^USGS

science for a changing world

Satellite Image Atlas 

of Glaciers of the World

NORTH AMERICA

United States Geological Survey 

Professional Paper 1386-J
Cover: Landsat false-color image of ice fields, outlet glaciers, valley 

glaciers, and cirque glaciers on Bylot Island, as well as ice caps, ice 

fields, outlet, and valley glaciers on the Borden Peninsula and northern 

Baffin Island, Nunavut, Canada. Landsat image (20204-16513; 14 

August 1975; Path 36, Row 8) from the Canada Centre for Remote 

Sensing (OCRS), Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
GLACIERS OF NORTH AMERICA*

J-l. GLACIERS OF CANADA 

INTRODUCTION

By RICHARD S. WILLIAMS, JR., and JANE G. FERRIGNO, Editors 

HISTORY OF GLACIER INVESTIGATIONS IN CANADA 

By C. SIMON L. OMMANNEY 

MAPPING CANADA'S GLACIERS 

By C. SIMON L. OMMANNEY

With a section on MAPPING GLACIERS IN THE INTERIOR RANGES AND ROCKY MOUNTAINS WITH

LANDSAT DATA

By ROGER D. WHEATE, ROBERT W SIDJAK, and GARNET T. WHYTE 

GLACIERS OF THE ARCTIC ISLANDS

GLACIERS OF THE HIGH ARCTIC ISLANDS

By ROY M. KOERNER

ELLESMERE ISLAND ICE SHELVES AND ICE ISLANDS

By MARTIN O. JEFFRIES

GLACIERS OF BAFFIN ISLAND

By JOHN T.ANDREWS

With sections on BARNES ICE CAP: GEOMORPHOLOGY AND THERMODYNAMICS 

By GERALD HOLDSWORTH

LATE 20TH CENTURY CHANGE AT THE BARNES ICE CAP MARGIN 

By JOHN D.JACOBS

GLACIERS OF THE CANADIAN ROCKIES 

By C. SIMON L. OMMANNEY 

GLACIERS OF THE COAST MOUNTAINS 

By CARRY KG. CLARKE and GERALD HOLDSWORTH 

GLACIERS OF THE ST. ELIAS MOUNTAINS 

By CARRY KG. CLARKE and GERALD HOLDSWORTH

With a section on QUANTITATIVE MEASUREMENTS OF TWEEDSMUIR GLACIER AND LOWELL

GLACIER IMAGERY

By GERALD HOLDSWORTH, PHILIP J. HOWARTH, atidC. SIMON L. OMMANNEY 

J-2. GLACIERS OF THE CONTERMINOUS UNITED STATES 

GLACIERS OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES 

By ROBERT M. KRIMMEL

With a section on GLACIER RETREAT IN GLACIER NATIONAL PARK, MONTANA 

By CARL H. KEY, DANIEL B. FAGRE, and RICHARD K. MENICKE 

J-3. GLACIERS OF MEXICO

By SIDNEY E. WHITE

'''Excluding Alaska. The Glaciers of Alaska is a separate chapter, 1386-K, in this U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper series

SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD

Edited by RICHARD S. WILLIAMS, Jr., and JANE G. FERRIGNO

U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 1386-J

Landsat images, together with aerial photographs, selected maps, and other data, have been 

used to provide a baseline of mid-1970's glacierization in Canada, the conterminous 

United States, and Mexico

UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, WASHINGTON: 2002
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

GALE A. NORTON, Secretary

U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 

Charles G. Groat, Director

Any use of trade, product, or firm names in this publication is for

descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the

U.S. Government

Technical editing by Susan Tufts-Moore 

Technical editing by John M. Watson 

Design, layout, and illustrations by Kirsten E. Healey 

Text review and typesetting by Janice G. Goodell 

Layout review by Carolyn H. McQuaig

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

(Revised for vol. J)

Satellite image atlas of glaciers of the world.

(U.S. Geological Survey professional paper; 1386)

Includes bibliography.

Contents: Ch. B. Antarctica, by Charles Swithinbank; with sections on The "dry valleys" of Victoria Land, by Trevor J. Chinn,

[and] Landsat images of Antarctica, by Richard S. Williams, Jr., and Jane G. Ferrigno Ch. C. Greenland, by Anker Weidick Ch.

E. Glaciers of Europe Ch. G. Glaciers of the Middle East and Africa Ch. H. Glaciers of Irian Jaya, Indonesia, and New

Zealand Ch. I. Glaciers of South America Ch. J. Glaciers of North America 

Supt. of Docs, no.: 119.16:1386-J

1. Glaciers Remote sensing. I. Williams, Richard S., Jr. II. Ferrigno, Jane G. III. Series. 

GB2401.72.R42S28 1988 551.3'12 87-600497 

ISBN 0-607-98290-X

For sale by the U.S. Geological Survey, Information Services

Box 25286, Federal Center,

Denver, CO 80225
Foreword

On 23 July 1972, the first Earth Resources Technology Satellite (ERTS 1 

or Landsat 1) was successfully placed in orbit. The success of Landsat inaugurated a new era in satisfying mankind's desire to better understand the 

dynamic world upon which we live. Space-based observations have become 

an essential means for monitoring global environmental changes.

The short- and long-term cumulative effects of processes that cause significant changes on the Earth's surface can be documented and studied by 

repetitive Landsat and other satellite images. Such images provide a permanent historical record of the surface of the planet; they also make possible 

comparative two- and three-dimensional measurements of change over 

time. This Professional Paper demonstrates the importance of the application of Landsat images to global studies by using them to determine the 

1970's distribution of glaciers on the planet. As images become available 

from future satellites, the new data will be used to document global 

changes in glacier extent by reference to the baseline Landsat image record 

of the 1970's.

Although many geological processes take centuries or even millennia to 

produce obvious changes on the Earth's surface, other geological phenomena, such as glaciers and volcanoes, cause noticeable changes over shorter 

periods. Some of these phenomena can have a worldwide impact and often 

are interrelated. Explosive volcanic eruptions, such as the 1991 Mount 

Pinatubo, Philippines, eruption, can produce dramatic effects on the global 

climate. Natural or culturally induced processes can cause global climatic 

cooling or warming. Glaciers respond to such warming or cooling periods by 

decreasing or increasing in size, which in turn causes sea level to rise or fall.

As our understanding of the interrelationship of global processes 

improves and our ability to assess changes caused by these processes 

develops further, we will learn how to use indicators of global change, such 

as glacier variation, to manage more wisely the use of our finite land and 

water resources. This USGS Professional Paper series is an excellent example of the way in which we can use technology to provide needed earth-science information about our planet. The international collaboration 

represented by this report is also an excellent model for the kind of cooperation that scientists will increasingly find necessary in the future in order to 

solve important earth-science problems on a global basis.

Charles G. Groat,

Director,

U.S. Geological Survey

FOREWORD III
Preface

This chapter is the seventh chapter to be released in U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1386, Satellite Image Atlas of Glaciers of the World, 

a series of 11 chapters. In each chapter, remotely sensed images, primarily 

from the Landsat 1,2, and 3 series of spacecraft, are used to study the glacierized regions of our planet and to monitor glacier changes. Landsat 

images, acquired primarily during the middle to late 1970's, were used by 

an international team of glaciologists and other scientists to study various 

geographic regions or to discuss glaciological topics. In each geographic 

region, the present areal distribution of glaciers is compared, wherever possible, with historical information about their past extent. The atlas provides 

an accurate regional inventory of the areal extent of glacier ice on our 

planet during the 1970's as part of a growing international scientific effort 

to measure global environmental change on the Earth's surface.

The chapter is divided into three parts: Glaciers of Canada (J-l), Glaciers of the Conterminous United States (J-2), and Glaciers of Mexico 

(J-3). The Glaciers of Alaska is a separate chapter, Chapter 1386-K, of this 

series.

Glaciers in Canada are located in three principal geographic settings: on 

several Arctic islands in Nunavut and the Northwest Territories of northern 

Canada, in the Rocky Mountains and Interior Ranges of Alberta, British 

Columbia, Yukon Territory, and the Northwest Territories, and along the 

Pacific Coast, where they are sometimes contiguous with glaciers of Alaska. 

Glaciers are also situated in the Ungava Peninsula of northern Labrador, 

Newfoundland, and on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. The area covered by glaciers is estimated to be 151,000 km2 on the Arctic Islands and 

50,000 km2 on the mainland, a total of 201,000 km2 The types of glaciers in 

Canada include ice caps and ice fields and associated outlet glaciers, valley 

glaciers, mountain glaciers, glacierets, and rock glaciers. Landsat images 

are most useful in the study of large glaciers, ice caps and ice fields and 

associated outlet glaciers in Arctic Canada, and of ice fields, outlet glaciers, 

and valley glaciers in western Canada.

Glaciers in the conterminous United States are located in the States of 

Washington, Oregon, California, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Idaho, Utah, 

and Nevada. They have a total area of about 580 km2 . Only the first five 

states have glaciers large enough in area to be discernable on Landsat MSS 

images. Many of the volcanoes in the Cascade Range of the western United 

States are capped by glaciers, posing a significant hazard in the form of 

lahars and jokulhlaups in the river basins that originate on the flanks of 

these volcanoes. In Glacier National Park, Montana, the larger cirque glaciers have been reduced in area and volume during the past 150 years, a 

reduction rate that accelerated during the 20th century.

Glaciers in Mexico are located on two active stratovolcanoes, Volcan Citlaltepetl (nine named glaciers) and Popocatepetl (three named glaciers), 

and one dormant stratovolcano, Iztaccihuatl (12 named glaciers). The total 

glacier area in the middle 1960's was 11.44 km2 ; all glaciers have been 

receding during the 20th century. Since 1993, intermittent volcanic activity 

of Popocatepetl has produced changes in its glaciers. The small area of 

Mexico's glaciers limits the usefulness of Landsat MSS data; Landsat 3 RBV 

data, however, has sufficient spatial resolution to delineate glacier margins.

Richard S. Williams, Jr. 

Jane G. Ferrigno 

Editors

PREFACE
About this Volume

U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1386, Satellite Image Atlas of 

Glaciers of the World, contains 11 chapters designated by the letters A 

through K. Chapter A is a general chapter containing introductory material 

on the Earth's cryosphere, including a discussion of the physical characteristics, classification, and global distribution of glaciers. The next 10 chapters, B through K, are arranged geographically and present glaciological 

information from Landsat and other sources of data on each of the geographic areas. Chapter B covers Antarctica; Chapter C, Greenland; Chapter 

D, Iceland; Chapter E, Continental Europe (except for the European part of 

the former Soviet Union), including the Alps, the Pyrenees, Norway, Sweden, Svalbard (Norway), and Jan Mayen (Norway); Chapter F, Asia, including the European part of the former Soviet Union, China (P.R.C.), India, 

Nepal, Afghanistan, and Pakistan; Chapter G, Turkey, Iran, and Africa; 

Chapter H, Irian Jaya (Indonesia) and New Zealand; Chapter I, South 

America; and Chapter J, North America (excluding Alaska); and Chapter K, 

Alaska.

The realization that one element of the Earth's cryosphere, its glaciers, 

was amenable to global inventorying and monitoring with Landsat images 

led to the decision, in late 1979, to prepare this Professional Paper, in which 

Landsat 1, 2, and 3 multispectral scanner (MSS) and Landsat 2 and 3 return 

beam vidicon (RBV) images would be used to inventory the areal occurrence of glacier ice on our planet within the boundaries of the spacecraft's 

coverage (between about 81° north and south latitudes). Through identification and analysis of optimum Landsat images of the glacierized areas of 

the Earth during the first decade of the Landsat era, a global benchmark or 

baseline could be established for determining the areal extent of glaciers 

during a relatively narrow time interval (1972 to 1982). This global "snapshot" of glacier extent could then be used for comparative analysis with 

previously published maps and aerial photographs and with new maps, satellite images, and aerial photographs in order to determine the areal fluctuation of glaciers in response to natural or culturally induced changes in the 

Earth's climate.

To accomplish this objective, the editors selected optimum Landsat 

images of each of the glacierized regions of our planet from the Landsat 

image data base at the EROS Data Center in Sioux Falls, S. Dak., although 

some images were also obtained from the Landsat image archives maintained by the Canada Centre for Remote Sensing, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, 

and by the European Space Agency in Kiruna, Sweden, and Fucino, Italy. 

Between 1979 and 1981, these optimum images were distributed to an 

international team of more than 50 scientists who agreed to write a section 

of the Professional Paper concerning either a geographic area or a glaciological topic. In addition to analyzing images of a specific geographic area, 

each author was also asked to summarize up-to-date information about the 

glaciers within the area and to compare their present areal distribution with 

historical information (for example, from published maps, reports, and photographs) about their past extent. Completion of this atlas will provide an 

accurate regional inventory of the areal extent of glaciers on our planet 

during the 1970's.

Richard S. Williams, Jr. 

Jane G. Ferrigno 

Editors

VI ABOUT THIS VOLUME
CONTENTS

Foreword III 

Preface V 

About this Volume VI 

J-l. Glaciers of Canada

Introduction, by Richard S. Williams, Jr., and 

Jane G. Ferrigno, Editors Jl

History of Glacier Investigations in Canada, by

C. Simon L. Ommanney J27 

Mapping Canada's Glaciers, by C. Simon L. Ommanney J83 

With a section on Mapping Glaciers in the Interior 

Ranges and Rocky Mountains with Landsat Data, 

by Roger D. Wheate, Robert W. Sidjak, and 

Garnet T. Whyte J100

Glaciers of the Arctic Islands

Glaciers of the High Arctic Islands, by Roy M. Koerner Jill 

Ellesmere Island Ice Shelves and Ice Islands,

by Martin O. Jeffries J147 

Glaciers of Baffin Island, by John T. Andrews J165 

With sections on Barnes Ice Cap: Geomorphology and

Thermodynamics, by Gerald Holdsworth J178 

and Late 20th Century Change at the Barnes Ice Cap

Margin, by John D. Jacobs J185 

Glaciers of the Canadian Rockies,

by C. Simon L. Ommanney J199 

Glaciers of the Coast Mountains, by Garry K.C. Clarke 

and Gerald Holdsworth J291

Glaciers of the St. Elias Mountains, by Garry K.C. Clarke 

and Gerald Holdsworth J301

With a section on Quantitative Measurements of the 

Tweedsmuir Glacier and Lowell Glacier Imagery, 

by Gerald Holdsworth, Philip J. Howarth, and 

C. Simon L. Ommanney J312 

J-2. Glaciers of the Conterminous United States 

Glaciers of the Western United States, by 

Robert M. Krimmel J329

With a section on Glacier retreat in Glacier National 

Park, Montana, by Carl H. Key, Daniel B. Fagre, and 

Richard K Menicke J365

J-3. Glaciers of Mexico, by Sidney E. White J383

CONTENTS VII
Glaciers of North America 

GLACIERS OF CANADA

INTRODUCTION

By RICHARD S. WILLIAMS, JR. and JANE G. FERRIGNO, Editors

SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD

Edited by RICHARD S. WILLIAMS, Jr., WJANE G. FERRIGNO

U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 1386-J-l

Glaciers in Canada are situated in three principal locations: on several Arctic 

islands, in the Rocky Mountains and Interior Ranges, and along the Pacific Coast. 

Landsat MSS images are most useful in studying and monitoring changes in ice caps, 

icefields, outlet glaciers, and valley glaciers
CONTENTS

Page

Introduction Jl

FIGURE 1. Geographic locations of the currently glacierized regions of

Canada 1 

2. Glacierization of Canada (and Greenland and Iceland) during

the Pleistocene Epoch 2 

TABLE 1. Estimated glacier area in Canada 1

Topical Sections 3 

Glaciers of the Arctic Islands 4

FIGURE 3. Optimum Landsat 1, 2, and 3 MSS and RBV images of the glaciers

of the Arctic Islands of Canada 5 

TABLE 2. Optimum Landsat 1, 2, and 3 MSS and RBV images of the glaciers

of the Arctic Islands of Canada 6

Glaciers of Western Canada 16

FIGURE 4. Map of the major mountain ranges in the Interior Ranges of

British Columbia 16

5. Optimum Landsat 1, 2, and 3 MSS images of the glaciers of the

Canadian Rocky Mountains and Interior Ranges 17

6. Optimum Landsat 1, 2, and 3 MSS and RBV images of the

glaciers of the Coast and St. Elias Mountains of Canada 20

7. Map of the major mountain ranges in the Yukon and Northwest

Territories of Canada 23 

TABLE 3. Optimum Landsat 1, 2, and 3 MSS images of the glaciers of the

Canadian Rocky Mountains and Interior Ranges 18

4. Optimum Landsat 1,2, and 3 MSS and RBV images of glaciers

of the Coast and St. Elias Mountains of Canada 21

References Cited 25

CONTENTS III
SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD

GLACIERS OF NORTH AMERICAGLACIERS OF CANADA

INTRODUCTION

By RICHARD S. WILLIAMS, JR. and]ANE G. FERRIGNO, Editors

Glaciers in Canada are located principally in three geographic settings: on 

several Arctic islands in Nunavut and the Northwest Territories of northern 

Canada, in the Rocky Mountains and the Interior Ranges 1 , and along the 

coast of the Pacific Ocean, where they are sometimes contiguous with glaciers 

of Alaska (fig. 1, and figs. 1 and 2 in the "History of Glacier Investigations in 

Canada"). The area covered by glaciers is estimated to be 151,000 km2 in the 

Canadian Arctic and 50,000 km2 in the mountain ranges of Western Canada 

(table 1). During the Last Glacier Maximum (LGM) during the Pleistocene 

Epoch, the Laurentide Ice Sheet and the Cordilleran Ice Sheet covered

TABLE 1. Estimated glacier area in Canada (from Ommanney, 1970)

[1, Approximation from previous estimates; 2, Ommanney (1969); 3, Koerner (1968); 4, Measured value 

from National Topographic System (NTS) l:250,000-scale maps; 5, Henoch (1967)]

Figure 1. Geographic locations of 

the currently glacierized regions of 

Canada (and Greenland and Iceland), 

by S. Pick and A. Murray (see also 

Shilts and others, 1998), from the 

1998 Canadian Geographic, v. 118, 

no. 7, Sources: Geomatics Canada, 

Glacier Atlas of Canada, National 

Hydrology Research Centre. Used 

with permission.

Location of Glaciers

ARCTIC ISLANDS 

Ellesmere.... ................................ ...

Devon... ..................................... .....

Coburg. ..........................................

Meighen

Melville ..........................................

North Kent........ .............................

Baffin..............................................

Bylot.................................... ...........

MAINLAND DRAINAGE BASINS

Great Slave ....................................

Estimated Glacier Area (square kilometers)

................................. 80,000*

................................. 5Q0 1

1 1 V^fi 2

i R 9nn i

OK 3

................................. 160 4

Subtotal 109,057 

07 nnnl

& nnn 1

Subtotal Arctic 151,057 

................................. 37,659 5

ooo5

................................. 6265

................................. K) Pifvl 5

................................. 840 5

Subtotal Mainland 50,041

Total Canada 201,098

Manuscript approved for publication, 7 March 2002.

1 The names in this section conform to the usage authorized by the Secretariat of the Canadian Permanent Committee on Geographical Names (CPCGN) and found in the Canadian Geographical Names Data 

Base (CGNDB). Variant names and names not listed in the CPCGN/CGNDB are shown in italics.

