Originally known to the First Nations of the Okanagan Valley as Khiluk, which was- and remains today revered as a sacred site producing therapeutic waters. During World War I the minerals of Spotted Lake were used in manufacturing ammunition. 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; in October 2001 they finally struck a deal. First Nations arranged the purchase of 22 hectares of land for a total of $720,000, and contributed about 20% of the cost. The Indian Affairs Department paid the remainder.

“Happy Feet” the emperor penguin that washed up on the Kapiti Coast last week, undergoes a medical examination at Wellington Zoo on June 29, 2011 in Wellington, New Zealand. The young penguin landed on NZ shores last week, after traveling over 3,000 kilometres from the antarctic. The ill penguin was operated on at Wellington Zoo several times this week to remove sand and sticks from it's stomach with hopes it will recover fully. A team of experts is likely to decide today, whether the bird will remain in captivity in New Zealand, or be transported back the the antarctic. (Photo by Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images)

A visitor tries out the new glass Skywalk at the top of the refurbished Blackpool Tower on September 1, 2011 in Blackpool, England. After a GBP Ј20 million refurbishment, the iconic seaside Blackpool Tower opened today to the general public. The observation deck at the top of the tower becomes the Blackpool Tower Eye and features a skywalk made of glass overlooking the sea and the promenade. The opening is part of Blackpool's GBP Ј250 million GBP regeneration project. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

Ralph Mirebs, an urban explorer and photographer in Russia, has revealed extraordinary photos of Soviet space shuttle prototypes gathering dust in an abandoned hangar. The abandoned hangar is located at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, which is still in operation today (with the close of NASA’s shuttle program, Russian Soyuz shuttles are the only way for astronauts to reach the International Space Station). The Buran prototype shuttles found by Mirebs, however, are from an earlier era – they are the last remnants of a space program that began in 1974 and was finally shuttered in 1993. (Photo by Ralph Mirebs/Exclusivepix Media)

This picture taken with an underwater camera shows Japan' s Yumi Adachi competing in the Mixed Duet technical final during the synchronised swimming competition at the 2017 FINA World Championships in Budapest, on July 17, 2017. (Photo by Bernadett Szabo/Reuters)

Japan's Naomi Osaka sits with her towel over her head during a break in her third round loss to Coco Gauff of the U.S. at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Friday, January 24, 2020. (Photo by Lee Jin-man/AP Photo)

Japan's Naomi Osaka returns the ball during her match against Slovakia's Dominika Cibulkova during the Madrid Open tennis tournament, Sunday, May 5, 2019, in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Andrea Comas/AP Photo)

A reveller covered in tomato pulp participates in the annual “Tomatina” festival in the eastern town of Bunol, on August 28, 2019. The iconic fiesta, which is billed at “the world's biggest food fight” has become a major draw for foreigners, in particular from Britain, Japan and the United States. (Photo by Jaime Reina/AFP Photo)