# Canadian Alpine Journal/Volume 1/Number 1/Glacier Observations

GLACIER OBSERVATIONS
By George Vaux, Jr., and William S. Vaux
Of all the phenomena that attract the nature lover in the high mountains, possibly none is more interesting or appeals more strongly to the imagination than the glaciers.
These vast bodies of ice, slowly meandering from the highest peaks and snow-submerged valleys, calling to mind that epoch when the polar ice cap covered the whole of Canada and the northern part of the United States, ever pushing onward with resistless force, give us a picture of the operation and unchangeableness of natural laws, which is most impressive.
Whilst the glaciers of the Canadian Rockies and Selkirks cannot compare in size with those of Alaska and other far northern latitudes, there are probably no other mountain ranges in the world where the conditions are more favorable for glacial study and observations. All the various types may be seen, and their location is such that they may be visited with the greatest ease by the tourist, and a continuation of observations made and records kept, which in the future will be of the greatest value in solving the many problems that are as yet unanswered respecting the action of glaciers. In no way can the Alpine Club of Canada do more to further scientific interests than by taking steps to carry on some work of this sort systematically each year.
Though much of it has already appeared in the Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, it seems to be not amiss to give here a brief resume of the work which we have done on the ​glaciers of this region, in the hope that it may prove not only interesting, but also that it may serve as a starting place and prevent duplication of effort. We shall, therefore, run the risk of repeating what is familiar to most of the readers of the Canadian Alpine Journal and, for continuity of treatment, say a word as to the theory of glaciers.
Broadly speaking, a glacier may be said to be a mass of ice of sufficient volume to flow down from an elevation. With the heavy precipitation of snow characteristic of high mountain regions, it is one of the provisions of Nature by which an indefinite accumulation of snow and ice cannot occur.
The Rocky mountain system in southern Canada consists of four principal ranges. Beginning with the west these are: the Coast range, the Gold range, the Selkirk range and the Main or summit range of the Rocky mountains, the two former being much lower. If now one will examine a map of the Pacific ocean upon which the currents are marked, he will see that the great Japan current flows in a northeasterly direction along the Asiatic coast, until it divides, one branch continuing through Behring sea and strait into the Arctic, whilst the other and larger portion takes a great sweep to the east, until it strikes the American continent, when it turns southward, and flows parallel to the coast. Necessarily there is an enormous amount of evaporation from this great valume of warm water and the winds blowing over it are laden with moisture. Their prevailing direction is from west to east. Carrying their burdens of water vapor, they are responsible for the moist and mild climate of the northern portions of the Pacific coast of Northern America. Where these winds meet the cooler land currents of air, some precipitation occurs, but they are not seriously depleted of their moisture until they strike the cold Selkirks, when the precipitation is very heavy. As a result of ​this the air current rises and so crosses the mountain range, only to be met beyond by the still colder and loftier Rockies, where most of the balance of the moisture is lost. Herein we see why the western slopes of these mountains have a much heavier rain and snowfall than the eastern slopes and why it is that the great plains stretching from the foothills to the centre of the continent are comparatively so dry.
In the lower levels this precipitation is in the form of rain, during most of the year at least. But when we reach the elevation of the higher mountains it is almost entirely fine granular snow, even in midsummer. On bright days part of this will evaporate, but the greater portion keeps on accumulating, until as the result of the pressure of the superimposed weight of new snowfalls, it gradually becomes compacted into hard solid ice. This ice is like that which forms in our rivers and lakes, except that its internal crystalline structure is different, owing to the different way in which it was formed. Now, if this were the end, the situation in our regions of high mountains would be very different from what it is, for the snow and ice would keep on increasing indefinitely, as the amount of melting at such high levels must be quite small, and conditions analogous to those of the polar regions would ensue. But Nature comes to the rescue. With the increasing pressure caused by the weight of the ice, to which is added the attraction of gravitation, the ice starts to flow; very slowly, but none the less surely. It is hard for us to conceive of so brittle a substance as ice, as we know it, flowing. Yet it does; and doubtless the internal structure of the ice, above referred to, aids in this. But any ice under pressure is more or less plastic. The pressure exerted on these great bodies of ice by the weight above is tremendous, and their onward motion is resistless. Its effects are seen in the way in which ledges of the hardest rock are smoothed off, and often​times most beautifully polished and grooved by the ploughing over their surfaces of rocks and stones caught in the ice. Possibly the simile frequently used of the way in which thick mortar will run when poured out of a bucket gives as good an idea as any of the manner in which the ice composing a glacier flows. The region of transformation of snow into ice is called the névé.
