Breathtaking

Emerald Lake is located in Yoho National Park, British Columbia, Canada. It is the largest of Yoho's 61 lakes and ponds, as well as one of the park's premier tourist attractions. Emerald Lake Lodge, a high end lodge perched on the edge of the lake, provides local accommodation. A popular 5.2 km hiking trail circuits the lake, the first half of which is accessible to wheelchairs and strollers. During the summer months canoe rentals are available; in the winter, the lake is a popular cross country skiing destination.

The lake is enclosed by mountains of the President Range, as well as Mount Burgess and Wapta Mountain. This basin traps storms, causing frequent rain in summer and heavy snowfalls in winter. This influx of moisture works with the lake's low elevation to produce a unique selection of flora. Trees found here are more typical of B.C.'s wet interior forests, such as western red cedar, western yew, western hemlock and western white pine. The alluvial fan on the northeast shore produces wildflowers in abundance during late June and early July.

The first European to set sight on Emerald Lake was famed guide Tom Wilson, who stumbled upon it by accident in 1882. A string of his horses had gotten away, and it was while tracking them that he first entered the valley. The lake had an impression on even the most seasoned of explorers: "For a few moments I sat [on] my horse and enjoyed the rare, peaceful beauty of the scene." It was Wilson who gave the lake its name because of its remarkable colour, caused by fine particles of glacial sediment, also referred to as rock flour, suspended in the water. However, this was not the first time Wilson had dubbed a lake 'Emerald.' Earlier that same year he had discovered another lake which he had given the same moniker, and the name even appeared briefly on the official map. This first lake however, was shortly renamed Lake Louise.

Yoho National Park is located in the Canadian Rocky Mountains along the western slope of the Continental Divide in southeastern British Columbia. Yoho NP is bordered by Kootenay National Park on the southern side and Banff National Park on the eastern side. The name Yoho comes from the Cree word for awe and wonder.

Yoho covers 1,313 km² (507 mi²) and it is the smallest of the four contiguous national parks (NP). Yoho, together with Jasper NP, Kootenay NP and Banff NP, along with three British Columbia provincial parks—Hamber Provincial Park, Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park, and Mount Robson Provincial Park—form the Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks World Heritage Site. The park's administrative and visitor centre are located in the town of Field, British Columbia, beside the Trans-Canada Highway.

The Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks World Heritage Site is located in the Canadian Rockies. It consists of four national parks:

and three British Columbia provincial parks:

The parks include mountains, glaciers and hot springs and the headwaters of major North American river systems including:

The area is known for its natural beauty and biological diversity. It includes the Burgess Shale site, a World Heritage Site in its own right from 1980 to 1990, when it was included in the Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks WHS designation.

This area was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984 for the mountain landscapes containing mountain peaks, glaciers, lakes, waterfalls, canyons and limestone caves as well as fossils found here (see Burgess Shale).