Jl
virtually all of Canada (fig. 2), so present-day glaciers in Canada are present 

only where the regional climates have temperature and (or) accumulation/melt regimes sufficient to maintain these ice masses. Some glaciers may, 

in fact, be relicts from the late Pleistocene Epoch, or from the late Holocene 

Epoch "Little Ice Age," and could not re-form under present, regional climatic conditions, if they were to completely melt. Because of the vastness 

and often inaccessibility of the glacierized regions of Canada, only 176 individual glaciers of the many thousands of glaciers have been studied in the 

field or with airborne and satellite remote sensing technology during the past 

140 years. Between the 1940's and the present, 34 of these 176 glaciers or 

glacierized areas have been specially mapped one or more times, at scales 

ranging from 1:5,000 to 1:125,000.

Dunbar and Greenway (1956) published an importanl book which 

included numerous trimetrogon aerial photographs of the glaciers of Arctic 

Canada; their pioneering work with available aerial photographs provided a 

regional overview of the most glacierized part of Canada and, in a sense, 

was a forerunner of the use of satellite images to document the areal extent 

of glacier ice in Canada. More than 120 years ago, the geologist Nathaniel 

Shaler and the physical geographer William Morris Davis (Shaler and Davis, 

1881) pioneered in the use of ground photographs to provide a historical 

record of glaciers. As soon as new technology becomes available, scientists 

are quick to apply it to specific research needs. In the examples given, the 

successive technologies adopted to study glaciers were ground photography, aerial photography, and satellite imagery.

The Glaciers of Canada section of this volume is divided into several sections; two main topical sections and one subsection follow this introduction. 

Three main sections and two subsections cover the glaciers of the Arctic 

Islands; three main sections and one subsection cover the glaciers of the 

Canadian Rockies, Coast Mountains, and St. Elias Mountains. It is obvious 

thai the lack of scientific knowledge about most of the glaciers of Canada 

precludes a comprehensive discussion of all of the glacierized regions. 

However, the potential of satellite remote sensing, including the higher spatial and spectral resolution imagery of post-Landsat multispectral scanner 

(MSS) images to investigate areal changes in Canada's glaciers, is well documented in the following sections. The emphasis on 1970's images in this 

introduction and the following sections is due to the goal of compiling a global baseline of glacier area (in the 1970's time frame) in this Satellite Image 

Atlas of Glaciers of the World series.

The first field observations of glaciers in Canada were made in 1861, nine 

years before Clarence R. King, the first Director of the U.S. Geological Survey (established in 1879), discovered Whitney Glacier on Mt. Shasta, Calif., 

and three more glaciers on the north slope of the volcano in 1870 (Williams 

and Ferrigno, 1997). Since that time, 176 glaciers in Canada 13 in the St. 

Elias Mountains, 63 in the Coast Mountains, 10 in the Interior Ranges, 27 

in the Rocky Mountains, 41 in the High Arctic, 10 in the Low Arctic, 5 in the 

Torngat Mountains of Labrador (Newfoundland), and 7 outside these glacierized areas have been studied. These studies, in the post-World War II 

to the 1980's period, were driven by scientific, economic, security, and sovereignty concerns, including the impetus from major cooperative international scientific programs, such as the International Geophysical Year and 

the International Hydrological Decade.

In 1999, the two Federal Departments having responsibilities in glaciology (Natural Resources Canada and Environment Canada) combined their 

glaciological expertise and resources to form a "National Glaciology Programme" (NGP). The NGP is housed at the Geological Survey of Canada 

[http://sts.gsc.nrcan.gc.ca] and is responsible, in part, for meeting Canada's 

glacier-observation commitment to the World Meteorological Organization's (WMO) Global Climate Observing System and the United Nations

Figure 2. Glacierization of Canada 

(and Greenland and Iceland) during 

the Pleistocene Epoch, by S. Pick and 

A. Murray (see also Shilts and others, 

1998), from the 1998 Canadian Geographic, v. 118, no. 7, Sources: Geomatics Canada, Glacier Atlas of 

Canada, National Hydrology Research 

Centre. Used with permission.

J2 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization's (UNESCO) International Hydrological Programme (IHP). This activity is complemented by 

participation in the "CRYSYS" program (to study variability and change of 

the Canadian CRYospheric SYStem) [http://www.crysys.uwaterloo.ca], 

whose academic and government partners conduct research on the Canadian cryosphere using conventional and remote sensing methods.

As part of the glacier investigations during the past 140 years, especially 

between the middle 1940's and 1990's, one l:4,000,000-scale map of the 

height of the glaciation level in western Canada and southern Alaska (glaciers shown in green) (Anonymous, 1978), one l:2,000,000-scale map of 

glaciers and moraines in southern British Columbia and Alberta (glaciers 

shown in gray) (0strem and others, 1966), seven l:l,000,000-scale, 52 

1:500,000 scale (Glacier Atlas of Canada), and 114 miscellaneous scale 

(1:2,500 to 1:125,000) maps of selected glaciers of Canada were published 

by governmental agencies and academic institutions. Satellite images, combined with digital-elevation models (DEMs) using geographic information 

systems (GIS) technology, are being used to produce new types of maps of 

Canada's glaciers. Roger D. Wheate, Robert W. Sidjak, and Garnet T. Whyte 

provide examples of the application of these technologies to two glaciers in 

the Interior Ranges and Rocky Mountains.

Until the preparation of this volume on the glaciers of Canada, the last 

effort to carry out a comprehensive review of the glacierized regions of Canada was done by William 0. Field and his colleagues at the American Geographical Society (AGS) in the two-volume "Mountain Glaciers of the 

Northern Hemisphere," which also included an atlas containing 49 plates 

(Field, 1975c). The two volumes and atlas were produced by the AGS under 

contract with the Earth Sciences Division of the U.S. Army Engineer Topographic Laboratories and published by the Technical Information Analysis 

Center, Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory, U.S. Army Corps 

of Engineers (Hanover, New Hampshire). (An earlier, similar atlas was published in 1958 (Field and Associates, 1958).) They include a comprehensive 

collation of published reports and maps of the glaciers of Canada (and other 

glacierized regions of the Northern Hemisphere) and are an excellent source 

of information from a variety of historical and modern sources. For all of the 

glacierized regions of Canada, including those regions not addressed in this 

volume, relevant chapters in the 1975 volumes will be cited.

In 1998, the Royal Canadian Geographical Society published, in the 

November/December 1998 issue of Canadian Geographic, an article on Canada's glaciers (Anonymous, 1998) and an 8-page color map foldout (Shilts 

and others, 1998). Several of the maps that appeared in the foldout map are 

reproduced, with permission and with some minor modifications, in the following sections of the "Glaciers of Canada." Another modern reference map 

of Canada is the l:6,000,000-scale "New Century Map of Canada" published 

by Canadian Geographic in 1999 [http://www.canadiangeographic.ca]. See 

also the National Atlas (of Canada) Web site at [http://atlas.gc.ca], which 

will, in the near future, carry maps from the previously noted plates of the 

Glacier Atlas of Canada and contain links to available glacier-related data 

bases residing in government and university archives.

Topical Sections

Two topical sections follow this introduction. The two sections, written 

by C. Simon L. Ommanney, give a comprehensive review of "History of Glacier Investigations in Canada" and "Mapping Canada's Glaciers." The latter 

review is followed by a subsection on "Mapping Glaciers in the Interior 

Ranges and Rocky Mountains with Landsat Data," by Roger D. Wheate, 

Robert W. Sidjak, and Garnet T. Whyte.

GLACIERS OF CANADA J3
Glaciers of the Arctic Islands

The glaciers of the Canadian Arctic represent the largest area 

(151,057km2) and volume of glacier ice in Canada and include about 5 

percent of the glacierized area of the Northern Hemisphere (fig. 1, and 

fig. 1 in "Glaciers of the High Arctic Islands"). Ice caps and ice fields and 

associated outlet glaciers and smaller glaciers are present on several of the 

Queen Elizabeth Islands (Ellesmere, Axel Heiberg, Meighen, Coburg, 

Devon, and North Kent Islands, Nunavut, and in the western part of 

Melville Island, Northwest Territories) (Mercer, 1975b). Roy M. Koerner, in 

"Glaciers of the High Arctic Islands," describes both dynamic and stagnant 

ice caps. These ice caps exhibit a very slow response to climate change. 

Even though the last 150 years have been the warmest in the past millennium, only very slight changes in area and volume of the ice caps can be 

discerned.

Martin 0. Jeffries describes historic and modern changes in the section 

"Ellesmere Island Ice Shelves and Ice Islands," including the use of Landsat 

MSS, RADARSAT synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and SPOT haute resolution visible (HRV) images to document changes in the ice shelves and ice 

plugs (multiyear landfast sea ice) that are located on the northwestern 

coast of Ellesmere Island. Although the ice shelves have been present since 

the middle Holocene Epoch, they were much more extensive in the past. 

The 20th centuiy warming interval has resulted in a significant reduction in 

their areal extent.

The glaciers of the Canadian Low Arctic are located on Baffin and Bylot 

Islands (Mercer, 1975a). About 45 percent of Bylot Island (4,859 km2) is 

covered by glaciers (see the book's cover). On Baffin Island, glaciers are 

found on the northern and eastern coasts, from the northeastern part of the 

Brodeur and Borden Peninsulas to the eastern part of the Hall and Meta 

Incognita Peninsulas, Nunavut (fig. 1 in "Glaciers of Baffin Island"). John T 

Andrews addresses the geographic distribution and types of glaciers (ice 

caps and ice fields and associated outlet glaciers and smaller glaciers) in 

"Glaciers of Baffin Island," with specific reference to the two large ice caps, 

Barnes Ice Cap (5,935 km2) and Penny Ice Cap (5,960 km2); he concludes 

these two ice masses contain ice that represents the last remnants of the 

Laurentide Ice Sheet (fig. 2). He also concludes that the Barnes Ice Cap is 

slowly shrinking, a recession that could accelerate if significant regional climate warming were to occur. Gerald Holdsworth, in his discussion entitled 

"Barnes Ice Cap: Geomorphology and Thermodynamics," confirms that a 

whitish marginal strip of ice at the ice-cap margin has a 6180 isotope value 

that indicates a late Pleistocene Epoch (Wisconsinan) age of the ice. John 

D. Jacobs examines "Late 20th Century Change of the Barnes Ice Cap Margin," using both Landsat and RADARSAT SAR images to document recession of Lewis Glacier and the calving ice-front in Gee Lake. Figure 3 and 

table 2 show the optimum Landsat 1,2, and 3 MSS and RBV images of the 

glaciers of the Arctic Islands.

The southernmost glaciers in eastern North America are located in the 

Torngat Mountains, Labrador, Newfoundland (fig. 1), but are not discussed 

in this chapter. Fahn (1975) states that most of the glaciers are cirque glaciers that form clusters on the slopes of the highest peaks. She further 

notes that the 1975 climatic conditions in the Torngat Mountains are marginal and that the glaciers have been receding since the end of the "Little 

Ice Age" (LIA).

Unpublished work by Ommanney (written commun., 2001) summarized 

the body of knowledge on the distribution of a significant number of rock 

glaciers in Labrador. Ommanney (written commun., 2001) and his colleagues also mapped one glacieret on the Quebec side of the provincial border with Labrador, so there is (or was?) at least one glacier(et) in Quebec.

J4 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
130°W 120° 110° 100° 90° 80'

80°N

70

65'

EXPLANATION OF SYMBOLS

Evaluation of image usability for glaciologic, geologic, 

and cartographic applications. Symbols defined as follows:

 Excellent image (0 to <5 percent cloud cover) 

9 Good image (>5 to s10 percent cloud cover) 

<3 Fair to poor image (>10 to <100 percent cloud cover) 

Nominal scene center for a Landsat

500 KILOMETERS

I I I I

O

image outside the area of glaciers

^ Usable Landsat 3 return beam vidicon (RBV) scenes. 

CD A, B, C, and D refer to usable RBV subscenes

Figure 3. Optimum Landsat 1, 2, and 3 MSS and RBV images of the glaciers 

of the Arctic Islands of Canada.

GLACIERS OF CANADA J5
TABLE 2. Optimum Landsat 1, 2, and 3 MSS and RBV images of the glaciers of the Arctic Islands of Canada

[The images archived by the Canada Centre for Remote Sensing (CCRS) are not identified on the CCRS Website (http://www.ccrs.nrcan.gc.ca) by Landsat identification number but can be located by 

path (track), row (frame), and date. The images archived by the EROS Data Center (EDC) (http://earthexplorer.usgs.gov) are no longer located or ordered by the Landsar identification number on the

image but by a different entity number that incorporates satellite number, path, row, and date]

Path-Row

16-13

10-14

17-13

17-14

17-15

17-16

18-13

18-14

18-15

18-16

19-12

19-13

19-13

19-14

19-14

19-16

20-12

20-13

21-12

21-13

22-11

22-12

23-11

Nominal 

scene center 

(lat-long)

66°40'N. 

60°28'W.

65°20'N. 

61°57'W.

66°40'N. 

61°55'W.

65°20'N. 

63°23'W.

63°59'N. 

64°44'W.

62°38'N. 

65°58'W.

66°40'N. 

63°21'W.

65°20'N. 

64°49'W.

63°59'N. 

66°10'W.

62°38'N. 

67°24'W.

67°59'N. 

63°08'W.

66°40'N. 

64°47'W.

66°40'N. 

64°47'W.

65°20'N. 

66°15'W.

65°20'N. 

66°15'W.

62°38'N. 

68°50'W.

67°59'N. 

64°34'W.

66°40'N. 

66°13'W.

67°59'N. 

66°00'W.

66°40'N. 

67°39'W.

69°17'N. 

65°37'W.

67°59'N. 

67°26'W.

69°17'N. 

67°03'W.

Landsat 

identification 

number

20202-14590

20202-14592

20185-15051

20185-15053

1747-15083

1747-15090

20186-15105

20186-15112

20204-15111

1712-15160

21663-15101

21663-15103

30156-15172 

A, B, C, D

21663-15110

30156-15174 

A, B, C, D

21303-14584

11488-14431

11488-14434

11453-14515

11453-14521

11829-14232

11829-14234

20911-15163

Date

12 Aug 75

12 Aug 75

26 Jul 75

26 Jul 75

09 Aug 74

09 Aug 74

27 Jul 75

27 Jul 75

14 Aug 75

05 Jul 74

12 Aug 79

12 Aug 79

08 Aug 78

12 Aug 79

08 Aug 78

17 Aug 78

19 Aug 76

19 Aug 76

15 Jul 76

15 Jul 76

26 Jul 77

26 Jul 77

21 Jul 77

Solar 

elevation 

angle 

(degrees)

37

38

42

43

40

41

42

43

39

47

34

35

38-39

36

39-40

-39

32

33

41

42

37

37

40

Code

3

?

3

3

3

3

3

3

Cloud 

cover 

(percent)

0

5

0

0

10

10

45

15

0

0

0

10

5-30

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

40

30

30

Remarks

Baffin Island

Image used for Andrews' figure 17

EDC1 ; image used for Andrews' figure 18

EDC1 ; Terra Nivea and Grinnell Glacier; image used 

for Andrews' figure 19

EDC

Penny Ice Cap; image used for Andrews' figure 16

Landsat 3 RBV1

Penny Ice Cap; extensive snow cover

Extensive snow cover

Penny Ice Cap

J6 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
TABLE 2. Optimum Landsat 1, 2, and 3 MSS and REV images of the glaciers of the Arctic Islands of Canada Continued

Path-Row

23-12

24-10

24-11

25-10

25-11

26-10

26-11

26-11

27-10

27-11

27-11

28-09

28-10

28-10

28-11

28-11

29-09

29-10

29-10

30-09

30-09

30-10

30-10

30-10

Nominal 

scene center 

(lat-long)

67°59'N. 

68°52'W.

70°35'N. 

66°28'W.

69°17'N. 

68°29'W.

70°35'N. 

67°54'W.

69°17'N. 

69°55'W.

70°35'N. 

69°20'W.

69°17'N. 

71°21'W.

69°17'N.

7i°2rw.

70°35'N. 

70°46'W.

69°17'N. 

72°48'W.

69°17'N. 

72°48'W.

71°50'N. 

69°54'W.

70°35'N. 

72°12'W.

70°35'N. 

72°12'W.

69°17'N. 

74°14'W.

69°17'N. 

74°14'W.

71°50'N. 

71°20'W.

70°35'N. 

73°38'W.

70°35'N. 

73°38'W.

71°50'N. 

72°46'W.

71°50'N. 

72°46'W.

70°35'N. 

75°04'W.

70°35'N. 

75°04'W.

70°35'N. 

75°04'W.

Landsat 

identification 

number

20911-15165

20912-15214

20912-15221

11850-14380

11850-14382

21292-15355

21328-15380

30721-15514 

A, B

1379-16124

1379-16130

30722-15572 

B, C

10380-16180

10380-16182

30525-16065

10380-16185

30525-16071

30526-16120

11119-15585

30526-16122 

B,D

11855-15054

30491-16174 D

11855-15060

30491-16181 B

30725-16141 D

Date

21 Jul 77

22 Jul 77

22 Jul 77

16 Aug 77

16 Aug 77

06 Aug 78

HSep78

24 Feb 80

06 Aug 73

06 Aug 73

25 Feb 80

07 Aug 73

07 Aug 73

12 Aug 79

07 Aug 73

12 Aug 79

13 Aug 79

16 Aug 75

13 Aug 79

21 Aug 77

09 Jul 79

21 Aug 77

09 Jul 79

28 Feb 80

Solar 

elevation 

angle 

(degrees)

41

39

40

30

31

-36

22

10

36

37

-11

35

36

32

37

33

31

33

30

28

41

29

41

11

Cloud 

Code cover 

(percent)

A 0

A 0

A 0

A 0

A 5

A 0

^ 10

3 30

A °

A °

A 0

A °

A °

A 0

A °

A °

3 20

A 0

A 0-20

A °

A 0

A 5

A °

3 20

Remarks

Southeastern end of Barnes Ice Cap

Southeastern end of Barnes Ice Cap

Landsat 3 RBV; subscene B used for Andrews' 

figure 15

Barnes Ice Cap

Barnes Ice Cap

Barnes Ice Cap; Landsat 3 RBV

Barnes Ice Cap; image used for Andrews' figure 5

Barnes Ice Cap; image used for Andrews' figure 8A

Barnes Ice Cap

Barnes Ice Cap

Landsat 3 RBV

Extensive snow cover

Landsat 3 RBV

Barnes Ice Cap

Landsat 3 RBV

Landsat 3 RBV

GLACIERS OF CANADA J7
TABLE 2. Optimum Landsat 1, 2, and 3 MSS and RBV images of the glaciers of the Arctic Islands of Canada Continued

Path-Row

31-09

31-09

31-10

32-08

32-09

32-09

33-08

33-09

33-09

34-08

34-09

34-09

35-08

35-08

35-09

35-09

36-08

36-08

36-09

37-07

37-07

37-08

37-09

38-06

Nominal 

scene center 

(lat-longj

71°50'N. 

74°13'W.

71°50'N. 

74°13'W.

70°35'N. 

76°30'W.

73°04'N. 

73°03'W.

71°50'N. 

75°39'W.

71°50'N. 

75°39'W.

73°04'N. 

74°29'W.

71°50'N. 

77°05'W.

71°50'N. 

77°05'W.

73°04'N. 

75°55'W.

71°50'N. 

78°31'W.

71°50'N. 

78°31'W.

73°04'N. 

77°21'W.

73°04'N. 

77°21'W.

71°50'N.

79°57'W.

71°50'N. 

79°57'W.

73°04'N. 

78°47'W.

73°04'N. 

78°47'W.

71°50'N. 

81°23'W.

74°16'N. 

77°14'W.

74°16'N. 

77°14'W.

73°04'N. 

80°13'W.

71°50'N. 

82°49'W.

75°25'N. 

75°14'W.