There is still another and distinct apparent movement of glaciers, which is even more evident than that above described. Naturally when the ice stream reaches the lower and warmer altitudes, melting goes on more rapidly, until finally the end of the ice wastes away, and a stream or river ensues. Now, it is for only a very short time in each year, in the latitude that we are considering, that the temperature is such that the amount of daily melting of ice exactly corresponds with the daily advance produced by the flow of the glacier. Hence it is that we have an oscillation of the tongue, which in winter will gradually extend farther down the valley, whilst in summer it will gradually retreat. This same result of advance and retreat may also be produced by protracted changes of weather conditions as more or less precipitation, higher or lower mean annual temperature. Such must last, however, for terms of years in order to produce anything more than a temporary effect upon the glacier. This characteristic has long been noted, and it is found that usually through long cycles varying from a dozen up to thirty or more years, the glaciers of a given region will show each year a net advance and then again for a succeeding period successive annual recessions. Our Canadian glaciers are no exception to this rule, and during the time they have been observed retreat has been the almost universal movement.
Now, for a brief account of our personal observations on the various glaciers which we have studied:
Illecillewaet Glacier (Glacier House).
Its proximity to the Glacier House and the ease with which it can be reached, has caused this glacier to be more visited and more studied than any other in the whole region. Its size is not such as to cause it to command unusual attention, as there are many others which greatly exceed it. But its location has attracted attention to it ever since the opening of the Canadian Pacific railway, and from 1887 to the present, there have been more or less continuous records made. Our work has consisted:
* (a) In mapping the end of the glacier, with its several moraines and surroundings, showing their conditions through a number of years.
* (b) Taking a series of "test photographs" in successive years, from the same position.
* (c) Measuring the amount of recession from year to year.
* (d) Measuring the rate of flow.
(a) Several maps of the Illecillewaet glacier have been made. We have drawn two, one in 1899, and the other in 1906. Both are from actual surveys and photographs, showing the limits of the ice, the various adjacent moraines, and the rocks marked by various investigators. They may be found in the Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia.
(b) Each year since 1899 we have taken a 6½x8½ photograph from a large boulder, located to the right of the trail, soon after it emerges from the forest. These pictures form a most interesting series, and a comparison of them gives a very accurate idea of the many changes in the ice as they have occurred.
Photo, Geo. Vaux, Jr. and Mary M. Vaux
TEST PICTURE OF THE ILLECILLEWAET GLACIER FOR THE YEAR 1905 Showing the Left Lateral Moraine, Mount Lookout in the Centre
The following table gives the results of the observations for recession:
Illecillewaet Glacier, Recession of Tongue of Ice from Rock C.
