Lake McArthur (British Columbia)

Lake McArthur is a lake in Yoho National Park, British Columbia, Canada, near the continental divide.

Lake McArthur
Lake McArthur, Yoho Park (1924) by J. E. H. MacDonald
Lake McArthur
Location in British Columbia
LocationYoho National Park, British Columbia, Canada
Coordinates51.332477°N 116.337908°W / 51.332477; -116.337908
Basin countriesCanada

Location

Lake McArthur (JANHI) is in the Kootenay Land District of British Columbia.[1] It is nestled a valley between Mount Schaffer and Park Mountain in Yoho National Park. The lake is 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi) long and 85 metres (279 ft) deep.[2] It is easily the deepest lake in the park, and its depth gives it a deep blue colour.[3] It is the largest lake in the area and is much photographed.[4] A 1906 guide to resorts in the Canadian Rockies describes Lake O'Hara, in the next valley west of Lake Louise and across the Continental Divide. It goes on, "A couple of miles away is McArthur's Lake, a sapphire gem, located above the tree line, and with a huge glacier, fed on the precipitous heights of Mount Biddle, terminating in the water, where it breaks off in huge icebergs.[5]

Name

Lake McArthur is named after James Joseph McArthur (1856–1925) of the Dominion Topographical Survey. He was the first European to describe this lake and Lake O'Hara.[6] He found the two lakes in 1887.[3] McArthur was mapping the land through which the Canadian Pacific Railway line would travel, and he and his assistant T. Riley had to climb up to summits carrying heavy equipment so McArthur could take photographs and make measurements for his survey.[7]

Access

Lake McArthur may be accessed via a 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) circuit hike from Le Relais Day Shelter in Yoho Park.[8] The shelter is reached via an 11 kilometres (6.8 mi) access road. The Lake O'Hara bus goes past the shelter, but reservations are required.[9] There is a 310 metres (1,020 ft) elevation gain. The trail passes through larch forests, past Schäffer Lake, through McArthur Meadows and over the summit of McArthur Pass.[8]

Notes
    1. Lake McArthur – Natural Resources.
    2. Leigh 2013.
    3. Townsley 2016, p. 171.
    4. Sorensen & Williams 2010, p. 679.
    5. Resorts in the Canadian Rockies, p. 14.
    6. Akrigg & Akrigg 2011, p. 167.
    7. Scott 2000, p. 39.
    8. Yoho National Park Trail descriptions – Parks Canada.
    9. Lake McArthur – 10hikes.

    Sources
    • Akrigg, G.P. (Philip) V.; Akrigg, Helen (2011-11-01), British Columbia Place Names: Third Edition, UBC Press, ISBN 978-0-7748-4170-2, retrieved 2018-06-05
    • "Lake McArthur", 10hikes, retrieved 2018-06-05
    • Lake McArthur, Natural Resources Canada, retrieved 2018-06-05
    • Leigh (18 November 2013), "The Hike To Lake McArthur, Lake O'Hara Region, Yoho NP", hikebiketravel.com, retrieved 2018-06-04
    • Resorts in the Canadian Rockies, Canadian Pacific Railway Company. Canadian Pacific Hotels, 1906, retrieved 2018-06-04
    • Scott, Chic (2000), Pushing the Limits: The Story of Canadian Mountaineering, Rocky Mountain Books Ltd, ISBN 978-0-921102-59-5, retrieved 2018-06-05
    • Sorensen, AnneLise; Williams, Christian (2010-06-07), The Rough Guide to Canada, Rough Guides, ISBN 978-1-84836-956-6, retrieved 2018-06-05
    • Townsley, Frank (2016-03-10), British Columbia: Graced by Nature's Palette, FriesenPress, ISBN 978-1-4602-7773-7, retrieved 2018-06-05
    • Yoho National Park Trail descriptions, Parks Canada, retrieved 2018-06-05
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