Maligne Lake is the largest lake in Jasper National Park, being approximately 14 miles long. The valley in which the lake lies was carved and excavated by valley glaciers, and is famed for the color of its water, the surrounding peaks, the three glaciers visible from the lake… and Spirit Island, one of the most photographed locations in the world. The group took a 90 minute ride to the Island and back:
The Maligne Valley is riddled by the most extensive "karst" system in the world. A karst system is a geological formation of caves above and below ground level. In the case of the Maligne Valley, no one knows just where water from Maligne Lake goes.
When traced by dyes it has taken anywhere from half a day to a week for the water to make the trip from Medicine Lake to Maligne Canyon, a distance of about ten miles. Even then, the dyes didn't show up at only one final destination. Dyes turned up in the Canyon, Lac Beauvert by Jasper Park Lodge, and in several of the other lakes between.
This innocent looking river goes from this………to this…eroding deep canyons in the softer limerock!
Tomorrow, we explore the nearby icefields, so check back and enjoy with us. Oh, we saw a small bear en route this morning, a mule deer along the lake today, and two elk last evening after dinner. Pam saw even more elk in the CG, and will send me some photos.
Jasper is great!
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