Okanogan River Okanagan River
Map of the Okanogan River, tributary of the Columbia River
Location
Countries	Canada United States
State	Washington
Province	British Columbia
Cities	Penticton, BC Omak, WA
Physical characteristics
Source	Okanagan Lake
• location	Penticton,British Columbia,Canada
• coordinates	49°30′13″N119°36′42″W / 49.50361°N 119.61167°W /49.50361; -119.61167[1]
• elevation	1,122 ft (342 m)[2]
Mouth	Columbia River
• location	Brewster,Washington,United States
• coordinates	48°5′54″N119°44′3″W / 48.09833°N 119.73417°W /48.09833; -119.73417[3]
• elevation	781 ft (238 m)[4]
Length	115 mi (185 km)[5]
Basin size	8,200 sq mi (21,000 km2)[6]
Discharge
• location	Malott, WA[7]
• average	3,039 cu ft/s (86.1 m3/s)[8]
• minimum	288 cu ft/s (8.2 m3/s)
• maximum	45,600 cu ft/s (1,290 m3/s)
Basin features
Tributaries
• right	Similkameen River

TheOkanogan River (known as theOkanagan River inCanada) is a tributary of theColumbia River, approximately 115 mi (185 km) long, in southernBritish Columbia and north centralWashington. It drains a scenicplateau region called theOkanagan Country east of theCascade Range and north and west of the Columbia, and also theOkanagan region of British Columbia.^[9] The Canadian portion of the river has beenchannelized since the mid-1950s.

The Okanagan River rises in southern British Columbia, issuing out of the southern end ofOkanagan Lake, which is on the north side of the city ofPenticton. It flows south past Penticton, throughSkaha Lake, pastOkanagan Falls, throughVaseux Lake, and pastOliver toOsoyoos andOsoyoos Lake, which spans theCanada–United States border and has its outlet into the Okanogan River atOroville, on the southern shore of the lake, inOkanogan County. At the border the river's name (and the region and also the name of theOkanagan Highland) changes spelling from Okanagan to Okanogan. Average annual flow of the river at this point is 643cfs (18.2 m³/s).^[10]

From Oroville the Okanogan River flows south through the Okanogan County, pastOkanogan andOmak. It forms the western boundary of theColville Indian Reservation. The Okanogan River enters the Columbia River from the north, 5 miles (8 km) east ofBrewster, between theWells Dam (downstream) and theChief Joseph Dam (upstream). The reservoir behind Wells Dam, into which the Okanogan empties, is calledLake Pateros.

The Okanogan River receives theSimilkameen River from the west near Oroville. It receives Omak Creek from the east near Omak, Tonasket Creek from the east near Oroville and Bonaparte Creek at Tonasket which flows from Bonaparte Lake^[11] near Wauconda and also fromAeneas Valley west of theSanpoil. It occasionally receives water from Salmon Creek at the town of Okanogan but much of the year this water is diverted forirrigation.^[12]

The river takes its name from theOkanagan (orSyilx) placename [uk^wnaqín].^[13] The name Okanagan was subsequently applied to the Syilx people themselves. Early maps of thefur trade era show the Okanagan River as the "Caledonia River", a name conferred as it was the connecting route between theColumbia District and theNew Caledonia Fur District (which began north of Okanagan Lake).

Fort Okanogan, a fur-trading post opened by thePacific Fur Company (PFC) late in 1811, was located at the river'sconfluence with the Columbia. The isolation and pressures caused by theWar of 1812 forced the PFC to sell its property and assets to its Canadian rivals, theNorth West Company. The NWC was in turn merged into theHudson's Bay Company in 1821, the latter company maintaining a presence at Fort Okanogan until the 1850s.

During theFraser Canyon Gold Rush of 1858–1859, parties of armed miners, often at conflict with native peoples in the region, traveled theOkanagan Trail and its western branch, theSimilkameen Trail, via the river. After hostilities subsided, the route continued to be important as the southern leg of the overland trail to theCariboo Gold Rush known then by its fur trade era name as theBrigade Trail.

• List of rivers of British Columbia
• List of rivers of Washington (state)
• Okanagan Basin Water Board

Wikimedia Commons has media related toOkanogan River.

• About Us, Okanagan Basin Water Board
• Okanagan River Basin
• Okanogan River height and discharge flow near Tonasket

• Rivers of the Okanagan
• Rivers of Washington (state)
• Tributaries of the Columbia River
• Rivers of Okanogan County, Washington
• International rivers of North America

• Pages using gadget WikiMiniAtlas
• CS1 errors: ISBN date
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use mdy dates from July 2020
• Coordinates on Wikidata
• Commons category link is on Wikidata