smaller mammals are common everywhere. Hunting is strictly prohibited in the Park, fishing is permitted with a Park license. Surrounding geographical features Emerald Lake is enclosed by mountains of the President Range, named after the President and Vice-President of the coast to coast Canadian Pacific Railway, built in 1885 and which runs through Yoho National Park. Other peaks are Mount Burgess and Wapta Mountain. The Emerald Basin opens to the west and traps rain and snow storms, causing frequent rain in summer and heavy snowfalls in winter. This influx of moisture works with the lake's elevation of 1200 meters / 4400 feet above sea level to produce a unique selection of flora. Trees found here are more typical of B.C.'s wet interior forests of the Columbia Mountains immediately to the west, such as western red cedar, western yew, western hemlock and western white pine. The alluvial fan on the northeast shore produces wildflowers in abundance during late June and early July. Climate Brief snowstorms, which usually melt in a few days, occasionally occur at valley level in June or September due to the latitude of 53 degrees and the generally high elevation. Daytime temperatures in June or September average 20 C / 70 F, in July and August it can reach as high as 33 C / 90 F. Winter temperatures December to March are always below freezing, averaging -15 C / 0 F and sometimes down to -30 C / -30 F. Snowfall is usually substantial, about 1 meter / 3 feet or more of snow stays at lake level in winter, increasing with altitude to 10 meters / 30 feet or more on the mountain tops. Due to its 53 degree latitude and moderately high altitude, the lake is frozen from November until late April or early May. The vivid green color of the water is caused by powdered rock from the glaciers which reflects the blue-green spectrum of sunlight, the rock type and the amount of it in the water causes the color to vary from lake to lake and month to month, even week to week. Human interaction Naming The first non-indigenous person to set sight on Emerald Lake was Canadian guide Tom Wilson, who stumbled upon it by accident in 1882. A string of his horses had gotten away, and it was while tracking them that he first entered the valley. The lake had an