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.
Okanagan Mountain Provincial Park is a provincial park within the Okanagan-Similkameen Regional District of British Columbia, Canada, focused on the mountain of the same name and located on the east side of Okanagan Lake, opposite Peachland and immediately south of the City of Kelowna. The park is one of the largest in the area, covering 110.38 square kilometres (42.62 sq mi). Most of the park is only accessible by foot, horseback, bicycle, or boat as motor vehicle access is restricted to BC Parks staff and technicians servicing the three telecommunications towers in the park.
Cathedral Provincial Park and Protected Area, usually known as Cathedral Provincial Park and also as Cathedral Park, is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada. It is located east of E.C. Manning Provincial Park, south of BC Highway 3, and southeast of the town of Princeton, and southwest of Keremeos. Its southern boundary is the border with the United States. Much of the park is the basin of the Ashnola River. Cathedral Park is home to teal sub-alpine lakes, vast ridges and jarred peaks, old-growth forests, and rock formations of siltstone, granodiorite, and basalt. Hikers can scramble along various peaks such as the 8000-foot Grimface Mountain and Lakeview Mountain. Tourists flock to Smokey the Bear and Stone City because of their unique formations with incredible views formed by millennia of erosion, volcanic and tectonic activity, and glacial recession.
sw̓iw̓s Provincial Park is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada, located on the west side of Osoyoos Lake in the town of Osoyoos, which is on the Canada-United States border at the southern end of the Okanagan region of British Columbia. Approximately 38 hectares in size, the park was originally created in 1939. The name was changed from Haynes Point to sw̓iw̓s, the original Okanagan (Syilx'tsn) name for the region, meaning "narrowing of the waters".
Okanagan Lake Provincial Park is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada. Established in 1955, the park covers a total area of 98 hectares.
The Purcell Wilderness Conservancy is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada. It was established in 1974, and encompasses six large drainages in the Purcell Mountains in the southeast of the province. It contains high peaks, alpine meadows and ridges, deep creek and river valleys, and hot springs at Dewar Creek.
Syringa Park is a provincial park on the east shore of Lower Arrow Lake in the West Kootenay region of southeastern British Columbia. At the foot of the Norns Range, Tulip Creek passes through the centre, and Syringa Creek is closer to the southeastern boundary. The park is about 19 kilometres (12 mi) west of Castlegar via Broadwater Rd.
The Okanagan Nation Alliance is a First Nations Tribal Council in the Canadian province of British Columbia, spanning the Nicola, Okanagan and Similkameen Districts of the Canadian province of British Columbia and also the Colville Indian Reservation in Washington state of the United States of America. Their territory covers roughly 69,000 km2 in the Canadian Province of British Columbia and also some area of Washington state in the United States of America. The diverse landscape covers deserts, lakes, forests, and grasslands.
Vaseux Lake is a shallow freshwater lake located along the course of the Okanagan River in the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia, Canada.
The Okanagan Desert is the common name for a semi-arid shrubland located in the southern region of the Okanagan Valley in British Columbia and Washington. It is centred around the city of Osoyoos and is the only semi-arid shrubland in Canada. Part of this ecosystem is referred to as the Nk'mip Desert by the Osoyoos Indian Band, though it is identical to the shrublands elsewhere in the region. To the northwest of this area lies an arid shrubland near Kamloops.
The biogeoclimatic zones of British Columbia are units of a classification system used by the British Columbia Ministry of Forests for the Canadian province's fourteen different broad, climatic ecosystems. The classification system, termed Biogeoclimatic Ecosystem Classification, exists independently of other ecoregion systems, one created by the World Wildlife Fund and the other in use by Environment Canada, which is based on one created by the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) and also in use by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The system of biogeoclimatic ecosystem classification was partly created for the purpose of managing forestry resources, but is also in use by the British Columbia Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy and other provincial agencies. A biogeoclimatic zone is defined as "a geographic area having similar patterns of energy flow, vegetation and soils as a result of a broadly homogenous macroclimate."
Lac du Bois Grasslands Protected Area is a protected area located north of Kamloops in British Columbia, Canada. The protected area was established by BC Parks on 30 April 1996 to protect a unique mixed forest-grassland ecosystem overlooking the North and South forks of the Thompson River.
Skaha Bluffs Provincial Park is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada. Skaha Bluffs lies within the asserted territory of the Okanagan Nation Alliance. World-class climbing opportunities are found at Skaha Bluffs, recreational climbing has been occurring in the area since the 1980s.
South Chilcotin Mountains Provincial Park is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada, located on Highway 40 northwest of Lillooet, British Columbia. The park, which is 56,796 ha. in size, was established on April 18, 2001, and It was created out of a portion of the Spruce Lake Protected Area. The park is located on three Indigenous Nations: The Tsilhqot’in, St’at’imc, and Secwepemc.
Vaseux-Bighorn National Wildlife Area is a National Wildlife Area in British Columbia, Canada, primarily set aside to protect winter rangeland for California bighorn sheep. In 1979, the Vaseux-Bighorn Wildlife Area was established in response to substantial reduction in wild animal populations in the area. Identified factors contributing to species decline at the time were high predator population, overharvesting of species, and illegal hunting. Land development, cattle raising, and lumbering also might have altered species populations. Under these conditions, the area was able to be classified as a Category IV area by the IUCN and is now used for wildlife habitat and conservation. Even with minimal anthropogenic use of the area, threats persist through invasive species. Recreational use is limited spatially and is only open to the public during the day.
Gwen Bridge is an environmental scientist and conservation advocate. Her work has focused on sustainable land management practices to help facilitate the cultural preservation of Indigenous communities across North America.
Okanagan dry forests is a temperate coniferous forest ecoregion in the Pacific Northwest of North America, as defined by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) categorization system. It is closely associated with the Okanagan region of British Columbia and Washington. Only 20% of the ecosystem is still intact, and continues to be under threat for preservation due to land clearing and urban expansion, alongside the increasing threats of fire and extreme weather due to climate change.
South Okanagan—Similkameen National Park Reserve is a proposed national park reserve in the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen of British Columbia. The goal of the park is to work with the local First Nations to protect a large patch of Okanagan dry forests and part of the northern reach of the Columbia Plateau ecoregion in Canada.
