Penticton

Sister cities

• Ikeda

History

The site of the city was first settled by the Syilx (Okanagan people), of the Interior Salish languages 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. In 1866, Irishman Thomas Ellis and his family travelled to Penticton, and became the first white settlers. Shortly after the district was incorporated, the fruit trees planted by Ellis, many of them apple trees, started to grow. During World War I, the SS Sicamous came to the community, while the Kettle Valley Railway train service began operating, by moving specific passengers. In 1948, a provincial highway opened between Hope and Princeton, which allowed access to Penticton, and created competition for the Kettle Valley Railway; It was incorporated as a city on May 10, 1948, with the Governor General of Canada declaring this.

Geography

Penticton is located at the geographical coordinates of and covers an area of , with a maximum north–south distance of wide between the Okanagan Lake to the north and Skaha Lake to the south; these lakes are part of the drainage system of the Okanagan River, a tributary of the Columbia River. Its borders are formed by Skaha Lake Road to the south and west, which changes to Highway 97 after city limits, Naramata Road to the east, and to the west, Highway 97. Penticton has an elevation of , and is situated five hours from Seattle, Washington, and Vancouver, British Columbia in another direction; and eight hours from Calgary, Alberta, by highway. Penticton is the largest city by area and population in, and the seat of, the Okanagan-Similkameen Regional District, which is part of the Okanagan as a whole, for which the city is the third largest in the region. It is the 21st largest settlement in British Columbia itself by population, while its metropolitan area, including the city plus Okanagan-Similkameen Electoral Area D, serves as the 71st largest in Canada; by area, Penticton ranks 20th in its province; statistics are based on the 2011 Canadian Census. Penticton has a semi-arid climate (Köppen climate classification: BSk). Penticton has low precipitation, hot summer days with cool nights, and moderately cool, mostly cloudy winters. With of annual precipitation, It averages of snowfall per year. Penticton has the mildest winter of any non-coastal city in Canada. The high daytime temperatures throughout the summer means that Penticton has on average the second most number of days in a year over (after Kamloops) The local and upcoming weather of Penticton is observed at the Penticton Regional Airport by Environment and Climate Change Canada. It typically…

Most-observed species

• Northern Flicker

  Colaptes auratus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  6,367
• California Quail

  Callipepla californica (Shaw, 1798) · Aves
  5,984
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  5,263
• Mallard

  Anas platyrhynchos Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  5,129
• House Finch

  Haemorhous mexicanus (P.L.Statius Müller, 1776) · Aves
  4,684
• European Starling

  Sturnus vulgaris Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  4,305
• Song Sparrow

  Melospiza melodia (A.Wilson, 1810) · Aves
  3,957
• House Sparrow

  Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  3,817

Most recent

• M 2.77 — 2025-11-30
  8 km ESE of Loomis, Washington
• M 3.4 — 2025-11-28
  4 km N of Summerland, Canada
• M 3.31 — 2025-11-21
  9 km ESE of Loomis, Washington
• M 2.85 — 2025-11-19
  8 km E of Loomis, Washington
• M 2.77 — 2025-11-15
  8 km E of Loomis, Washington
• M 3.4 — 2025-07-19
  34 km W of Okanagan Falls, Canada