Bear Lake (Colorado)
Encyclopedia
Rocky Mountain National Park
Rocky Mountain National Park is a national park located in the north-central region of the U.S. state of Colorado.It features majestic mountain views, a variety of wildlife, varied climates and environments—from wooded forests to mountain tundra—and easy access to back-country trails...
. Sitting at an elevation of 9450 feet (2,880.4 m), the lake rests beneath the sheer flanks of Hallett Peak
Hallett Peak
Hallett Peak is a mountain in Colorado's Rocky Mountain National Park. It lies on the Continental Divide on which it is flanked by Flattop Mountain to the north and Otis Peak to the south. Just to its east lies Dream Lake, which is usually accessed from the Bear Lake Comfort Station...
and the Continental Divide
Continental Divide
The Continental Divide of the Americas, or merely the Continental Gulf of Division or Great Divide, is the name given to the principal, and largely mountainous, hydrological divide of the Americas that separates the watersheds that drain into the Pacific Ocean from those river systems that drain...
at 40.31324°N 105.648222°W. Several trails, from easy strolls to strenuous hikes, start from the lake. The Bear Lake Road is open year round, though it may temporarily close due to adverse weather conditions. An ample parking lot is provided close to the lake. The Bear Lake Road is approximately 10 miles long and starts close to the Beaver Meadows Entrance station of the Rocky Mountains National Park.
The lake was formed during the ice age
Ice age
An ice age or, more precisely, glacial age, is a generic geological period of long-term reduction in the temperature of the Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental ice sheets, polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers...
by a glacier
Glacier
A glacier is a large persistent body of ice that forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. At least 0.1 km² in area and 50 m thick, but often much larger, a glacier slowly deforms and flows due to stresses induced by its weight...
. Several moraines can be found downhill of Bear Lake.