The South Okanagan is where UP8 began, and it is where most of our specimen cabinet comes from. Here are six pieces we at UP8 keep coming back to, each linked to its full card in the Minerals cabinet.
Oliver (OLI)
Our OLI specimens were picked up along Highway 97 roadcuts by the Similkameen River pathway at Oliver: a public right-of-way and pathway margin, not a mineral claim. The river-worn cobbles there show a lot of variety, from chalcedony and agate to quartz.
Photo: UP8 specimen photo.
Photo: UP8 specimen photo.
Photo: UP8 specimen photo.
Photo: UP8 specimen photo.
Photo: UP8 specimen photo.
Photo: UP8 specimen photo.
Penticton (PEN)
The PEN pieces come from a Highway 97 roadside cut at Penticton, a roadside cutout and not a staked claim. They lean toward metamorphic rocks: gneisses with clear banding, and greenstones.
How we name them
Where we are confident of an identification, the card gives a name. Where we are not yet, it carries a plain working description instead. We would rather show a careful "working ID" than a confident guess. Every card's provenance is set out on our Provenance page.
Much of the country described here is the traditional territory of First Nations. In the South Okanagan and Similkameen, that is the territory of the Syilx (Okanagan) people, whose member communities include the Osoyoos, Penticton, Upper Similkameen and Lower Similkameen Indian Bands. We are grateful to live and work here.
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