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Peyto Lake, Canadian Rockies Photography Hot Spot
Can you see the wolf image in the lake? Peyto Lake is located at Bow Summit along the Icefields Parkway in Alberta, Canada. It is a glacier-fed lake located in Banff National Park in the Canadian Rockies, near Lake Louise. The lake itself is easily accessed from the Icefields Parkway and is best seen from Bow Summit, the highest point on the Parkway. The exquisite turquoise color of the water is due to the glacial rock flour, which flows into the lake and the particles from the rock flour ‘paint’ the water a vivid turquoise! This lake is named for Bill Peyto, an early trail guide and trapper in the Banff area. This lake is a stop along the Icefields Parkway, but it is a location that you will not get many different images from. There is an overlook that you walk down to from the parking lot and view the lake.
We don’t have many images here because this is the main area. Park in the upper parking lot if you cannot do the long walk up the steep road. You will need to stitch your images together here. You do not have to be on a tripod to do that. The picture above is stitched and handheld. There were some trails, but we have yet to adventure down them towards the lake to see what we can find. Maybe this year when we return in June. We go every year with Extra Eyes Photo Tours on the Canadian Rockies Photo Tour.
The lake is formed in a valley of the Waputik Range, between Caldron Peak, Peyto Peak, and Mount Jimmy Simpson, at an elevation of 1,860 m (6,100 ft).[2]
During the summer, significant amounts of glacial rock flour flow into the lake, and these suspended rock particles give the lake a bright, turquoise color. Because of its bright color, photos of the lake often appear in illustrated books, and the area around the lake is a popular sightseeing spot for tourists. The lake is best seen from Bow Summit, the highest point on the Icefields Parkway.[3]
The lake is fed by Peyto Creek, which drains water from Caldron Lake and Peyto Glacier (part of the Wapta Icefield). Peyto Lake is the origin of the Mistaya River, which heads northwest from the lake’s outflow.
A rare image of Photography Magazine Extra owner, internationally acclaimed, award-winning photographer Pamela Goodyer taken by Tom Gross during the Extra Eyes Photo Tour.
Photography Information:
Petyo Lake is a photo stitching location. There is only one spot to view the lake from, and it’s not far enough back to get an image like above. That is, six images stitched together. Of course, we used a circular polarizing filter to keep the reflections off the lake as we did our six shots. This location should be done on your way to your next stop either north or south on Icefields Parkway.
When you pull out of the driveway of the Summit, there is a cool spot on the street with some water. You can get a few shots there with the reflections of the mountains in the water. Use your circular polarizing filter to remove the silver glare and get them.
You will have to stitch this together to get the shot like above. You can do this handheld. You can turn your camera vertically and take pictures overlapping each other by approximately 20%. Just make sure you get enough pictures. It’s not like you can just jump on a plane because you missed an image. (Unless of course, you are Pam Goodyer) 🙂
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