Spotted Lake is a saline endorheic alkali lake draws countless visitors from around the world located near the city of Osoyoos in British Columbia Canada. The Lake has rich of minerals such as magnesium sulfate, calcium and sodium sulphate and contains extremely high concentrations of minerals such as silver and titanium. In summer, Lake Water evaporates leaving behind colorful mineral deposits. The ameoba-shaped Spotted Lake, changes colors throughout the year and during the summer time divides itself into white, green, blue and yellow pools. It is said that the lake has the highest natural concentration of this mineral in the world.

The colorful large spots appears according to mineral composition, Magnesium sulfate normally crystallizes in summer play a major role to spot color and remaining minerals in the lake harden to form natural walkways around and between the spots. Nowadays, the spotted lake is surrounded by a fence to keep people off, but you can get a good view of it from the highway.

These minerals were used in the manufacture of ammunition during First World War. Chinese labour force skimmed up ton a day of salts from Lake Surface and shipped them to munitions vendors in eastern Canada. Later on, the site came under the control of the Ernest Smith Family for a term of about 40 years. The Ernest Smith attempted to create interest in a spa at the lake in 1979.


Spotted Lake is a strange and significantly important site having great potential of commercial exploitation presently hype much controversy. The native peoples used the lake mud and water for the treatment of aches and ailments. Therefore, officially, Spotted Lake is on private land and therefore theoretically not accessible for close up observation. It is actually recognized to the First Nations of the Okanagan Valley as Kliluk.

The spotted lake is surrounded by cairns rock piles often indicating graves. You cannot miss this historic landmark as you drive along the highway just west of the city. A lot of people stop on the side of the road for a longer look.

Also Read: The White Water Terraces of Baishuitai

Source: Wikipedia

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