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.

The stern of the stranded cargo vessel Rena grounded on the Astrolabe Reef is seen on October 20, 2011 in Tauranga, New Zealand. Salvage crews continue to pump oil off the ship in an effort to remove as much as possible before bad weather predicted for the evening threatens to break the vessel and release more oil into the sea. Over 300 tonnes of oil has leaked from Rena since it hit the reef on October 5. (Photo by New Zealand Defence Force via Getty Images)

Three elephant seals put on a show in Roie Galitz's “Three Tanors”, taken on January 7, 2016 in South Georgia Island. The Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards are in full swing, so check out some of the fierce competitors jostling for the top prize this year. Photographers Paul Joynson-Hicks MBE and Tom Sullam founded the awards to spotlight wildlife conservation efforts and to inject some humour into the world of wildlife photography. (Photo by Roie Galitz/CWPA/Barcroft Images)

Two women enjoy drinks outside a pub in the soho area of central London on November 4, 2020, on the eve of a second novel coronavirus COVID-19 lockdown in an effort to combat soaring infections. English pubs call last orders at the bar for a month on Wednesday evening, as the country effectively shuts down from November 5, for the second time this year to try to cut coronavirus cases. Prime Minister Boris Johnson insisted that the lockdown for England would end “automatically” in four weeks, as he tried to placate party critics over the spiralling economic fallout. (Photo by Stephen Lock/i-Images)

An employee works on the automobile assembly line of a Citroen C3 car at the PSA Peugeot Citroen plant in Poissy, near Paris, France, April 29, 2015. PSA Peugeot Citroen said on Wednesday its revenue rose in the first quarter as the recovering French carmaker's efforts to raise prices helped offset weaker volumes. (Photo by Benoit Tessier/Reuters)

Axel, a research prototype rover for exploring the Moon, Mars and other planets, is remotely driven over rocks as engineers from Jet Propulsion (JPL) and grad students from Caltech (California Institute of Technology) demonstrate its mobile over the steep and rocky grounds of the JPL Mars Yard on January 14, 2009 in Pasadena, California. The rover is capable of descending cliffs or into craters and returning by a cable tethered to its starting point. Development of the Axel rover is a point effort funded by NASA Exploration Systems Mission Directorate (ESMD) and lead by Principal Investigator Issa Newnas and Co-Investigator and Caltech professor of mechanical engineering bio engineering Joel Burdick. (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images)

People carry drinks at 80s Bar in Damascus, Syria, March 11, 2016. In Damascus's Old City, just a mile from the battered frontline between government and rebel-held territory, young Syrians smoke, drink beer or soft drinks, and talk about anything but the war. The revival of activity in this once-vibrant quarter is part of efforts to project an air of normality in the Syrian capital, even as the five-year-old war that has killed more than 250,000 people and created 5 million refugees continues to rage nearby. (Photo by Omar Sanadiki/Reuters)