Picturesque Moraine lake and lake Louise in Banff National Park , Alberta, Canada

rajamohansub

Oct 27, 20222 min read

Updated: Oct 28, 2022

About 10% of Canada's vast land mass is occupied by water bodies including lakes and rivers and it has the most number of lakes in the world, big and small, numbers running into 900,000 and hence Canada earned the name ' Country of lakes'. Majority of the Canadian lakes are fed glacially and the biggest lake in Canada, Lake Superior, spreads both in Canada and the USA, is one of the biggest lakes in the world.

In India, Vembanad lake in Kerala is the longest/biggest lake ( the prestigious Nehru trophy snake boat race is conducted in this lake every year) where as Veeranam lake, built by Cholas in 10th Century has bagged the laurel of the biggest lake in Tamil Nadu. Most of Indian lakes are fed by precipitation/rain fed.

Most photographed and picturesque Moraine lake situated at an elevation of about 6183 feet is not accessible during winter and hence in summer, tourists from all over the world throng the Banff National park area ( about 2 hours drive from Calgary) to enjoy the pristine wildness and the unparallel beauty of the nature. From the Banff national park assembly points, tourists are ferried in bus by Parks Canada authorities to both Moraine and lake Louise. The two lakes are about 4 Kms apart. Lake Louise is accessible year round (both in winter and in summer). From the Moraine lake parking lot about 20 minutes trekking is required to reach the lake, whereas one can walk straights into Lake Louise from its parking lot.

In Geological terms , Moraine is the earth, stones and other materials that have been carried by the moving glaciers and left when it melted. The brilliant blue- green color of the water in the Moraine lake is a result of the light ( sun rays) refracting of the rock materials (earth, stone etc.) in the glacier run off that flows into the lake.

Few photos taken during the trip are shared here.