Medicine Lake is a photograph by Carolyn Derstine which was uploaded on October 12th, 2014.
Medicine Lake
Medicine Lake is located in Jasper National Park in the Canadian Rockies. It is often called a disappearing lake because during the summer, glacier... more
Title
Medicine Lake
Artist
Carolyn Derstine
Medium
Photograph
Description
Medicine Lake is located in Jasper National Park in the Canadian Rockies. It is often called a disappearing lake because during the summer, glacier melt waters flood the lake, but in the fall and winter the lake disappears. Rather than having a visible drainage channel, the lake water drains out through sinkholes in the bottom of the lake. The water then streams through a cave system formed in the slightly soluble limestone rock, surfacing again in the area of Maligne Canyon about 10 miles downstream. This is one of the largest known sinking rivers in the Western Hemisphere. Aboriginal peoples called the lake Medicine because of its seemingly magical powers, and the United Nations created the Rocky Mountain Parks World Heritage Site partly because of this unique drainage system. We visited this lake in the fall in the midst of the disappearing stage.
Uploaded
October 12th, 2014
