Lake Louise

History

Prior to the arrival of Europeans, local indigenous peoples were the only inhabitants of the foothills of the Rocky Mountains—including what is today Lake Louise—where they hunted the once-widespread bison, as well as elk, moose and other big and small game animals, in addition to fishing the rich waterways and foraging off of the many species of edible and medicinal plants in the region. In the language of the Nakoda people, Lake Louise is called , meaning "lake of the little fishes". During the 1870s, construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) began, with the route going through Bow Valley. A Nakoda guide took CPR workman Tom Wilson to the site in 1882, and Wilson named it 'Emerald Lake'. The community was later called 'Holt City', and then 'Laggan', before being renamed Lake Louise. A ca. 1890 CPR station was replaced in 1910, but continued to be used by the railway company for other purposes until it was donated to Heritage Park Historical Village, Calgary, in 1976. The depot was moved to the park, where it was restored in the style of the era when the village was called Laggan. The 1910 station was declared a heritage railway station by the federal government in 1991, having been well-preserved and operating today as a restaurant. Lake Louise was added to Rocky Mountains Park in 1892, and has subsequently become an international tourist destination, made more accessible by its location near the Trans-Canada Highway.

Geography

The community is in Division No. 15, one of 19 census divisions of Alberta and the federal riding of Banff—Airdrie. It is beside the Trans-Canada Highway (Highway 1), west of Calgary. Lake Louise experiences a subarctic climate (Köppen climate classification Dfc). Annual snowfall averages and although winter temperatures can fall below in January and February the averages are and respectively. Summers consist of frosty mornings and crisp, cool days. Snow can occur in any month of the year. Since lower elevations on said latitude have humid continental climates instead, it may also be described as a subalpine climate. Because of its high diurnal air temperature variation and high altitude, the frost-free period averages only 14 days.

Most-observed species

• Clark's Nutcracker

  Nucifraga columbiana (A.Wilson, 1811) · Aves
  1,991
• Common Raven

  Corvus corax Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  1,705
• Black-billed Magpie

  Pica hudsonia (Sabine, 1823) · Aves
  1,572
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  1,210
• Gray Jay

  Perisoreus canadensis (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  1,168
• Dark-eyed Junco

  Junco hyemalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,032
• Yellow-rumped Warbler

  Setophaga coronata (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  946
• Pine Siskin

  Spinus pinus (A.Wilson, 1810) · Aves
  942

Most recent

• M 3.7 — 2025-01-26
  58 km NNW of Banff, Canada
• M 4.1 — 2021-02-14
  5 km N of Banff, Canada
• M 3.1 — 2014-10-16
  1 km SW of Banff, Canada
• M 3.3 — 2008-10-23
  63 km N of Golden, Canada
• M 3.4 — 2005-05-05
  56 km WSW of Rocky Mountain House, Canada
• M 3.6 — 2002-07-28
  29 km SSE of Canmore, Canada