And then there were three
Lance-leaved Stonecrop / Sedum lanceolatum
The beauty of the Common Loon
Yellow Columbine / Aquilegia flavescens
Beautiful Waterton Lakes National Park
Preening White-faced Ibis
Barn at Folk Tree Lodge
Mountain Lady's Slipper / Cypripedium montanum
Mule Deer, Mom and baby
Sandhill Cranes, Waterton
Pink Monkeyflower / mimulus lewisii
Canoes at Cameron Lake, Waterton
Swainson's Thrush / Catharus ustulatus
White-tailed Deer at Akamina Lake, Waterton
Water Hemlock / Cicuta
Brown-headed Cowbird juvenile
Cameron Lake, Waterton Lakes National Park
Pinedrops / Pterospora
Mountain Hollyhock
Noxious, but beautiful
Lorquin's Admiral / Limenitis lorquini
Foothills and distant mountains
A delicate shade of Paintbrush
Longhorn Beetle and others
Utah Honeysuckle / Lonicera utahensis
Emerald Lake - a little gem of the Rockies
Eye-catching splash of colour
False Hellebore / Indian Hellebore
I'm hiding - she can't see me
Spread those wings
Violet-green Swallows
Bluebird of happiness
Blue Clematis
Waterton town, from Bertha Lake Trail
Agrimony
A beautiful property, SW of Calgary
The changing colour of Baneberry berries
Osprey family
Orobanche / Orobanche fasciculata
American Goldfinch pair
Western Tent Caterpillars
Diabolo Ninebark
Houndstongue / Cynoglossum officinale
Iridescence
Yay, it's Canola time!
Keywords
Authorizations, license
-
Visible by: Everyone -
All rights reserved
-
255 visits
Emerald Lake, British Columbia
Three days ago, on 11 July 2015, I had a wonderful day out with friend Sandy, driving westwards from Calgary and eventually reaching the next province, British Columbia (B.C.). Sandy had two destinations in mind - a stop at the Spiral Tunnels and then to explore the forest around Emerald Lake. I had only been to B.C. a handful of times in 37 years, so this was an absolute treat. It was such a very hazy day - smoke from wild fires? - so some of my photos needed a little help later : )
"The lake is enclosed by mountains of the President Range, as well as Mount Burgess and Wapta Mountain. This basin traps storms, causing frequent rain in summer and heavy snowfalls in winter. This influx of moisture works with the lake's low elevation to produce a unique selection of flora. Trees found here are more typical of B.C.'s wet interior forests, such as western red cedar, western yew, western hemlock and western white pine. The alluvial fan on the northeast shore produces wildflowers in abundance during late June and early July.
Due to its high altitude, the lake is frozen from November until June. The vivid turquoise color of the water, caused by powdered limestone, is most spectacular in July as the snow melts from the surrounding mountains.
The first European to set sight on Emerald Lake was guide Tom Wilson, who stumbled upon it by accident in 1882. A string of his horses had gotten away, and it was while tracking them that he first entered the valley. The lake had an impression on even the most seasoned of explorers: "For a few moments I sat [on] my horse and enjoyed the rare, peaceful beauty of the scene." It was Wilson who gave the lake its name because of its remarkable colour, caused by fine particles of glacial sediment, also referred to as rock flour, suspended in the water. However, this was not the first time Wilson had dubbed a lake 'Emerald'. Earlier that same year he had discovered another lake which he had given the same moniker, and the name even appeared briefly on the official map. This first lake however, was shortly renamed Lake Louise." From Wikipedia.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emerald_Lake_(British_Columbia)
Our trip started just after 7:00 am, to get a good, early start, especially before the temperature soared. The drive from Calgary to Emerald Lake takes about 2 and a half hours and is a 218.5 km drive via Trans-Canada Hwy/AB-1 W. We took a quieter route home at the end of the day. Rain arrived just in time for this drive home and, by the time I got back to my car in Calgary, the rain was really heavy and a few of the roads were beginning to flood very quickly. It was raining again the next morning. I was kind of hoping for a few rainy days, as I suddenly have a build-up of quite a few very major, very urgent things to deal with and I didn't want to be tempted to go out with my camera.
