Yukon Horseback Explorer
A three hour ride to Emerald Lake with an experienced guide. The ride will take you to Emerald Lake this lake has a beautiful blue-green colour which is created by sunlight reflecting off a white layer of “marl” on the lake bed. Marl is a white calcium carbonate (CaCO3) clay that forms in the water and then settles, often unevenly, onto the lake bottom. It forms when enough carbonate (CO3), from dissolving limestone), reacts with calcium (Ca) in the water. This valley was covered by a glacier during the last ice age and shallow lakes were formed when the glaciers retreated 14,000 years ago. Retreating ice deposited limestone gravel, eroded from the surrounding hills, on the valley floor. The carbonate rich gravel affected the ground water and led eventually to the formation of marl in the lake.