Indian legend has it that the large lake creature was originally a demon possessed man who had murdered a well known and respected local man named "Old Kan-He-Kan." In memory of this man, his people named Our beautiful lake "Okanagan." To pay for his sins, the Indian gods changed the murderer into a lake serpent so he would forever be at the scene of his crime and suffer eternal remorse. The creature's name became "N'ha-A-Itk" which roughly translates into sacred creature of the water, water god or lake demon.

"N'ha-A-Itk" was thought (and still is today) to live in the caves below Squally Point, just south of Kelowna near Peachland. The local Indians feared the large creature and would carry sacrifices in the form of chickens or small pigs whenever canoeing in the area.

Over the generations, the legend gained credibility through retelling and hundreds of reported sightings. In the past thirty years many reputable persons have seen "Ogopogo", but as most of the roads are high above the lake, it is almost impossible to photograph anything one might see.

It wasn't until 1872 that the lake creature was actually spotted by a settler. Mrs. John Allison, a resident of Westbank at the time, was frantically watching the lake during a storm looking for her husband. What she saw instead was a large object, same distance out, swimming rapidly against the storm. She reported what she saw and this became the first official sighting of the soon to be famous Ogopogo.

Ogopogo must have put quite a scare into local residents. Far fear of harm from the creature, residents at one time armed themselves and patrolled the shore near Mission Creek. In 1926 the B.C. Government even announced they would arm an Okanagan Ferry against an "Ogopogo tribe."

How does Ogopogo look like?

It has been conceded that Ogopogo is one to two feet in diameter and is dark green in color but its length varies from fifteen to seventy feet. Ogie has two or more visible humps and moves in an undulating motion through the water, often at very high speeds. The creature's head resembles that of a horse or goat and is bearded. Ogopogo has been mistaken for a log, a sturgeon, and even a beaver!

Orchardists, looking down from the sheer slopes along the lake, have regularly claimed to have spotted Ogopogo swimming on the surface. Boaters have recounted being mysteriously capsized by a dark, fast-moving, underwater form. Six times a year, on average, someone reports seeing the creature.

Descriptions vary, but certain characteristics have been repeated through the decades: Ogopogo is greenish in colour, snakelike, and ranges upward to 25 meters in length. Some say the head is horse like; others that it's reptilian. Many have photographed what they claim is Ogopogo, but the pictures -like those of its better-known counterpart, the Loch Ness Monster- have always been inconclusive.

Another description : The sightings almost always identify an object surfacing during very calm water, creating a wake that would be 30-40 feet in length and traveling in a snake-like fashion slowly through the water.

Perhaps some day, we may see him ourselves, but in the meantime it's nice to know he is there keeping a benevolent eye on his favorite cities. A word of advice though, if you're near the lake, keep your eyes open and camera ready. You may catch a glimpse of our most famous and elusive resident!