Landsat 

identification 

number

11463-15471

30546-16232 

C, D

11463-15473

11464-15522

11857-15170

30547-16290 

A, B, C, D

1403-16455

1403-16461

30548-16345 

A, B, C, D

11841-15294

1404-16515

30549-16403 

A, B

11842-15352

30586-16445 

C,D

11125-16323

30586-16452 

A, B

20204-16513

301 73-16525 D

11468-16152

20943-16332

30516-16572 D

20943-16335

20943-16341

20944-16384

Date

25 Jul 76

02 Sep 79

25 Jul 76

26 Jul 76

23 Aug 77

03 Sep 79

30 Aug 73

30 Aug 73

04 Sep 79

07 Aug 77

31 Aug 73

05 Sep 79

08 Aug 77

12 Oct 79

22 Aug 75

12 Oct 79

14 Aug 75

25 Aug 78

30 Jul 76

22 Aug 77

03 Aug 79

22 Aug 77

22 Aug 77

23 Aug 77

Solar 

elevation 

angle 

(degrees)

37

26

37

36

27

25-26

26

27

25-26

32

27

25

31

10

30

10

31

28

35

27

33

28

29

26

Code

3

3

3

3

3

3

3

?

3

3

3

3

Cloud 

cover 

(percentj

15

15-20

0

0

40

0-10

0

0

20-30

50

0

20-50

15

10-20

20

20-40

0

20

0

0

50

0

0

0

Remarks

Landsat 3 RBV

Landsat 3 RBV

Image used for Andrews' figure 4

Landsat 3 RBV

Landsat 3 RBV

Landsat 3 RBV

Landsat 3 RBV

Bylot Island

Landsat 3 RBV

Landsat 3 RBV

Image used for Andrews' figure 3

J8 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
TABLE 2. Optimum Landsat 1, 2, and 3 MSS and RBV images of the glaciers of the Arctic Islands of Canada Continued

Path-Row

38-07

38-08

38-08

38-09

39-06

39-07

39-08

39-08

40-05

40-06

40-07

40-08

41-05

41-06

41-07

41-08

42-05

42-06

42-07

43-04

43-05

43-06

43-07

Nominal 

scene center 

(lat-long)

74°16'N. 

78°40'W.

73°04'N. 

81°39'W.

73°04'N. 

81°39'W.

71°50'N. 

84°15'W.

75°25'N. 

76°40'W.

74°16'N. 

80°06'W.

73°04'N. 

83°05'W.

73°04'N. 

83°05'W.

76°31'N. 

74°08'W.

75°25'N. 

78°06'W.

74°16'N. 

81°32'W.

73°04'N. 

84°31'W.

76°31'N. 

75°34'W.

75°25'N. 

79°33'W.

74°16'N. 

82°58'W.

73°04'N. 

85°57'W.

76°31'N. 

77°00'W.

75°25'N. 

80°59'W.

74°16'N. 

84°24'W.

77°33'N. 

73°49'W.

76°31'N. 

78°26'W.

75°25'N. 

82°25'W.

74°16'N. 

85°50'W.

Landsat 

identification 

number

20926-16400

11827-15540

30589-17020 

C,D

30589-17023 

A,B

11147-16525

20207-17081

1733-17123

30482-17091 

A, B, C, D

11130-16591

11130-16593

11130-17000

11130-17002

20209-17184

20551-17124

20551-17130

21307-17015

20948-17010

20948-17012

1376-17372

20553-17231

20553-17234

20553-17240

20553-17243

Date

05 Aug 77

24 Jul 77

15 Oct 79

15 Oct 79

13 Sep 75

17 Aug 75

26 Jul 74

30 Jun 79

27 Aug 75

27 Aug 75

27 Aug 75

27 Aug 75

19 Aug 75

26 Jul 76

26 Jul 76

21 Aug 78

27 Aug 77

27 Aug 77

03 Aug 73

28 Jul 76

28 Jul 76

28 Jul 76

28 Jul 76

Solar 

elevation 

angle 

(degrees)

32

35

9

9

19

29

36

40

24

25

26

27

26

34

35

-28

24

25

33

31

32

34

35

Code

3

9

J

3

J

«

3

3

«

3

«

J

3

Cloud 

cover 

(percent)

50

10

10-20

0

0

15

10

0

0

10

0

15

40

5

0

5

10

25

10

5

10

30

0

Remarks

Eastern end of Devon Island

Landsat 3 RBV

Landsat 3 RBV

Landsat 3 RBV

Eastern end of Devon Island

Eastern end of Devon Island

Southeastern corner of Ellesmere Island

Devon Ice Cap

Extensive snow cover

Southeastern corner of Ellesmere Island

Devon Ice Cap

EDC

Devon Ice Cap

Extensive snow cover

GLACIERS OF CANADA J9
TABLE 2. Optimum Landsat 1, 2, and 3 MSS and RBV images of the glaciers of the Arctic Islands of Canada Continued

Path-Row

44-03

44-04

44-05

44-06

44-07

45-03

45-04

45-05

45-06

45-07

46-03

46-04

46-05

46-05

46-06

46-07

47-02

47-03

47-04

47-05

47-06

47-07

48-02

Nominal 

scene center 

(lat-long)

78°29'N. 

69°53'W.

77°33'N. 

75°15'W.

76°31'N. 

79°53'W.

75°25'N. 

83°51'W.

74°16'N. 

87°17'W.

78°29'N. 

71°19'W.

77°33'N. 

76°41'W.

76°31'N. 

81°19'W.

75°25'N. 

85°17'W.

74°16'N. 

88°43'W.

78°29'N. 

72°45'W.

77°33'N. 

78°07'W.

76°31'N. 

82°45'W.

76°31'N. 

82°45'W.

75°25'N. 

86°43'W.

74°16'N. 

90°09'W.

79°19'N. 

67°56'W.

78°29'N. 

74°H'W.

77°33'N. 

79°33'W.

76°31'N. 

84°H'W.

75°25'N. 

88°09'W.

74°16'N. 

91°35'W.

79°19'N. 

69°22'W.

Landsat 

identification 

number

20554-17283

11458-17000

11458-17003

30523-17365

1378-17485

20555-17341

11459-17054

11459-17060

20951-17183

30524-17430

11514-17063

1758-17500

1758-17503

30561-17473 

A, B, D

1758-17505

1758-17512

2520-17403

11461-17163

11854-16411

11497-17142

30184-17552

1399-18054

2558-17505

Date

29 Jul 76

20 Jul 76

20 Jul 76

10 Aug 79

05 Aug 73

30 Jul 76

21 Jul 76

21 Jul 76

30 Aug 77

11 Aug 79

14 Sep 76

20 Aug 74

20 Aug 74

17 Sep 79

20 Aug 74

20 Aug 74

25Jun76

23 Jul 76

20 Aug 77

28 Aug 76

05 Sep 78

26 Aug 73

02 Aug 76

Solar 

elevation 

angle 

(degrees)

30

33

34

28

32

30

33

34

23

29

15

25

26

15-16

27

28

33

32

25

23

-20

26

27

Code

?

3

3

*

*

9

3

?

3

3

3

Cloud 

cover 

(percent)

5

0

10

20

0

25

0

10

10

0

0

0

0

10-20

0

0

20

0

10

15

40

0

30

Remarks

Extensive snow cover

Extensive snow cover

Image used for Koerner's figure 2

EDC

Extensive snow cover

Extensive snow cover

Extensive snow cover

Eastern side of Ellesmere Island

Eastern side of Ellesmere Island; image used for 

Koerner's figure 5

Southeastern corner of Ellesmere Island

Landsat 3 RBV

EDC; Landsat 2 RBV

Extensive snow cover

Southeastern Ellesmere Island

Devon Island

Extensive snow cover

EDC; Landsat 2 RBV

J10 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
TABLE 2. Optimum Landsat 1, 2, and 3 MSS and REV images of the glaciers of the Arctic Islands of Canada Continued

Path-Row

48-03

48-04

48-05

48-06

49-02

49-03

49-04

49-04

49-05

49-05

50-01

50-02

50-03

50-04

50-04

50-05

51-01

51-02

51-03

51-04

51-04

51-05

52-01

Nominal 

scene center 

(lat-long)

78°29'N. 

75°37'W

77°33'N. 

81°00'W

76°31'N. 

85°37'W

75°25'N. 

89°35'W

79°19'N. 

70°48'W

78°29'N. 

77°03'W

77°33'N. 

82°26'W

77°33'N. 

82°26'W

76°31'N. 

87°03'W

76°31'N. 

87°03'W

80°01'N. 

65°04'W

79°19'N. 

72°14'W

78°29'N. 

78°29'W

77°33'N. 

83°52'W

77°33'N. 

83°52'W

76°31'N. 

88°29'W

80°01'N. 

66°30'W

79°19'N. 

73°40'W

78°29'N. 

79°55'W

77°33'N. 

85°18'W

77°33'N. 

85°18'W

76°31'N. 

89°55'W

80°01'N. 

67°56'W

Landsat 

identification 

number

1760-18010

1760-18013

1760-18015

1760-18022

2559-17563

20559-17570

20559-17573

30546-18043 D

11463-17284

30546-18050 

B, D

2614-18002

2597-18070

30511-18100

11839-17000

30187-18114 

A, B

11839-17002

2548-18361

2543-18083

11465-17391

11465-17394

30206-18174 

B, D

11465-17400

2544-18135

Date

22 Aug 74

22 Aug 74

22 Aug 74

22 Aug 74

03 Aug 76

03 Aug 76

03 Aug 76

02 Sep 79

25 Jul 76

02 Sep 79

27 Sep 76

10 Sep 76

29 Jul 79

05 Aug 77

08 Sep 78

05 Aug 77

23 Jul 76

18 Jul 76

27 Jul 76

27 Jul 76

27 Sep 78

27 Jul 76

19 Jul 76

Solar 

elevation 

angle 

(degrees)

23

24

25

26

27

29

30

21

33

21-22

6

14

28

29

18

30

27

31

31

32

11

33

29

Code

9

3

9

3

3

?

3

3

?

9

9

3

3

?

Cloud 

cover 

(percent)

0

0

10

40

0

10

40

30

0

10

50

50

10

10

10-50

0

10

0

5

5

20

10

0

Remarks

Ellesmere Island; Prince of Wales Icefield; image 

used for Koerner's figure 5

Ellesmere Island; Prince of Wales Icefield

Ellesmere Island; Sydkap Ice Cap; image used for 

Koerner's figure 4

EDC

Ellesmere Island; Prince of Wales Icefield

Ellesmere Island; Prince of Wales Icefield

Landsat 3 RBV

Ellesmere Island; Sydkap Ice Cap

Landsat 3 RBV

EDC

EDC

Ellesmere Island; Prince of Wales Icefield

Ellesmere Island; Sydkap Ice Cap

Landsat 3 RBV

EDC; northeastern Ellesmere Island; Landsat 2 RBV

EDC; northeastern Ellesmere Island; Landsat 2 RBV

Ellesmere Island; Prince of Wales Icefield

Landsat 3 RBV

EDC; northeastern Ellesmere Island; Landsat 2 RBV

GLACIERS OF CANADA Jll
TABLE 2. Optimum Landsat 1, 2, and 3 MSS and RBV images of the glaciers of the Arctic Islands of Canada Continued

Path-Row

52-02

52-02

52-03

52-03

52-04

52-04

52-05

53-01

53-02

53-03

53-03

53-03

53-04

53-04

53-05

54-01

54-02

54-02

54-03

54-03

54-04

54-05

55-01

Nominal 

scene center 

(lat-long)

79°19'N. 

75°06'W.

79°19'N. 

75°06'W.

78°29'N. 

81°21'W.

78°29'N. 

81°21'W.

77°33'N. 

86°44'W.

77°33'N. 

86°44'W.

76°31'N. 

91°21'W.

80°01'N. 

69°22'W.

79°19'N. 

76°32'W.

78°29'N. 

82°47'W.

78°29'N. 

82°47'W.

78°29'N. 

82°47'W.

77°33'N. 

88°10'W.

77°33'N. 

88°10'W.

76°31'N. 

92°47'W.

80°01'N. 

70°48'W.

79°19'N. 

77°58'W.

79°19'N.

77°58'W.

78°29'N. 

84°13'W.

78°29'N. 

84°13'W.

77°33'N. 

89°36'W.

76°31'N. 

94°13'W.

80°01'N. 

72°14'W.

Landsat 

identification 

number

20544-18142

30531-18211 D

20904-17595

30521-18213 B

20904-18002

30207-18232 

B, D

20904-18004

2550-18474

11860-17141

11860-17144

21265-18063

30208-18284 

C, D

30514-18274

30208-18291 D

30514-18280

2583-18295

11843-17214

30191-18335 

C, D

21644-18270

30191-18342 

B, D

20546-18263

20924-18111

2601-18292

Date

19 Jul 76

18 Aug 79

14 Jul 77

18 Aug 79

14 Jul 77

28 Sep 78

14 Jul 77

25 Jul 76

26 Aug 77

26 Aug 77

10 Jul 78

29 Sep 78

01 Aug 79

29 Sep 78

01 Aug 79

27 Aug 76

09 Aug 77

12 Sep 78

24 Jul 79

12 Sep 78

21 Jul 76

03 Aug 77

14 Sep 76

Solar 

elevation 

angle 

(degrees)

31

24

33

24

34

10

35

27

21

22

-34

9

28

10

29

18

26

14

29

15

33

31

11

Code

?

3

3

3

3

9

3

3

9

3

3

Cloud 

cover Remarks 

(percent)

10

70 Landsat 3 RBV

0

20 Landsat 3 RBV

10

20-30 Landsat 3 RBV

0

5 EDC; Landsat 2 RBV

5

0

0 Ablation area visible

10-40 Landsat 3 RBV

30

20 Landsat 3 RBV

0

0 EDC; Ellesmere Island; eastern Agassiz Ice Cap; 

Landsat 2 RBV

5

10-20 Landsat 3 RBV

20

10-30 Landsat 3 RBV

0

0

0 EDC; Ellesmere Island; Agassiz Ice Cap; Landsat 2 

RBV

J12 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
TABLE 2. Optimum Landsat 1, 2, and 3 MSS and REV images of the glaciers of the Arctic Islands of Canada Continued

Path-Row

55-02

55-02

55-03

55-03

55-04

55-04

55-05

56-01

56-02

56-03

56-03

56-04

57-01

57-01

57-02

57-03

58-01

58-02

58-02

58-03

58-03

59-01

59-02

Nominal 

scene center 

(lat-long)

79°19'N. 

79°24'W.

79°19'N. 

79°24'W.

78°29'N. 

85°39'W.

78°29'N. 

85°39'W.

77°33'N. 

91°02'W.

77°33'N. 

91°02'W.

76°31'N. 

95°39'W.

80°01'N. 

73°40'W.

79°19'N. 

80°50'W.

78°29'N. 

87°05'W.

78°29'N. 

87°05'W.

77°33'N. 

92°28'W.

80°01'N. 

75°06'W.

80°01'N. 

75°06'W.

79°19'N. 

82°16'W.

78°29'N. 

88°31'W.

80°01'N. 

76°32'W.

79°19'N. 

83°42'W.

79°19'N. 

83°42'W.

78°29'N. 

89°57'W.

78°29'N. 

89°57'W.

80°01'N.

77°58'W.

79°19'N. 

85°08'W.

Landsat 

identification 

number

11109-18251

30192-18394 

C,D

30516-18384

30516-18384 

B, C,D

30516-18391

30516-18391 

A, D

1371-18511

2591-19151

20548-18371

20926-18214

20548-18373

30517-18445

2548-18364

2609-19144

11864-17364

20945-18262

2550-18480

20550-18483

30123-18560 

B, C

20154-18563

30123-18563 A

20551-18535

20551-18541

Date

06 Aug 75

13 Sep 78

03 Aug 79

03 Aug 79

03 Aug 79

03 Aug 79

29 Jul 73

04 Sep 76

23 Jul 76

05 Aug 77

23 Jul 76

04 Aug 79

23 Jul 76

22 Sep 76

30 Aug 77

24 Aug 77

25 Jul 76

25 Jul 76

06 Jul 78

25 Jun 75

06 Jul 78

26 Jul 76

26 Jul 76

Solar 

elevation 

angle 

(degrees)

27

14

27

27

28

28

-31

14

30

28

31

27

29

7

20

22

28

30

33

35

34

28

30

Cloud 

Code cover 

(percent)

A °

/-k 20-50

3 10

A 0-5

A 0

A 0

3 50

^ 10

 °

3 20

A 0

A °

A °

^ 10

^ 10

A °

A 0

A 0

^ 10

 °

3 20

A 0

A 0

Remarks

Landsat 3 RBV

Southern Axel Heiberg Island

Southern Axel Heiberg Island; Landsat 3 RBV

Landsat 3 RBV

EDC

EDC; Ellesmere Island; Agassiz Ice Cap; Landsat 2 

RBV

Southern Axel Heiberg Island

Southern Axel Heiberg Island

EDC; Ellesmere Island; Agassiz Ice Cap; Landsat 2 

RBV

EDC; Ellesmere Island; Agassiz Ice Cap; Landsat 2 

RBV

Southern Axel Heiberg Island

EDC; Ellesmere Island; Agassiz Ice Cap; Landsat 2 

RBV; image used for Koerner's figure 8

Landsat 3 RBV

Southern Axel Heiberg Island

Landsat 3 RBV

Ellesmere Island; Agassiz Ice Cap

GLACIERS OF CANADA J13
TABLE 2. Optimum Landsat 1, 2, and 3 MSS and RBV images of the glaciers of the Arctic Islands of Canada Continued

Path-Row

59-03

60-01

60-02

60-03

61-01

61-01

61-02

61-03

62-01

62-02

62-03

63-01

63-02

63-03

64-01

64-02

64-06

65-01

65-02

65-02

65-06

66-01

66-01

Nominal 

scene center 

(lat-long)

78°29'N. 

91°23'W.

80°01'N.

79°24'W.

79°19'N. 

86°34'W.

78°29'N. 

92°49'W.

80°01'N. 

80°50'W.

80°01'N.

80°50'W.

79°19'N. 

88°00'W.

78°29'N. 

94°15'W.

80°01'N.

82°16'W.

79°19'N. 

89°27'W.

78°29'N. 

95°42'W.

80°01'N. 

83°42'W.

79°19'N. 

90°53'W.

78°29'N. 

97°08'W.

80°01'N.

85°08'W.

79°19'N. 

92°19'W.

75°25'N. 

112°32'W.

80°01'N.

86°35'W.

79°19'N. 

93°45'W.

79°19'N. 

93°45'W.

75°25'N. 

113°58'W.

80°01'N. 

88°01'W.

80°01'N. 

88°01'W.

Landsat 

identification 

number

20947-18374

20552-18593

20948-18430

20948-18432

2596-19434

30198-19134 C

20949-18484

20949-18490

2559-19390

20950-18542

20950-18545

2196-19292

2196-19295

30506-19243

1758-19320

20196-19295

21654-19254

1759-19375

30508-19354

30202-19365 

A, B

1723-19411

1760-19433

30563-19403 

C, D

Date

26 Aug 77

27 Jul 76

27 Aug 77

27 Aug 77

09 Sep 76

19 Sep 78

28 Aug 77

28 Aug 77

03 Aug 76

29 Aug 77

29 Aug 77

06 Aug 75

06 Aug 75

24 Jul 79

20 Aug 74

06 Aug 75

03 Aug 79

21 Aug 74

26 Jul 79

23 Sep 78

16 Jul 74

22 Aug 74

19 Sep 79

Solar 

elevation 

angle 

(degrees)

22

28

20

21

12

10

20

21

25

20

21

25

26

29

21

27

30

21

27

~9

36

21

10

Code

J

3

3

J

9

3

3

3

Cloud 

cover 

(percent)

0

10

5

0

20

20

0

0

5

0

0

0

10

0

0

10

0

5

20

40-69

20

5

0

Remarks

Southern Axel Heiberg Island

Ellesmere Island; Agassiz Ice Cap

Axel Heiberg Island

EDC; Landsat 2 RBV

Landsat 3 RBV

Axel Heiberg Island

EDC; Landsat 2 RBV

Axel Heiberg Island; image used for Koerner's 

figure?

