Lake Louise, Alberta Canada

Cabin on Lake Louise, originally uploaded by Jim Boud.

Lake Louise is a lake in Alberta, Canada. The glacial lake is located in Banff National Park, 5 km (3 mi) from the hamlet of Lake Louise and the Trans-Canada Highway.

Lake Louise is named after the Princess Louise Caroline Alberta (1848–1939), the fourth daughter of Queen Victoria and the wife of the Marquess of Lorne, who was the Governor General of Canada from 1878 to 1883.

The emerald colour of the water comes from rock flour carried into the lake by melt-water from the glaciers that overlook the lake. The lake has a surface of 0.8 km2 (0.3 sq mi) and is drained through the 3 km long Louise Creek into the Bow River.

The eastern shore of the lake is dominated by Chateau Lake Louise, one of Canada's grand railway hotels, a luxury resort hotel built in the early decades of the 20th century by the Canadian Pacific Railway.