The lakes of the Canadian Rockies come in every shade from light teal to dark blue, they’re all mirrors to their surrounding mountain peaks, and they’re around every corner of the parkway. The science of why these lakes do what they do doesn’t ruin any of the magic. The glacier melt, which feeds the lakes, carries something called glacier silt or rock flour. This sunlight-reflecting silt comes from the glacier grinding along the rock underneath. And not only does this silt reflect the sun, it also stays suspended in the water giving the lakes that spectacular uniform, full look that reflects anything it can. From Lake Moraine to Lake Louise to Bow Lake to so many others that we passed each day on our bicycles, the surprise of their color never gets old.