EDC; Ellesmere Island

EDC; Axel Heiberg Island

Axel Heiberg Island

Melville Island

Landsat 3 RBV

Axel Heiberg Island

Axel Heiberg Island; Landsat 3 RBV

J14 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
TABLE 2. Optimum Landsat 1, 2, and 3 MSS and REV images of the glaciers of the, Arctic Islands of Canada Continued

Path-Row

66-02

66-02

66-06

66-06

67-01

67-01

67-02

67-06

68-01

68-01

68-02

68-02

69-01

69-01

69-02

70-01

71-01

72-01

72-01

73-01

74-01

Nominal 

scene center 

(lat-longj

79°19'N. 

95°H'W.

79°19'N. 

95°H'W.

75°25'N. 

115°24'W.

75°25'N. 

115°24'W.

80°01'N. 

89°27'W.

80°01'N. 

89°27'W.

79°19'N. 

96°37'W.

75°25'N. 

116°50'W.

80°01'N. 

90°53'W.

80°01'N. 

90°53'W.

79°19'N. 

98°03'W.

79°19'N. 

98°03'W.

80°01'N. 

92°19'W.

80°01'N. 

92°19'W.

79°19'N. 

99°29'W.

80°01'N. 

93°45'W.

80°01'N. 

95°11'W.

80°01'N. 

96°37'W.

80°01'N. 

96°37'W.

80°01'N. 

98°03'W.

80°01'N. 

99°29'W.

Landsat 

identification 

number

11855-18292

30563-19405 

A, B, C, D

11855-18310

30527-19431 

A,B

30510-19464

30204-19481 

C, D

30510-19471

1725-19523

11857-18401

30187-19534 

C, D

1762-19551

30187-19534 

A,B

11858-18455

30 188-19593 D

1763-20005

11859-18513

11860-18570

11861-19024

30191-20164 

A, B

11862-19082

11863-19140

Date

21 Aug 77

19 Sep 79

21 Aug 77

14 Aug 79

28Jul79

25 Sep 78

28Jul79

18Jul74

23 Aug 77

08 Sep 78

24 Aug 74

08 Sep 78

24 Aug 77

09 Sep 78

25 Aug 74

25 Aug 77

26 Aug 77

27 Aug 77

12 Sep 78

28 Aug 77

29 Aug 77

Solar 

elevation 

angle 

(degrees)

23

11-12

26

29

28

8

27

35

21

15

20

15

21

14

20

21

20

20

12

20

19

Cloud 

Code cover 

(percent)

^ 10

A 0-10

A °

A °

3 40

£^ 10-20

3 30

A °

A °

A °

A °

A 0-10

A °

^ 10

A °

A 5

A °

A °

A 0^0

3 20

 5

Remarks

Meighen and Axel Heiberg Islands

Axel Heiberg Island; Landsat 3 RBV

Melville Island; image used for Koerner's figure 16

Melville Island; Landsat 3 RBV

Landsat 3 RBV

EDC; Melville Island

Axel Heiberg Island

Axel Heiberg Island; Landsat 3 RBV

EDC; Meighen Island

Axel Heiberg Island; Landsat 3 RBV

Meighen and Axel Heiberg Islands; image used for 

Koerner's figures 7 and 9

Axel Heiberg Island; Landsat 3 RBV

EDC; Meighen Island

Meighen and Axel Heiberg Islands

Meighen and Axel Heiberg Islands

Meighen and Axel Heiberg Islands

Axel Heiberg Island; Landsat 3 RBV

Meighen and Axel Heiberg Islands

1 Most of the images in this table were acquired by the Canada Centre for Remote Sensing (CCRS). Those acquired by the U.S. Geological 

Survey's EROS Data Center (EDC) are indicated by the EDC acronym. Unfortunately, all of the Return Beam Vidicon (RBV) images 

acquired by both CCRS and EDC are no longer available from either of the two national Landsat image archives. However, all of the 

Landsat RBV images listed are archived by the U.S. Geological Survey's Glacier Studies Project.

GLACIERS OF CANADA J15
Glaciers of Western Canada

The glaciers of the Rocky Mountains of Canada were discussed by Denton 

(1975a) in "Mountain Glaciers of the Northern Hemisphere." In this volume, 

C. Simon L. Ommanney provides a comprehensive review entitled "Glaciers 

of the Canadian Rockies." He subdivides the Canadian Rockies into four 

mountain ranges, Border, Continental, Hart, and Muskwa Ranges, and discusses the extent of glacierization within the many smaller ranges and mountain groups that comprise these ranges. The Continental Ranges are heavily 

glacierized and include a number of major ice fields and outlet glaciers; the 

Columbia Icefield, with an area of 325 km2 , is the largest glacier in the Rocky 

Mountains. In addition to the large ice fields and associated outlet glaciers, 

many smaller mountain glaciers are distributed throughout the ranges.

The Interior Ranges (fig. 4) of British Columbia, situated between the 

Rocky Mountains on the east and the Coast Mountains on the west, are not

135°W 130°

60°N

Figure 4. Map of the major mountain 

ranges in the Interior Ranges of British 

Columbia. Glacierized ranges indicated in 

green, non-glacierized in black.

J16 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Figure 5. Optimum Landsat 1, 2, and 3 

MSS images of the glaciers of the Canadian Rocky Mountains and Interior 

Ranges.

discussed in this volume, except with reference to glaciological research 

and glacier mapping in the "History of Glacier Investigations in Canada" 

and in "Mapping Canada's Glaciers," by C. Simon L. Ommanney and for an 

analysis of the Illecillewaet Glacier and Illecillewaet Neve in the Selkirk 

Mountains within the Columbia Mountains in the section on "Mapping Glaciers in the Interior Rcmges and Rocky Mountains with Landsat Data," by 

Roger D. Wheate, Robert W. Sidjak, and Garnel T. Whyte. Figure 5 and 

table 3 provide a list and assessment of the optimum Landsat 1,2, and 3 

MSS images of the glaciers of the Canadian Interior Ranges and Rocky 

Mountains.

A brief review of the "Interior Ranges of British Columbia" by Denton 

(1975c) will provide some perspective, however. Denton (1975c) stated 

that the Selkirk, Purcell, Cariboo, and Monashee Mountains within the 

Columbia Mountains are glacierized. Part of the Omineca and Cassiar 

Mountains, including the Swannell Ranges, the Skeena Mountains, and the 

Stikine Plateau, also contain glaciers (fig. 4). Denton (1975c) concluded 

that the Finlay, Hogem, Stikine, and Kechika Ranges of the Omineca and 

Cassiar Mountains and the Ilazelton Mountains did not have glaciers 

(fig. 4).

55°N

50°

125°W

EXPLANATION OF SYMBOLS

Evaluation of image usability for glaciologic, geologic, 

and cartographic applications. Symbols defined as follows:

 Excellent image (0 to <5 percent cloud cover) 

3 Fair to poor image (>10 to <100 percent cloud cover) 

Nominal scene center for a Landsat o :

image outside the area of glaciers

0 200 KILOMETERS

I i I i I

GLACIERS OF CANADA J17
TABLE 3. Optimum Landsat 1, 2, and 3 MSS images of the glaciers of the Canadian Rocky Mountains and Interior Ranges

[**, The images archived by the Canada Centre for Remote Sensing (CCRS) are not identified on the CCRS Website (http://www.ccrs.nrcan.gc.ca) by Landsat identification number but can be located 

by path (track), row (frame), and date. The images archived by the EROS Data Center (EDC) (http://earthexplorer.usgs.gov) are no longer located or ordered by the Landsat identification number on

the image but by a different entity number that incorporates satellite number, path, row, and date]

Path-Row

45-25

45-26

46-24

46-25

46-26

47-24

47-24

47-25

47-25

47-26

48-23

48-24

48-24

48-25

48-26

49-23

49-24

49-25

49-26

50-22

50-23

50-24

50-25

51-22

51-23

52-21

Nominal 

scene center 

(lat-long)

50°09'N. 

113°58'W

48°44'N. 

114°36'W

51°34'N. 

114°43'W

50°09'N. 

115°24'W

48°44'N. 

116002'W

51°34'N. 

116009'W

51°34'N. 

1160 09'W

50°09'N. 

116°50'W

50°09'N. 

116°50'W

48°44'N. 

117°28'W

52°58'N. 

116°52'W

51°34'N. 

117°35'W

51°34'N. 

117035'W

50°09'N. 

118°16'W

48°44'N. 

118°54'W.

52°58'N.

51°34'N.

119-ww.

50°09'N. 

119°42'W.

48°44'N. 

120°20'W.

54°22'N. 

118°59'W.

52°58'N. 

119°44'W.

51°34'N. 

120°27'W.

50°09'N. 

121°08'W

54°22'N. 

120°26'W

52°58'N.

i2i°irw.

55°45'N. 

121°04'W

Landsat 

identification 

number

**

22427-17465

30561-17552

**

30561-17561

1741-18044

**

1741-18050

**

22393-17584

**

**

2252-18062

2234-18070

2234-18073

1419-18233

1419-18235

1419-18242

1419-18244

1420-18285

1420-18291

1420-18294

1420-18300

1385-18351

1385-18353

21696-18241

Date

14 Sep 81

14 Sep 81

17 Sep 79

17 Sep 79

17 Sep 79

03 Aug 74

11 Aug 81

03 Aug 74

11 Aug 81

11 Aug 81

13 Sep 75

13 Sep 75

01 Oct 75

13 Sep 75

13 Sep 75

15 Sep 73

15 Sep 73

15 Sep 73

15 Sep 73

16 Sep 73

16 Sep 73

16 Sep73

16 Sep 73

12 Aug 73

12 Aug 73

14 Sep 79

Solar 

elevation 

angle 

(degrees)

-38

39

36

37

38

49

-46

50

-47

48

-36

-37

31

38

39

36

37

39

40

35

36

37

38

46

47

34

Cloud 

Code cover 

(percent)

A °

A °

A °

A °

A 0

3 "

 6

3 40

A 0

A 5

A °

A °

A 0

A °

A °

A 0

A 0

3 20

3 20

A °

A 0

A 0

A 0

A 0

A 0

A 0

Remarks

Archived by CCRS1

Archived by EDC

Archived by EDC

Archived by CCRS

Archived by EDC

Columbia to Waputik Icefields; archived by EDC

Columbia to Waputik Icefields; archived by CCRS

Archived by EDC

Archived by CCRS

Archived by EDC

Archived by CCRS

Columbia to Waputik Icefields; archived by CCRS

Columbia to Waputik Icefields; image used for 

figure 7; archived by EDC

Archived by EDC

Archived by EDC

Mount Robson area to Clemenceau Icefield; 

archived by EDC

Archived by EDC

Archived by EDC

Archived by EDC

Mount Sir Alexander; archived by EDC

Mount Robson area; image used for figure 29; 

archived by EDC

Archived by EDC,

Archived by EDC

Mount Sir Alexander; archived by EDC

Cariboo Range; archived by EDC

Archived by EDC

J18 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
TABLE 3. Optimum Landsat 1, 2, and 3 MSS images of the glaciers of the Canadian Rocky Mountains and Interior Ranges Continued

Path-Row

52-22

52-22

53-20

53-20

53-21

53-21

53-22

53-22

54-20

54-20

54-21

54-21

55-19

55-19

55-20

55-20

55-21

55-21

56-19

56-19

56-20

56-20

57-19

57-19

58-19

Nominal 

scene center 

(lat-long)

54°22'N. 

121°52'W

54°22'N. 

121°52'W

57°08'N. 

121 039'W

57°08'N. 

121°39'W

55°45'N. 

122°30'W

55°45'N. 

122°30'W

54°22'N. 

123°18'W

54°22'N. 

123° 18' W.

57°08'N. 

123°05'W.

57°08'N. 

123°05'W

55°45'N. 

123°56'W

55°45'N. 

123°56'W

58°31'N. 

123°37'W

58°31'N. 

123°37'W

57°08'N. 

124031'W

57°08'N. 

124°31'W

55°45'N. 

125°22'W

55°45'N. 

125°22'W.

58°31'N. 

125°03'W.

58°31'N. 

125°03'W

57°08'N. 

125°57'W

57°08'N. 

125°57'W

58°31'N. 

126°29'W

58°31'N. 

126°29'W

58°31'N. 

127°55'W.

Landsat 

identification 

number

**

2544-18223

1783-18355

**

1783-18361

**

1783-18364

**

1082-18515

**

1082-18522

**

1767-18473

**

1767-18475

**

1767-18482

**

1750-18535

**

1750-18542

**

1769-18585

**

5865-17492

Date

14 Sep 79

19 Jul 76

14 Sep 74

17 Aug 81

14 Sep 74

17 Aug 81

14 Sep 74

17 Aug 81

13 Oct 72

14 Aug 75

13 Oct 72

14 Aug 75

29 Aug 74

11 Sep 75

29 Aug 74

11 Sep 75

29 Aug 74

11 Sep 75

12 Aug 74

12 Sep 75

12 Aug 74

12 Sep 75

31 Aug 74

07 Aug 82

31 Aug 77

Solar 

elevation 

angle 

(degrees)

-35

50

33

-43

34

-44

35

-45

23

-44

24

-45

37

-32

39

-33

39

-34

43

-32

44

-33

37

-44

30

Code

3

3

3

3

3

«

3

Cloud 

cover 

(percent)

0

0

0

0

40

0

30

0

0

5

0

5

30

5

20

0

0

0

10

5

10

0

20

0

0

Remarks

Archived by CCRS

Archived by EDC

Archived by EDC

Archived by CCRS

Archived by EDC

Archived by CCRS

Archived by EDC

Archived by CCRS

Great Snow Mountain; extensive snow cover; 

archived by EDC

Great Snow Mountain; archived by CCRS

Extensive snow cover; archived by EDC

Archived by CCRS

Mount Roosevelt, Churchill Peak; archived by EDC

Mount Roosevelt, Churchill Peak; archived by 

CCRS

Mount Lloyd George, Great Snow Mountain; 

archived by EDC

Mount Lloyd George, Great Snow Mountain; 

archived by CCRS

Archived by EDC

Archived by CCRS

Mount Roosevelt, Mount Lloyd George; image used 

for figure 33; archived by EDC

Mount Roosevelt, Mount Lloyd George; archived by 

CCRS

Image used for figure 33; archived by EDC

Archived by CCRS

Mount Roosevelt; archived by EDC

Archived by CCRS

Archived by EDC

1 The cloud cover and evaluations of images archived by CCRS are based on the CCRS World Wide Web page listing 

(http://www.ccrs. nrcan.gc.ca). There is no browse image for these scenes, but the cloud cover evaluation has been reliable 

when compared with images that have been inspected directly.

GLACIERS OF CANADA J19
The "Glaciers of the Coast Mountains (Pacific Ranges and Cascade 

Mountains) and Coast Ranges of British Columbia" were previously discussed by Denton (1975b). Ommanney (1972) provided comprehensive 

information about glaciers on Vancouver Island [Canada: Environment: 

Inland Waters Branch (1971a, b)], considered to be part of the Coast 

Ranges (fig. 1). Field (1975a) also addressed the "Glaciers of the Coast 

Mountains: Boundary Ranges (Alaska, British Columbia, and Yukon Territory.)" In this volume, Carry K.C. Clarke and Gerald Holdsworth discuss 

some aspects of the "Glaciers of the Coast Mountains," with special emphasis on glaciological hazards, such as jokulhlaups, the use of small glaciers as 

recreational resources, and the special problems associated with carrying 

out mining operations in glacierized regions.

The St. Elias Mountains are considered to be the most spectacular series 

of mountain ranges in North America. They are heavily glacierized and 

include three of the six highest mountain peaks on the continent. Mt. 

Logan, Yukon Territory, Canada, at 5,959 m [http://www.ice2001.com], is 

second only to Mt. McKinley (6,194 m), Alaska, in elevation. The St. Elias 

Mountains lie along the international border of the United States and Canada, between Alaska and Yukon Territory (fig. 1 in "History of Glacier Investigations in Canada," and fig. 1 in "Glaciers of the St. Elias Mountains"). 

Field (1975b) described the St. Elias Mountains in his compilation. Garry 

K.C. Clarke and Gerald Holdsworth, in the "Glaciers of the St. Elias Mountains" section of this volume, describe some of the valley glaciers, plateau 

glaciers, ice fields and associated outlet glaciers, and piedmont glaciers that 

characterize the region. The glaciers are classified as temperate, subpolar, 

and cold; a! least 136 of the subpolar glaciers are surge-type glaciers. In a 

special section, "Quantitative Measurements of Tweedsmuir Glacier and 

Lowell Glacier Imagery," Gerald Holdworth, Philip J. Howarth, and C. Simon 

L. Ommanney discuss the application of sequential Landsat images to two 

surging glaciers. Figure 6 and table 4 provide a list and assessment of the 

optimum Landsat 1, 2, and 3 MSS and RBV images of the Coast and St. Elias 

Mountains of Canada.

Several mountain groups in the Yukon and Northwest Territories (fig. 7) 

have glaciers according to Horvath (1975), including the Hess and Wernecke Mountains in the Selwyn Mountains, the Ogilvie Mountains, and the 

Backbone and Canyon Ranges of the Mackenzie Mountains. The Logan 

Mountains, located in the Selwyn Mountains, have glaciers according to 

provisional (as of 1985) NTS l:50,000-scale map sheets (Demuth, written 

commun., 2001). Demuth (written commun., 2001) is evaluating the feasibility of establishing a glacier mass-balance-monitoring site near the Cirque 

of the Unclimbables in the Logan Mountains. The Yukon Plateau and the 

Kluane Ranges may also have glaciers (Ommanney, written commun., 

2001). None of the these mountains are covered in this volume. Ommanney 

(1993) reported on an inventory of Yukon glaciers based on hydrologic 

basins. Glaciers on the Alaska side of the hydrologic divide account for 

about 7,250 km2 of ice; those within the Yukon divide, feeding the Yukon 

River, about 3,000 km2 , and those within the Alsek River basin, draining 

through the Panhandle into the Pacific Ocean, accounl for about 3,800 km2 

of ice.

Landsat MSS images are most useful in the study of changes in large glaciers, ice caps and ice fields, and associated outlet glaciers in Arctic Canada, and of ice fields and associated outlet glaciers, and valley glaciers in 

western Canada. The retreat of glaciers in western Canada can be delineated on Landsat images, time-lapse image coverage that now spans three 

decades of data acquisition beginning in 1972 with Landsat 1, followed by 

Landsats 2, 3, 4, 5, and 7. The trend toward an increase in the number of 

spectral bands and spatial resolution (15 m with the Landsat 7 enhanced 

thematic mapper (ETM+) and multispectral stereoscopic sensor on the

140°W

60°N

125°W

EXPLANATION OF SYMBOLS

Evaluation of image usability for glaciologic, geologic, 

and cartographic applications. Symbols defined as follows:

 Excellent image (0 to s5 percent cloud cover)

9 Good image (>5 to s10 percent cloud cover)

O Fair to poor image (>10 to <100 percent cloud cover)

,-, Nominal scene center for a Landsat 

image outside the area of glaciers

3 Usable Landsat 3 return beam vidicon (RBV) scenes. 

D A, B, C, and D refer to usable RBV subscenes

200 KILOMETERS

j__I

Figure 6. Optimum Landsat 1, 2, and 3 

MSS and RBV images of the glaciers of the 

Coast and St. Elias Mountains of Canada.

