Okanagan Lake
An Illustrated Exploration Above and Below Waters
(Institute for Underwater Research, 2018)
LIB 305
Okanagan Lake is one of the most famous freshwater lakes in Canada, and, arguably, the most important natural feature of the Okanagan Valley. The lake became the centre of human activity after the First Nations people came to the Valley. Community development around Okanagan Lake flourished throughout the last century, bringing an increase in anthropogenic interactions with the freshwater environment. In recent history, Okanagan Lake was the arena of an extensive shipping industry, consisting of passenger and tug steamboats, barges, and ferries, and saw the construction of two floating bridges. In addition, Okanagan Lake received significant attention for various environmental and scientific reasons.
Descend into the depths of this large, deep, and unexplored glacial lake by way of this seminal work – a comprehensive and illustrated investigation into the science and history of the lake. The book features over a decade of personal expeditions conducted by the Institute for Underwater Research (IFUR), and our attempts to learn more about the above and underwater concepts of Okanagan Lake. This book answers questions posed by freshwater fanatics, nature enthusiasts, and inquisitive citizens, such as: What exists at the bottom of the lake?, How did the lake get here?, What physical, geological, and biological processes are at play in the lake?, and How are humans impacting this resource?
The 272 page, full-colour book, investigates subjects such as the science (biology, geology, limnology), and history of the lake. A chapter is dedicated to the history of lake shipping, which includes the historic sternwheelers, tugboats, and construction of the original Okanagan Lake Floating Bridge. The heart of this book is the chapter focusing on the above and underwater research conducted by IFUR, since 2005. In this chapter, we study topics such as the bottom composition, interesting bottom features, aquatic plant classification studies, and geologic discoveries on the lake floor dating back to the early formation of the lake. The majority of information in this chapter, and elsewhere throughout the book, is original material that has never been discussed before.
(Description Source: Institute for Underwater Research)
Authors
Raphael Nowak is a Freshwater Science graduate from the University of British Columbia Okanagan (UBCO), and has passionately researched the science and history of Okanagan Lake from a very young age. In 2005, driven by a strong intellectual curiosity, Raphael founded the Institute for Underwater Research, a private underwater research organization. While Okanagan Lake is such an important freshwater resource, very little information is readily available in one comprehensive text; the desire to fill this information gap is what led to the creation of this book.
UBC Library Holdings
How to Purchase this Book
From Local Distributors – Mosaic Books, Sandhill Book Marketing, UBCO Bookstore
From Used-book Sellers – ABE, Amazon, Antiqbook, Biblio, Vialibri
Paper ISBN: 9781775240501
UBC Okanagan Classroom Artwork Project
The University of British Columbia Okanagan Classroom Artwork Project aims to display academically inspiring artwork in classrooms and other teaching areas of the university.
Artwork displayed as part of this project – including the covers of books and journals containing work written or edited by UBCO scholars and researchers – is intended to help enliven university teaching spaces, educate classroom users about the connections between research and teaching, and introduce members of the broader public to some of the research and scholarship carried out at UBCO.
How to Submit Artwork
If you know of other book or journal covers, or other academically inspiring artwork that is connected to work carried out by UBCO artists, scholars or researchers and that is consistent with UBCO’s educational mission, please email your suggestions to classroom.artwork@ubc.ca.
The UBC Okanagan Classroom Artwork Project began in 2019 with support from the Irving K. Barber School of Arts and Sciences. It is now a joint project of UBCO’s Faculties and the Office of the Provost.
Artwork and other images that are a part of this project are displayed solely for educational purposes.