Current Time in Okanagan, Canada

The Okanagan lies in the southern interior of British Columbia, in western Canada, a long north to south valley cradling a chain of deep lakes between dry mountain slopes. Okanagan Lake, more than a hundred kilometres in length, forms its spine, and the settlements strung along the shore, chief among them Kelowna, Vernon, Penticton and West Kelowna, together make up one of the fastest growing populated regions in the country. The valley has an unusual climate for Canada, sheltered from Pacific rain by the Coast Mountains, with hot dry summers, long sunny autumns and mild winters, and at its southern end near Osoyoos it becomes genuine desert, the only pocket of its kind in the nation.

Well over four hundred thousand people live in the valley, with Kelowna the largest centre and the principal city of the interior. The economy rests on agriculture, wine, tourism, technology, health care and construction, and the region has become a magnet for retirees and remote workers drawn by the climate and the setting.

The valley has been home to the Syilx or Okanagan people for thousands of years, a Salish nation whose seasonal rounds followed salmon, roots and game through the lakes and uplands, and whose language and cultural institutions are being actively revitalised today. Fur traders passed through in the early nineteenth century along a brigade trail, missionaries and cattle ranchers followed, and irrigation schemes at the turn of the twentieth century transformed dry benchland into orchards. For generations the Okanagan was known above all for apples, cherries, peaches, apricots and pears, and fruit stands still line the highways each summer.

Since the 1980s wine has reshaped the valley's identity. Hundreds of wineries now occupy terraces above the lakes, producing highly regarded pinot noir, riesling, chardonnay and syrah, and wine touring has become one of the main reasons visitors come. Tasting rooms with terraces overlooking the water, farm to table restaurants, cideries and craft breweries have given the region a reputation as one of Canada's finest food and drink destinations.

Outdoor life is the other great attraction. Beaches and marinas line the lakes, which are warm enough for swimming through the summer, and legend holds that a creature named Ogopogo inhabits the deep water. The Kettle Valley Railway trail crosses Myra Canyon on a series of restored timber trestles high above the forest, a classic cycling route. Ski resorts at Big White and Silver Star receive abundant dry snow, and hiking, golf and rock climbing fill the calendar. Wildfire has become a recurring summer concern in this dry landscape, and communities have adapted accordingly.

A campus of the University of British Columbia in Kelowna, along with Okanagan College, serves a growing student population, and an international airport, the Coquihalla highway and long distance buses connect the valley to Vancouver, Calgary and beyond.

The Okanagan is popular as Canada's sunniest and most relaxed valley, a place of lakes, orchards, vineyards and mountains.