The Okanagan ( ), also called the Okanagan Valley and sometimes the Okanagan Country, is a

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

in the

Canadian province Canada has ten provinces and three territories that are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Constitution of Canada, Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North Amer ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

defined by the basin of

Okanagan Lake Okanagan Lake () is a lake in the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia, 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 o ...

and the

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

portion of the

Okanagan River The Okanogan River (known as the Okanagan River in Canada) is a tributary of the Columbia River, approximately 115 mi (185 km) long, in southern British Columbia and north central Washington. It drains a scenic plateau region called t ...

. It is part of the Okanagan Country, extending into the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

as Okanogan County in north-central Washington. According to the 2016 Canadian census, the region's population is 362,258. The largest populated cities are

Kelowna Kelowna ( ) is a city on Okanagan Lake in the Okanagan, Okanagan Valley in the British Columbia Interior, southern interior of British Columbia, Canada. It serves as the head office of the Regional District of Central Okanagan. The name Kelowna ...

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 ...

, Vernon, and West Kelowna. The region is known for its sunny climate, dry landscapes, lakeshore communities, and particular lifestyle. The economy is retirement- and commercial-recreation-based, with outdoor activities such as boating and watersports, skiing, and hiking. Agriculture has been focused primarily on fruit orchards, with a recent shift in focus to vineyards and wine. The region stretches northwards via the Spallumcheen Valley to Sicamous in the Shuswap Country, and reaches south of the

Canada–United States border The international border between Canada and the United States is the longest in the world by total length. The boundary (including boundaries in the Great Lakes, Atlantic, and Pacific coasts) is long. The land border has two sections: Canada' ...

, where it continues as Okanogan County. The Okanagan as a region is sometimes described as including the Boundary, Similkameen, and Shuswap regions, though this is because of proximity and historic and commercial ties with those areas.

Etymology

The name is derived from the Okanagan-language place name ''ukʷnaqín''. An alternative explanation from Washington is ‘People living where you can see the top’, ostensibly of Chopaka Peak in the Lower Similkameen.

Geography

The area was occupied by

Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( ; referred to colloquially as the ''ice age, Ice Age'') is the geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fin ...

glaciation A glacial period (alternatively glacial or glaciation) is an interval of time (thousands of years) within an ice age that is marked by colder temperatures and glacier advances. Interglacials, on the other hand, are periods of warmer climate be ...

, and a widespread mantle of glacial drift covers the underlying bedrock. At the end of the Pleistocene, marginal lakes formed along the sides of the melting ice lobe and streams deposited their loads in them as deltas and accumulations of silt. These accumulations now form the white cliffs that are particularly prominent along the southern end of

. Geographic features include: * Kalamalka Lake *

Mabel Lake Mabel Lake is a lake located in southern Interior British Columbia, Canada, that is fed by and drained by the Shuswap River. It is located southeast of Shuswap Lake, northeast of Okanagan Lake, and west of the Monashee Mountains, and is popular ...

* Mahoney Lake * Mara Lake * McIntyre Bluff *

Monashee Mountains The Monashee Mountains are a mountain range lying mostly in British Columbia, Canada, extending into the U.S. state of Washington. They stretch from north to south and from east to west. They are a sub-range of the Columbia Mountains. The hig ...

* Mount Boucherie * Okanagan Highland *

* Osoyoos Lake *

Shuswap River The basin of the Shuswap River (pronounced /ˈʃuːʃwɑːp/) lies northeast of the Okanagan Valley in British Columbia, originating in the central Monashee Mountains. It is the upper part of the drainage better known to British Columbians as bel ...

* Skaha Lake *

Swan Lake ''Swan Lake'' ( rus, Лебеди́ное о́зеро, r=Lebedínoje ózero, p=lʲɪbʲɪˈdʲinəjə ˈozʲɪrə, links=no ), Op. 20, is a ballet composed by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1875–76. Despite its initial failu ...

* Thompson Plateau * Tuc-el-nuit Lake * Vaseux Lake * Wood Lake

Major highways

* Highway 97 (Okanagan Highway) * Highway 3 (Crowsnest Highway) * Highway 97C (Okanagan Connector) * Highway 33 * Highway 6 * Highway 97A

Provincial parks

File:Winter Morning over Kalamalka Lake - panoramio.jpg, Kalmalka Lake Provincial Park File:Fintry waterfall.JPG, Fintry Provincial Park File:Field of Wildflowers in Wrinkly Face Provincial Park.jpg, Wrinkly Face Provincial Park File:Bear Creek Provincial Park, Central Okanagan, BC.png, Bear Creek Provincial Park File:Summer Afternoon at the Edge of Cameron Lake, in Trepanier Park.png, Trepanier Provincial Park File:Calm Winter Afternoon at Okanagan Mountain Provincial Park.JPG, Okanagan Mountain Provincial Park File:Moon rises over Darke Lake on a Late Winter Evening.png, Darke Lake Provincial Park File:Winter Morning at Okanagan Lake Provincial Park.JPG, Okanagan Lake Provincial Park File:Oregon Grape flowering in the shade of Ponderosa Pines at Skaha Bluffs Park.jpg, Skaha Bluffs Provincial Park File:Peaceful Summer Afternoon overlooking Nickel Plate Lake.png, Nickel Plate Provincial Park

