Maligne Canyon, east of Jasper, Alberta.
The Maligne River flows from the mountains into Maligne Lake, from which flows the Maligne River (OK, there are only so many names, right? It's a good thing copyright doesn't apply to place names, isn't it?). The Maligne River flows chuckling down the valley into Medicine Lake, from which flows ...nothing... Apparently this is a giant bathtub in the mountains with a drain in the bottom.

The Maligne River reconstitues in the valley below Medicine Lake from springs and runoff, and something interesting and wonderful happens further downstream in Maligne Canyon: the river is reconstituted from springs in the rock. The water the flowed invisibly out of Medicine Lake has percolated through the rock and shows up here.

This image, taken 1 September 2002 after a night's rain, shows the muddy Maligne River plunging through the middle of its canyon.

Jasper National Park
Kodak Portra 800, 35mm, canon z90w
Copyright © 2002 Daniel L. Johnson

Deep in Maligne Canyon, a tall falls. You can see here that the canyon's structure is a series of circular bowls that have been carved by the falling water.

1 September 2002
Kokak Portra 800, 35mm; Canon z90w
Copyright © 2002 Daniel L. Johnson

The Maligne River tumbles in a long series of waterfalls through its narrow, deep canyon.

1 September 2002, Jasper National Park, Alberta

Fuji NPZ800
Contax 645, 80mm, f8.0 1/90 sec
Copyright © 2002 Daniel L. Johnson

A boulder has broken off the canyon rim and gotten stuck across it. No sign that teenage boys have used it as a bridge...

1 September 2002; Maligne Canyon, Jasper National Park, Alberta
Kodak Portra 800, 35mm, Canon z90w


Copyright © 2002 Daniel L. Johnson

The upper Maligne Canyon is very narrow, just a deep, long crevice in the rock. At the bottom, the narrow, muddy river tumbles over a long series of falls and rapids. Here the river is unseen, but spray rising from it creates a visible mist that nourishes mosses on the rocks above.

1 September 2002
Kodak Portra 800 35mm; Canon z90w
Copyright © 2002 Daniel L. Johnson

At a quiet spot in the upper part of Maligne Canyon, rocks are poised to some day make a splash. When It happens, the tourists will hear the noise and look around to see what happend. But the river will still be brown and turbulent, and they won't remember what the canyon wall looked like beforehand, so they'll just think of the sound and wonder what it was. Perhaps someone will think it was an earthquake and run, frightened back to their rental car. Perhaps someone else will hope for an encore. Perhaps they are married.

1 September 2002, Maligne Canyon
Kodak Portra 800, 35mm; Canon z90w
Copyright © 2002 Daniel L. Johnson

An underground river spews fresh water into the muddy Maligne River in the depths of Maligne Canyon.

1 September 2002, Jasper National Park, Alberta
Fuji NPZ800
Contax 645, 80mm, f11.0 1/30 sec

Copyright © 2002 Daniel L. Johnson

Spring bubbling into Maligne River, Maligne Canyon. There are several of these unspectacular outlets of the underground Maligne RIver into the surface river within the canyon.

1 September 2002
Kokad Portra 800, 35mm; Canon z90w
Copyright © 2002 Daniel L. Johnson

The slate canyon wall, Maligne Canyon.

1 September 2002, Jasper National Park, Alberta

Kodak Portra 400VC
Contax 645, 80mm, f22
.0 1/45 sec
Copyright © 2002 Daniel L. Johnson

At this point the underground river emerges into the Maligne stream from the top right, as you can see by the color of the water.

31 August 2002
Kodak Portra 800 35mm, Canon z90w
Copyright © 2002 Daniel L. Johnson

Maligne Canyon: here the underground river is emerging from under the rock at the left and joining the muddy above-ground flow.

31 August 2002
Kodak Portra 800 35mm Canon z90w
Copyright © 2002 Daniel L. Johnson

Here's one of several large freshwater in Maligne Canyon.
Observe the color of the water coming out of the rock, compared with the muddy water flowing from above.

1 September 2002, Maligne Canyon, Jasper National Park, Alberta
Kodak Portra 800 35mm; Canon z90w
Copyright © 2002 Daniel L. Johnson

1 September 2002, Jasper National Park, Alberta

Kodak Portra 400VC
Contax 645, 80mm, f16.0 1/45 sec
Copyright © 2002 Daniel L. Johnson

A large fresh outlet from the underground Maligne River joins the muddy aboveground stream from the west side.

1 September 2002
Kodak Portra 800 35mm
Canon z90w
Copyright © 2002 Daniel L. Johnson

A part of the underground Maligne River emerges from the forest and spreads a veil-like falls across the cliff below.

1 September 2002, Jasper National Park, Alberta

Kodak Portra 400VC
Contax 645, 80mm, f11.0 1/90 sec

Copyright © 2002 Daniel L. Johnson

A US tourist from Wisconsin on the Maligne Canyon trail. This is one of the easy spots, crossing a shale slope. We suspect it's pretty slippery in the rain: wet clay on wet shale, and 100 feet down the slow to freezing cold white water. Walk carefully!

31 August 2002
Kodak Portra 800 35mm, Canon z90w
Copyright © 2002 Daniel L. Johnson

The Maligne River, looking downstream at Fifth Bridge, a suspension pedestrian bridge. Compare the color of the water with a036. Here the underground river water has fully reconstituted Maligne River.

31 August 2002
Kodak Portra 800, 35mm; Canon z90w
Copyright © 2002 Daniel L. Johnson

The file names are my file numbers, and are not directly related to image contents. The subject and technical data are contained within each jpeg file itself, as a comment readable by the Gimp or Photoshop, and the comment is provided to the right of each thumbnail image below.

All photographs are copyright © Daniel L. Johnson; all rights reserved. Photos may be copied and disseminated only without charge, and with attribution.

I'm not in the photography business, but if you'd like a print of any, these photos in real life are all 6x4.5 cm color negatives (unless noted otherwise), and we can arrange this through Photos, Inc., of Minneapolis. I send them my negative and you send them your charge card number and address, and in a week or two you'll get a print. email me at drdan AT wwt.net if you wish to pursue this.