| Date of Observation. | Distance Tongue of Ice to Rock C. | Recession of Ice since previous year. |
| Aug, 17, 1898 | 60 feet | |
| July 29, 1899 | 76 feet„ | 16 feet |
| Aug.  6, 1900 | 140 feet„ | 64 feet„ |
| Aug.  5, 1901 | 155 feet„ | 15 feet„ |
| Aug. 26, 1902 | 203 feet„ | 48 feet„ |
| Aug. 25, 1903 | 235 feet„ | 32 feet„ |
| Aug. 14, 1904 | 240½ feet„ | 5½ feet„ |
| July 25, 1905 | 243 feet„ | 2½ feet„ |
| July 24, 1906 | 327 feet„ | 84 feet„ |
(d) The most detailed and probably the most interesting work we have done, however, is the measurement of the rate of flow. Rev. W. S. Green made some observations, but, as he was not equipped with ​proper instruments for the work, his results were not very satisfactory. In 1899 our own work of this sort began. A base line was laid out on the right moraine, at a point about 1000 yards above the tongue of the glacier. We had provided a number of square steel plates, painted bright red and lettered for identification. With the assistance of a transit these were laid out across the glacier in a straight line, and at points as nearly equidistant as possible. Some days later, and again in subsequent years, the position to which the ice had carried these plates was measured by trigonometric methods, and then the rate of flow calculated.
As time went on some of the plates were lost through their slipping into crevasses, or from other causes. We have reason to believe, however, that none of them were disturbed by visitors, which is a satisfaction. Finally they had flowed so far down that none of them could be seen from the ends of the base, and in 1906 a new set of plates was laid out. The interval of time at our disposal was too short to permit of any very satisfactory deductions from this new line of plates, apart from obtaining the rate of summer flow, but we are hoping to secure measurements the coming summer, which may add to the amount of knowledge we possess on this subject.
The following tables summarize what has already been done:
Illecillewaet Glacier.
Table Showing Motion of Line of Plates, 1899 to 1906.
| Number of Plate. | Position of Plates on July 31, 1899. | Distance below original line, on August 6, 1900. | Daily Motion 1899 to 1900. | Distance below original line on August 26, 1902. | Daily Motion 1900 to 1902. | Distance below original line on August 28, 1903. | Daily Motion 1902 to 1903. | Distance below original line on July 12, 1906. |
| 1 | On line. | 1,044 ins. | 2.82 ins. | 3,455 ins. | 3.21 ins. | Lost | —— | Lost |
| 2 | On line. | 1,488 ins. | 4.00 ins. | 4,446 ins. | 3.94 ins. | Lost | —— | Lost |
| 3 | On line. | 1,716 ins. | 4.64 ins. | 4,848 ins. | 4.18 ins. | 6,216 ins. | 3.73 ins. | On border moraine |
| 4 | On line. | 2,112 ins. | 5.71 ins. | Lost | —— | Lost | —— | 10,200 ins. |
| 5 | On line. | 2,220 ins. | 6.00 ins. | 5,850 ins. | 4.94 ins. | 7,740 ins. | 4.87 ins. | Lost |
| 6 | On line. | 2,280 ins. | 6.16 ins. | 6,312 ins. | 5.51 ins. | 8,388 ins. | 5.65 ins. | Lost |
| 7 | On line. | 2,160 ins. | 5.84 ins. | 6,504 ins. | 5.79 ins. | Lost | —— | Lost |
| 8 | On line. | 2,040 ins. | 5.51 ins. | Lost | —— | Lost | —— | Lost |
Table Comparing Summer Daily Motion of Plates on Illecillewaet Glacier, 1899-1906.
| 1899—36-day interval. | 1899—36-day interval. | 1899—36-day interval. | 1906—12-day interval. | 1906—12-day interval. | 1906—12-day interval. |
| Number of Plate. | Feet from 1906 ice edge. | Average daily motion in inches. | Average daily motion in inches. | Feet from 1906 ice edge. | Number of Plate. |
| 1 | 187 | 2.56 | Plate lost | 92 | 1 |
| 2 | 415 | 3.90 | 7.00 | 276 | 2 |
| 3 | 520 | 5.51 | 11.33 | 532 | 3 |
| 4 | 668 | 6.77 | 9.75 | 727 | 4 |
| 5 | 760 | 6.06 | 10.25 | 1,020 | 5 |
| 6 | 900 | 6.79 | 8.85 | 1,171 | 6 |
| 7 | 956 | 6.16 | | | |
| 8 | 1,220 | 6.00 | | | |
Asulkan Glacier (Glacier House).
