Penticton

Penticton is a city in the Okanagan Valley of the Southern Interior of British Columbia, Canada, situated between Okanagan and Skaha Lakes. In 2006, its population was 31,909, while its census agglomeration population was 43,313.

Name origin

The name Penticton is derived from a word in the Okanagan language. It is conventionally translated as "a place to stay forever" but is actually a reference to the year-round flow of Okanagan Lake through Penticton where it enters Skaha Lake. Differing accounts of the meaning are given in the British Columbia Geographical Names Information System entry for the city:

"Place where water passes beyond." (information from Isaac Harris, published in Vernon News, July 18, 1918); compare with: "Derived from the Okanagan dialect of the Salish tribe, the word Pen-tak-tin meaning 'a place of permanent abode where waters pass by'." (50th Anniversary booklet of Penticton, 1958)

History

The site of the city was first settled by the Okanagan people, of the Interior Salish language group, who initially named the community Phthauntac, meaning the "ideal meeting place", followed by Penticton, meaning a "place to stay forever", or officially "a place where people live year-round" in the Okanagan language. They settled around the city's two lakes: Skaha Lake and Okanagan Lake; the former was originally known as Dog Lake. Their descendants are based at the Penticton Indian Band, a First Nations government part of the Okanagan Nation Alliance situated near Penticton.

Penticton (crater)

Penticton Crater is an impact crater in the Hellas quadrangle of Mars, located at 38.35° south latitude and 263.35° west longitude. It is 8 km in diameter and was named after a Town in British Columbia, Canada, nearby the little town of Okanagan Falls where is located the Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory. Images with HiRISE show gullies which were once thought to be caused by flowing water.

Penticton is famous with Mars geologists because evidence for recent flowing liquid was found there. The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter discovered changes on the wall of Penticton Crater between 1999 and 2004. One interpretation of the changes was that they were caused by water flowing on the surface. A further analysis, published about a year later, revealed that the deposit could have been caused by gravity moving material downslope. The slope where the deposit was sighted was close to the stability limits of dry, unconsolidated materials.

Penticton (provincial electoral district)

Penticton is a provincial electoral district in British Columbia, Canada established by the Electoral Districts Act, 2008. It was contested for the first time in the 2008 election.

Members of the Legislative Assembly

Electoral history