The Okanagan, also called the Okanagan Valley and sometimes the Okanagan Country, is a region in the Canadian province of British Columbia defined by the basin of Okanagan Lake and the Canadian portion of the Okanagan River. It is part of the Okanagan Country, extending into the United States as Okanogan County in north-central Washington. According to the 2016 Canadian census, the region's population is 362,258. The largest populated cities are Kelowna, Penticton, Vernon, and West Kelowna.
Highway 3A is the designation of two segments of highway in the southern part of British Columbia.
Osoyoos is the southernmost town in the Okanagan Valley in British Columbia between Penticton and Omak. The town is 3.6 km (2.2 mi) north of the United States border in the Washington State and is adjacent to the Osoyoos Indian reserve. The origin of the name Osoyoos was the word sw̓iw̓s meaning "narrowing of the waters" in the local Okanagan language (Syilx'tsn). The "O-" prefix is not indigenous in origin and was attached by settler-promoters wanting to harmonize the name with other place names beginning with O in the Okanagan region. There was a local newspaper, the Osoyoos Times, but merged with the Oliver Chronicle and became the Times Chronicle in May 2020.
Hedley is an unincorporated community near the mouth of Hedley Creek in the Similkameen region of southern British Columbia. The former mining town, on BC Highway 3, is by road about 74 kilometres (46 mi) southwest of Penticton and 38 kilometres (24 mi) southeast of Princeton.
The Monashee Mountains are a mountain range lying mostly in British Columbia, Canada, extending into the U.S. state of Washington. They stretch 530 km (329 mi) from north to south and 150 km (93 mi) from east to west. They are a sub-range of the Columbia Mountains. The highest summit is Mount Monashee, which reaches 3,274 m (10,741 ft). The name is from the Scottish Gaelic monadh and sìth, meaning "moor" and "peace".
The Similkameen River runs through southern British Columbia, Canada, eventually discharging into the Okanagan River near Oroville, Washington, in the United States. Through the Okanagan River, it drains to the Columbia River. The river is said to be named for an indigenous people called Similkameigh, meaning "treacherous waters".
Keremeos is a village in the Southern Interior of British Columbia, Canada. The name originated from the Similkameen dialect of the Okanagan language word "Keremeyeus" meaning "creek which cuts its way through the flats" referring to Keremeos Creek which flows down from the Upper Benchlands to the Similkameen River that flows past the village.
Keremeos Columns Park is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada. Established in 1931, the park covers a total area of 20 hectares.
Coquihalla Summit is a highway summit along the Coquihalla Highway in British Columbia, Canada. It is the highest point on the highway between the cities of Hope and Merritt. It is located just south of the former toll booth plaza on the Coquihalla Highway, about 50 km (31 mi) north of Hope, and 65 km (40 mi) south of Merritt and is the divide between the Coquihalla River and the Coldwater River.
The Lower Similkameen Indian Band or Lower Smelqmix, is a First Nations band government in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Their office was in the village of Keremeos in the Similkameen region, until 2015 when they moved into their own $7million multi-purpose facility south of Cawston. They are a member of the Okanagan Nation Alliance.
Franz Xavier Richter, commonly known as Frank Richter, was a pioneer settler, miner and rancher in 19th century Washington and British Columbia.
Francis Xavier Richter Jr. was a Canadian politician, who served as a Member of the Legislative Assembly and Minister of Agriculture, Minister of Commercial Transport, and Minister of Mines and Petroleum Resources in the Social Credit government of W.A.C. Bennett in the province of British Columbia. He represented the riding of Similkameen from 1953 to 1966 and its successor riding Boundary-Similkameen from 1966 to 1975.
