Emerald Lake near Carcross, Yukon Territories
© David Noton Photography/Alamy Stock Phot
Jewel of the Yukon. Pristine colours of wilderness
If you’re pondering how this body of freshwater gets its stunning turquoise-green shade, here’s a brief explanation. The colour is a result of sunlight reflecting off a layer of marl settled on the lake floor. Marl is white calcium carbonate that forms underwater when gravels of limestone react with calcium in the water. The lakes in this valley came into existence when glaciers from the last ice age retreated 14,000 years ago; depositing eroding limestone gravel from nearby mountains into the lakes.
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