J20 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
TABLE 4. Optimum Landsat 1, 2, and 3 MSS and RBV images of glaciers of the Coast and St. Ellas Mountains of Canada

[The images archived by the Canada Centre for Remote Sensing (CCRS) are not identified on the CCRS Website (http://www.ccrs.nrcan.gc.ca) by Landsat identification number but can be located by 

path (track), row (frame), and date. The images archived by the EROS Data Center (EDC) (http://earthexplorer.usgs.gov) are no longer located or ordered by the Landsat identification number on the

image but by a different entity number that incorporates satellite number, path, row, and date]

Path-Row

50-25

50-26

51-24

51-25

52-24

52-25

52-26

53-23

53-24

53-25

54-23

54-24

54-25

55-22

55-23

55-24

56-21

56-22

56-23

57-20

57-21

57-22

57-23

Nominal 

scene center 

(lat-long)

50°09'N. 

121°08'W.

48°44'N. 

121°46'W.

51°34'N. 

121°53'W.

50°09'N. 

122°34'W.

51°34'N. 

123° 19' W.

50°09'N. 

124°00'W.

48°44'N. 

124°38'W.

52°58'N. 

124°03'W.

51°34'N. 

124°45'W.

50°09'N. 

125°26'W.

52°58'N. 

125°29'W.

51°34'N. 

126° ll'W.

50°09'N. 

126°52'W.

54°22'N. 

126°10'W.

52°58'N. 

126°55'W.

51°34'N. 

127°37'W.

55°45'N. 

126°48'W.

54°22'N. 

127°36'W.

52°58'N. 

128°21'W.

57°08'N. 

127°23'W.

55°45'N. 

128°14'W.

54°22'N. 

129°02'W.

52°58'N. 

129°47'W.

Landsat 

identification 

number

2596-18105

2596-18111

1385-18360

1385-18362

5877-17154

5841-17195

1764-18332

1027-18472

1027-18475

2203-18360

1766-18433

1766-18435

1766-18442

1767-18484

1767-18491

1767-18493

1768-18540

1768-18543

1768-18545

1769-18592

1769-18594

1769-19001

1049-19101

Date

09 Sep 76

09 Sep 76

12 Aug 73

12 Aug 73

12 Sep 77

07 Aug 77

26 Aug 74

19 Aug 72

19 Aug 72

13 Aug 75

28 Aug 74

28 Aug 74

28 Aug 74

29 Aug 74

29 Aug 74

29 Aug 74

30 Aug 74

30 Aug 74

30 Aug 74

31 Aug 74

31 Aug 74

31 Aug 74

10 Sep 72

Solar 

elevation 

angle 

(degrees)

39

40

48

49

30

40

45

46

43

48

42

43

44

40

41

42

39

40

41

38

39

40

38

Cloud 

Code cover Remarks 

(percent)

 °

^^ 0 Garibaldi Park area

 °

^^ 0 Pemberton Icefield

 °

^^ 0 Pemberton and Homathko Icefields

^^ 0 Vancouver Island

 °

^^ 0 Klinaklini Glacier, Mount Waddington, Homathko Icefield

A °

A °

^^ 0 Monarch Icefield, Klinaklini Glacier, Mount Waddington

^^ 0 Vancouver Island

A °

A °

A °

A °

A °

A °

^ 10

^^ 0 Cambria Icefield

 °

3 50

GLACIERS OF CANADA J21
TABLE 4. Optimum Landsat 1, 2, and 3 MSS and RBV images of glaciers of the Coast and St. Elias Mountains of Canada Continued

Path-Row

58-20

58-21

58-22

59-20

59-21

60-19

60-20

61-19

61-20

62-18

62-19

63-18

63-19

64-18

64-18

64-19

64-19

65-17

65-18

65-19

66-17

66-18

66-18

67-17

Nominal 

scene center 

(lat-long)

57°08'N. 

128°49'W.

55°45'N. 

129°40'W.

54°22'N. 

130°28'W.

57°08'N. 

130° 15' W.

55°45'N. 

131°06'W.

58°31'N. 

130°47'W.

57°08'N.

58°31'N. 

132° 13' W.

57°08'N. 

133°07'W.

59°54'N. 

132°41'W.

58°31'N. 

133°39'W.

59°54'N. 

134°07'W.

58°31'N. 

135°05'W.

59°54'N. 

135°33'W.

59°54'N. 

135°33'W.

58°31'N. 

136°31'W.

58°31'N. 

136°31'W.

61°16'N. 

135°56'W.

59°54'N. 

136°59'W.

58°31'N. 

137°57'W.

61°16'N. 

137°22'W.

59°54'N. 

138°25'W.

59°54'N. 

138°25'W.

61°16'N. 

138°48'W.

Landsat 

identification 

number

1770-19050

21288-18435

1788-19050

5848-17571

5848-17574

1772-19160

1722-19162

5850-18080

2931-18571

21670-19193

21670-19195

1775-19324

1775-19330

30147-19373

1416-19473

30147-19375

1416-19480

1417-19525

1417-19531

1417-19534

21314-19293

21314-19295

30167-19491 

A,C,D

2955-19285

Date

01 Sep 74

02 Aug 78

19 Sep 74

14 Aug 77

14 Aug 77

03 Sep 74

03 Sep 74

16 Aug 77

10 Aug 77

19 Aug 79

19 Aug 79

06 Sep 74

06 Sep 74

30 Jul 78

12 Sep 73

30 Jul 78

12 Sep 73

13 Sep 73

13 Sep 73

13 Sep 73

28 Aug 78

28 Aug 78

19 Aug 78

03 Sep 77

Solar 

elevation 

angle 

(degrees)

38

45

33

36

36

36

37

35

42

39

40

34

35

45

32

46

33

30

32

33

35

36

39

32

Cloud 

Code cover 

(percent)

A °

A °

^ 10

A 5

A °

A °

A °

a 25

a 15

ffc 20

^ 10

^ 10

A °

A °

A °

A °

A °

A °

A °

A °

A °

A °

^ 10

 °

Remarks

Cambria Icefield; image used for Coast Mountains, figure 2

Stikine Icefield; image used for Coast Mountains, figure 3

Juneau Ice Field, Canadian glaciers cloudfree

Stikine Icefield, Canadian glaciers cloudfree

Archived by CCRS1

Juneau Ice Field

Band 6 evaluated, Band 7 missing

Glacier Bay

Glacier Bay

Image used for St. Elias Mountains, figures 9 and 12

Archived by CCRS

Image used for St. Elias Mountains, figures 1, 9, and 12

Landsat 3 RBV; subscene A used for St. Elias Mountains, 

figure 6; archived by USGS Glacier Studies Project

Image used for St. Elias Mountains, figures 2 and 4

J22 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
TABLE 4. Optimum Landsat 1, 2, and 3 MSS and REV images of glaciers of the Coast and St. Elias Mountains of Canada Continued

Path-Row

67-18

68-17

68-18

69-17

Nominal 

scene center 

(lat-long)

59°54'N. 

139°51'W.

61°16'N. 

140° 14' W.

59°54'N.

61°16'N. 

141°40'W.

Landsat 

identification 

number

2955-19292

2956-19343

2956-19350

21677-19593

Date

03 Sep 77

04 Sep 77

04 Sep 77

26 Aug 79

Solar 

elevation 

angle 

(degrees)

33

32

33

36

Cloud 

Code cover 

(percent)

A °

A °

A 5

A 5

Remarks

Seward Glacier; image used for St. Elias Mountains, 

figure 2

Image used for St. Elias Mountains, figure 1

Seward Glacier; image used for St. Elias Mountains, 

figure 1

1 The cloud cover and evaluations of images archived by CCRS are based on the CCRS World Wide Web page (http://www.ccrs.nrcan.gc.ca) 

listing. There is no browse image for these scenes, but the cloud cover evaluation has been reliable when compared with images that have 

been directly inspected.

140°W

60°N

65°N

130°W

Figure 7. Map of the major mountain ranges in the Yukon and Northwest 

Territories of Canada. Glacierized ranges indicated in green.

GLACIERS OF CANADA J23
advanced thermal emission and reflectance radiometer (ASTER) on the 

Terra Spacecraft); the surface-elevation profile capability of the Ice, Cloud, 

and land Elevation Satellite (ICESat), estimated to be ±1 m; the all-weather 

radar sensors, such as the Canadian RADARSAT; and high-resolution panchromatic IKONOS and QuickBird-2 images [1-m picture elements (pixels) 

and 61-cm pixels, respectively) will provide new opportunities for glaciologists to use satellite remote sensing and GIS technologies to monitor 

changes in the area and volume of glaciers in the future (Williams and others, 1997; Williams and Hall, 1998). The following sections are directed primarily at an analysis and evaluation of Landsat MSS (and RBV) images of 

selected Canadian glaciers, in the context of the history of glacier investigations and glacier mapping in Canada, as a contribution to the objective of 

establishing a global baseline of glacier area during the 1970's. Although the 

pixel resolution of Landsat MSS images (79 m) generally precluded analysis 

of changes in small glaciers, the MSS images do provide an objective historical, time-precise record of the areal extent of large glaciers (that comprise 

most of the glacier area in Canada) during the 1970's.

J24 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
References Cited

Anonymous, 1978, Height of the glaciation level in western Canada and southern Alaska: Oslo, l:4,000,000-scale map, in 

Height of the glaciation level in northern British Columbia and 

southeastern Alaska: Geografiska Annaler, v. 54A, p. 76-84.

 1998, Rivers of ice: Canadian Geographic, v. 118, no. 7, 

p. 34-39.

Canada: Environment: Inland Waters Branch, 1971a, 8.8.1 

South Vancouver Island, glacier inventory, area 4*8H: Ottawa, 

Ontario, produced by the Inland Waters Branch, Department 

of the Environment; printed by the Surveys and Mapping 

Branch, Department of Energy, Mines and Resources, map. 

(Glacier Atlas of Canada IWB 1137, scale 1:500,000.)

Canada: Environment: Inland Waters Branch, 1971b, 8.8.2 

Northern Vancouver Island, glacier inventory, area 4*8H: 

Ottawa, Ontario, produced by the Inland Waters Branch, 

Department of the Environment; printed by the Surveys and 

Mapping Branch, Department of Energy, Mines and 

Resources, map. (Glacier Atlas of Canada IWB 1139, scale 

1:500,000.)

Denton, G.H., 1975a, Glaciers of the Canadian Rocky Mountains, 

in Field, W.O., ed., Mountain glaciers of the Northern Hemisphere, v. 1: Hanover, N.H., U.S. Army Cold Regions Research 

and Engineering Lab., p. 603-653.

 1975b, Glaciers of the Coast Mountains (Pacific Ranges 

and Cascade Mountains) and Coast Ranges of British Columbia, in Field, W.O., ed., Mountain glaciers of the Northern 

Hemisphere, v. 1: Hanover, N.H., U.S. Army Cold Regions 

Research and Engineering Lab., p. 671-687.

 1975c, Glaciers of the Interior Ranges of British Columbia, in Field, W.O., ed., Mountain glaciers of the Northern 

Hemisphere, v. 1: Hanover, N.H., U.S. Army Cold Regions 

Research and Engineering Lab., p. 655-670.

Dunbar, M., and Greenway, K.R., 1956, Arctic Canada from the 

air: Ottawa, Queen's Printer, 541 p.

Fahn, C., 1975, Glaciers of northern Labrador, in Field, WO., ed., 

Mountain glaciers of the Northern Hemisphere, v. 2: Hanover, 

N.H., U.S. Army Cold Regions Research and Engineering 

Lab., p. 673-682.

Field, W.O., Jr., 1975a, Glaciers of the Coast Mountains Boundary Ranges (Alaska, British Columbia, and Yukon Territory), 

in Field, W.O., ed., Mountain glaciers of the Northern Hemisphere, v. 2: Hanover, N.H., U.S. Army Cold Regions Research 

and Engineering Lab., p. 11-141.

 1975b, Glaciers of the St. Elias Mountains, in Field, W.O., 

ed., Mountain glaciers of the Northern Hemisphere, v. 2: 

Hanover, N.H., U.S. Army Cold Regions Research and Engineering Lab., p. 143-297.

 1975c, Mountain glaciers of the Northern Hemisphere:

Hanover, N.H., U.S. Army Cold Regions Research and Engineering Lab., v. 1, 698 p., v. 2, 932 p., atlas, 49 plates. 

Field, WO, and Associates, 1958, Atlas of mountain glaciers in 

the Northern Hemisphere: Natick, Mass., Headquarters Quartermaster Research and Engineering Command, U.S. Army 

Research and Engineering Center, Environmental Protection 

Research Division, Technical Report EP-92, unpaginated, 

various plates.

Henoch, W.E.S., 1967, Surface measurements of glacierized area 

in Canada: Ottawa, Department of Energy, Mines and 

Resources, Water Research Branch, Glaciology Section, 

unpublished manuscript, 4 p.

Horvath, Eva, 1975, Glaciers of the Yukon and Northwest Territories (excluding the Queen Elizabeth Islands and St. Elias 

Mountains), in Field, W.O., ed., Mountain glaciers of the 

Northern Hemisphere, v. 1: Hanover, N.H., U.S. Army Cold 

Regions Research and Engineering Lab., p. 689-698.

Koerner, R.M., 1968, Fabric analysis of a core from the Meighen 

Ice Cap, Northwest Territories, Canada: Journal of Glaciology, v. 7, no. 51, p. 421-430.

Mercer, J.H., 1975a, Glaciers of Baffin and Bylot Islands, in 

Field, W.O., ed., Mountain glaciers of the Northern Hemisphere, v. 2: Hanover, N.H., U.S. Army Cold Regions Research 

and Engineering Lab., p. 683-721.

 1975b, Glaciers of the Queen Elizabeth Islands, N.W.T., 

Canada, in Field, W.O., ed., Mountain glaciers of the Northern Hemisphere, v. 2: Hanover, N.H., U.S. Army Cold Regions 

Research and Engineering Lab., p. 723-752.

Ommanney, C.S.L., 1969, Glacier inventory of Canada-Axel 

Heiberg Island, Northwest Territories: Ottawa, Department 

of Energy, Mines and Resources, Inland Waters Branch Technical Bulletin No. 37, 97 p.

Ommanney, Simon, 1970, The Canadian glacier inventory, in 

Glaciers, Proceedings of Workshop Seminar, 1970; Ottawa 

Canadian National Committee, the International Hydrological Decade, p. 23-30.

Ommanney, C.S.L., 1972, Application of the Canadian glacier 

inventory to studies of the static water balance. 1. The glaciers of Vancouver Island, in Adams, W.P., and Helleiner, 

P.M., eds., International Geography 1972, v. 2: Toronto, University of Toronto Press, p. 1266-1268.

 1993, Yukon glaciers, in Prowse, T.D., Ommanney, C.S.L., 

and Ulmer, K.E., eds., International Northern Research 

Basins Symposium/Workshop, 9th, Whitehorse, Dawson City, 

Eagle Plains, Yukon; Inuvik, Northwest Territories, 1992, Proceedings: Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, National Hydrology 

Research Institute, Environment Canada, v. 1, p. 373-382. 

(NHRI Symposium 10.)

0strem, Gunnar, Arnold, K.C., and Simpson, K., compilers, 1966, 

Glaciers and moraines in southern British Columbia and 

Alberta, l:2,000,000-scale map, in 0strem, G., and Arnold, K., 

1970, Ice-cored moraines in southern British Columbia and 

Alberta, Canada: Geografiska Annaler, v. 52A, p. 120-128.

Shaler, N.S., and Davis, W.M., 1881, Illustrations of the Earth's 

surface: Glaciers: Boston, J.R. Osgood and Co., 198 p.

Shilts, Elizabeth, Fick, Steven, Murray, Andrew, and McLean, 

Janice, 1998, The glaciers of Canada: Canadian Geographic, 

v. 118, no. 7, p. 51-52 (8-page foldout, color map).

Williams, R.S., Jr., and Ferrigno, J.G., workshop coordinators, 

1997, Final Report of the Workshop on Long-Term Monitoring 

of Glaciers of North America and Northwestern Europe: U.S. 

Geological Survey Open-File Report 98-31, 144 p.

GLACIERS OF CANADA J25
Williams, R.S., Jr., Garvin, J.B., SigurSsson, O., HaU, D.K., and Williams, R.S., Jr., and Hall, D.K., 1998, Use of remote sensing

Ferrigno, J.G., 1997, Measurement of changes in the area and techniques, in Haeberli, W, Hoelzle, M., and Suter, S., eds.,

volume of the Earth's large glaciers with satellite sensors, in Into the 2nd centuiy °f WOrld glader monitoring: Prospects

 _. . _, _ T . and strategies: A contribution to the International Hydrologi- Wilhams, R.S., Jr., and Ferngno, J.G., workshop coordinators, . _. ^TTT _i ^ ^ i ^ *. i n^ 	cal Programme (IHP), and the Global Environmental MomFinal Report of the Workshop on Long-Term Monitoring of toring System (GEMS)) World Glacier Monitoring Service:

Glaciers of North America and Northwestern Europe: U.S. Paris, UNESCO Publishing, Studies and Reports in HydrolGeological Survey Open-File Report 98-31, p. 74-76. ogy, Publication 56, p. 97-111.

