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Rowing... Striving... • Lake Louise, Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada
July 13, 2008 • By Moshe

I already said it before... In my opinion, Lake Louise is the most beautiful place on earth. I mean, look at this photo... Doesn't it sound just about right? :-).

Lake Louise is named after one of England's famous queen Victoria five daughters, as is the province of Alberta. The lake lies 200 meters above the Bow Valley floor, and is surrounded by several mountains, a glacier, and of course the Chateau Lake Louise. The snow-covered peak at the end of the lake is Mount Victoria, named after queen Victoria. It is home to the Victoria Glacier, and is the most-photographed peak in the Rockies (You can see part of the glacier in the middle top part of the photo). Mount St. Piran is to the right, and Fairview Mountain is to the left.

Lake Louise is 2.4 km (1.5 mile) long, 500 m wide and 90 m deep. Its elevation is 1,731 m, slightly more than a mile above sea level. The lake is fed by glacial melt water, and it reaches a maximum surface temperature of 9 degrees Celsius in August. It is frozen from November until June.

Canoes can be rented from the boathouse at the lake. Though it's not cheap, it's a most rewarding experience. We used to

bring our canoe with us to the lake, and spent as much time as we wanted on the water, rowing back and forth to the end of the lake, along the shores, tremendously enjoying the weather and the gorgeous views.

Tourcanadianrrockies.com site tells us about the history of Lake Louise:

"Discovered by Stoney natives centuries ago, it wasn't until outfitter Tom Wilson of the CPR (Canadian Pacific Railway) thought he heard thunder booming through a nearby valley that Lake Louise was uncovered to the rest of the world. In the summer of 1882, Wilson and his Stoney guide Edwin Hunter visited what the natives had described as avalanches on snow mountain above the lake of the little fishes. What Wilson saw was what he would later describe as a matchless scene and named it Emerald Lake after its spectacular blue-green water. Two years later the name was changed by the Geographic Board to honor Princess Louise Caroline Alberta, the fourth daughter of Queen Victoria and the wife of the Governor General of Canada. The province of Alberta was later named for her as well".

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