Shuswap River
The basin of the Shuswap River lies northeast of the Okanagan Valley in British Columbia, originating in the central Monashee Mountains. It is the upper part of the drainage better known to British Columbians as belonging to Shuswap Lake and the South Thompson River. The river's drainage basin is over in area.
Geography
The river is in three sections, an upper part beginning at Joss Pass, at the northern end of the Sawtooth Range of the Monashees and emptying into Sugar Lake southeast of the south end of that range. The next section of the river curves south from Sugar Lake to wind up running north again before entering Mabel Lake, which is a fair-sized mountain lake as typical of much of Interior British Columbia. Below Mabel Lake is the last stretch of the river west towards the town of Enderby at the north end of the Okanagan Corridor, after which the Shuswap River drains into Mara Lake. Mara Lake is connected via a channel named Sicamous Narrows to the Salmon Arm of Shuswap Lake at Sicamous.Tributaries of the upper Shuswap River and Sugar Lake include Greenbush Creek, Spectrum Creek, and Outlet Creek. The middle river from Sugar and Mabel Lakes is fed by Cherry Creek, Ferry Creek, Duteau Creek, Bessette Creek, and Wap Creek. The lower river below Mabel Lake is fed by Kingfisher Creek, Trinity Creek, and Fortune Creek.