{{Short description|Alkali lake in Osoyoos, British Columbia, Canada}} {{Use Canadian English|date=February 2026}} {{Infobox lake | name = Spotted Lake | other_name = Lake Kliluk (Nsyilxcən: {{lang|oka|Kłlil’xᵂ}}) | image = Spotted Lake.jpg | caption = | image_bathymetry = | pushpin_map=British Columbia | caption_bathymetry = | location = Northwest of Osoyoos, British Columbia | coords = {{coord|49.07806|-119.56694|region:CA-BC_type:waterbody|display=it}} | type = Saline, alkali, endorheic basin | inflow = | outflow = Terminal (evaporation) | catchment = | basin_countries = Canada | length = {{convert|0.7|km|abbr=on}} | width = {{convert|0.25|km|abbr=on}} | area = | depth = | max-depth = | volume = | residence_time = | shore = {{convert|1.7|km|abbr=on}} | elevation = {{convert|573|m|abbr=on}} | frozen = | islands = | cities = }}
'''Spotted Lake''' — known as '''Lake Khiluk'''<ref> https://www.syilx.org/about-us/syilx-nation/spotted-lake-2/ </ref> (Nsyilxcən: {{lang|oka|Kłlil’xᵂ}}) in the Nsyilxcən language — is a saline endorheic alkali lake located northwest of Osoyoos in the eastern Similkameen Valley of British Columbia, Canada, accessed via Highway 3.<ref name="BCGNIS">{{BCGNIS|16532|Spotted Lake}}</ref>
== Mineral and salt concentration == Spotted Lake is richly concentrated with various minerals. It contains dense deposits of magnesium sulfate, calcium and sodium sulphates. It also contains high concentrations of eight other minerals and lower amounts of silver and titanium.<ref name="OGS_Spotted_Lake"> {{cite book | title = Okanagan Geology South | publisher = Okanagan Geology Committee | date = 2011 | pages = 78–79 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=KG0otwAACAAJ | isbn = 978-0-9699795-3-1 }}</ref>
Most of the water in the lake evaporates over the summer, revealing colourful mineral deposits. Large "spots" on the lake appear and are coloured according to the mineral composition and seasonal amount of precipitation.<ref name="OGS_Spotted_Lake"/> Magnesium sulfate, which crystallizes in the summer, is a major contributor to spot colour. In the summer, remaining minerals in the lake harden to form natural "walkways" around and between the spots.
== Naming and history == Originally named in the Nsyilxcən language of the Syilx Okanagan Nation of the Okanagan Valley as {{lang|oka|Kłlil’xᵂ}}, Spotted Lake was for centuries, and still remains, revered as a sacred site thought to provide therapeutic waters.<ref name="OGS_Spotted_Lake"/> During World War I, the minerals of Spotted Lake were used in manufacturing ammunition.<ref name="BCGNIS" />
Later, the area came under the control of the Ernest Smith Family for a term of about 40 years. In 1979, Smith attempted to create interest in a spa at the lake. The First Nations responded with an effort to buy the lake, then in October 2001, struck a deal by purchasing {{Convert|22|ha|acre}} of land for a total of $720,000, and contributed about 20% of the cost. The Indian Affairs Department paid the remainder.{{cn|date=July 2014}}
== Spotted Lake today == thumb|Gateway to Spotted Lake Today, there is a roadside sign telling visitors that the lake is a cultural and ecologically sensitive area, and a traditional medicine lake for the Okanagan Syilx people. The lake can be viewed from the fence that has been erected for protection from the liabilities of public access.
== See also == *List of lakes of British Columbia
== References == {{reflist}}
== External links == {{commons category|Spotted Lake}} *[http://travel.spotcoolstuff.com/canada/osoyoos-bc/spotted-lake-klikuk Spotted Lake: Something out of a Doctor Suess Book?] *[https://www.flickr.com/photos/liem/1596394314/ Flickr: People walking on the lake.] *{{cite journal | doi = 10.1016/0037-0738(89)90051-1 | title = Sedimentology of the saline lakes of the Cariboo Plateau, Interior British Columbia, Canada | year = 1989 | last1 = Renaut | first1 = Robin W. | last2 = Long | first2 = Peter R. | journal = Sedimentary Geology | volume = 64 | issue = 4 | pages = 239 | bibcode = 1989SedG...64..239R }} *{{cite journal | doi = 10.1139/b74-093 | title = Some aspects of the nitrogen metabolism of Nodularia spumigena (Cyanophyceae) | year = 1974 | last1 = Camm | first1 = E. L. | last2 = Stein | first2 = J. R. | journal = Canadian Journal of Botany | volume = 52 | issue = 4 | pages = 719 }} *{{cite journal | doi = 10.2475/ajs.s4-46.275.638 | title = Spotted lakes of epsomite in Washington and British Columbia | year = 1918 | last1 = Jenkins | first1 = O. P. | journal = American Journal of Science | volume = 46 | issue = 275 | pages = 638–644 | bibcode = 1918AmJS...46..638J | url = https://zenodo.org/record/1450202 }} {{British Columbia hydrography}}
Category:Endorheic lakes of Canada Category:Saline lakes of Canada Category:Lakes of British Columbia Category:Lakes of the Okanagan Category:Tourist attractions in the Okanagan Category:Natural environment based therapies Category:Similkameen Division Yale Land District Category:First Nations history in British Columbia Category:Sacred lakes of the Americas