Lakes around the world

Summit Lake Below Mount Evans, Arapaho National Forest, Colorado

Spirit Island Maligne Lake, Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada

Maligne Lake is a lake in Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada. It is located 44 km (27 mi) south of Jasper town site, accessible by motor vehicle. Boat trips run to Spirit Island, one of the most popular sights of Jasper National Park. The 44 km Skyline Trail, Jasper’s most popular, highest and above treeline, multi-day hike, begins at Maligne Lake and finishes near the town of Jasper.
Maligne Lake is approximately 22.5 km (14 mi) long and is 97 m (318 ft) at its deepest point. It averages 35 m (115 ft) in depth. It sits at approximately 1,670 m (5,479 ft) asl. It boasts a resident self sustaining population of rainbow trout and brook trout.
Maligne Lake is fed and drained by the Maligne River, which enters the lake on its south side, near Mount Unwin. The Maligne River drains the lake from its northern end. Maligne Lake, as well as Maligne River, Maligne Mountain, and Maligne Pass, takes its name from the French word for malignant or wicked. It is theorised that an early French voyageur created this name in reference to the current of the Maligne River near its confluence with the Athabasca River.

Sight Seeing by Canoe, Lake Tahoe, California/Nevada

Lake Tahoe is a large freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada mountains of the United States. It is located along the border between California and Nevada, west of Carson City, Nevada. Lake Tahoe is the largest alpine lake in North America. Its depth is 1,645 ft (501 m) making it America’s second-deepest, (Crater Lake, in Oregon, being the deepest at 1945 feet (594 m) deep).
The lake was formed about 2 million years ago and is a part of the Lake Tahoe Basin with the modern lake being shaped during the Ice Ages. It is known for the clarity of its water and the panorama of surrounding mountains on all sides. The area surrounding the lake is also referred to as Lake Tahoe, or simply Tahoe.

Sand Harbor State Park, Lake Tahoe, Nevada

Mount McKinley, Denali National Park, Alaska

The word “Denali” means “the great one” in the native Athabaskan language and refers to the mountain itself. The mountain was named after president William McKinley of Ohio in 1897 by local prospector William A. Dickey, although McKinley had no connection with the region.
Charles Alexander Sheldon took an interest in the Dall sheep native to the region, and became concerned that human encroachment might threaten the species. After his 1907-1908 visit, he petitioned the people of Alaska and Congress to create a preserve for the sheep. (His account of the visit was published posthumously as The Wilderness of Denali, ISBN 1-56833-152-5). The park was established as Mount McKinley National Park on February 26, 1917. However, only a portion of Mount McKinley (not even including the summit) was within the original park boundary. The park was designated an international biosphere reserve in 1976. A separate Denali National Monument was proclaimed by Jimmy Carter on December 1, 1978.

Lake Crescent, Olympic National Park, Washington

Lake Crescent’ is a 12 mile long body of water 17 miles west of Port Angeles, Wa on Hwy 101. It is a popular recreational area withinOlympic National Park and is home to a number of trails, including the Spruce Railroad, Pyramid Peak (Washington), and the Barnes Creek trail leading up to the beautiful Marymere Falls. The Spruce Railroad Trail follows the grade of what was once the tracks of a logging railroad. Following this trail on the North side of the lake, one can find the entrance to an old railroad tunnel as well as a popular swimming and diving area known as The Devils Punch Bowl.

Quiet Getaway, Lake Tahoe, Nevada

Pyramid Lake, Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada

yramid Lake is kidney-shaped lake in Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada. It lies at the foot of Pyramid Mountain, a natural landmark that overlooks the town of Jasper.
Pyramid Lake has a total area of 1.2 km2 (0.5 sq mi) and discharges in Athabasca River through the 2 km (1 mi) long Pyramid Creek.
Several picnic sites are established on the shores of the lake, as well as boat ramps. Hotel accommodations are also available on the lake. Pyramid Lake is connected by hiking trails to the town of Jasper, and other touristic sites such as Pyramid Mountain, Patricia Lake and Cabin Lake.

Mono Lake, California

Mono Lake is believed to have formed at least 760,000 years ago, dating back to the Long Valley eruption. Sediments located below the ash layer hint that Mono Lake could be a remnant of a larger and older lake that once covered a large part of Nevada and Utah, making it among the oldest lakes in North America. At its height during the last ice age, the lake may have been 900 feet (270 m) deep; prominent old shore lines, called strandlines by geologists, can be seen above Lee Vining (near the white “LV”) and along volcanic hills northeast of the current lake.
It is the terminal lake in a watershed fed by melting runoff, with no outlet to the ocean. Dissolved salts in the runoff thus remain in the lake and raise the water’s pH levels and salt concentration.
The lake is in a geologically active area at the north end of the Mono-Inyo Craters volcanic chain and is close to Long Valley Caldera. Geological activity is caused by faulting at the base of the Sierra Nevada, and is associated with the crustal stretching of the Basin and Range Province.
Volcanic activity continues in the Mono Lake vicinity: the most recent eruption occurred 350 years ago at Paoha Island in Mono Lake. Panum Crater (on the south shore of the lake) is an excellent example of a combined rhyolite dome and cinder cone.

Picture Lake, Mount Shuksan, Washington

Vermillion Lake Escape, Banff National Park, Canada

The Vermilion Lakes are a series of lakes located immediately west of Banff, Alberta, in the Canadian Rocky Mountains.
The three lakes are formed in the Bow River valley, in the Banff National Park, at the foot of Mount Norquay. They are located between the Trans-Canada Highway and the Canadian Pacific Railway tracks. A hot spring is found at the third lake.

Pee Wee Lake, Sierra Nevada Mountains, California

Patricia Lake, Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada

Ouem El Ma Lake, Libya

St. Mary Lake, Glacier National Park, Montana

St. Mary Lake is the second largest lake in Glacier National Park, Montana, created by a widening of the St. Mary River.
Located on the east side of the park, the Going-to-the-Sun Road parallels the lake along its north shore. At an altitude of 4,484 feet (1,367 m), St. Mary Lake’s waters are colder and lie almost 1,500 feet (460 m) higher in altitude than Lake McDonald, the largest lake in the park, which is located on the west side of the Continental Divide. Here, the great plains end and the Rocky Mountains begin in an abrupt five thousand foot (1,500 m) altitude change, with Little Chief Mountain posing a formidable southern flank above the west end of the lake. St. Mary lake has a surface area of 3,923 acres (15.88 km2).
The lake is 9.9 miles (15.9 km) long and three hundred feet (100 m) deep. The waters of the lake rarely rise above 50 °F (10 °C) and is home to various species of trout. During the winter, the lake often is frozen completely over with ice up to four feet (1 m) thick.

Mount Rainier Reflected at Sunset, Washington

Mount Shuksan Mirrored on Picture Lake, Washington

Mystic Mono Lake, California

Mount Matterhorn, Lake Riffelsee, Switzerland

Mount Hood and Fisherman on Trillium Lake, Oregon

Moraine Lake, Banff National Park, Canada

Tufa Towers, Mono Lake, California

Mono Lake, California

Sylvan Lake, Black Hills, South Dakota

Lake Michigan, Cave Point County Park, Wisconsin