Glacier Lake is the fourth largest

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

Banff National Park Banff National Park is Canada's oldest National Parks of Canada, national park, established in 1885 as Rocky Mountains Park. Located in Alberta's Rockies, Alberta's Rocky Mountains, west of Calgary, Banff encompasses of mountainous terrain, wi ...

, in

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. Glacier Lake was named by Sir

James Hector Sir James Hector (16 March 1834 – 6 November 1907) was a Scottish-New Zealand geologist, naturalist, and surgeon who accompanied the Palliser Expedition as a surgeon and geologist. He went on to have a lengthy career as a government employe ...

of the Palliser expedition in 1858 for the fact the lake is fed from glaciers, specifically the glaciers of the Lyell and Mons Icefields as well as the Forbes North Glacier. The lake is surrounded by

Mount Outram Mount Outram is a mountain summit located in the Howse River Valley of Banff National Park, in the Canadian Rockies of Alberta, Canada. Its nearest higher peak is Mount Forbes, to the southwest. Glacier Lake is situated to the north, and the ...

Division Mountain Division Mountain is located on the Continental Divide along the Alberta - British Columbia border of Canada. It also straddles the shared boundary of Banff National Park with Kootenay National Park in the Canadian Rockies. It was named in 1919 by ...

, and

Mount Erasmus Mount Erasmus is a mountain summit located in the North Saskatchewan River valley of Banff National Park, in the Canadian Rockies of Alberta, Canada. Its nearest higher peak is Mount Amery, to the north-northwest. Mount Erasmus can be seen fro ...

. The lake is fed and discharged by the Glacier River, which is a tributary of the

Howse River The Howse River is a tributary of the North Saskatchewan River in western Alberta, Canada. The Howse River is a braided river, with several streams crossing in its flood plain. It is formed when Freshfield, Forbes, David and Lagoon Creek unite a ...

. The lake can be accessed via a trail which starts near

Saskatchewan River Crossing Saskatchewan River Crossing is a locality in western Alberta, Canada. It is located within Banff National Park at the junction of Highway 93 (Icefields Parkway) and Highway 11 (David Thompson Highway). It is administered by Improvement Distri ...

along the

Icefields Parkway Highway 93 is a north–south highway in Alberta, Canada. It is also known as the Banff-Windermere Parkway south of the Trans-Canada Highway ( Highway 1) and the Icefields Parkway north of the Trans-Canada Highway. It travels through ...

. Park at the Glacier Lake trailhead (at the end of a short unnamed road 1.1 km (0.7 mi) west of the

David Thompson Highway #redirectAlberta Highway 11 David Thompson Highway #redirectAlberta Highway 11 Alberta Provincial Highway No. 11, commonly referred to as Highway 11 and officially named the David Thompson Highway, is a provincial highway in central A ...

turn-off).

Climate

Based on the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

, the lake experiences a

subarctic climate The subarctic climate (also called subpolar climate, or boreal climate) is a climate with long, cold (often very cold) winters, and short, warm to cool summers. It is found on large landmasses, often away from the moderating effects of an ocean, ge ...

with cold, snowy winters, and mild summers. Temperatures can drop below -20 °C with wind chill factors below -30 °C in the winter.

References

Lakes of Alberta {{AlbertaRockies-geo-stub

Climate

See also

References