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Archiaston Musamma Family | profile | all galleries >> Galleries >> Lake Peyto - Mistaya Canyon, Banff NP, Canada tree view | thumbnails | slideshow

Lake Peyto - Mistaya Canyon, Banff NP, Canada

Peyto Lake is a glacier-fed lake located in Banff National Park in the Canadian Rockies. The lake itself is easily accessed from the Icefields Parkway. The lake is formed in a valley of the Waputik Range, between Caldron Peak, Peyto Peak and Mount Jimmy Simpson, at an elevation of 1,860 m.

The lake is fed by the Peyto Creek, which drains water from the Caldron Lake and Peyto Glacier (part of the Wapta Icefield), and flows into the Mistaya River.

Every day during the summer melt, Lake Peyto receive hundreds of tonnes of fine glacial material known as rock flour. It is very light, and stays suspended for quite some time. When the light hits the surface of these mountain lakes, the suspended material distorts the wavelengths of light, reflecting back more of the green and blue end of the spectrum – sees as emeralds and blues. Also, since each lake gets a varying amount of this material, each lake will have its own shade of blue. This shade will also vary over the course of the year. In the spring, there is little suspended rock flour, so the lakes are the same colour as lakes elsewhere – deep blue. As more material flows into the lake with the spring runoff, the lakes progressively change to their famous colours. Later in the season, as the glacial melt ends, the rock flour will slowly settle, and the illusion will be lost – until next season brings a new supply of the Canadian Rockies magical lake dye.

The Peyto lake is best seen from Bow Summit, the highest point on the Icefield Parkway.




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Lake Peyto
Lake Peyto
Lake Peyto
Lake Peyto
Lake Peyto
Lake Peyto
Lake Peyto
Lake Peyto
Lake Peyto
Lake Peyto
Lake Peyto
Lake Peyto
Lake Peyto
Lake Peyto
Lake Peyto
Lake Peyto
Lake Peyto
Lake Peyto
Lake Peyto
Lake Peyto
Lake Peyto
Lake Peyto
Lake Peyto
Lake Peyto
Lake Peyto
Lake Peyto
Lake Peyto
Lake Peyto
Peyto Peak
Peyto Peak
Wapta Glacier with Peyto Peak
Wapta Glacier with Peyto Peak
Ice melting path of Wapta glacier
Ice melting path of Wapta glacier
to Lake Peyto platform
to Lake Peyto platform
A squirell begging for food
A squirell begging for food
to Lake Peyto
to Lake Peyto
Glacier feed to Lake Peyto
Glacier feed to Lake Peyto
Wapta Icefield feed Lake Peyto
Wapta Icefield feed Lake Peyto
Icefield Parkway near Lake Peyto
Icefield Parkway near Lake Peyto
Mistaya Lake
Mistaya Lake
Mistaya Lake
Mistaya Lake
Mistaya Lake
Mistaya Lake
at Mistaya Lake
at Mistaya Lake
A lodge near Saskhatchewan Crossing
A lodge near Saskhatchewan Crossing
Supermarket in Saskhatchewan crossing
Supermarket in Saskhatchewan crossing
Erasmus Peak 3,265m seeing from Saskhatchewan Crossing
Erasmus Peak 3,265m seeing from Saskhatchewan Crossing
Mistaya Lake
Mistaya Lake
Mistaya Lake
Mistaya Lake
Mistaya Lake
Mistaya Lake
Wapta Glacier
Wapta Glacier
Banff NP
Banff NP
Mistaya Canyon
Mistaya Canyon
Mistaya Canyon
Mistaya Canyon
Mistaya Canyon
Mistaya Canyon
Mistaya Canyon
Mistaya Canyon
Mistaya Canyon
Mistaya Canyon
Mistaya Canyon
Mistaya Canyon
Mistaya Canyon
Mistaya Canyon
Mistaya Canyon
Mistaya Canyon
Mistaya Canyon
Mistaya Canyon
My friend in Mistaya Canyon
My friend in Mistaya Canyon
Icefield Parkway
Icefield Parkway
Herbert Lake
Herbert Lake
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