J26 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Glaciers of North America 

GLACIERS OF CANADA

HISTORY OF GLACIER INVESTIGATIONS IN 

CANADA

By C. SIMON L. OMMANNEY

SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD

Edited by RICHARD S. WILLIAMS, Jr., WJANE G. FERRIGNO

U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 1386-J-l

The earliest recorded description of a Canadian glacier was in 1861. Since that time, 

various glaciological investigations have been conducted in the several glacierized 

regions of Canada (for example, Coast Mountains, Interior Ranges, Rocky Mountains, 

and Arctic Islands), including mass balance, modeling, dendrochronology, climatology, 

ice chemistry and physics, ice-core analyses, glacier-surge mechanics, and airborne and 

satellite remote sensing
CONTENTS

Page

Abstract J2 7

Occurrence of Glaciers 27

FIGURE 1. Index map of the glaciers of western Canada 29 

2. Index map of the glaciers of arctic and eastern Canada 34 

TABLE 1. Summary of historical information on glaciers of western

Canada 30

2. Summary of historical information on glaciers of arctic and

eastern Canada 32

3. The glacierized areas of Canada 35

Observation of Glaciers 35 

Historic (Prior to World War II) 35

FIGURE 3. Oblique aerial photograph of the Columbia Mountains, Interior

Ranges, British Columbia, Canada, in late summer of 1970 35

4. Photograph of the Illecillewaet Glacier ("Great Glacier"),

Interior Ranges, British Columbia, taken 19 August 1898 37

1945 to the Middle 1950's 37

FIGURE 5. Photograph of the terminus of the Kokanee Glacier, Interior 

Ranges, British Columbia, Canada, showing the snowline 

in September 1972 38

6. Photograph of Nadahini Glacier in August 1974 at Photo

Station No. 5, Coast Mountains, British Columbia 38

7. Photograph of the terminus of Sphinx Glacier, Coast Mountains,

British Columbia, Canada, in September 1968 38

Middle 1950's to the Middle 1960's 39

FIGURE 8. Photographs of the Muller Ice Cap A, and Crusoe Glacier B, on

Axel Heiberg Island, Nunavut, High Arctic 40 

9. Photograph of the Berendon Glacier showing its prominent 

medial moraines, Coast Mountains, British Columbia, 

Canada, on 27 August 1974 42

Middle 1960's to the 1990's 42

FIGURE 10. Photographs of the Place Glacier, Coast Mountains, British

Columbia 43

11. Photographs of Peyto Glacier, Rocky Mountains, Alberta, in

A, late summer 1967, and 5, 25 September 1991 44

12. Photographs of Bugaboo Glacier, Interior Ranges, British

Columbia, Canada, in A, August 1970, and B, July 1970 45

13. Photographs of the terminus of Sentinel Glacier, Coast

Mountains, British Columbia, Canada, showing the snowline

in A, September 1968 and B, 25 September 1973 46

14. Photograph of the terminus of the Sykora Glacier, Coast

Mountains, British Columbia, Canada, on 19 August 1975 47

15. Photograph of the terminus of the Bridge Glacier, Coast 

Mountains, British Columbia, Canada, on 19 August 1975, 

showing icebergs which have calved into the proglacial lake 47

16. Photograph of the terminus of the Tiedemann Glacier, Coast 

Mountains, British Columbia, Canada, in August 1982, 

showing prominent trim lines on the valley wall, prominent 

medial moraines, and the morainic-debris-covered lower part 

of the glacier 47

17. Photograph of ice-coring project on Devon Ice Cap 49

18. Ice field adjoining ice cap, Victoria, and Albeit Mountains, east

coast Ellesmere Island, Queen Elizabeth Islands, Nunavut 51

19. A, Oblique aerial photograph of Trapridge Glacier, Yukon,

Canada, in August 1999; B, Connecting sensors to one of more 

than 20 data loggers operating year-round at Trapridge 

Glacier 52

20. Photograph of Mount Logan, St. Elias Mountains, Yukon 

Territory, Canada, from the ice-core drill site at Eclipse 

(3,017m) in June 1990 54

CONTENTS III
Page 

FIGURE 21. Photograph of Flood Glacier, Coast Mountains, British

Columbia, on 13 July 1979 showing the iceberg-filled lake 

dammed by the glacier 54 

22. Bed instruments developed for studying the subglacial

mechanical processes of Trapridge Glacier 55

The 21st Century ~~~~~~-~~~~~~~ ------------------------------- 56

References Cited 58

IV CONTENTS
\SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD

GLACIERS OF NORTH AMERICAGLACIERS OF CANADA

HISTORY OF GLACIER INVESTIGATIONS IN CANADA 

By C. SIMON L. OMMANNEY1

Abstract

Because of extensive high mountain ranges (peaks nearly 6,000 meters above sea level in 

western Canada) and high latitude (latitude 83° North in the High Arctic Islands), Canada has 

a large number of glacierized regions; the area covered by glaciers increases from south to 

north along the border with Alaska in the west and from Labrador to Ellesmere Island in the 

east. Glaciers cover an estimated 150,000 square kilometers of the Arctic Islands, three times 

the glacier cover in western Canada (about 50,000 square kilometers), for an approximate 

total area of 200,000 square kilometers. The principal glacierized regions of Canada are the 

mountain groups of the Coast Mountains: St. Elias Mountains, Boundary Ranges, and Pacific 

Ranges; Interior Ranges; Rocky Mountains; and Arctic Islands: Baffin Island, Devon Island, 

Ellesmere Island, Axel Heiberg Island, Meighen Island, and Melville Island. The first field 

observations of Canadian glaciers were made in 1861. During the past 140 years, various 

types of glaciological measurements, from observations in the field to airborne and satellite 

remote sensing, have been made, for varying periods of time, of 176 individual glaciers, 

including 13 glaciers in Yukon Territory (St. Elias Mountains), 63 glaciers in the Coast Mountains, 10 glaciers in the Interior Ranges, 27 glaciers in the Rocky Mountains, 41 glaciers in the 

High Arctic, 10 glaciers in the Low Arctic, and 5 glaciers in Labrador (Torngat Mountains). 

Seven other glaciers have been studied but are outside these mountain ranges and are not 

discussed. Most of the studies of mass-balance, modeling, dendrochronology, climatology, ice 

chemistry and physics, ice-core analysis, glacier-surge mechanics, and airborne and satellite 

remote sensing were carried out during the past 50 years, stimulated by the need for 

increased knowledge of water resources in the western glacierized basins and to support scientific work during the International Geophysical Year (1945 to middle 1950's), increased 

knowledge of Arctic Canada, a response to security and sovereignty concerns (middle 1950's 

to the middle 1960's), and by the International Hydrological Decade (middle 1960's to the 

1970's). During the 1990's governmental support of glacier research in Canada waned, but by 

the beginning of the 21st century, the Geological Survey of Canada initiated a National Glaciology Programme, including a Cryospheric Systems Research Initiative (CRYSYS), motivated 

by achieving a better scientific understanding of the potential impact of climate change on 

Canada's water resources and the Arctic region. With the increased availability of the higher 

spatial and spectral resolution in satellite imagery (including stereoscopic imagery), radar 

imagery (including InSAR), and laser altimetry, glaciologists will increasingly rely on satellite 

remote sensing to acquire some of the data needed to monitor changes in area and volume 

and glacier velocity.

Occurrence of Glaciers

The Canadian landmass, extending from long 53°W. to 141 °W. and from 

lat 42°N. to 83°N., has an area of almost 10 million km2 . The mountains 

range up to a height of nearly 6,000 m above sea level and contain a variety 

of environments suitable for the development and maintenance of glaciers.

Manuscript approved for publication 7 March 2002.

1 International Glaciological Society, Lensfleld Road, Cambridge CB2 1ER, England (formerly with the 

National Hydrology Research Institute [now the National Hydrology Research Centre], Environment Canada, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 3H5, Canada).

GLACIERS OF CANADA J27
Field, in his memorable study of mountain glaciers, described the glacier 

distribution and reported on much of the work done on them (Field, 

1975c); work on the glaciers was last updated by Ommanney (1996). Small 

glaciers are found on both continental margins, in the Torngats of Labrador 

(Fahn, 1975), and in the central mountains of Vancouver Island (Ommanney, 1972a). Larger glacier masses are found in the Rocky Mountains (Denton, 1975a), the Interior Ranges (Coleman, 1921; Denton, 1975c), and the 

Coast Mountains (Denton, 1975b). The glaciers get progressively larger as 

one moves north along the "Panhandle" (Field, 1975a), the boundary 

between British Columbia and Alaska. The size continues to increase 

through the Juneau Icefield region up to the Yukon Territory (Ommanney, 

1993) and the Icefield Ranges (Field, 1975b, 1990), which contain large glacier systems such as the Seward Glacier [II],2 (Post and LaChapelle, 1971) 

(table 1, fig. 1). Some smaller outliers are found in the eastern Yukon Territory and western District of Mackenzie (Northwest Territories) (Horvath, 

1975). The variety of the landscapes encountered can be seen in Dunbar 

and Greenaway (1956), Post and LaChapelle (1971), Slaney (1981), Prest 

(1983), and Mollard and Janes (1984).

The mean height of the equilibrium line of the glaciers rises steadily as 

one crosses the mountains from west to east, from about 1,700 m in the 

Coast Mountains to more than 2,700 m in the Rockies, reflecting a continentality effect. Moving northward, the glaciers increase in size and 

reach to lower elevations, demonstrating a latitudinal effect due to the 

lowering of mean annual temperature as one moves toward the North 

Pole. This effect is best seen in the eastern Arctic, where the mean 

height of the equilibrium line declines from some 700 m on Baffin Island 

virtually to sea level at the Ward Hunt Ice Shelf [120] (table 2, fig. 2). Glaciers in the eastern Arctic are distributed along the mountain and fjord 

coast of Baffin Island (Ives, 1967c), with bigger concentrations of ice in 

the Barnes [164] and Penny [168] Ice Caps (Mercer, 1975a). Such concentrations become larger and more common farther north. Axel Heiberg 

Island, Ellesmere Island, and Devon Island are partially covered by large 

ice fields and ice caps several thousand square kilometers in size (Mercer, 1975b). The regional characteristics of glaciation levels, snowlines, 

and equilibrium lines throughout Canada have been described by 0strem 

(1966a, 1972, 1973b), Andrews and Miller (1972), Bradley (1975) and 

Miller and others (1975).

Figure 1 shows the distribution of glaciers in western Canada. The numbers in this figure refer to those in table 1 and identify the locations of specific glaciers mentioned in the text or for which some historical information 

is summarized in the table. The numbers are given in the text in square 

brackets after the glacier names to aid the reader in identifying their geographic location. Figure 2 and table 2 provides the same information for the 

glaciers of arctic and eastern Canada.

To aid in the management of its glacier resources, the Canadian government initiated a comprehensive inventory of all Canadian glaciers in the 

1960's. The inventory was a contribution to the International Hydrological 

Decade (IHD) and also to the International Hydrological Programme (IHP) 

(Ommanney, 1980). However, no recent measurement of the total area of 

Canada's glaciers has been made. A summary of the best available information (Ommanney, 1971a) shows that about three-quarters of Canada's permanent ice masses, some 150,000 km2 , is found in the eastern Arctic, with 

the balance lying on the mainland, chiefly in the Yukon Territory and British 

Columbia (Ommanney, 1989) (table 3).

Figure 1. (opposite page) The glaciers of 

western Canada. Numbers on the map 

correlate to the numbered glaciers in 

table 1. The areas shown in darker green 

are national parks and other protected 

areas; the areas shown in purple are glaciers. Modified from map in Canadian 

Geographic (Shilts and others, 1998). 

Used with permission.

Numbers in brackets refer to tables 1 and 2 and to figures 1 and 2.

J28 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
N A DA

YUKON 11

TERRITORY

\

 Whitehor 

16-17 \

fc^ \J

PACIFIC

OCEAN

GLACIERS OF CANADA J29
TABLE 1. Summary of historical information on glaciers of western Canada (see also Jig. 1)

[x, variations: o, mass balance; *, variations and mass balance; z, other studies; s, other, some mass balance; m, other, some variations; ?, missing glacier area and location data; italicized place-names are variant

names and names not listed in the CPCGN/CGNDB'3]

YUKON TERRITORY

1. Klutlan Glacier

2. Hazard Glacier

3. Steele Glacier

4. Trapridge Glacier

(Hyena)

5. Backe Glacier (Jackal)

6. Rusty Glacier (Fox)

7. Donjek Glacier

8. Walsh Glacier

9. Kaskawulsh Glacier

10. Mount Logan

1 1. Seward Glacier

12. Hubbard Glacier

13. Lowell Glacier

COAST MOUNTAINS

14. Tweedsmuir Glacier

15. Nadahini Glacier

16. East Arm Glacier

17. Tats Glacier

18. Cathedral Glacier

19. Grand Pacific Glacier

20. Tulsequah Glacier

21. Flood Glacier

22. Alexander Glacier

23. Natavas Glacier

24. Yuri Glacier

25. Andrei Glacier

26. Forrest Kerr Glacier

27. Great Glacier

28. Ridge Icefield Glacier

29. Tim Williams Glacier

30. Leduc Glacier

31. Frank Mackie Glacier

32. Berendon Glacier

33. Salmon Glacier

34. New Moon Glacier

35. UTEM Glacier

36. Purgatory Glacier

37. Atavist Glacier

38. Noeick Glacier

39. Fyles Glacier

40. Ape Glacier

41. Deer Lake, Glacier

42. Bench Glacier

43. Tsoloss Glacier

44. Elkin Glacier

45. Tiedemann Glacier

46. Franklin Glacier

47. Cumberland Glacier

48. Miserable Glacier

Latitude

North

61°30.0'

6l°15.7'

61' 14.6'

61°13.6'

61°12.8'

61P 12.4'

61°03.6'

60°53.0'

60°45.0'

60°34.0'

fiO°25.0'

60°22.6'

60° 17.8'

Latitude

North

59°52.0'

59°44.0'

59°43.2'

59°41.4'

5fl°20.3'

59°07.5'

58°50.0'

57°10.7'

57°06.4'

57°03.6'

56°58.0'

56°55.7'

56°54.1'

56°50.9'

9

56°33.4'

56° 14.0'

56° 19.5'

56°14.8'

56°08.6'

53°55.3'

53°54.5'

52°09.0'

52°09.0'

52°06.5'

52°06.0'

52°04.3'

52°04.0'

51°27.0'

51°23.5'

51°22.5'

51°19.5'

51°14.5'

51°12.0'

51°04.2'

Longitude

West

140°37.0'

140°21.9'

140°10.6'

140°20.0'

140° 17.9'

140°17.9'

139°42.8'

140°45.0'

139°06.0'

140°23.0'

140°30.0'

139°22.5'

138°17.2'

Longitude

West

138° 19.3'

136°41.0'

137°35.6'

137°46.2'

134° 06.3'

137°08.0'

133°45.6'

131°55.0'

130°49.1'

130°49.6'

130°42.2'

130°55.6'

130°05.6'

131°52.0'

9

130°00.0'

130°22.0'

130°10.0'

130°05.0'

130°04.0'

127°46.5'

127°46.7'

126°22.0'

126°Ofl.O'

126°16.7'

126°13.6'

126°12.2'

126°10.0'

124°56.0'

123°52.0'

123°51.0'

125°00.0'

125°28.0'

124°23.3'

123°52.0'

km2 1890 1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000

1091. ......_. ., .. ..... ...... ..._ .-,... .-... ...11... .....z... ........ ... ....

16 ......_. . .. .... zz z .......

99 ... ... ,., - 7777 77777 7 7 . ...

K-K -. .-. ,., ...,,,, .., ,,.. , . - 77 777777 7ZZ7ZZ77ZZ ZZZZZZZZZ.

3.4 _....._ _.... . ,.._. . ._..... ._..... .. __ . ..... _ ........z. .x........ _...._ ... _ .

4.9 _...._ - »,. ,.. ,. ._ ,,, , . ,,, I... .,, ,.,,.^- ,.-. -.zoo zzzzzzz.. _....,. ... _ .

290 . .... z z ...... .... .

...._ , , . .... xx xxx

700. .. . ...... .... ... .. ..... X ,,,,, ,,,.... 777777777 7 77 ..._____

? _ ..... _ ..... ...._. ,^_,.. .. _ ... ........z. ...mi. zz....z.zz ..... _ ,

? ..... , . , . . . . ... ..._ ........xx ...o.... ...zz.... i.. ...... .,..,.-.

? _... .. ... ..... .... ..... .......... .......... .z.z.z.... ..........

530. ..... .... . . ... .... .... ......... .......... .......... .....xxxxx xxxxx..... ..........

km2 1890 1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000

497. ... ..... .... .... . . ..... .. .......... ........ . ....... ...... ....xx.... ... ... .........

6.1 .. ... ... ., ...... ._., , . ., .,, ., ,. -^,, ...x.x.x. X.X.X..... . ,_.., . , 

102 ......... .. _...._ . . .x.x..... _....._

16 1 ... .... oo _.......

2.0 ..._... ...._.. ......._ ........ __ _,...., __ -....,., .000.0.... ... ...

565. ... .. .... . .......... .....x... ......x.. x.......x. ...x..... ....x..... ...... ... .....

~200 z

11. , .. ... , _ _ .... _.... _ _...._ _ .... . __ .. _ ...... .........z zzzzzz.... .....

58 ...... ,, ......... , lumt ... .. ......... ......... . .,..,,.. n nnnnnn nn n

3.1 ..._. ..,, ._ _..... . . ... _....... __ .. .. .. ..... ......_ ZO........ ._....

3fi , .,..., ....,.,, ..,,,.,,, - -.... nn nononn no n

92. ..... -..,.. - , ~- M,,, ........oo oooooo. .00 o.. .......

99. ..., .- ., ..._ . ... ..... x.. .X..X..... .....xxxx. .. . .. ... ........oo ooo.......

-175 ..... . .. ... ..... 

9 .. ... ....... ..... 7

8. -.,., .. ,,.. .. . . ..... . ... .... .. ......z... .... ... .......... ....... .1 ... .

12.3 _.. ...._ ... .. . .... . ... ..... . _.... .....z.... . ..... .... .

153 z ....... ,_

334 .... .._.. . .... .... . . 7.nnn nnnnnn ......... ,,,.._.

3R ,,, ,,. ,,,, ,,, .,,,,,, 777 7777 7 . ....

1 0 - .-,-,. , ,, ,., ._, ... ... ,..._ X X X XXX X . ,. .

1 9, - ,. , ... . x . .......

139 x , .....,,.. ...... ,, x x x x _ x

55 .... x......... ....... ........ ...... . ,,,,, .x..x . x x.x ........

8.9 .......... x......... ....... ..... _ , JIM,.,,-, , ,. . ....x..... ...x..... ........x. .._ .. _.......

159 x , ,,, xx x xx. mmm .

81 ,.,. ,,., x lllm ,... . , ., xxx x xx xx .......

4.6 .. -.. .... ., ....... ., .. ...... ...X......

10. ,..,. ,, ..... ....... _... .. ,. .......... .......... .00000. .00 0.........

1 1 ,...,, ,. X ........ .. ...... X ,,,,, ,,,,... X

1.5 .. ... . ..... ..... ......_ ...... .. ... .x .... . .... ......._ ,.x.......

fiH ^_ ,,,, - ....... .... ... ..,, , .. .._,...,. .,... nnnnn nn n

132. ...... , ...... .......x.. ,x..x..... .....xxxx. .., « «,. ..M,,,,. ......... .........

2.8 .. ......... ...... . .... ... .. ... ....... ..z...... ..... ..

3.3 ... . ,. x......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .x........ .......... .....x.... .......... ..........

J30 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
TABLE 1. Summary of historical infoitnation on glaciers of western Canada (see also fig. 1) Continued

[x, variations; o, mass balance; *, variations and mass balance; z, other studies; s, other, some mass balance; m, other, some variations; ?, missing glacier area and location data; italicized place-names are variant

names and names not listed in the CPCGN/CGNDB3]

COAST MOUNTAINS

49. Pathetic Glacier

50. Friendly Glacier

51. Hourglass Glacier

52. Tchaikazan Glacier

53. Sykora Glacier

54. Bridge Glacier

55. Zavisha Glacier

56. Berm Glacier

57. Havoc Glacier

58. Wave Glacier

59. Surf Glacier

60. Terrific Glacier

61. Clendenning Glacier

62. Place Glacier

63. Wedgemount Glacier

64. Caltha Lake Glacier

65. Boomerang Glacier

66. Brandy Bowl Glacier

67. Horstman Glacier

68. Overlord Glacier

69. Helm Glacier

70. Sphinx Glacier

71. Sentinel Glacier

72. Thunderclap Glacier

73. Griffin Glacier

74. Staircase Glacier

75. Gl. de Fleur des Neiges

76. Moving Glacier

INTERIOR RANGES

77. Silvertip Glacier

78. Haworth Glacier

79. Sir Sandford Glacier

80. Illecillewaet Glacier

81. Asulkan Glacier

82. Woolsey Glacier

83. Bugaboo Glacier

84. Commander Glacier

85. Toby Glacier

86. Kokanee Glacier

ROCKY MOUNTAINS

87. Robson Glacier

88. Small River Glacier

89. Angel Glacier

90. Scott Glacier

91. East Chaba Glacier

92. Saskatachewan Glacier

93. Athabasca Glacier

94. Columbia Icefield

95. Columbia Glacier

Latitude

North

5P03.4'

51°03.0'

5P01.6'

5P01.2'

50°52.7'

50°49.4'

50°48.4r

50°33.0'

50°30.3'

50°30.0'

50°29.7'

50°26.4'

50°25.2'

50°25.3'

50°09.2'

50°08.7'

50°07.2'

50°07.1'

50°05.8'

50°01.2'

49°57.8'

49°55.0'

49°53.6'

45°51.0r

49°51.0'

49°51.0'

49°51.0'

49°33.0'

Latitude

North

5P42.2'

5P41.6'

5P40.31

5P14.21

5P12.41

5P07.51

50°43.8'

50°25.7'

50°13.7'

49°45.0r

Latitude

North

53°08.5'

53°06.0'

52°41.0r

52°26.0'

52°12.5'

52° 12.5'

52°11.7'

52°10.0r

52°09.5'

Longitude

West

123°47.5'

123°51.4'

123°46.0'

123°47.3'

123°33.8'

123°33.0'

123°25.3r

123°59.0'

123°52.3'

123°59.0'

123°58.r

123°57.8'

123°54.1'

122°36.0'

122°47.8'

122°17.0'

123°15.8'

123°14.7r

122°53.0'

122°50.0'

123°00.0'

122°57.5'

122°58.9'

122°39.0'

122°38.0'

122°37.0'

122°36.0'

125°23.2'

Longitude

West

117°54.2'

117°54.3'

117°54.0'

117°26.5'

117°27.3r

118°02.5'

116°46.5'

116°32.5'

116°32.0'

117°08.5r

Longitude

West

119°06.0'

119°17.0'

118°04.0r

118°05.0'

117°40.8'

117°08.2'

117°15.0'

117°20.0'

117°23.0'

km2 1890 1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000

0.1 .. ......... x........ ........ ... .... ..... . ... x....... .......... ....x... . ...... ...... ..

