Peachland, British
Columbia is a small hillside
community incorporated in
1909 on picturesque Okanagan
Lake in the lush British
Columbia interior. Despite a
hillside watershed and
proximity to a lake, securing
water in Peachland is a
challenge in a surprisingly
| dry climate created by the
height of surrounding high
mountains.
This exhibit, A Century
of Life by Water explores the
interplay between water and
technology that has always
shaped the choices people in
this community make for
travel, for work and for
| recreation.
Lake Okanagan’s era of
steamship travel, for
instance, was launched with
the completion of the
Canadian Pacific Railway
across Canada. When the
national railway built a
branch line to the Lake in
the late 1800s, large steam
| powered sternwheelers made
passage over the long deep
lake safer and more efficient
for people and goods.
The chief water source
for all agricultural,
industrial and residential
water in Peachland is the
melting snow pack that feeds
|