Most of the stops along the Icefields Parkway are views of mountain lakes, the fabulous Canadian Rockies and glaciers. This is particularly true of the portion of the parkway in Banff National Park. As you travel north on this amazing 140-mile road and enter Jasper National Park, waterfalls become more prevalent. There are several small ones along the way, but the first sizable one is this one, Sunwapta Falls. The falls actually consists of two falls, one downstream away from the first one that is closer to the parkway. The falls gets its name from the Assiniboine Native Americans meaning "turbulent water". The Athabasca River is sourced by the Columbia Glacier and is at its most spectacular in the spring with the snow melt. The river passes over the falls on its way to the town of Jasper to the north.