Winter at Medicine Lake

In Jasper National Park, Medicine Lake is located between the better-known Maligne Lake and the Jasper townsite. I have always found Medicine Lake to be mesmerizing and that is especially true in the winter. Maybe the fact that it is not even a lake has something to do with it. It is actually a geological anomaly since the Maligne River, which is glacial fed and flows to the Athabasca River, disappears underground at the end of the “lake”.

During the summer months when there is lots of meltwater trying to squeeze underground, the water backs up and creates what looks like a large lake. During the winter, Medicine Lake turns into a meandering collection of channels across the frozen expanse. Combined with the remnants of a July 2015 forest fire, the resultant winter view across the “lake” takes on a sense of surrealism with its combination of white snow, dark water, and blackened trees.

Photo Information: A very high-resolution photograph of snow-covered Medicine Lake with burnt out trees in the background, Japser National Park, Alberta, Canada.

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