Climate

The Okanagan has a mild, relatively dry climate that varies depending on latitude. Most of the Okanagan lies within the

rain shadow A rain shadow is an area of significantly reduced rainfall behind a mountainous region, on the side facing away from prevailing winds, known as its leeward side. Evaporated moisture from body of water, bodies of water (such as oceans and larg ...

of the

Cascade Mountains The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as many of those in the ...

to the southwest. Areas in the north end of the valley receive more precipitation and cooler temperatures than areas to the south. Generally,

is the transition zone between the drier south and the wetter north. The Okanagan north of Kelowna has a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

: ''Dfb'') with warm, sometimes hot summers and cold winters with highs around freezing, though mild by Canadian standards. Precipitation is well distributed year round. Some regions of the Okanagan, most notably near

, border on an inland

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen climate classification, Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of co ...

due to it having an average temperature slightly above and below . Dry forests of ponderosa pine and low grasses dominate the valleys and mountains in this region. The Okanagan south of Kelowna 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 se ...

(

: ''Bsk'') with hot, dry summers and cool winters. The average daytime temperature in this region is about , which is the warmest in Canada. The average annual precipitation in this region is also the second driest in Canada outside of the

Arctic The Arctic (; . ) is the polar regions of Earth, polar region of Earth that surrounds the North Pole, lying within the Arctic Circle. The Arctic region, from the IERS Reference Meridian travelling east, consists of parts of northern Norway ( ...

, the driest being the Thompson River Valley west of

Kamloops Kamloops ( ) is a city in south-central British Columbia, Canada, at the confluence of the North Thompson River, North and South Thompson Rivers, which join to become the Thompson River in Kamloops, and east of Kamloops Lake. The city is the ad ...

. The southern Okanagan is dominated by northern reach of the Columbia Plateau ecoregion and is the only xeric shrubland ecosystem in Canada. Dry forests of ponderosa pine and low grasses can be found at higher elevations to the east. Despite being located in a xeric shrubland, areas near Osoyoos and Oliver claim to be part of Canada's only desert. Between 2000 BCE and 1900 CE, the climate and vegetation of the Okanagan had changed little. But historical records from the Pacific Agrifood Research Station in Summerland indicate that the Okanagan climate warmed by about 1 °C between 1908 and 1994.

History

The Okanagan Valley is home to the

Syilx The Syilx () people, also known as the Okanagan, Suknaqinx, or Okinagan people, are a First Nations in Canada, First Nations and Native Americans in the United States, Native American people whose traditional territory spans the Canada–United St ...

, commonly known as the Okanagan people, an Interior Salish people who live in the valley from the head of

downstream to near the river's confluence with the

Columbia River The Columbia River (Upper Chinook language, Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin language, Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river headwater ...

in present-day Washington, as well as in the neighbouring Similkameen Valley and the Upper Nicola to the north of that, though the whole of their traditional territory encompasses the entire Columbia River watershed and includes areas east of the Okanogan River in Washington, i.e. the Colville Reservation. At the height of Okanagan culture, about 3000 years ago, it is estimated that 12,000 people lived in this valley and surrounding areas. The Okanagan people employed an adaptive strategy, moving within traditional areas throughout the year to fish, hunt, or collect food, while in the winter months, they lived in semi-permanent

villages A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban village ...

of kekulis, a type of pithouse. Today the member bands of the Okanagan Nation Alliance are sovereign nations, with vibrant natural resource and tourism based economies. Their annual August gathering near Vernon is a celebration of the continuance of Syilx life and culture. In 1811, the first non-natives came to the Okanagan Valley, in the form of a

fur trading The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal ecosystem, boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals h ...

expedition voyaging north out of Fort Okanogan, a Pacific Fur Company outpost at the confluence of the Okanogan and Columbia Rivers. Within fifteen years, fur traders established, known as the Brigade Trail via the Cariboo Plateau and Thompson Country to Fort Kamloops and through the Okanagan, from Fort Alexandria at the southern end of the New Caledonia fur district in the Central Interior to the north, to Fort Vancouver, the HBC's headquarters in the Columbia Department, for passing furs between New Caledonia and the Columbia River for shipment to the Pacific. The trade route lasted until 1846, when the

Oregon Treaty The Oregon Treaty was a treaty between the United Kingdom and the United States that was signed on June 15, 1846, in Washington, D.C. The treaty brought an end to the Oregon boundary dispute by settling competing American and British claims to ...

