Ogopogo
The serpentine lake monster of the Okanagan.
- Region
- Okanagan Lake, British Columbia, Canada
- Documented sightings
- 1 on map →
Overview
Ogopogo is the lake monster of Okanagan Lake in the interior of British Columbia. It is rooted in the traditions of the Syilx (Okanagan) people, who knew the lake spirit as N'ha-a-itk and historically made offerings before crossing the water near Rattlesnake Island. The modern name comes incongruously from a 1924 English music-hall song, adopted by settlers and now inseparable from the cryptid.
Identification
Described as a long, dark, serpentine creature between 15 and 50 feet in length, moving with vertical undulations that produce a chain of humps along the surface. The head is variously likened to that of a horse, goat, or snake. Coloring is dark green to near-black. Sightings concentrate near Rattlesnake Island, Peachland, and the waters off Kelowna and Vernon.
Lore & Origin
The Syilx tradition of N'ha-a-itk frames the creature as a powerful and dangerous water spirit rather than a mere animal. The best-known modern record is the 1968 Art Folden film, which captured a large dark object moving across the lake, and the cryptid has since become the emblem of the Okanagan tourism region. Reports continue into the present, including an August 2025 photograph taken from above the lake near Vernon.