Okanogan River - US List
Okanogan River - US List
The Okanogan River (called the Okanagan River in Canada) is a tributary of the Columbia River, approximately 115 mi (185 km) long, in southern British Columbia in Canada and north central Washington in the United States. It drains a scenic plateau region called the Okanagan Country east of the Cascade Range and north and west of the Columbia, and also the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia - which is also known as the Okanagan Country, but more usually as “the Okanagan”.
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The Okanogan River rises in southern British Columbia (where it is known as the Okanagan River), issuing out of the southern end of Okanagan Lake, which is on the north side of the city of Penticton, British Columbia. It flows south past Penticton, through Skaha Lake, past Okanagan Falls, through Vaseux Lake, and past Oliver to Osoyoos and Osoyoos Lake, which spans the international border and has its outlet into the Okanogan River at Oroville, on the south end of the lake, in Okanogan County. At the border the river’s name (and the region and also the name of the Okanagan Highland) changes spelling from Okanagan to Okanogan. Average annual flow of the river at this point is 643 cfs.[8]
From Oroville the Okanogan River flows south through the Okanogan County, past Okanogan and Omak. It forms the western boundary of the Colville Indian Reservation. The Okanogan River enters the Columbia River from the north, 5 miles (8 km) east of Brewster, between the Wells Dam (downstream) and the Chief Joseph Dam (upstream). The reservoir behind Wells Dam, into which the Okanagan empties, is called Lake Pateros.
[edit] Tributaries
The Okanogan River receives the Similkameen 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 near Wauconda and also from Aeneas Valley west of the San Poil. It occasionally receives water from Salmon Creek at the town of Okanogan but much of the year this water is diverted for irrigation.
