The Road to Jasper

The Icefields Parkway up to Jasper from Lake Louise is one of the most beautiful drives you will ever take. It is about 250kms through the deep mountain ranges of the Rockies, along turquoise blue lakes, gorgeous waterfalls, and impressive glaciers. It is nice to do outside of tourist season to avoid the crowds of people. 
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First, a quick shot of Lake Louise. This has been so excessively photographed, it's virtually impossible to capture a unique shot.

The Columbia Icefields Glacier is as thick as the Eiffel Tower is tall. One used to be able to hike up onto the glacier, but a lake and river have formed under the tongue of the glacier, which makes it too dangerous to walk on. This is because the entire tongue could collapse at any moment, which is what happened in this image below.

This is the river that formed below the tongue, draining into the lower parts of the icefield.

"Sunwapta" means "turbulent waters" in the Stoney Indian language. Sitting on the edge of the 60 feet deep Sunwapta Falls sure lets you appreciate the meaning of the name. The treed island in the center and the mountain peaks in the background make this the most scenic waterfalls I have ever seen.

A short distance away are the Athabasca Falls, which drop 80 feet into the depths of the Athabasca River. The river has carved a gorge into the limestone below the falls, which is also quite picturesque.