Okanagan Lake
Okanagan Lake is a big, deep lake in British Columbia, Canada’s Okanagan Valley. The lake is 135 kilometers (84 miles) long, 4 to 5 kilometers (2.5 to 3.1 miles) broad, and has a surface area of 348 kilometers2.
Okanagan Lake is known as a fjord lake because it was sculpted out by numerous glaciations. Despite the lake’s multiple lacustrine terraces, it is not uncommon for the lake to be 100 meters deep barely 10 meters offshore. Mission, Vernon, Trout, Penticton, Equesis, Kelowna BC, Peachland, and Powers Creeks are major inflows. The lake is drained by the Okanagan River, which flows south from the lake’s south end through a canal through Penticton to Skaha Lake, whence it continues south into the rest of the South Okanagan and through Okanogan County, Washington until its confluence with the Columbia.
Near Grant Island, the lake’s highest depth is 232 meters (761 feet) (Nahun Weenox). Another island, Rattlesnake Island, is located considerably further south near Squally Point. The lake has up to 750 meters (2,460 ft) of glacial and post-glacial silt fill that was accumulated during the Pleistocene Epoch in certain sections.
Terraces created by the cyclical lowering of the lake’s progenitor, glacial Lake Penticton, are notable features of the Okanagan Valley. These terraces are currently widely utilized for agriculture, particularly fruit production.
The absence of roads in the vicinity during the early days of colonization and growth made the lake a natural corridor for passenger movement and freight. The Canadian Pacific Railway Lake and River Service was the primary carrier on the lakes, connecting Penticton through the Kettle Valley Railway (the Southern Mainline) and Vernon via the Shuswap and Okanagan Railway to the CPR Mainline at Sicamous. Minor ships, such as the SS Naramata, offered passenger service to smaller villages surrounding the lake, as well as tourist excursions.