Lake McArthur is a lake in

Yoho National Park Yoho National Park ( ) is a National Parks of Canada, national park of Canada. It is located within the Canadian Rockies, Rocky Mountains along the western slope of the Continental Divide of the Americas in southeastern British Columbia, bordered ...

, British Columbia, Canada, near the continental divide.

Location

Lake McArthur (JANHI) is in the

Kootenay Land District The Kootenay Land District is a cadastral survey subdivision of the province of British Columbia, Canada, created with rest of those on Mainland British Columbia via the Lands Act of the Colony of British Columbia (1858–1866), Colony of British Co ...

of British Columbia. It is nestled in a valley between

Mount Schaffer __NOTOC__ Mount Schaffer is a mountain summit located southwest of Lake O'Hara in Yoho National Park, in the Bow Range of the Canadian Rockies of British Columbia, Canada. Its nearest higher peak is Mount Biddle, to the southeast. Mount Schaffer ...

and

Park Mountain Park Mountain is a mountain summit located above the southwest shore of Lake McArthur in Yoho National Park, in the Bow Range of the Canadian Rockies of British Columbia, Canada. Its nearest higher peak is Mount Biddle, to the east. Park Mount ...

. The lake is long and deep. It is easily the deepest lake in the park, and its depth gives it a deep blue colour. It is the largest lake in the area and is much photographed. A 1906 guide to resorts in the Canadian Rockies describes

Lake O'Hara Lake O'Hara is a lake at an elevation of in the alpine area of Yoho National Park, in the province of British Columbia, on the western side of the Great Divide with the province of Alberta and Banff National Park to the east. The lake and the va ...

, in the next valley west of Lake Louise and across the

Continental Divide A continental divide is a drainage divide on a continent such that the drainage basin on one side of the divide feeds into one ocean or sea, and the basin on the other side either feeds into a different ocean or sea, or else is endorheic, not ...

. It goes on, "A couple of miles away is McArthur's Lake, a sapphire gem, located above the tree line, and with a huge glacier, fed on the precipitous heights of

Mount Biddle Mount Biddle is a mountain in British Columbia, Canada. Location Mount Biddle is in the Park Ranges of the Rocky Mountains in British Columbia, Canada. It is high, rising above Opabin Pass, which separates it from Mount Hungabee. It is near t ...

, terminating in the water, where it breaks off in huge icebergs.

Name

Lake McArthur is named after

James Joseph McArthur James Joseph McArthur (9 May 1856 – 14 April 1925) was a Canadian surveyor and mountaineer who was the first to climb several peaks in the Canadian Rocky Mountains. Two mountains and a lake are named after him, and he gave names to various oth ...

(1856–1925) of the Dominion Topographical Survey. He was the first European to describe this lake and Lake O'Hara. He found the two lakes in 1887. McArthur was mapping the land through which the

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadi ...

line would travel, and he and his assistant T. Riley had to climb up to summits carrying heavy equipment so McArthur could take photographs and make measurements for his survey.

Access

Lake McArthur may be accessed via an circuit hike from Le Relais Day Shelter in Yoho Park. The shelter is reached via an access road. The Lake O'Hara bus goes past the shelter, but reservations are required. There is a elevation gain. The trail passes through larch forests, past Schäffer Lake, through McArthur Meadows and over the summit of McArthur Pass.

Notes

Sources

* * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mcarthur Lake Lakes of British Columbia Kootenay Land District