A few weeks ago, I was fortunate enough to go on a boat tour of Maligne Lake, located in Jasper National Park. On this boat trip, I visited the world famous Spirit Island, debatably one of most photographed islands in the world. The day we went happened to be extremely cold and foggy. We experienced everything from rain to sunshine to hail to fog on the short, 90-minute trip – typical Canadian weather. I was however, able to capture Spirit Island in all its fineness along with Maligne Lake’s signature turquoise water (pictured below).
Spirit Island itself has its own Romeo & Juliet-style tale to go along with it. As told by an old First Nations myth, a boy and girl from two different tribes met on Spirit Island once a week. Although they soon fell in love, their tribes remained enemies. After the girl confessed the story of her forbidden love to her father (a chief), he banned her from ever returning to Spirit Island. Heartbroken, her lover continued to visit the island, hoping to meet the girl once more. He never saw her again and died on that very island. Legend has it that his spirit still haunts the island, desperately searching for the girl to this very day. Now you see where the name came from! Our tour guide joked that the man’s name was Falling Rock so whenever you spot a sign indicating Beware of Falling Rock, you know who to look out for! A clever pun indeed.
On a side note, the word Maligne is French for malignant or wicked. The lake was named after a 19th century missionary, Father Pierre-Jean de Smett, who used this word to describe the dangerous river that flows from the lake. Believe it or not, Maligne lake is the second largest, glacier-fed lake in the world. I would not recommend swimming in its icy depths!
Credit for this information goes to: http://tripatlas.com/guides/Jasper/1469/Mysterious_legends_of_Maligne_&_Medicine_Lakes,_Jasper