Penticton, city, southern British Columbia, Canada. It lies between Skaha and Okanagan lakes, 245 miles (394 km) east of Vancouver. The site was first settled in 1865, its name being derived from a Salish Indian word, phthauntauc (pen-hik-ton), meaning “place to stay forever.” Centred in an apple-, peach-, and apricot-growing area, the city depends economically on tourism, fruit canning and packing, lumber products, construction, transport and storage, livestock raising, and the manufacture of mobile prefabricated houses. The Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory, Okanagan Game Farm, and the Copper Mountain Ghost Town are nearby. Penticton became a district municipality in 1908 and was incorporated as a city in 1948. Pop. (2006) 31,909; (2011) 32,877.