Roaming the Okanagan Trivia Quiz

Answer: Penticton

Okanagan Lake is considered a 'fjord lake' due to its formation through repeated glaciation. It is a long, narrow lake. As mentioned, it is 135 km long, but along its length, it never exceeds 5 km in width.

The lake is fed by numerous streams and rivers, but the water moves from the northern tip (Vernon) to its southern terminus (Penticton) before draining into the Okanagan River. This waterway eventually leads to a confluence with the Columbia River in Washington State.

The first white settlers arrived in the Penticton area in 1866 and began an agricultural industry. This brought more people to the region and it began to flourish. Penticton was incorporated as a city in 1948.

Answer: Osoyoos

Osoyoos took its name from the (First Nations) Okanagan language. The original word, sẁiẁs (pronounced soo-yoos), means 'narrowing of the waters.' The settlers who chose the name for their town added the 'O' to harmonize the name with other names in the region (like Omak, Oroville, Oliver, and of course, Okanagan).

Osoyoos Lake, seen in the photograph, has the claim of being the warmest lake in British Columbia, with an average temperature of 24 degrees Celsius in the summer.

Answer: 898 metres

Formed from a combination of volcanic activity and subsequent glaciation, the impressive Enderby Cliffs offer a stunning view of the surrounding area. All told, the hike from the bottom of the cliffs to the pinnacle is 7.3 km in length, rising 868 metres from the trail head.

The actual elevation of the top of the cliffs is 1258 metres, but taking into account the elevation of the town below (Enderby - 360 m) on the valley floor, we find the difference of 898 m.

Answer: Grizzly bear

The Indigenous Syilx (Okanagan) people were the first inhabitants of the region that would one day become the city of Kelowna. In 1859, a Catholic priest by the name of Father Jean-Charles-Jean-Baptiste-Félix Pandosy became the first European to settle there, beginning an influx that would eventually lead to the incorporation of Kelowna as a city in 1905.

You can't see it all in the picture here, but the city proper is over 200 square km in area, with a census metropolitan area of more than 2,900 square km.

Answer: Twelve

Despite all efforts of those fighting the fires (including the Canadian Military), twelve trestles were lost. But due to the significant historical value of the sites, the BC Provincial Government committed to rebuilding the trestles, including many new safety improvements in the process.

Today, much of the KVR has been converted to hiking/biking paths, and has been incorporated into the Trans-Canada Trail.

Answer: True

A number of different minerals contribute to the varieties of colours in Spotted Lake, but the primary ones are magnesium sulfate, calcium and sodium sulfates. The local First Nations peoples have valued the waters for its therapeutic properties and maintain it as a sacred site for centuries.

Answer: False

The very first vines were actually planted by Father Pendosy (see question 4) as a means to provide sacramental wine for his church. This happened soon after his arrival in 1859 as he saw how fertile the land was. Of course, this prompted other settlers to plant their own vines, as well.

The wine-making industry in the Okanagan took a hit in the early 20th century with Prohibition, which required all the vines to be uprooted and other crops planted in their place. Afterwards, however, the industry really took off, beginning with the Casorso family planting vines in the mid 1920s that are still producing for wineries today.

Answer: Lord Aberdeen (Sir John Campbell Hamilton Gordon, 7th Earl and 1st Marquess of Aberdeen and Temair)

In the days when the British Monarch still named the Governors General of Canada, Lord Aberdeen was named to the post, which he served in from 1893 to 1898. He and his wife had toured Canada just three years prior to that, and had become enamored of British Columbia especially. So much so that they purchased the Coldstream Ranch from the Vernon brothers (for whom the town of Vernon was named).

Once it was in his possession, he left it in the hands of caretakers with direction to plant apple, pear and cherry trees. The 25,000 trees planted in 1892 were the beginning of the fruit industry in the Okanagan.

Answer: Silver Star Mountain

The first person to find the area of the mountain that would one day become the Silver Star Mountain Resort was Vernon resident Bert Thorburn in the 1930s.

Development of what would become the current Silver Star Mountain Resort began as a group of men created "Silver Star Sports" and sought approval from the British Columbia Government to construct in 1957. Development of the area has continued since then, with ownership of the land changing hands a number of times.

Answer: Ogopogo

The photograph shows a narrow passage between Rattlesnake Island (on the left) and the mainland near Peachland on the right.

Legend has it that Ogopogo lives in a cave beneath the island, although (of course) it has never been proven.

The first Ogopogo 'sighting' by a white settler was in 1872 by Susan Allison, but the mythos behind the lake monster was already established in the local First Nations population, who called it 'Naitaka' and believed it to be an evil supernatural entity.