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Snapshots	Past stories Avalon Peninsula Cape Breton Islands Cypress Hills Northern Ontario Okanagan Valley

Regional Map

Contents: Location Geology First Nations European Contact Flora and Fauna Agriculture Tourism and Leisure Cities Contacts

Although the deltas in the area hold potentially fertile soil, the extremely dry conditions in the Okanagan keep soil nutrients from plants. This climate is characteristic of most valley systems and is due to air movement over mountain chains. Here, as moisture-rich air moves eastward from the Pacific, it must rise to cross the Cascade Range. As it does, it cools and condenses into rain on the western mountain slopes. Air crosses the chain, falls and becomes warm and dry, leaving the eastern slope and valley in the rainshadow. When the valley is deep the phenomenon can result in desert-like conditions. The Okanagan receives a minimal average of 25-40 cm precipitation, and a hefty 2,000 hours of sunshine per year.

In order to tap into the fertile soil deposits created by erosion, massive irrigation is required. Thankfully for Canada's apple-eating population, the rivers and lakes are now drained extensively to convert dry bunchgrass into lush green orchards.

The first industry in the Okanagan Valley was ranching. In the northern regions, dairy and beef herding are ideal since the meadows require little or no irrigation. In the southern valley, fruit farming is the main industrial focus and is made possible by the intensive irrigation that converts desert land into orchards and vineyards.

There is a long history of fruit growing in the Okanagan, which dates back to the Oblate missionaries' first fruit crop in 1862 near Kelowna. During the 1890s Governor General Aberdeen began offering large sections of land as a fruit-growing incentive, and later plantings were made in the southern valley for soldiers returning from the First World War.

Outside the Lower Fraser Valley, the Okanagan is one of British Columbia's most important agricultural areas, and provides the country with one-third of its commercial apples. Apricots, cherries, peaches, pears, plums, prunes and grapes also line the valley floor, where warm temperatures and long growing seasons make for ideal conditions.

The three main oblong lakes in the valley - Skaha, Kalamalka and Okanagan - create an ideal temperate climate for wine-producing. During the 1920s, commercial grape plantings near Kelowna began to supply wineries. Since the introduction of large-scale irrigation, B.C.'s wine industry has grown exponentially - almost all the provincial wine comes from the Okanagan region.

Since then, local wines have become more distinguished, and with higher quality standards instigated in the 1990s, the Vintners Quality Alliance seal now appears on labels. Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Merlot and Gewurztraminer are among the reputable varieties from the area. The valley's wine route winds along Okanagan Lake and includes several vineyards and more than a dozen wineries and related establishments.

Visitors and residents enjoy wine tasting, food and events during the annual spring (first five days in May) and fall (first half of October) Okanagan wine festivals.