| The Okanogan River (called the Okanagan | | | | Interior British Columbia (e.g. Shuswap |
| River in its upper reaches in Canada) is | | | | and Adams Lakes elsewhere in the same |
| a tributary of the Columbia River, | | | | season, the original Arrow Lakes and |
| approximately 115 mi (185 km) long, in | | | | Kootenay Lake). Below Mabel Lake is the |
| southern British Columbia in Canada and | | | | last stretch of the river west towards |
| north central Washington in the United | | | | the town of Enderby at the north end of |
| States. It drains a scenic plateau | | | | the Okanagan Corridor, after which the |
| region called the Okanogan Country east | | | | Shuswap River drains into Mara Lake. |
| of the Cascade Range and north and west | | | | Mara Lake is connected via a channel |
| of the Columbia, and also the Okanagan | | | | named Sicamous Narrows to the Salmon Arm |
| Valley of British Columbia. | | | | of Shuswap Lake at Sicamous which |
| It rises in southern British Columbia, | | | | empties via the 3.5km canal-like Little |
| issuing out of the southern end of Skaha | | | | Shuswap River into Little Shuswap Lake. |
| Lake, which is on the south side of the | | | | At that lake's lower end is Chase and |
| city of Penticton, British Columbia from | | | | the beginning of the South Thompson |
| Okanagan Lake. It flows south past | | | | River. |
| Penticton, Okanagan Falls, Oliver and | | | | Tributaries of the Shuswap River include |
| Osoyoos, crossing the international | | | | Wap Creek, by which a short pass at |
| border into Washington near Oroville in | | | | Three Valley Gap connects to Highway 1 |
| Okanogan County. Osoyoos Lake on the | | | | between Craigellachie and Revelstoke. |
| river spans the U.S.-Canada border. From | | | | History |
| Oroville it flows south through the | | | | The Shuswap River has a long history of |
| Okanogan Region, past the town of | | | | use for transporting both people and |
| Okanogan and forming the western | | | | goods. Log Drives were once an annual |
| boundary of the Colville Indian | | | | event, with logs sent down the river |
| Reservation. It enters the Columbia from | | | | from Mabel Lake during the high waters |
| the north, 5 mi (8 km) east of Brewster, | | | | of spring runoff to the many lumber |
| between the Wells Dam (downstream) and | | | | mills along the banks of the Shuswap |
| the Chief Joseph Dam (upstream). | | | | River in Enderby, Grindrod and Mara. |
| It receives the Similkameen River from | | | | During the late 1800s, paddlewheelers |
| the west and Oroville. It receives Omak | | | | transported goods and people up the |
| Creek from the east at Omak, Washington, | | | | Shuswap River from Mara Lake to Enderby |
| 5 mi (8 km) northwest of the town of | | | | at Fortune's Landing, where they would |
| Okanogan. | | | | be transported by stagecoach to Okanagan |
| Early maps of the fur trade era show the | | | | Landing west of Vernon. Many a |
| Okanogan River as the "Caledonia River", | | | | paddlewheeler became beached on shifting |
| a name conferred as it was the | | | | sandbars in the river, and |
| connecting route between the Columbia | | | | transportation was slow. With the |
| District and the New Caledonia Fur | | | | opening of the Shuswap-Okanagan Railway |
| District (which began north of Okanagan | | | | in 1892, the need for paddlewheelers on |
| Lake). | | | | the Shuswap River declined. |
| The basin of the Shuswap River lies | | | | Recreation |
| northeast of the Okanagan Valley in | | | | The Shuswap River is now a popular |
| British Columbia. It is the upper part | | | | destination for canoeing, kayaking and |
| of the drainage better known to British | | | | tubing. The Shuswap Hut and Trail |
| Columbians as belonging to Shuswap Lake | | | | Alliance is proposing a Hut and Trail |
| and the South Thompson River. | | | | system which will join the Shuswap River |
| The river is in three sections, an upper | | | | waterway to over 280km of mountain |
| part beginning at Joss Pass, at the | | | | hiking trails surrounding Shuswap Lake. |
| northern end of the Sawtooth Range of | | | | The Annual Kayak Rodeo is held at the |
| the Monashees and emptying into Sugar | | | | beginning of June at the Kingfisher |
| Lake southeast of the south end of that | | | | Rapids near Mabel Lake. The Tube Float |
| range. The next section of the river | | | | is an Annual Event on the Shuswap River, |
| curves south from Sugar Lake to wind up | | | | with hundreds of locals and tourists |
| running north again before entering | | | | participating. Fishing is popular during |
| Mabel Lake, which is a fair-sized | | | | the annual Salmon Run in late August - |
| mountain lake as typical of much of | | | | early September. |