The bubbles
Under the ice.
Joli Rumi — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Joli Rumi — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Joli Rumi — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Erik Lizee — Public domain · Joli Rumi — CC BY-SA 4.0
Abraham Lake is an artificial lake and the largest reservoir in Alberta, Canada. It lies in the Kootenay Plains area of the front ranges of the Rockies, on the North Saskatchewan River, and is 32 km long with an area of about 54 square kilometres. The Calgary Power Company created it in 1972 by building a dam on the river. Though man-made, it has the blue colour of Rocky Mountain glacial lakes thanks to rock flour. In winter it is famous for methane bubbles frozen inside the clear ice, looking like white discs suspended beneath the surface. In summer you see a long turquoise-blue lake ringed by sharp grey mountains capped with snow, with pine forest on the shores. In winter the surface becomes glass-clear ice, with layers of stacked white bubbles beneath. It is about 39 km from the village of Nordegg in a straight line. Only walk on the ice when it is thick and with a guide, and the wind is bitterly cold.
Under the ice.
Snowy peaks.
Turquoise water.
Kootenay Plains, western Alberta, Canada
In winter, roughly January to February.
Only when it is thick, ideally with a guide.