The Similkameen Country, also referred to as the Similkameen Valley or Similkameen District, but generally referred to simply as The Similkameen or more archaically, Similkameen, is a region roughly coinciding with the basin of the river of the same name in the Southern Interior of British Columbia. The term "Similkameen District" also refers to the Similkameen Mining District, a defunct government administrative district, which geographically encompasses the same area, and in more casual terms may also refer to the Similkameen electoral district, which was combined with the Grand Forks-Greenwood riding by the time of the 1966 election. The Similkameen Country has deep historical connections to the Boundary Country and the two are sometimes considered one region, partly as a result of the name of the electoral district. It is also sometimes classed as being part of the Okanagan region, which results from shared regional district and other administrative boundaries and names. The term "Similkameen District" may also historically refer to the Similkameen Division Yale Land District, which also includes Osoyoos and the Boundary Country to Osoyoos' east.
The Northern Rocky Mountains, usually referred to as the Northern Rockies, are a subdivision of the Canadian Rockies comprising the northern half of the Canadian segment of the Rocky Mountains. While their northward limit is easily defined as the Liard River, which is the northward terminus of the whole Rockies, the southward limit is debatable, although the area of Mount Ovington and Monkman Pass is mentioned in some sources, as south from there are the Continental Ranges, which are the main spine of the Rockies forming the boundary between British Columbia and Alberta. Some use the term to mean only the area north of the Peace Arm of the Williston Reservoir, and in reference to Northern Rocky Mountains Provincial Park, while others consider the term to extend all the way south, beyond the limit of the Hart Ranges at Mount Ovington, to include the McBride area, the Sir Alexander Group and Mount Robson.
British Columbia Highway 3, officially named the Crowsnest Highway, is an 841-kilometre (523 mi) highway that traverses southern British Columbia, Canada. It runs from the Trans-Canada Highway (Highway 1) at Hope to Crowsnest Pass at the Alberta border and forms the western portion of the interprovincial Crowsnest Highway that runs from Hope to Medicine Hat, Alberta. The highway is considered a Core Route of the National Highway System.
Cayoosh Pass is a mountain pass in the Lillooet Ranges of the Pacific Ranges of the southern Coast Mountains in British Columbia, Canada. It lies just west of Duffey Lake on BC Highway 99 between the towns of Lillooet and Pemberton, formed by the headwaters of Cayoosh Creek to the east, flowing to the Fraser River at Lillooet, and Joffre Creek to the west, flowing steeply downhill to Lillooet Lake just southeast of the Mount Currie Indian Reserve.
Chopaka is an unincorporated community in the Similkameen region of south central British Columbia. Immediately north of the Canada–United States border, the population centre is on the west shore of the Similkameen River. The Nighthawk–Chopaka Border Crossing lies to the east. Off BC Highway 3, the locality is by road about 96 kilometres (60 mi) southeast of Princeton and 75 kilometres (47 mi) south of Penticton.
Monashee Pass, 1,189 m (3,901 ft), is a mountain pass in the Monashee Mountains of the Southern Interior of British Columbia, Canada. Located southeast of Cherryville, the pass is used by British Columbia Highway 6 connecting Vernon to Nakusp on Arrow Lake, and beyond to the cities of the West Kootenay. It is the "prominence col" for Big White Mountain, which is the highest mountain to its southwest.
Olalla is an unincorporated settlement in the South Okanagan region of the Southern Interior of British Columbia, Canada, located southwest of Penticton and just north of Keremeos. Kaleden, just northeast beyond Olalla along BC Highway 3A, occupies the pass dividing the Okanagan Valley beyond and the Similkameen Country of which Olalla is a part.
The Ashnola River is a tributary of the Similkameen River, rising in the northeastern part of the North Cascades in Washington, United States, and flowing north into British Columbia, Canada, to join the Similkameen River about halfway along that river's course between the towns of Princeton and Keremeos. The river crosses the international boundary at 49°00′00″N120°19′37″W and transits Cathedral Provincial Park. It has one main tributary, Ewart Creek, which is about 25 kilometres (16 mi) long and begins virtually at the border and is entirely within Cathedral Park.