Shortly after we began our walk though the forest along the right hand side of the lake, we heard a commotion coming from the water. When we found a place to see through the trees, we could see two beautiful Common Loons and a female duck with several babies, possibly Common Mergansers. My guess would be that the Merganser mother kept chasing away the Loons, creating a lot of splashing. This photo shows why this lake is named Emerald Lake : )
Also, at the beginning and the end of our "hike", we watched a family of Violet-green Swallows that were nesting. Not sure how many young ones there were, but I saw three. Though we do get these birds in Calgary, I've never seen one properly - just when a mass of Tree Swallows swarms over the Bow River and someone calls out "Violet-green!"
Thanks for such a great day, as usual, Sandy! Such a treat to get out into the mountains - and see some new things, too.
"The lake is enclosed by mountains of the President Range, as well as Mount Burgess and Wapta Mountain. This basin traps storms, causing frequent rain in summer and heavy snowfalls in winter. This influx of moisture works with the lake's low elevation to produce a unique selection of flora. Trees found here are more typical of B.C.'s wet interior forests, such as western red cedar, western yew, western hemlock and western white pine. The alluvial fan on the northeast shore produces wildflowers in abundance during late June and early July.
Due to its high altitude, the lake is frozen from November until June. The vivid turquoise color of the water, caused by powdered limestone, is most spectacular in July as the snow melts from the surrounding mountains.
The first European to set sight on Emerald Lake was guide Tom Wilson, who stumbled upon it by accident in 1882. A string of his horses had gotten away, and it was while tracking them that he first entered the valley. The lake had an impression on even the most seasoned of explorers: "For a few moments I sat [on] my horse and enjoyed the rare, peaceful beauty of the scene." It was Wilson who gave the lake its name because of its remarkable colour, caused by fine particles of glacial sediment, also referred to as rock flour, suspended in the water. However, this was not the first time Wilson had dubbed a lake 'Emerald'. Earlier that same year he had discovered another lake which he had given the same moniker, and the name even appeared briefly on the official map. This first lake however, was shortly renamed Lake Louise." From Wikipedia.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emerald_Lake_(British_Columbia)
Our trip started just after 7:00 am, to get a good, early start, especially before the temperature soared. The drive from Calgary to Emerald Lake takes about 2 and a half hours and is a 218.5 km drive via Trans-Canada Hwy/AB-1 W. We took a quieter route home at the end of the day. Rain arrived just in time for this drive home and, by the time I got back to my car in Calgary, the rain was really heavy and a few of the roads were beginning to flood very quickly. It was raining again the next morning. I was kind of hoping for a few rainy days, as I suddenly have a build-up of quite a few very major, very urgent things to deal with and I didn't want to be tempted to go out with my camera.
Shortly after we began our walk though the forest along the right hand side of the lake, we heard a commotion coming from the water. When we found a place to see through the trees, we could see two beautiful Common Loons and a female duck with several babies, possibly Common Mergansers. My guess would be that the Merganser mother kept chasing away the Loons, creating a lot of splashing. This photo shows why this lake is named Emerald Lake : )
Also, at the beginning and the end of our "hike", we watched a family of Violet-green Swallows that were nesting. Not sure how many young ones there were, but I saw three. Though we do get these birds in Calgary, I've never seen one properly - just when a mass of Tree Swallows swarms over the Bow River and someone calls out "Violet-green!"
Thanks for such a great day, as usual, Sandy! Such a treat to get out into the mountains - and see some new things, too.
(deleted account) has particularly liked this photo
- Keyboard shortcuts:
Jump to top
RSS feed- Latest comments - Subscribe to the comment feeds of this photo
- ipernity © 2007-2024
- Help & Contact
|
Club news
|
About ipernity
|
History |
ipernity Club & Prices |
Guide of good conduct
Donate | Group guidelines | Privacy policy | Terms of use | Statutes | In memoria -
Facebook
Twitter
Sign-in to write a comment.