Abraham Lake

Abraham Lake has a surface area of 53.7 km² (20.7 sq mi) and a length of 32 km (20 mi). Although man-made, the lake has the blue color of other glacial lakes in the Rocky Mountains, which is caused by rock flour as in other glacial lakes.

Abraham Mountain, Elliott Peak, and the Cline River Heliport are located on the western shore of the lake. Mount Michener is situated on the eastern shore. Mount Ernest Ross lies at the southern tip of the lake.

Abraham Lake was created by the former Calgary Power Company, now called TransAlta, in 1972, with the construction of the Bighorn Dam.[2] The lake was built on the upper course of the North Saskatchewan River, in the foothills of the Canadian Rockies, and lines David Thompson Highway between Saskatchewan River Crossing and Nordegg.

The Government of Alberta sponsored a contest to name the lake in February 1972, during the final stages of construction of the Bighorn Dam. Students across the province were asked to submit names taking into consideration "historical significance, prominent persons, geography and topography, and the value of the lake."[3] It was named for Silas Abraham, an inhabitant of the Saskatchewan River valley in the nineteenth century.[4]

Bubbles on frozen Abraham Lake

Trapped methane causes frozen bubbles to form under the ice on the lake's surface. This phenomenon results when decaying plants on the lake bed release methane gas, which creates bubbles that become trapped within the ice, in suspended animation, just below the surface as the lake begins to freeze. The visual effects formed by the resulting stacks of bubbles, frozen while rising toward the surface, combined with the clear blue water, have made Abraham Lake a popular destination for photographers and nature observers.[5][6]

• Lakes of Alberta

• Media related to Abraham Lake at Wikimedia Commons