laid down the border between

British North America British North America comprised the colonial territories of the British Empire in North America from 1783 onwards. English colonisation of North America began in the 16th century in Newfoundland, then further south at Roanoke and Jamestown, ...

and the

west of the

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in great-circle distance, straight-line distance from the northernmost part of Western Can ...

on the 49th parallel. The new border cut across the valley, bisecting Osoyoos Lake. To avoid paying

tariff A tariff or import tax is a duty (tax), duty imposed by a national Government, government, customs territory, or supranational union on imports of goods and is paid by the importer. Exceptionally, an export tax may be levied on exports of goods ...

s, British traders forged a newer route that bypassed Fort Okanogan via the

Fraser Canyon The Fraser Canyon is a major landform of the Fraser River where it descends rapidly through narrow rock gorges in the Coast Mountains en route from the Interior Plateau of British Columbia to the Fraser Valley. Colloquially, the term "Fraser Ca ...

from Spuzzum up over the

, then via the Nicola, Coldwater and

Fraser Fraser may refer to: Places Antarctica * Fraser Point, South Orkney Islands Australia * Fraser, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb in the Canberra district of Belconnen * Division of Fraser (Australian Capital Territory), a former federal ...

rivers to Fort Langley instead of to Fort Vancouver, which had come into being in American territory. The Okanagan Valley did not see many more outsiders for a decade afterward. In 1859, the first European settlement was established when Father Charles Pandosy led the making of an Oblate mission at Okanagan Mission, now a neighbourhood of Kelowna. The Fraser Canyon Gold Rush of 1858 eventually encouraged more settlement as some prospectors from the United States took the Okanagan Trail route on their way to the

, although at the height of the rush the American adventurers who used the route did not settle because of outright hostilities from the

, whom a few of the parties traversing the trail had harassed and brutalized. A few staked claims around the South Okanagan and Similkameen valleys and found

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

and

copper Copper is a chemical element; it has symbol Cu (from Latin ) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-orang ...

in places, with another trail from Fort Hope to newer goldfields at Rock Creek and Wild Horse Creek in the East Kootenay, skirting the US border and crossing Osoyoos Lake at Osoyoos, a customs post and also the location of the gold commissioner's office. The Dewdney Trail, surveyed and built by Edgar Dewdney, was constructed to prevent trade in the region from going north-south instead of remaining firmly under British control, and also for military mobility purposes should the need arise. In the decades after the gold rushes, ranchers, mostly on military land grants, settled on Okanagan Lake; notable ones included the Coldstream Ranch near Vernon, the Ellis Ranch, which formed the basis of the City of Penticton once subdivided, and the Richter Ranch, which continues in operation today, in the mountains between the Town of Oliver and the Village of Keremeos in the Similkameen. A

mining Mining is the Resource extraction, extraction of valuable geological materials and minerals from the surface of the Earth. Mining is required to obtain most materials that cannot be grown through agriculture, agricultural processes, or feasib ...

industry began in the southern Okanagan region, with Fairview, now an empty benchland on the western side of Oliver, the best-known and largest of the boomtowns created in the later part of the 19th century. More farmers, as well as a small service industry, came to meet the miners' needs. Fruit production is a hallmark of the Okanagan Valley today, but the industry began with difficulty. Commercial orcharding of

apple An apple is a round, edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus'' spp.). Fruit trees of the orchard or domestic apple (''Malus domestica''), the most widely grown in the genus, are agriculture, cultivated worldwide. The tree originated ...

s was first tried there in 1892, but a series of setbacks prevented the major success of commercial fruit crops until the 1920s. In 1936, the grower-owned BC Tree Fruits Cooperative was established to store, package, and sell Okanagan fruit. Until the 1930s, the demand for shipping fruit and other goods drove a need for ongoing operations of the sternwheeler

steamboat A steamboat is a boat that is marine propulsion, propelled primarily by marine steam engine, steam power, typically driving propellers or Paddle steamer, paddlewheels. The term ''steamboat'' is used to refer to small steam-powered vessels worki ...

s that serviced Okanagan Lake, operated by a subsidiary of the

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway () , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Canadian Pacific Ka ...

, linking the Southern Mainline with the original transcontinental mainline at Sicamous: the SS ''Aberdeen'' from 1886, the SS ''Sicamous'' and SS ''Naramata'' from 1914, and others. The ''Sicamous'' and ''Naramata'' survive as a tourist attraction on Okanagan Beach on the north side of

, the ''Sicamous'' serving both as a museum and also an event facility. Other steamboats operated on Skaha Lake to the south of that city. The club lounge and wheelhouse, without any keel or hull, of the SS ''Okanagan'' are in the same park as the ''Sicamous'' and ''Naramata''. While the last half-century has grown several resource-based enterprises in the region, primarily forestry, mining played an important role in earlier times. Favoured by its sunny climate, lakes, and

winery A winery is a building or property that produces wine, or a business involved in the cultivation and production of wine, such as a wine company. Some wine companies own many wineries. Besides wine making equipment, larger wineries may also feat ...

attractions, the valley has become a popular destination for vacationers and retirees. The area also attracts seasonal fruit-picking labourers, primarily from

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

and

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

Demographics

The region's population was 403,950 as of the

2021 Canadian census The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canada, 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%, whic ...

