Ogopogo

In Canadian folklore, the Ogopogo is a lake monster said to inhabit Okanagan Lake in British Columbia, Canada. Some scholars have charted the entity's development from First Nations folklore and widespread water monster folklore motifs. The Ogopogo now plays a role in the commercial symbolism and media representation of the region.

Okanagan Lake is the largest of five inter-connected freshwater fjord lakes in the Okanagan Valley in British Columbia. Named after the Syilx Okanagan Nation that have lived in the valley since time immemorial, it was created when melting glaciers flooded a valley 10,000 years ago. It stretches for 127.1 kilometres (79.0 miles) and has a maximum depth of 232.3 metres (762 feet) and an average depth of 75.9 metres (249 feet). Okanagan has frozen over during eight winters in the last 110 years.

The lake monster has been mostly described as being a serpentine creature with smooth dark skin with a large body thicker than a telephone pole and being up to 15 m (49 ft) in length. The monster has said to move at incredible speeds, coiling its body in vertical undulations, and propelling itself with a powerful tail. Many have compared the creature as being strikingly similar to the cryptid Cadborosaurus, or the extinct Basilosaurus.