- Banff National Park
September, 1997
Part of our route through the northern states of USA included a detour into Canada - to the beautiful Banff National Park, Alberta. It is a little further north than Calgary. It was early September. We arrived about a week after the first snowfall, so we got the best of both worlds - nice warm weather with bright blue sky, and the beauty of snow-capped mountains.
About half way up a half day walk above Lake Louise we stopped at a hut that served beverages and lunches. It overlooked this beautiful spot. The next leg takes us around the back of this lake and up into those mountains behind.
This is the view from the back of the lake, offering yet another spectacular scene.
This is Lake Moraine. The beautiful rock/snow layers on the mountains behind are caused by varying rock types in the strata. Most rock erodes on a slope, allowing the snow to fall upon it. Some rock, however, is prone to eroding almost vertically through the layer, which prevents the snow from piling up, which gives the effect of strips of snow across the mountain.
The bright blue colour of the lake is also fasinating. As the mountain glaciers melt and slowly slide down the slope, the enormous weight of the ice grinds the stone underneath to a powder. The trickling water washes the stone minerals into the lake, which has the effect of absorbing most of the sunlight, and only reflecting the blues. Cool eh?