. The three regional districts within the Okanagan and their populations were Central Okanagan (222,162), North Okanagan (91,610) and Okanagan-Similkameen (90,178). The statistical figures below are based on the

2011 Canadian census The 2011 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population on May 10, 2011. Statistics Canada, an agency of the Canadian government, conducts a nationwide census every five years. In 2011, it consisted of a mandatory short form ...

, and the British Columbia Ministry of Communities, Sport and Cultural Development.

Municipalities

Statistics Canada. 2017. Armstrong, CY ensus subdivision British Columbia and Okanagan, RD ensus division British Columbia (table). Census Profile. 2016 Census. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 98-316-X2016001. Ottawa. Released February 8, 2017. http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/prof/index.cfm?Lang=E (accessed April 16, 2017).

Designated places

Unincorporated communities

North Okanagan

* Cherryville * Grindrod * Lavington

Central Okanagan

* Carr's Landing (part of Lake Country) * Okanagan Centre (part of Lake Country) * Okanagan Mission (part of Kelowna) * Oyama (part of Lake Country) * Lakeview Heights (part of West Kelowna) *

Rutland Rutland is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Leicestershire to the north and west, Lincolnshire to the north-east, and Northamptonshire to the south-west. Oakham is the largest town and county town. Rutland has a ...

(part of Kelowna) * Westbank (part of West Kelowna) * Winfield (part of Lake Country)

South Okanagan

* Faulder * Fairview (part of Oliver) * Shingle Creek * Okanagan Falls

Indian reserves

The Indian reserves of the Okanagan first peoples also form identifiable communities: * Osoyoos Indian Band * Penticton Indian Band * Westbank First Nation (Kelowna) * Okanagan Indian Band (Vernon) The Osoyoos and Westbank Indian Reserves have large non-native populations because of band-governed residential and commercial development on their lands. The Osoyoos Indian Reserve leases large swathes of land to commercial vineyard developments and is where 40% of wine grapes used in the Okanagan come from.

Ghost towns

* Yankee Flats

Sport

Ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

is a popular sport in the region, with WHL team Kelowna Rockets playing in the region's most populated city. The Jr. A teams are the Vernon Vipers, West Kelowna Warriors and the Penticton Vees of the BCHL. Penticton were the 2012 national Jr. A champions, after they ousted the Woodstock Slammers for the title. Jr. B sides Kelowna Chiefs, Sicamous Eagles, Summerland Steam, Osoyoos Coyotes and North Okanagan Knights play in the KIJHL, Osoyoos having won the 2010/11 KIJHL season. Penticton and Summerland are both home to Chicago Blackhawks and Edmonton Oilers

Defenceman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the l ...

Duncan Keith. The area has hosted multiple junior hockey championships, including the

Memorial Cup The Memorial Cup () is the national championship of the Canadian Hockey League (CHL), a consortium of three Junior ice hockey, major junior ice hockey leagues operating in Canada and parts of the United States. It is a four-team round-robin tou ...

in Kelowna in 2004 and RBC Cup in Vernon in 1990 (then called the Centennial Cup) and

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

. Kelowna is home to junior

Canadian football Canadian football, or simply football, is a Sports in Canada, sport in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete on a field long and wide, attempting to advance a Ball (gridiron football), pointed oval-shaped ball into the opposi ...

team Okanagan Sun, and Jr.

Baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

team Kelowna Falcons, including the UBC Okanagan Heat university program.

Agriculture

The continued growth and operation of the agricultural industry in the Okanagan absolutely depends on the employment of temporary migrant workers.Tomic, Patricia, Ricardo Trumper & Luis L. M. Aguiar. "Housing Regulations and Living Conditions of Mexican Migrant Workers in the Okanagan Valley, BC." Canadian Issues. 78
Link
(accessed April 5, 2011). In 2009, 3,000 Mexican migrant labourers worked in the Okanagan.

References

External links

Okanagan Historical Society Reports
��A visual record of the Society's Annual Report from its first issue in 1926 from the UBC Library Digital Collections
Digitized Okanagan History
��A repository of digitized photographs and records related to the history of B.C.'s Southern Interior {{Subdivisions of British Columbia, regions=yes Geographic regions of British Columbia Interior of British Columbia Valleys of British Columbia