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Okanagan Lake

Lake in British Columbia, Canada

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  • 5 chapters

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Through Lake

Lab · Class 5–9Rivers & Landforms

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 100 metres (328 ft) deep only 10 metres (11 yd) 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 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.

The lake's maximum depth is 232 metres (761 ft) near Grant Island (Nahun Weenox). There are three other islands: one known as Rattlesnake Island, 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 750 metres (2,460 ft) 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.

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