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The Okanogan
The Okanogan
River empties into the Columbia River near Brewster Washington. The Okanogan
River runs north for 70 miles to
the Canadian Border and then continues north in Canada
in British Columbia’s Okanogan Valley.
The Columbia River runs
south from the confluence of the Okanogan and Columbia rivers to the south end of this
region. You could almost say that
this portion of the Columbia River is a continuation of the Okanogan Valley.
The Indigenous Peoples
Before the Europeans came
to the region in 1811 the people of the Okanogan Nation roamed the area
from the confluence of the Columbia and Okanogan Rivers north
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to Okanogan
Lake in British
Columbia in the Kelowna,
BC area. The Confederated Tribes of the Colville
Nation are in some cases the same peoples, just separated by a National
Border. Before the Europeans came all
of these peoples were hunter, gatherers who moved about the region with the
seasons.
The Geography
This north / south valley
really reaches from Vantage, WA area on the Columbia River at the south end
of this region all the way north to the Kelowna, BC
area. US Highway-97 follows the
Columbia River and then the Okanogan
River to the Canadian
Border. BC Highway-97 continues
north.
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The Eastern
Cascades
The hills on the eastern foothills of
the Cascade Mountains lack the forests
that the wetter west side foothills have.
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This entire region has
the Cascade Mountains as its western
border and the east side of the area is the Okanogan Highlands. Further north in British
Columbia the eastern portion of the area is the foothills of
the Rocky Mountains.
Leavenworth
The mountains around Leavenworth are rugged like those in the Alps.
Obviously, the atmosphere in the area added to the concept of making
Leavenworth into a Bavarian Theme
Town.
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One of the most scenic approaches
to the Okanogan area is on US Highway2 from the Everett, WA
area. The mountains along US-2 are
very steep and rugged appearing much like the Alps. After you climb over Stevens Pass
you will descend through the mountains to Leavenworth.
US Highway-2 is part of
our Cascades Loop. For more information about the Cascade Loop we have a series of pages on the loop.
We have a
larger view of the highway map to the right. Larger Map
We are working on “The Okanogan”
stay tuned more is on the way soon.
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