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The Canadian Rocky Mountains, few of the world's natural wonders are as celebrated as this startlingly vast mountain range - the watershed of North America that influences much of its weather.
Impressive as the Rockies are on the USA side, the concentrated 400 miles of snowy peaks, reflected in aquamarine lakes that unite the great national parks of Banff and Jasper with the parallel range of the Columbia Mountains, are uniquely Canadian. Glaciers are still common, their pale blue dramatically balancing the blue-grey of the granite. And with the tree line beginning low in the valleys, the eye is led skyward over a deep green expanse of fir, spruce and larch forests. The glacial melt feeds mountain lakes with mineral-rich silt deposits that tint the waters and ensure a garland of wild flowers in the months of May and June. Highlights of this region include varicoloured Lake Louise, near Banff, whose moody magnificence is brightened and darkened by the clouds drifting off the high peaks that hold it in dramatic embrace; Mount Robson, near Jasper, a colossus of tumbling glaciers and cliff walls; Maligne Canyon and Lake, one of the most photographed of all Canadian beauty spots; and Sulphur Mountain, which affords a magnificent eagle's eye view of the town of Banff and its glorious environs. |
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