Snow and Ice

Today’s post is a continuation of photos taken on the day we visited Johnston Canyon. We made two other stops that day; first the shore of the Bow River near the Castle Junction Bridge and then the Vermilion Lakes, near the Town of Banff. Both are old favourites.

True to the title of today’s post, the emphasis is on the snow and ice (particularly at Castle Junction). The first three shots are close-ups of water, frozen and nearly frozen, beginning with this image of a small tributary stream flowing into the Bow River. The water’s motion at this stage keeps it from freezing, but only for a short while until it merges with the slower moving river. It’s only slightly less cold than the surrounding ice and soon solidifies.

This picture captures a small islet of ice very close to the shore. Water exists in two of its phases, liquid and ice as well as some crystalline shapes: the ice crystals on the ice islet and the granular snow on the beach(?).

This one, developed in black and white features an opening in the river’s cover of ice, struggling to remain open. Due to the frigid temperature of the air (-15 deg C, 5 deg F) and the very near freezing temperatures of the ice and water, it won’t take much for this opening to freeze over. Why is it still open? Only a few possible reasons; warmer spring water bubbling up from underneath, warmer water entering the river from a nearby tributary or faster movement of the water in this particular area. Possibly a combination. The unusual, smooth texture of the ice around the opening is due to its polishing by the rapidly moving water.

Our last stop of the day took us out onto the Vermilion Lakes, where the emphasis is more on snow. There is lots of it around the lake and plenty on the surrounding mountains. I am standing on marshy ground (much firmer than in summer), beside a stream flowing into the lakes.This position offers a great view of the Fairholme Range (left) and Mount Rundle (right).

I’m always amazed at the colour I see in these winter scenes. I took this shot of this same stream, looking back toward the road. Despite the harsh winter conditions, the marsh grasses and shrubs along the shoreline look pretty vibrant.

I will soon be leaving for the desert. Before my departure, I hope to get out a couple of more times in search of more winter beauty.