Maligne Canyon

 park, canyon / gorge, river

The Maligne River system flows in a mighty torrent consisting of huge volumes of water when it enters Medicine Lake. It does not, however, appear to flow out. Indeed, through the summer months Medicine Lake disappears until, in mid autumn all that is left is a thin channel that itself disappears into the shoreline.

The Maligne Valley is riddled by the most extensive karst system in the world. A karst system is a geological limestone formation of caves above and below ground level. In the case of the Maligne Valley, no one knows just where water from Maligne Lake goes.

When traced by dyes it has taken anywhere from half a day to a week for the water to make the trip from Medicine Lake to Maligne Canyon, a distance of about ten miles. Even then, the dyes didn't show up at only one final destination. Dyes turned up in the Canyon, Lac Beauvert by Jasper Park Lodge and in several of the other lakes between.