LAKE LOUISE

unincorporated place, southwestern Alberta, Canada, on the Bow River, in Banff National Park, immediately northeast of the icy, blue-green lake of the same name, which is a renowned beauty spot. Originally settled in 1884 as a Canadian Pacific Railway construction camp, it was known as Holt City and later Laggan, until renamed in 1914 for the lake, which had been discovered in 1882 by railroad workers and named to honour Princess Louise, the daughter of Queen Victoria and wife of the Marquess of Lorne (governor-general of Canada, 187883). Since 1892, when the locality became part of the national park, the locality has been administered by the Canadian Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development. It is a noted tourist resort and excursion centre on the Trans-Canada and Banff-Jasper highways. The lake, at an elevation of 5,680 feet (1,731 m), springs from Victoria Glacier; it is about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) long and 0.75 mile (1.2 km) wide and reaches a depth of more than 220 feet (70 m). Pop. (1991) 500.