4.4 .. ......... x.... ... . ... .. ......... ........ .. .... .x....... ..... x ...x... .x. .... .........

4.2 . ........ x........ ........ ........ ........ ....... x...... ....... ....x... ......... ........

21.4 .. ....... x........ ....... ....... ... .... ....... .x...... ......x. ....xx... ..x..... ........

25. .. .. ... ... . .... . . . . . .... ....... .....ooooo oooooo....

83.5 ... ......... ....... ....... ..... . . ...... ......... ........ ........ ....ooooo oooooo... . .....

6.5 ... . .... .. .. ..... . .... . . .... .... . .... ... .. . .... ..... .. .. ....... .....ooooo oooooo.... .... ..

1.1 ... ...... ... . ..... .. . ... .. ... ...... .... .. .. ...xx. .x... ... .. .... . x.. ...x.x .... .... ..........

9.5 .. ..x..... ........ ....... ....... ........ ......x. x....... ...x..... x. ....xx .......... .........

4.4 .. ......... ........ ........ .. ..... ......... .....xx. .x. ..... ...x..... x .....x.x ....... .......

1.0 ... ..x..... ......... .... ..... .. ...... . .....x.. x....... ...x..... x.... .x.x ........ ........

4.6 ... ........ ......... ........ .... ... ........ .......x. .x.... .. ...x..... x......x,x ........ ........

26.5 ... ..x...... . ...... ........ .... .... ........ ... ..x .x....... ...x... x.. ...xx ......... ... ..

3.8 .. ... ... . .... ... .. ... .. ... ...... ..... .... ........ .. ... ... . ...ooooo oooooooooo oooooooooo oooooooooo

2.6 . . ..... .... x,... .... ... ... x ...... . .... .... .. ....x.x x.. .... . .x ..x ..xx.xzxxx x* *xxx.. . x...xx. ..

0.1 .. ......... ....... ........ ........ ........ ........ .x....... .......x ........ x..x.x... .......

4.0 ... ........ ........ ....... ........ ....... ........ ......... ........ z. .. ......... ........

1.5 ... ........ ...... ....... .... .. ........ ......... ........ ......... ..z. ..... .......

2.6 .. ........ x........ ........ .......x. ... ... ....... x........ . ... .. ..x... . ........ x.xxx....

3.1 .. ......... ........ .X. .... .... .X. ... XXX . ...XXXXX X.XX.X.X. X......... ....OOOOO OOOOOOOOOO OOOOOO....

4.7 .. .... .... ... ..... .X,. .... ..... .. ... .XXX.. ....XXXXX X.X.X.X.X. X.. X.X.X. X.X.. 0000 000... ...

1.8 ... ....... .. ..... .. ..... ........ ..XXX. ....XXXXX X.X.X X.X X. .X0*0*0 *0*0000000 OOOOOOOOOO ........

2.7 ... ......... . .... . ........ ........ x....... ... .... .xx...... .....xx ..x ...x . ......... .......

2.1 .. .... .... . .... .. . .... ... ... . .x.. ..... .. ...... xx. ..... . ....x .x ..x....xx. ..........

1.6 . . .... ..... .... .... .... ... . ..... .x ...... .. .... . .xx....... .....x..x ..x....xx. .... .... ..........

0.4 .. ........ ......... ......... . .... . .x ... . ........ .xx....... ..... x..x . x... xx. ......... ........

1.2 ... ........ ........ ........ ........ .x..... ........ ....... ..x..... ......... .x....... ........

km2 1890 1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000

3.5 . ......... ... .. x.x. ..... .. ...... ..... .. . .. .... x x...x... . ....x... ... .x.x.. ..........

4.1 . .... ..... ... .... x.x. .... .. ..... . .... .... . ..... x .x...x. . .....x... .. ..x.x..

10.4 .. ........ ......... x.x..... ........ ........ .......x .x ..x. .. .x...x... . ...x.x.. ........ ........

6.4 XX X. .... XX XXXXXXXXXX XXX... .. ..... ... .X..... .. .....XXXXX X.X.X.X.X X......... ......... .. .... .. .. .... .

1.2 ... ....... XX XX.XXXXXX XXX...... ..... ... .X... ... ........ ........ ......... ......... . .. ... .........

3.9 ... ... .... ..... .. . .... ... ... . .. ..... .... .. ..... . . .. .... . ...ooooo oooooo... .......... ........

5. . ........ ........ ........ ........ ....... ........ .......... ....xx.x. x.x.x.... ........ .........

6.0 .. ........ ........ ...... x........ ........ ........ ....x..... x....... ........ ......... ........

8. ... ........ ........ ... x... x..x ..xx ..... .. ........ ......... .......... ........ .. ..... ... .....

3.1 ... ........ ........ ......... ...x.... . ....... ....xxxxx xx.x.x.x. x. x.x.x. x.x...... ...... .. .........

km2 1890 1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000

13. ......... .......x. .x.x..... .x...... .x.... . ........ ...x..... ... ... ........ ... .... .........

5.8 ........ ......... ....... ......... ...... ......... ....... ......... ........ ......... ...z.z....

0.9 ......... ...... ......... ........ ....... ....xx.. z. ...... ......... ....... ....... .......

16. ...... ... . ........ .. .... .. ....x.... ...... ... .. ...... ...x.. ... ......... ..... .... ........

1.7 .......... ........ ........ ......x. ....x.. ......... ........ . ...x... x........ ....... .........

30. (1824-62) .... ..... ..x. .... . ...x. .. .... ... ...xxxxx x.xxx. x.x. x.xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx .... .... .mmmmmmmm.

15. (1843-44) ... ..... ....... . .x... ... .. ... .. ....xxxxx x.xxx.x.xm mmmmxzmmmm xxxxxxxxxx .x .xx ... .mmmmmmmm.

285. ......... ....... ....... ........ ........ ........ ....... ........ ...... ..z zz..... . .........

16. (1698-1739) ......... ...... .x ....x.... ........ ........x ...x.. ... .. ...x.. x.x..... .......... ........

GLACIERS OF CANADA J31
TABLE 1. Summary of historical information on glaciers of western Canada (see also fig. 1) Continued

[x, variations; o, mass balance; *, variations and mass balance; z, other studies; s, other, some mass balance; m, other, some variations; ?, missing glacier area and location data; italicized place-names are variant

names and names not listed in the CPCGN/CGNDB3]

ROCKY MOUNTAINS

96. Boundary Glacier

97. Dome Glacier

98. Hilda Glacier

99. Clime Glacier

100. Southeast Lyell Glacier

101. Rant River Glacier

102. Freshfield Glacier

103. Peyto Glacier

104. Bow Glacier

105. Yoho Glacier

106. Hector Glacier

107. Drummond Glacier

108. Emerald Glacier

109. Catlwdral. Glacier

110. Victoria Glacier

111. Wenkchemna Glacier

\l2.Robertson Glacier

113. Rae Glacier

Latitude

North

52°11.5'

52° 12.1'

52°11.0'

52°05.0'

51°54.5'

51°51.0'

51°45.8'

51°40.6'

51°38.9'

5P36.01

51°35.7'

51°35.5'

51°30.0'

51°24.3'

51°22.8'

51°18.7'

50°44.0'

50°37.4'

Longitude

West

1170 11.4'

117° 18.1'

117°10.0'

116°41.0'

117°01.6'

1160 11.5'

116°54.2'

116°32.8'

116°30.4'

116°32.5'

116°15.5'

116°02.0'

116°32.0'

116°23.4'

1160 17.2'

116°14.2'

115°20.0'

114°59.1'

km2 1890 1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000

1.5 ..... . x . ..... .. ... . ..x .....x... ......x. . x.x..... . ...xxx.... ..... ...x

5.92 (1846). ...... . ... ..... .. ..... . . ........ ...x... .. .... .... .......m. x..xx..zz zxzzzzzzz.

1.35 ......... ......... ........ ....... ........ ........ ........ ......... ..... .z. ....... .......z.

? . .... ... ..... . .. .... . ... .. .. .... .. .. ....zzz zz.... .

16. (1858)... ...... ..x . ..x.. x...... ....... ...x..... ........ ... ...m.. .x .xx..zz zxzzzzzzz.

1.8 ...... . . .. ... ... . . . . .... ... .... .... ..... ... .....ooooo oooooo...

40. ........ .x...... ....... .x.. x.. x...x. x.. .....xxx x.x.x..... ......... ....... ........ .........

13. ... .X. . .. .. .... ... .... . .. X..X .X ..X. XXXXX X.X.X.X.X. X.X.O*0000 OOOOOOOOOS OOSOSOOOOO . 0000000.

5.1 .....X. ........ ....... ..X..... ...X...... ....X... ..XX..... .....X... ......... ......... .. ...ZZZ

23. .....x.. .xxxxxxxx xxxx.xxxx .... ... x.x..... ......... ......... ......... ........ ......... ........

2.5 ......... ...x..... ......... ........ ......x. ........ .x...... .....x... ....... ......... .........

1.3 ...... . ......x. . ... x....... x .... ..x ........ ..x....... ..****xx.. ........ ........ .........

1.9 ..... . .. ... .... . . .... ... ..... ... .... .... . ......xx xxx.......

0.9 ....... ........ .... ....... ........ ........ ........ ........ ....... zx ..z.z. ... .........

3.5 .....xx ..x.x.x x.x...... ......... x...... ....xxxxx x.x.... .. ...x... ... ..x .. .......... .........

4.3 ........ xxx.x ... ....... ........ ......... ........ ..x.... .. ..z.z.z .... ..zz ....... .........

0.8 ........ ........ ..... ....... ........ ......... ........ .......... .......... ........ .....zz. .

? ..... ..... . . .... .. . ... .... .......... .... ..... .......... .... .... ...z......

TABLE 2. Summary of historical information on glaciers of arctic and eastern Canada (see also fig. 2)

[x, variations; o, mass balance; *, variations and mass balance; z, other studies; s, other, some mass balance; m, other, some variations; ?, missing glacier area data; italicized place-names are variant names and names not listed

in the CPCGN/CGNDB3 ]

HIGH ARCTIC

120. Ward Hunt Ice Shelf (Elles)

121. Ward Hunt Ice Rise (Elles)

122. Milne Glacier (Elles)

123. Oilman Glacier (Elles)

124. Muskox Glacier (Elles)

125. Unnamed Ice Cap (Elles)

126. Per Ardua Glacier (Elles)

127. Otto Glacier (Elles)

128. Hare Fiord Glacier (Elles)

129. Webber Glacier (Elles)

130. Gnome Glacier (EUes)

131. Dwarf Glacier (Elles)

132. Midget Glacier (Elles)

133. Arklio Glacier (Elles)

134. Okpuddyshao Glacier (Elles)

135. Nukapingwa Glacier (Elles)

136. Van Royen Glacier (Elles)

137. Shirley Glacier (Elles)

138. Black-welder Ice Cap (Elles)

139. Agassiz Ice Cap (Elles)

Latitude

North

83°07.2'

83°07.0'

82°24.0'

82°05.8'

82°05.0'

81°57.3'

81°31.0'

81°20.0'

81°08.5'

80°55.0'

80°54.5'

80°54.0'

80°53.7'

80°53.6'

80°53.1'

80°52.9'

80°53.2'

80°50.0'

80°38.0'

80°25.0'

Longitude

West

73°30.3'

74°10.0'

80°00.0'

70°36.9'

86°10.0'

64°12.0'

76°27.0'

84°15.0'

82°20.0'

82°10.0'

82°23.5'

82°30.3'

82°37.3'

82°44.0'

82°50.9'

82°58.1'

83°10.5'

83°25.0'

85°00.0'

75°00.0'

km2 1890 1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000

660. .. .. .. ........ ..... .......... ........ ....... ...zz....z ozzzzooooo ooooooo.. oooooo.... .........

32. .... . .... ... .... ..... .... ..... . ... ..00 0000000000 OOOOOOO... OOOOOO.. .

900. ........ ......... ........ .......... ........ ......... .......x ....x... .......... ...x..... ..........

480. ..... .... .......... ... ...... . .... ooo oooooooooo ......... .0.......

? . . .. .... .... . ........ . ..... .......... ......... .....z... ........

7.5 ....... ........ ........ ....... ........ ........ .......... ......oo.. ooooooo... .......... .........

4.3 ......... ........ ........ .......... ......... ........ ........ ...oooooo oo....... ......... .........

1018. ......... ......... ... .... ...... ......... ........ ........ ...x..z... ......... ......... ........

? ........ ..... ..... ....... ........ ......... ........x. .......... .......x. ......... .........

123. ......... ..... . ..... .. .......... ....... ......... ... .... ........ ..... .z. ........ ........

3.1 ......... ......... ....... .......... ........ ........ .......... ........ .......x. ......... ........

4.3 ........ ...... ...... ......... ........ ......... ........ ........ ........x. ......... .........

3.0 ........ ....... ....... ....... ........ ......... ....... .......... .......x. ....... ........

7.2 ......... ......... ........ ........ .. .... ......... ......... ........ .......x. ........ .........

5.6 ......... ......... ....... ........ ....... .......... ........ ......... ........x. ........ ........

4.8 ....... ....... .... ... ........ ....... ....... ....... ........ ........x ........ ........

111. ....... ...... ........ ...... ........ ....... ........ ......... .......x. .......... ....z.....

? .... ... .... .... ....... ...... ......... ........ ...... . ......... .. .z. ...

117. ......... ........ ........ ........ ........ ........ ........ ......... ......... .......... ...z....

17326. .... .. .... .... .. ..... .... .... ..... .... ...... ... . ........ .......... .. . .ssss ssssssssss sssssssss.

J32 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
TABLE 2. Summary of historical information on glaciers of arctic and eastern Canada (see also fig. 2) Continued

[x, variations; o, mass balance; *, variations and mass balance; z, other studies; s, other, some mass balance; m, other, some variations; ?, missing glacier area data; italicized place-names are variant names and names not listed

in the CPCGN/CGNDB:!]

HIGH ARCTIC

140. d'lberville Glacier (Elles) 

141. John Evans Glacier (Elles) 

142. Qiiviagivaa Glacier (Elles) 

143. Leffert Glacier (Elles)

145. Prince of Wales Icefield (Elles)

146. Laika Glacier (Coburg) 

147. Lnikn Ice Cap (Coburg)

148. Wolf Glacier (Coburg)

149. Baby Glacier (Axel)

153. White Glacier (Axel)

(Axel)

157. Wmt Ice. Cap (Melville)

158. East Ice Cap (Melville)

160. Devon Ice Cap (Devon) 

161. Sverdrup Glacier (Devon)

LOW ARCTIC

162. Aktineq Glacier (Bylot) 

163. Lewis Glacier (Baffin) 

164. Barnes Ice Cap (Baffin)

\Gfc.Akinlnii-niuit Glacier (Baffin)

167. Bnrui Glacier (Baffin) 

168. Penny Ice Cap (Baffin)

169. Turner Glacier (Baffin)

170. Virginia Glacier (Baffin)

LABRADOR

Latitude

North

80°25.6' 

79°38.5' 

79°34.0' 

78°41.3' 

78°39.1'

78°15.0'

75°53.5' 

75°53.0'

75°54.2'

79°26.4' 

79°25.7'

79°54.0'

79°28.0'

79°26.7'

78°37.0'

79°57.2'

75°25.4'

75°37.8'

75°39.3'

75°49.0'

75°20.0' 

75°40.6'

Latitude

North

72°54.9' 

70°25.9' 

70°10.0'

C9°38.2'

67°34.fi'

67°34.1' 

67°10.0'

66°41.2'

66°36.5' 

62°32.4

Latitude

North

59° 19.0

58°57.0

58°56.2

58°53.1

Longitude 

West

77°33.0' 

74°30.0' 

83°15.0' 

75°01.4' 

74°55.0'

800 00.0'

79°05.2' 

79°09.1'

79°12.2'

90°58.0' 

91°10.0'

90°59.0'

90°30.0'

90°40.0'

91°10.0

99°08.0'

115°01.1

114°45.0'

114°28.6'

114°45.0'

82°30.0' 

83°15.5'

Longitude 

West

78°51.8' 

74°46.0' 

73°30.0'

69°49.5'

65°14.5'

65° 15. 6' 

66°13.0'

65°14.r

62° 18.5' 

66°51.4'

Longitude 

West

63°55.7

63°47.0

63°31.9

63°32.7

63°41.2

km2 1890 1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 19fiO 1970 1980 1990 2000 

220. ... .. _ .. . _ ... .. _ .. _...._ _...... _.... ... _ . ....._. . ........ ....ossss.

^ -MMMM .I.. .*.. (. .HIM M*» «.* *Mt«>«>- __....«. »...... ..... __ ~. ....... __ ...... .000......

593. -4.IHI*- M.«»4«*. »- .MH. *.«*MH. -4MHII ~*tflll* -« ***«.. I .........0 0......... .. ___ ...

50 , , , , ,^., , ........ ....... ,. 00 ....

9 i > > im-rrt 777 -- --

10 .... . ... _...... ... ....000-0 0........ IHMMII

20 , .... ,..,. ... ... , , o o

0.6 ....._ .. __ ... . _ ..... ... _ ... _...._ _...._. .........0 0000000000 0000000000 000. 0 00. .......

6300. ., .. .., ._..,. ,._..., , .,. . ..._ ...... ...z zzzz...... ......o..

39 ........ .._... ,_...... ......... ,,. .... ,.., n nnnnoonoon nnnoonoono onoooonnon nonoonnno

641. ....._. .. .... . ..... .. ... ...... _....._ ..X......X . ,

36.4 ..... . ..... .. .... _.... ......_ .», ,. ...oooo.oo oo.o...... -.,.....- .ooooo- .

16.0 ..... . .... ..... . ... ....._ ...oooo.oo oo.o...... . .. .ooooo....

^77 ,,,,,, , ,,,,, j..... ,. ,,,, .,,,. nnnn nn nnn nonoo

12825. _....._ . _ ..... _ ..._ _ .... ....... _ ...... _ ........ .000000000 sssssosooo oooooooooo oooooo.... 

