Publisher's Synopsis
The Okanagan people settled around the city's two lakes, Okanagan Lake and Swan Lake, obtaining seasonal sources of food. Fur traders camped in Vernon as it started to develop in 1863, following a gold discovery at the Cherry Creek, Monashee Mountains, Mission Creek and east side of the Okanagan Lake. Vernon was home to many cattle ranches and fruit orchards.Vernon expanded after the Canadian Pacific Railway was opened in the Okanagan and Shuswap regions in 1891. The stern-wheeler S.S. Aberdeen was launched by the Canadian Pacific Railway for use on Okanagan Lake in 1893 connecting Vernon to Penticton at the south end of Okanagan Lake, and points between.Chase is located at the outlet of Little Shuswap Lake which is the source of the South Thompson River. Chase Creek, which drops over three small waterfalls before flowing through the town, enters the South Thompson just below the lake's outlet. The main industries in Chase are forestry and tourism.The town was named after a flamboyant character named Whitfield Chase, an American from New York State. After originally coming to Canada during the 1858 gold rush he settled in the area in 1865. He was the first non-native settler that farmed and raised a family, in what was then called, The Shuswap Prairie.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.By 1904, Salmon Arm had acquired a reputation for having an excellent fruit harvest. The local businessmen grew fruit as a main export, sending it to the larger, more populated towns that surrounded it.
