated settlements in British Columbia Populated places in the Similkameen Ghost towns in British Columbia Chinook Jargon place names Designated places in British Columbia Populated places in the South Okanagan Populated places in the Okanagan Country {{OkanaganSimilkameen-geo-stub

School

Name & History

See also

References