Our work here has been on the same lines as on the Illecillewaet, though our observations have not been as continuous, and no map was made and no attempt to measure the rate of flow till 1906.
As respects recession, this glacier has shown more changes than some of the others. In 1901, a distinct advance occurred which lasted for about three years. Then recession again ensued. Our series of observations was somewhat interfered with, because the large boulders in the moraine, which were employed to mark our datum line, were shoved forward by the ice in its advance, entirely obliterating the primary base line for our measurements.
Photo, George Vaux, Jr. and Mary M. Vaux
ICE ARCH IN YOHO GLACIER—SHOWS POINT OF ICE MEASURED TO BY DR. SHERZER FROM ROCK "A"
Table Showing Changes in Tongue of Asulkan Glacier.
| Aug. 12, 1899 | "Rock opposite lined with snout." |
| Aug.  8, 1900 | Snout receded 24 feet. |
| Aug.  6, 1901 | Ice above rock 20 feet, 4 feet advance. |
| Aug. 30, 1903 | Ice below rock 16 feet, 36 feet advance since 1901. |
| July 23, 1906 | Ice lines with test rocks, or is in same position as in 1899. |
The method employed in 1906 to measure the rate of flow was identical with that used on the Illecillewaet. The accompanying table gives the results so far secured.
Table Showing Average Daily Motion of Plates on Asulkan Glacier between July 13 and 23, 1906.
| Plate. | Total Motion. | Average Daily Motion. | Remarks. |
| No. 7 | 24 in. | 2.4 in. | Near right edge of ice. |
| No. 8 | 39 in.„ | 3.9 in.„ | 63 feet from R. edge. |
| No. 9 | 55½ in.„ | 5.5 in.„ | 157 feet from R. edge. |
| No. 10 | 67 in.„ | 6.7 in.„ | 325 feet from R. edge. |
| No. 11 | 67 in.„ | 6.7 in.„ | 415 feet from R. edge. |
| No. 12 | 63 in.„ | 6.3 in.„ | Close to left edge. |
| Boulder | 89 in.„ | 8.9 in.„ | On left moraine, resting on ice foot. |
Wapta Glacier (Yoho Valley)
In 1901, when we first visited this glacier, we marked on the bed rock the extent of the tongue, and also took test photographs from a large boulder high up on the right moraine. This work was repeated in 1904 and in 1906. The work of the Scientific Section of the Alpine Club will demonstrate the rate of flow.
The recession from 1901 till 1904 was 89 feet, an average of about 30 feet per annum. From 1904 till 1906 apparently the glacier was practically stationary.
Victoria Glacier (Lake Louise).
We have made some measurements to show the recession of the Victoria glacier. Its whole lower portion is so deeply buried in morainal material that the tongue is very difficult to distinguish. The motion is also complex, as there is a sideways movement across the main stream caused by the inflow of the Lefroy glacier. The tongue at present appears to be on the left side. Here the recession appears to have been about 17 feet per annum between 1898 and 1903; since then, there has practically been no movement.
We have also endeavored to approximate the rate of flow of this glacier at two different points, one near the forefoot, and the other about two miles further up. These observations were made with the aid of some large boulders, and the prismatic compass, by which means the position of the rocks was located in successive seasons relative to fixed points not on the ice. The amount of the flow was about 147 feet during the year 1899- 1900.
We have also visited and photographed a number of other glaciers, but on none of them have we made any accurate measurements and observations. In the interests of science, it is much to be hoped that the number of glaciers studied will be very largely extended. The field is an extensive one and there are many problems to be solved.
TO ACCOMPANY PAPER WRITTEN BY GEORGE VAUX Jr. AND WILLIAM S. VAUX FOR THE CANADIAN ALPINE JOURNAL
COURTESY OF THE ACADEMY OF NATURAL SCIENCES OF PHILADELPHIA
This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published before January 1, 1929.
This work may be in the public domain in countries and areas with longer native copyright terms that apply the rule of the shorter term to foreign works.
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