Hector Lake is a small glacial lake

Glacial lake

A glacial lake is a lake with origins in a melted glacier. Near the end of the last glacial period, roughly 10,000 years ago, glaciers began to retreat. A retreating glacier often left behind large deposits of ice in hollows between drumlins or hills. As the ice age ended, these melted to create...

 in western Alberta

Alberta

Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. It is located on the Bow River

Bow River

The Bow River is a river in the Canadian province of Alberta. It is a tributary of the South Saskatchewan River, and is considered the headwater of the Nelson River....

, in the Canadian Rockies

Canadian Rockies

The Canadian Rockies comprise the Canadian segment of the North American Rocky Mountains range. They are the eastern part of the Canadian Cordillera, extending from the Interior Plains of Alberta to the Rocky Mountain Trench of British Columbia. The southern end borders Idaho and Montana of the USA...

.

It is named after James Hector

James Hector

Sir James Hector was a Scottish geologist, naturalist, and surgeon who accompanied the Palliser Expedition as a surgeon and geologist...

, a geologist and naturalist with the Palliser Expedition

Palliser Expedition

The British North American Exploring Expedition, commonly called the Palliser Expedition, explored and surveyed the open prairies and rugged wilderness of western Canada from 1857 to 1860. The purpose was to explore possible routes for the Canadian Pacific Railway and discover new species of plants...

.
The lake is formed in a valley of the Waputik Range

Waputik Range

The Waputik Range lies West of the upper Bow Valley, East of Bath Creek, South of Balfour Creek in the Canadian Rockies."Waputik" means "white goat" in Stoney...

, north of the Waputik Icefield

Waputik Icefield

The Waputik Icefield is located on the Continental divide in the Canadian Rocky Mountains, in the provinces of British Columbia and Alberta. It is developed on the heights of the Waputik Range in the Central Main Ranges....

, between Pulpit Peak, Mount Balfour, Crawfoot Mountain and Bow Peak. Hector Glacier

Hector Glacier

Hector Glacier is located in Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada. The glacier is on the north slope of Mount Hector and extends northward for . In 1938, a large mass of the glacier broke off and covered the valley below with ice up to 60 m thick...

 and Mount Hector rise on the opposite side of the Bow River.

Hector Lake is one of the lakes that line the Icefields Parkway

Icefields Parkway

The Icefields Parkway , also known as Highway 93 north, is a scenic road in Alberta, Canada. It parallels the Continental Divide, traversing the rugged landscape of the Canadian Rockies, travelling through Banff National Park and Jasper National Park. It links Lake Louise with Jasper to the north....

 in Banff National Park

Banff National Park

Banff National Park is Canada's oldest national park, established in 1885 in the Rocky Mountains. The park, located 110–180 kilometres west of Calgary in the province of Alberta, encompasses of mountainous terrain, with numerous glaciers and ice fields, dense coniferous forest, and alpine...

 and Jasper National Park

Jasper National Park

Jasper National Park is the largest national park in the Canadian Rockies, spanning 10,878 km² . It is located in the province of Alberta, north of Banff National Park and west of the City of Edmonton. The park includes the glaciers of the Columbia Icefield, hot springs, lakes, waterfalls and...

, other such lakes being Bow Lake

Bow Lake (Alberta)

Bow Lake is a small lake in western Alberta, Canada. It is located on the Bow River, in the Canadian Rockies, at an altitude of 1920 m.The lake lies south of the Bow Summitt, east of the Waputik Range and west of the Dolomite Pass, Dolomite Peak and Cirque Peak.Bow Lake is...

, Lake Louise

Lake Louise (Alberta)

Lake Louise is a lake in Alberta, Canada. The glacial lake is located in Banff National Park, from the hamlet of Lake Louise and the Trans-Canada Highway....

, Peyto Lake

Peyto Lake

Peyto Lake is a glacier-fed lake located in Banff National Park in the Canadian Rockies. The lake itself is easily accessed from the Icefields Parkway...

, Mistaya Lake, Waterfowl Lakes, Chephren Lake and Sunwapta Lake.

Hector Lake is the second lake from the headwaters of Bow River, the first one being Bow Lake, and has a total area of 5.23 km² (2 sq mi).