The Glacier National Park inward the U.S. set down of Montana , on the edge alongside Canada , is domicile to to a greater extent than than 700 lakes , although entirely 131 of these lakes accept names. Approximately 200 lakes are over v acres inward size , in addition to a dozen of them exceeds thousands of acres , which inward odd for mount lakes. Additionally , the waters of the lakes are remarkably clear. This is owning to the twelvemonth long depression temperatures that prohibit the increase of planktons. It is non odd to encounter details on the bottom of the lakes at depths of thirty feet or more.
One of the nigh striking characteristic of some of these lakes is the presence of a multifariousness of colored rocks in addition to pebbles but below the H2O surface in addition to on the shores. The rocks make inward color from night cherry to maroon , in addition to from greenish to blue. Colored pebbles are seen inward abundance on the shores of Lake McDonald on the western side of the park. Lake McDonald is the largest of the lakes of Glacier National Park alongside a surface expanse of six ,823 acres. It is too the longest , at over fifteen km , every bit good every bit the deepest lake at 141 meters.
Photo credit: Jinrui Qu/Flickr
Quoting from the majority “Glacier-Waterton International Peace Park” past times Vicky Spring in addition to Tom Kirkendall:
The color of the rocks is determined past times the presence or absence of iron. The vivid cherry rocks constitute along the Grinnel Glacier trail were deposited inward a shallow bounding main environs where the atomic pose out 26 was oxidized past times the tidal exposure to the air. Rocks alongside this coloration ofttimes accept one-time ripple marks or ancient mud fissure lines.
The rich green-colored rocks were formed inward deeper H2O than the cherry rocks. Although these rocks incorporate the same quantities of iron-bearing minerals , they did non accept the same exposure to oxygen in addition to the total of oxidization was limited.
The greenish rocks tin hold upwardly seen at Otokomi Lake , piece the dark-colored rocks constitute at the upper halt of Lake McDonald , along McDonald Creek in addition to but about Trout Lake are the trial of subjecting the cherry in addition to greenish iron-rich rocks to oestrus in addition to pressure.
These rocks are genuinely all but about Glacier National Park , in addition to were formed at dissimilar eras. When the glaciers came , it broke downwards the rocks into tiny fragments in addition to the rivers washed them away. Many of these got deposited onto the lakes in addition to "tarns" —lakes formed past times filling the bottoms of ice-scoured amphitheaters. Water erosion in addition to then rendered them into smoothen pebbles.
Photo credit: Alaina McDavid/Flickr
Photo credit: Robert Shea/Flickr
Photo credit: Cody Wellons/Flickr
Photo credit: Ron Kroetz/Flickr
Photo credit: Mel Green/Flickr
Photo credit: stonecassie/Flickr
Photo credit: dr-scott/Flickr
Sources: www.nps.gov / Wikipedia