Ogopogo — Cryptid Encyclopedia

Long before European settlers arrived in British Columbia's Okanagan Valley, the Syilx people knew what lived in the lake. They called it N'ha-a-itk — the "Lake Demon" — a powerful, serpentine spirit that dwelled near Rattlesnake Island (now called Monster Island). The Syilx would make offerings before crossing the lake, throwing small animals into the water to appease the creature and ensure safe passage.

Ogopogo — the name Europeans gave the creature in 1926, borrowing from a popular British music hall song — is described as a serpentine animal forty to fifty feet long, with a dark greenish-black body, multiple humps visible above the waterline, a horse-like or goat-like head, and smooth, glistening skin. It moves through the water with powerful undulations and has been seen by thousands of witnesses over more than a century.

Okanagan Lake provides the perfect habitat: 84 miles long, over 750 feet deep, cold and dark, with underwater cave systems that have never been fully explored. The lake is deep enough and large enough to sustain a population of large unknown animals.

In 1968, five separate groups of witnesses at different locations around the lake reported seeing Ogopogo on the same day — making it one of the most multiply-witnessed cryptid events on record. In 2011, a cell phone video captured by a visitor appeared to show two large, dark, serpentine shapes moving through the water near Kelowna. The video was analyzed by multiple researchers and no obvious hoax was detected.

"There it is — there's two of them!" — Shouted by a tourist during the 2011 cell phone video, capturing genuine surprise at seeing the creatures surface.

Ogopogo is the most frequently sighted lake cryptid in North America, with a sighting record that dwarfs even Nessie's. Whatever lives in Okanagan Lake, it is not shy — and it has been seen by too many people to ignore.