The Rockies in the U. S. are higher than those in Canada; however, the Canadian Rockies look higher because the glaciers carved the valleys deeper. Bow Summit, with its view of Lake Peyto, gives a sense of the path the Peyto Glacier took.
The cloudy, teal color of the lake water results from light on rock flour–small grains of rock scraped by the moving glacier. The teal color is more vivid on some days than others.
Emerald Lake
Lake Louise
Moraine Lake
At Moraine Lake, the rock pile that created the lake can be climbed–and several members of the tour did.
Moraine at Moraine Lake
Wild life is a fun feature when out in nature. We had a couple sitings of Big Horn Sheep families.
The driver stopped the bus, but there wasn’t time to get out. We also saw a couple bear and a bison herd. Some group members, while walking through town, saw a black bear eating berries about ten feet away. A little close for their comfort, but the bear seemed not to notice them and just kept eating.
At the entrance to Banff is a bridge made from rock smoothed by the glacial river.
Also at Banff was the Cave and Basin Hot Springs.
No longer is it open for bathing. There are endangered snails that live there that would be harmed by the pH change from even dipping hands in the water. Because of the temperature of water from the hot springs, there are some tropical fish up in the cold Rockies.
The days in Banff and Jasper areas included lectures and field trips, Ben Gadd in Banff and Kirsten Schmitten in Jasper. From Jasper we took the Rocky Mountaineer train to Vancouver–those photos are yet to be sorted out.
One more mountain view.
knitNkwilt 
Wonderful photos. I especially liked the one of Lake Louise.
Lillian
Thanks for sharing your photos with explanations! I’ve not been to this part of the country, so it was great seeing and knowing more about how it developed. Loved the rock bridge – can you image putting every one of those small rocks in such perfect formation? Florence
Such an interesting post – I love knowing “educational” stuff! Thanks.
Kathy T. in Tampa
What great photos you took! I always love to trace the tracks of the glaciers or upheaval of part of the mountains. The water is so beautiful. I know of one pool in Arizona that looks like that, but I think it is because of the minerals in the rocks. There are fish living there, though, so it isn’t copper.