Okanagan Lake
Encyclopedia : O : OK : OKA : Okanagan Lake
Okanagan Lake is a large, deep lake in the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia. The lake is 120 km long, up to 6.4 km wide, and has a surface of 351 km².[1] The lake's maximum depth is 232 meters near Whiskey Island (British Columbia), and some areas of the lake have up to 750 meters of glacial and post-glacial sediment fill which were deposited during the Pleistocene Epoch.[2] The lake is composed of three basins, a larger North basin, a central or mid basin, and a Southern basin. To the North the the lake is joined to Kalamalka Lake by Vernon Creek, and in the South it is joined to Skaha Lake by the Okanagan River. Notable features of the Okanagan Valley include terraces which were formed due to the periodic lowering of the lake level. These terraces are now used extensively for agriculture such as fruit cultivation.
Cities bordering the lake include Vernon in the north, Penticton in the south, and Kelowna in the centre. Various lake features include: Rattlesnake Island, a small island east of Peachland; Squally Point, a popular cliff-diving area; Fintry Delta on the west side; and the Okanagan Lake Bridge, a floating bridge which connects Kelowna to the municipality of Westbank.
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 and kokanee. It is said by some to be home to the lake monster Ogopogo. Lake Okanagan is next to Canada's only true desert ecosystem.
Legends
Lake Okanagan is rumoured to hold a secret: Ogopogo, its own version of the Loch Ness Monster. Ogopogo is envisioned as an aquatic serpent, hiding within the depths of Lake Okanagan. Despite skeptics, there are still occasional reports of Ogopogo sightings, and the Ogopogo theme is utilized in tourist merchandise. Many claim that a lake the size of Lake Okanagan has a strong chance of containing at least something unusual.References
External links
- [Satellite view of Okanagan Lake on Google]
- [Canadiana; Bacon Magazine;Ogo Pogo]
- [Lake Okanagan Beaches Near Vernon BC]
From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.