OGOPOGO: (the legendary lake monster)

The charming, somewhat comical statue (pictured above) of the large creature believed to be roaming the depths of Okanagan Lake is a far cry from the frightening beast described by the Interior Salish Native people more than 100 years ago.

They would exchange mysterious stories about the monster they named N'ha-a-itk. The Native people, who depended heavily on the lake for many of the necessities of life, would scan the waters carefully for the 'Devil of the Lake' before setting out on their expeditions.

They would make animal sacrifices in hopes of appeasing the monster and thus protect themselves from attack as they crossed the waters in their canoes.

Of course, European traders who arrived in the mid 1800's regarded these tales with skepticism, ignoring all sightings of N'ha-a-itk.

In 1942, the monster came to be known as Ogopogo and since then has been regarded more with amusement than fear. Much like the creature immortalized in Loch Ness, Scotland, Ogopogo is believed to have a snake-like body, including several humps, a green outer skin and a very large head. That description is based on the most common reports.

Ogopogo's likeness appears on t-shirts, postcards and a friendly-looking concrete statue of a dragon-like monster which has been constructed in City Park as a reminder for tourists and residents.

Despite doubts about the creature's existence, sightings of Ogopogo continue to this day at the risk of ridicule by those who consider the legend a whole lot of bunk.

But the possibility of some kind of strange marine life in Lake Okanagan cannot be discounted. At 169 kilometres in length and with depths of almost 1,000 feet in some parts, it is not unreasonable to believe something large and unusual may lurk in the waters.

Some of the explanations for the phenomenon are that Ogopogo is some kind of prehistoric water serpent able to thrive on the plentiful fish stock and hide out in many of the crevices in the lake. Some researchers believe it may live in an underwater cave near Rattlesnake Island at Peachland, based on the frequency of sightings in that area.

The legend of Ogopogo has attracted a lot of attention from the international media. Reports on the Okanagan Lake monster have been aired on U.S. television shows Unsolved Mysteries and Inside Edition, as well as on the Japanese program The World's Supernatural Phenomena. Despite offers of rewards for the capture or provision of absolute proof of the monster's existence, nothing but fuzzy photographs have been snapped by those claiming to have seen Ogopogo. If you bring your camera along for an Okanagan Lake boating expedition, maybe you'll be the lucky one to prove the skeptics wrong.