Sampler Book 19, British Columbia in Colour Photos: Saving Our History One Photo at a Time Kindle Edition

The South Okanagan Valley is located at the northernmost tip of the upper Sonoran Desert system which starts in Mexico and extends through North America as the Great Basin. Because of the low rainfall and a very sandy soil, desert plants grow in the region. Osoyoos is surrounded by hills blanketed in sage and pine forest. The valley sides and bottom lands have orchards that produce the earliest fruit in Canada as well as great wines. Early agricultural production in the Okanagan-Similkameen region was focused mainly on cattle ranching as the local environment was well suited to cattle grazing and provided beef to expanding communities. Osoyoos means “a place where two lakes come together.” Vernon is a city in the Okanagan region of the southern interior of British Columbia. Named after Forbes George Vernon, a former Member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia who helped found the famed Coldstream Ranch nearby. It is the oldest city in the Okanagan Valley. Chase is located at the outlet of Little Shuswap Lake which is the source of the South Thompson River. Sorrento is on the south shore of Shuswap Lake, 28 kilometers west of Salmon Arm and 80 kilometers east of Kamloops. You can fish in the lake, enjoy water sports and boating, and view scenic landscapes. Salmon Arm is located on Shuswap Lake midway between Calgary and Vancouver on the Trans-Canada Highway. It has the longest curved wooden wharf in North America which draws tourists from around the World. The Kelowna town site was laid out in 1892, and by 1898 the community growing on the shores of Okanagan Lake began to show that it would become a permanent settlement. As people came so did the traveling missionaries and students of both the Presbyterian and Methodist churches. Kelowna is the largest community in the Okanagan Valley. The Okanagan Sunflower is the official floral emblem. Penticton is a city in the Okanagan Valley of the Southern Interior of British Columbia situated between Okanagan and Skaha Lakes. Hope is located at the confluence of the Fraser and Coquihalla Rivers. Hope is at the eastern end of the Fraser Valley, and is at the southern end of the Fraser Canyon. Kamloops is a city in south central British Columbia in Canada, located at the confluence of the two branches of the Thompson River near Kamloops Lake. Vancouver, the largest city in British Columbia and the third largest city in Canada, is a sea port in British Columbia’s southwest corner sitting at the foot of the Coast Mountain range. Much of Vancouver is built on a peninsula surrounded by water. Downtown Vancouver sprawls out from Granville and Georgia Streets. North America’s second largest Chinatown stretches along Main Street and three blocks of Pender between Gore and Carrall Streets. The central peninsula is the commercial heart of the city where office towers, shopping centers, condos and hotels view for views. At its northern reach, the stylized sails on the roof of Canada Place just into the harbor. Throughout the 1820s and 1830s, the Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) was headquartered out of Fort Vancouver located on the north shore of the Columbia River. From there the HBC controlled nearly all trading operations in the region. The Fort’s influence reached from the Rocky Mountains to the Hawaiian Islands, from Alaska into Mexican-controlled California. At its pinnacle, Fort Vancouver managed over 34 outposts and 24 ports through 600 employees and six ships. In 1849 the British government created the Colony of Vancouver Island. Victoria is the capital city of British Columbia, located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. Victoria is the southernmost major city in Western Canada. Chemainus is located south of Nanaimo, and one hour north of Victoria on Trans-Canada Highway. Chemainus is the world’s largest outdoor art gallery. Read more