https://youtu.be/zQLVn04VlpU This video guides you through five most visited sites around Jasper – Maligne Lake including Spirit Island, Maligne Canyon, Athabasca Falls, Medicine Lake, Jasper Town & wild animals around Jasper National Park.
Maligne Lake in the heart of the Canadian Rockies is the largest natural lake in the region. It’s also the second largest glacier-fed lake in the world. The picturesque Spirit Island is not accessible by road or trail. Only tour boats or private, non-motorized craft can reach this Spirit Island. You will notice that the water color is blue at Maligne Lake docks, but when you reach Spirit Island, the lake is a vibrant emerald. For a further look into the science behind this color transformation, be sure to check out my other video.
Maligne Canyon, the deepest canyon in Jasper National Park, is a marvel carved over millennia by relentless water erosion, plunging over 50 meters deep at some points. Much of the water rushing through the canyon originates from Medicine Lake. Medicine Lake, 20 km southeast of Jasper town, is part of the remarkable Maligne Valley watershed, primarily glacier-fed. The mighty Athabasca Falls is another jewel of Jasper National Park, located approximately 30 km south of Jasper town. While not particularly tall, the falls are nonetheless renowned for their immense power and picturesque beauty as the Athabasca River cascades over hard quartzite into softer limestone, carving a fascinating narrow gorge.
The town of Jasper offers a respite from the crowds typically found in Banff, and provides a better chance for wildlife encounters. While both parks boast elk, bear, deer, coyotes, and wolves, your odds of spotting a bear are higher in Jasper, as we did – a mother along with a pair of cubs. We were very lucky to run into a beaver while at Medicine Lake and we also saw elks and deer roaming by the roadside.
Timestamps
0:00 Maligne Lake overview
0:49 Spirit Island
1:40 Water color changes from dock to Spirit Island
3:00 Maligine Canyon
4:04 Athabasca Falls
4:46 Medicine Lake & Beaver
5:06 Jasper & Wild Animals
5:24 Bear Family
5:48 Elk
6:28 Wolverine & Bighorn sheep