Okanagan Places Trivia Quiz

Answer: Narrowing of the waters

The town of Osoyoos is 3.6 km (2.2 mi) north of the US border, lying on the western side of Osoyoos Lake (which also extends south of the border). Unsurprisingly, the lake narrows in the middle, which is where a bridge crosses to East Osoyoos and points further east along Hwy 3.

The first non-indigenous settlers arrived in the area in the early 1810s as part of the Pacific Fur Company, but Osoyoos would not be incorporated as a village until 1946. Interestingly, the 'O' was added to the "sw̓iw̓s" (pronounced soo-yoos) only to harmonize the sound of the town's name with other place names in the region (namely Oliver, Omak, Oroville, and Okanogan).

Answer: Natural mineral deposits

Spotted Lake is rich in natural mineral deposits, including calcium, sodium sulphates and magnesium sulphate. During the summer months, the lake can dry up, leaving concentrations of these minerals that will colour the water in spots when it fills up again. The spots will shift and change colours as this process repeats, ranging from blue to green to yellow, depending on the mineral makeup.

To the First Nations People of the Osoyoos area, it is a sacred site that has been considered a revered place of healing for centuries. Today, Spotted Lake is a protected area, and visitors cannot approach the lake any closer than from the marked viewpoint.

Answer: False

Whatever they may have looked like when the area of Okanagan Falls was settled and developed, all that one can see now where Skaha Lake empties into the Okanagan River is a small dam with some faster running water. The former falls are now below the level of the lake.

Located 42 km north of Osoyoos, Okanagan Falls was founded in 1893 with the name Dog Town, but early residents soon changed it to reflect the beautiful, if small, double falls at the site.

Answer: Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment

The Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory (DRAO) research facility was first established in 1960 in Kaleden, which is approximately 13 km south of Penticton. There are four different types of radio telescope on the site, which scan and measure astronomical radio sources in the sky.

The Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME) radio telescope is composed of four antennas consisting of 100 m by 20 m cylindrical parabolic reflectors, with radio receivers suspended above them. The primary task of CHIME is to make precise measurements of the acceleration of the Universe to improve the knowledge of how dark energy behaves.

Answer: a place where people have always been all year long

With the resources of two lakes and the good hunting available in the area, combined with the moderate climate, the site of present-day Penticton has long been a traditional gathering place for the syilx First Peoples. When the region was first visited by European settlers, the same advantages appealed to the newcomers.

Located at the southern end of the 135 km long lake also made Penticton a prime location for the transportation of goods (and people) through the region by rail and over water, until the completion of the highway brought a slow end to those lines of commerce.

'where there are trees in water' is the meaning of 'Toronto.'
'murky waters' is the meaning of 'Winnipeg'
'one who cooks with stones' is the meaning of 'Assiniboia'

Answer: 16 km

The KVR lasted until highways made the railway more expensive to operate than it was really worth, given the difficult terrain that it was constructed within. By 1964, all passenger service had ended, and by 1989, so had all freight use.

In the accompanying picture, taken in 1983, a special excursion train called "The Okanagan Express" utilized a portion of the KVR between Summerland and Penticton as the final stage of a run from Vancouver along the CN lines, but otherwise, the extent of the KVR was no longer in use.

But the trestle in the picture - the Trout Creek Bridge - is still part of the restored section of the KVR near Summerland (which is about 18 km north of Penticton). This is where you have to go if you want to experience the KVR like it was more than 100 years ago, complete with an operating steam train!

Answer: The 27th premier of British Columbia

William Richards Bennett served as British Columbia's 27th premier, between the years 1975 and 1986. He had a strong political bloodline, with his father having served as BC's 25th premier, and also by virtue of being a distant cousin of Canada's 11th prime minister, R.B. Bennett.

William R. Bennett was born in Kelowna, and was also elected from the South Okanagan riding (as was his father before him).

The pontoon bridge, completed on May 25th, 2008, replaced an older bridge from 1958. Bennett was there to officially open the new, 5-lane crossing, just as his father had done 50 years previously. As the only crossing of Okanagan Lake (and the site of the Okanagan's largest city), the William R. Bennett bridge is a vital transportation link through the region.

Answer: Ogopogo

Ogopogo, by those who have claimed to have seen it, have largely described it as being a serpentine creature with smooth dark skin with a large body (thicker than a telephone pole) with a length of about 15 m (49 ft).

For hundreds of years, the local Secwepemc and Syilx First Peoples have believed in existence of the Ogopogo, which they name 'Naitaka' - not as a benign creature, but rather as an evil supernatural entity with great power and ill intent.

Other 'lake monsters' in Canada have used variations on the name 'Ogopogo,' as dubbed by locals in regions such as Lake Simcoe (Ontario), where 'Igopogo' lives, or in Manitoba's Lake Winnipeg (Winnepogo) or Lake Manitoba (Manipogo).

The other named 'lake monsters' from the question can ostensibly be found in Lake Erie (Bessie), the Hudson River (Kipsy), or in Lake Memphrémagog on the border of Vermont and Québec (Memphré).

Answer: Shuswap Lake

The Shuswap Lake is found north of the Okanagan Valley adjacent to the city of Salmon Arm.

Vernon is located at the northern end of the long Okanagan Lake.

Parallel to the northern arm (to the east) of Okanagan Lake are three smaller lakes in a chain extending from Kelowna to Vernon... the final one of these three is Kalamalka Lake, known as the "lake of a thousand colours" as its hue can change from cyan to indigo at different times of the year, and even in different parts of the lake at the same time.

And, as you depart the city of Vernon to the north, you pass a small lake by the name of Swan Lake.

Answer: Columbia River

The Columbia River is approximately 2000 km long, with its headwaters in Columbia Lake in the East Kootenay region of southeastern British Columbia. The river travels northwest before turning to the south and crossing into the United States in eastern Washington. It turns again, this time to the west, when it is joined by the Spokane River. Eventually, the Columbia River forms the border between Washington and Oregon as it finally empties into the Pacific Ocean.

Along the way, the waters of Canada's Okanagan Valley join the Columbia River by way of the Okanagan River, which becomes the Okanogan River as it crosses Osoyoos Lake at the US border, eventually meeting the Columbia just east of Brewster, WA.