672 ..... _.... ooo

knr 1890 1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000

182. ..... ____ ____ ..... ......... , ___ ..... ..... ____ ...... ___ ......^ ..ZOOO.... .... ___ ... .MM..-. -MM.M

fi'?0fl , ._., .U...I ....... ^. ...... ......^. ........ . s 7nnnnnnn ssssssssss sssss 7 777777 7

87 , , . , .., . . , ., ._. ......... nnnnn nnn

1.4 ..... _ . _...... ......... _...... ...... ...... . .. .... -0 OOOOOO....

fiOOO .... .... ..... ,..,., .... , ....... 7 777 7 7 777777

126. .... . . .... ...... .... . ..x....... .....x.... ........ .z........ ..........

km2 1890 1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 

1.3 . ........x. ....... ....... .x........ ......... ......... ......... ........ ..... .

1 8 M, ,, MM Ml... , MMM ... ., . . ..... .. ........ . . Of100 .........

0 8 __ , . .mm, **** ~.....

0.9 .......... ......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .0000..... .........

The names in this section conform to the usage authorized by the Secretariat of the Canadian Permanent Committee on Geographic Names (CPCGN); URL address: [http://GeoNames.NRCan.gc.ca/]. The 

website is maintained by the Secretarial through Geomatics Canada, Natural Resources Canada, and combines the CPCGN server with the Canadian Geographical Names Data Base (CGNDB). Variant names and 

names not listed in the CPCGN/CGNDB are shown in italics.

J33
NORTHWEST 

TERRITORIES

Figure 2. The glaciers of arctic and eastern Canada. Numbers on the map correlate to the numbered glaciers in table 2. 

The areas shown in darker green are 

national parks and other protected areas; 

the areas shown in purple are glaciers. 

Modified from map in Canadian Geographic (Shilts and others, 1998). Used 

with permission.

J34 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
TABLE 3. Tfie Glarierizp.d Areas of 

Canada (km2) (Ommanney, 1971a)

Observation of Glaciers

ARCTIC ISLANDS 

Ellesmere Island.......

ice shelves.............

Axel Heiberg Island. 

Devon Island.............

Coburg Island...........

Meighen Island.........

Melville Island..........

North Kent Island.....

Baffin Island..............

Bylot Island...............

............... 80,000

............... 500

............... 11,735

............... 16,200

............... 225

............... 85

............... 160

............... 152

............... 37,000

............... 5,000

Subtotal 151,057

MAINLAND

Subtotal

37,659

328

626

10564

840

24

50,041

Total Glacierized Area......................... 201,098

Historic (Prior to World War II)

Penetration of the western mountains by the Canadian voyageurs, by 

European traders, and by settlers took place only comparatively recently. 

Although some aboriginal legends refer to glaciers (Morey, 1971), the earliest recorded description of a Canadian glacier was probably that made by 

James Hector (1861), a geologist on the Palliser Expedition who visited 

Southeast Lyell Glacier [100] in 1858. Another early observation of note was 

that of the Great Glacier [27] by W.P. Blake (1867), a member of a scientific 

party on a Russian naval squadron ship, in 1863. Developments since then 

have largely been linked to technological innovations or to the stimulation 

provided by international initiatives.

One major influence on the settlement of southern Canada, and an element that is deeply etched in the Canadian psyche, has been the railroad. 

The crossing of the cordillera by the Canadian Pacific Railroad (CPR) was 

the first technological development that impacted the study of glaciers. The 

opening up of the west by the CPR and the linking of British Columbia with 

the rest of Canada gave everyone access to the Rocky Mountains and Interior Ranges (fig. 3), creating an opportunity for the first systematic glacier 

observations. New facilities such as Chateau Lake Louise and Glacier House 

provided bases from which the early amateur and professional scientists 

could work. Guides, imported from Switzerland, were made available to 

those wishing to climb or do glacier research. It was the CPR, responding to 

pressure from A.O. Wheeler, a prominent Canadian surveyor, and his

Figure 3. Oblique aerial photograph of the Columbia 

Mountains, Interior Ranges, British Columbia, Canada, in 

late summer of 1970, showing the rugged topography and 

several mountain glaciers. Photograph by C. Simon L. 

Ommanney, National Hydrology Research Institute. [NTS 

Map: 082L16]

GLACIERS OF CANADA J35
influential friends, that provided the free passes that enabled the founders 

of the Alpine Club of Canada (ACC) to meet and establish that organization.

Glacier House was built by the CPR at Rogers Pass, in what is now Glacier National Park, because the grade was too steep to permit the inclusion of a restaurant car on the train. Passengers were required to 

disembark, and many took the opportunity of this enforced stop to take 

the trail to the Illecillewaet Glacier (or "Great Glacier") [80]. It is hardly 

surprising then that this, and the neighbouring Asulkan Glacier [81], 

became the object of the first investigations. Although the earliest observations in Glacier National Park were made by the Rev. Spotswood Green 

(1890), the subsequent systematic studies were made mainly by members 

of the Vaux family of Philadelphia (Vaux, G., Jr., and Vaux, W.S., Jr., 1900a, 

b, 1901, 1908; Vaux, W.S., Jr., 1907, 1909; Vaux, G., 1910; Vaux, M.M., 

1911, 1913) (fig. 4). Their activities and contributions were reviewed by 

Edward Cavell (1983). Other studies of note in this area were those by 

A.O. Wheeler (1905, 1920; Wheeler and Parker, 1912) and Howard Palmer 

(1914). In the 1970's, the Canadian Exploration Group visited Palmer's 

field area and resurveyed the Silvertip, Haworth, and Sir Sandford Glaciers 

[77-79] (Marsh, 1976, 1978).

The Victoria Glacier [110], visible and easily accessible from Chateau 

Lake Louise, also received early attention. Studies here and on the Wenkchemna [111] and Yoho [105] Glaciers were conducted by WH. Sherzer of 

the Smithsonian Institution (Sherzer, 1907, 1908; Gardner, 1977, 1978). 

The Yoho Glacier was also included in the set of observations undertaken 

by the Vaux family (Vaux, G., Jr., and Vaux, W.S., Jr., 1907a, b, 1908; Vaux, 

G., 1910; Vaux, M.M., 1911, 1913; Vaux, M.M., and Vaux, G., Jr., 1911). 

These studies were extended by A.O. Wheeler and members of the ACC 

who held a number of field camps near this glacier (Wheeler, 1911, 1913, 

1932, 1934).

Table 1 summarizes the available information on glacier observations 

during this period. The early records for the Illecillewaet [80], Asulkan [81], 

and Yoho [105] Glaciers are evident, as is the comparative lack of similar 

studies in the Coast Mountains. Some of the apparent observations there 

[36-40, 43, 48-52, 57, 59, 61, 63, 68] reflect modern reconstructions of glacier snout positions using air-photo interpretation and dendrochronological 

techniques rather than field observations at the dates indicated.

The First World War caused a hiatus in the recording of glacier variations 

that continued until after the Second World War. However, a few observations were made in the interwar years by members of the ACC (Palmer, 

1924; Munday, 1931; McCoubrey, 1938; Thorington, 1938), and snout positions for many other glaciers have been reconstructed.

An interesting development at this time was the 1931 aerial survey of 

glaciers in Labrador, completed under the auspices of the American Geographical Society (AGS) by Forbes and others (1938). Some ground observations of Bryant's Glacier [172] 3 were made by Odell (1933), who 

compared the snout position with that recorded by Bryant and Forbes in 

1908.

Compared to many more highly populated mountain areas, such as the 

Alps, the early record of Canadian glacier variations is fairly sparse. However, at least for the three glaciers discussed above (the Illecillewaet, Asulkan, and Yoho Glaciers), we do have fairly complete records of their retreat 

during an extended period of glacier recession.

The names in this section conform to the usage authorized by the Secretariat of the Canadian Permanent Committee on Geographic Names (CPCGN); URL address: [http://GeoNames.NRCan.gc.ca/]. The 

website is maintained by the Secretariat through Geomatics Canada, Natural Resources Canada, and combines the CPCGN server with the Canadian Geographical Names Data Base fCGNDB). Variant names and 

names not listed in the CPCGN/CGNDB are shown in italics.

J36 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Figure 4. Photograph of the Illecillewaet 

Glacier ("Great Glacier"), Interior Ranges, 

British Columbia, taken 19 August 1898. 

The successful crossing of the western 

mountains by the Canadian Pacific Railroad in the late 1880's gave access to the 

Rocky Mountains and Interior Ranges and 

made systematic glacier observations 

possible. The Vaux family was among the 

earliest to take an interest in the glaciers. 

According to George, Jr., and W.S. Vaux, 

Jr., the Illecillewaet Glacier was the most 

accessible and one of the most remarkable in the area. It was notable for the lack 

of debris at its foot and the rapidity of the 

ice fall. They concluded that photography 

offered the most satisfactory means of 

permanently recording the position of the 

ice from year to year. Photograph is a 

reproduction of Plate 5 from Vaux and 

Vaux (190Ob). (Glacier 80 in table 1; see 

also section in this volume by Wheate and 

others on Mapping Glaciers in the Interior 

Ranges and Rocky Mountains with Landsat Data.)

>r?^ ._. ~'XC\w :*v- i, .« a-xa*..^.?--.^-. .*.>?-

1945 to the Middle 1950's

The immediate postwar period saw a significanl increase in the number 

of glacier studies. This was largely due to the commencement of an annual 

survey of specific glaciers in the cordillera. The survey was initiated by the 

Dominion Water and Power Bureau (DWPB), forerunner of the Water Survey of Canada (WSC), as part of its studies of the water resources of mountain rivers. In 1945, seven glaciers in Alberta Angel [89], Athabasca [93], 

Freshfield [102], Peyto [103], Saskatchewan [92], Southeast Lyell [100], and 

Victoria [110] Glaciers were investigated by the DWPB Calgary office. 

Eight glaciers in British Columbia were observed by the DWPB Vancouver 

office Bugaboo [83], Franklin [46], Helm [69], Illecillewaet [80], Kokanee 

[86] (fig. 5), Nadahini [15] (fig. 6), Sentinel [71], and Sphinx [70] (fig. 7) 

Glaciers. The position of the glacier termini and changes in their area! 

extent were measured, and a set of plaques were placed on the ice surface 

to determine velocity. Some surveys were abandoned after a few years, but 

table 1 shows that many continued every year until 1950, when they 

became biennial. Detailed reports were prepared by the DWPB as internal 

documents, but some results were published (Lang, 1943; McFarlane, 1946; 

Meek, 1948a, b; Webb, 1948; McFarlane and others, 1950; Collier, 1958; 

Strilaeff, 1961). Summaries of the reports for Peyto Glacier and the Victoria 

Glacier have been published by Ommanney (1971b, 1972b).

During this period, photographs of many cordilleran glaciers appeared in 

mountaineering journals, and some specific photographic recording of glaciers was carried out (Field, 1949). Following on the WSC initiatives, the 

next significant development was by the American Geographical Society 

(AGS), which established the Juneau Icefield Research Project in 1948 in 

conjunction with the U.S. Office of Naval Research (ONR). This project 

concentrated on glaciers in Alaska but laid the groundwork for the subsequent Summer Institute of Glaciological and Arctic Sciences that, from its 

subsidiary base in Atlin, B.C., has contributed to our knowledge of Canadian glaciers in the area, particularly the Cathedral Glacier [18] (Field and 

Miller, 1950; Eagan, 1963; Miller, 1963; Marcus, 1964; Miller and Anderson, 

1974). Another AGS expedition visited a number of glaciers in the Rockies 

in 1953. Glacier surface areas and variations for the Robson [87], Columbia 

[95], Southeast Lyell [100], Peyto [103], Freshfield [102], Athabasca [93], 

and Saskatchewan [92] Glaciers were documented using photographic and 

botanical techniques (Field and Heusser, 1954; Heusser, 1954, 1956, 1960). 

In the Yukon Territory, the Arctic Institute of North America (AINA)

GLACIERS OF CANADA J37
r

Figure 5. Photograph of the terminus of 

the Kokanee Glacier, Interior Ranges, British Columbia, Canada, showing the 

transient snowline in September 1972. 

Photograph by I.A. Reid, Water Survey of 

Canada. (Glacier 86 in table 1) [NTS Map: 

082F11]

Figure 6. Photograph of Nadahini Glacier 

in August 1974 at Photo Station No. 5, 

Coast Mountains, British Columbia. Studies of the glacier terminus and changes in 

its area/ extent were begun in 1945 by the 

Dominion Water and Power Bureau, forerunner of the Water Survey of Canada. 

Studies continued in the 1960's and 1970's. 

Photograph by I.A. Reid, Water Survey of 

Canada. (Glacier 15 in table 1)

Figure 2 Photograph of the terminus of Sphinx Glacier, Coast 

Mountains, British Columbia, Canada, in September 1968. Photograph by Oleg Mokievsky-Zubok, National Hydrology Research Institute. (Glacier 70 in table 1) [NTS Map: 092G15]

J38 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
sponsored Project Snow Cornice. This airborne expedition established a 

semipermanent research station on Seward Glacier [11] (Wood, 1948, 1949; 

Baird and Salt, 1949; Sharp, 1950).

Advances in transportation technology made a significant impact on 

postwar field research in Canada. Previously inaccessible areas were 

opened up to scientists. Thus Baird, through the Arctic Institute of North 

America, was able to mount major expeditions on Baffin Island to study the 

Barnes Ice Cap [164] in 1950 (Baird and others, 1950; Baird, 1952a) and the 

Penny Ice Cap [168] in 1953 (Baird and others, 1953). These expeditions 

provided the first substantial information on glaciers in this region (Orvig, 

1951, 1953, 1954; Baird, 1952b; Baird and others, 1953; Ward and Orvig, 

1953; Ward, 1954, 1955; Ward and Baird, 1954). Other scientists also found 

it easier to work independently in such areas for example, Mercer's 

(1956) study of Grinnell Glacier [171].

Meanwhile, in the High Arctic, a group sponsored by the United States 

government was attempting to understand the nature and origin of ice 

islands, such as Fletcher's Ice Island or T-3, by studies on Ward Hunt Ice 

Shelf [120] in 1953 and 1954 (Crary, 1956).

Mention was made earlier of the influence of international programs on 

Canadian glaciological studies. Although the International Geophysical Year 

(IGY) (1957-58) did not focus any particular emphasis on such studies, it 

did prompt some organizations to undertake new programs or to extend 

existing ones. Canadian participation in the IGY led to a University of Toronto Expedition (1956-57) to study Salmon Glacier [33] (Adkins, 1958, 

1959; Jacobs, 1958; Haumann, 1960; Russell and others, 1960; Doell, 1963). 

On Ellesmere Island, the Defence Research Board (DRB) started a program 

on Gilman Glacier [123] and continued studies on the Ward Hunt Ice Shelf 

(Hattersley-Smith, 1954, 1959, 1961; Hattersley-Smith and others, 1961; 

Weber, 1961; Weber and others, 1961; Lister, 1962; Lyons and Ragle, 1962; 

Ragle and others, 1964; Lyons and others, 1972).

Middle 1950's to the Middle 1960's

In the period immediately following the IGY, concern in Canadian government circles about security and sovereignty in the Arctic, and a lack of 

knowledge about that region, translated into funding for major projects. 

The Geological Survey of Canada (GSC) mounted Operation Franklin to 

map the geology of the Queen Elizabeth Islands. A consortium of McGill 

University professors, in conjunction with George Jacobsen, an entrepreneur, obtained a major expedition grant from the National Research Council of Canada (NRCC) to launch the Jacobsen-McGill Arctic Research 

Expedition to Axel Heiberg Island under the direction of the Swiss glaciologist Fritz Miiller. The Department of Mines and Technical Surveys organized Arctic logistics through the Polar Continental Shelf Project (PCSP), 

which was also charged with a multidisciplinary investigation of the continental shelf region, and appointed geologist Fred Roots as its first coordinator. The Arctic Institute of North America mounted an expedition to Devon 

Island, and the Department of National Defence continued and expanded 

its studies on Ellesmere Island. This Defence Research Board (DRB) expedition, led by Geoffrey Hattersley-Smith, and named Operation Hazen after 

the lake on which its base camp was located, later became Operation Tanquary when the camp was moved to the head of Tanquary Fiord (Hattersley-Smith, 1974). All these activities combined to raise glaciological 

research in Canada to a new level and helped establish Canada's reputation 

in the international scientific community during that period.

The McGill University expedition started with a small reconnaissance 

party in 1959; this was followed in 1960 and 1961 by large multidisciplinary

GLACIERS OF CANADA J39
parties working on Crusoe [150], Baby [149], White [153], and Thompson 

[152] Glaciers and on the Miiller Ice Cap (renamed; previously Akaioa Ice 

Cap or informally McGill Ice Cap) [151] (Miiller, 1961; Miiller 1962a, b, 

1963; Miiller and others, 1963; Andrews, R.H.G., 1964; Havens, 1964; 

Havens and others, 1965; Redpath, 1965; Adams, 1966; Miiller and Keeler, 

1969) (fig. 8). A comprehensive list of publications arising out of this early 

work was included in a glacier inventory of Axel Heiberg Island (Ommanney, 1969).

Within the terms of reference establishing the PCSP, provision was made 

for the hiring of staff scientists to cover disciplines not contributed by the 

participating government departments. Stan Paterson joined the PCSP and 

started working on Meighen Ice Cap [155]. By the middle 1960's, his program on that ice cap had been expanded to include the Melville Island ice 

caps [156-159] and Devon Ice Cap [160], taking over in the latter case from 

the AINA, whose studies there were winding down.

The AINA program involved mass balance and meteorological studies on 

Devon Ice Cap and some detailed investigations of Sverdrup Glacier [161] 

(Apollonio, 1962; Keeler, 1964; Hyndman, 1965; Koerner, 1966; Vogtli, 

1967; Holmgren, 1971).

Figure 8. Photographs of the Muller Ice 

Cap A, and Crusoe Glacier B, on Axel 

Heiberg Island, Nunavut, High Arctic. In 

1960 and 1961, large multidisciplinary 

parties of the Jacobsen-McGill Arctic 

Research Expedition cart led out a number 

of glaciological studies, including measurements of mass balance and glacier 

variation under the direction of the Swiss 

glaciologist Fritz Muller on Muller Ice Cap, 

and Crusoe, White, Baby, and Thompson 

Glaciers on Axel Heiberg Island. Some 

studies continued in following years. 

A, Photograph of Muller Ice Cap (Glacier 

151 in table 2) and "White Crown" in 1962 

by C. Simon L Ommanney, McGill University. B, Photograph of Crusoe Glacier in 

August 1962, looking to the northeast. 

Note that the termini abuts the terminal 

moraine, implying a mass balance in relative equilibrium. Photograph by C. Simon 

L. Ommanney, McGill University. (Glacier 

150 in table 2)

J40 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Operation Hazen, on Ellesmere Island, was a large multidisciplinary 

investigation, similar to the one underway on neighbouring Axel Heiberg 

Island. The glaciological part of the program was concentrated on Oilman 

Glacier [123], the Ward Hunt Ice Shelf [120] and Word Hunt Ice Rise [121]. 

It resulted in reports on glacier surveying (Faig, 1966; Konecny and Faig, 

1966; Dorrer, 1971), mass balance (Hatlersley-Smith, 1960a, 1961; Hattersley-Smith and others, 1961; Sagar, 1964; Hattersley-Srnith and Serson, 

1970; Serson, 1979), temperatures (Hattersley-Smith, 1960b; Lyons and 

Ragle, 1962), radio-echo sounding (Evans and Robin, 1966; HattersleySmith, 1969b), and a popular account of the work done (Hattersley-Smith, 

1974). A comprehensive bibliography covering this and other work on 

Ellesmere Island was published by Ommanney (1982).

Farther south, the Geographical Branch, Department of Mines and Technical Surveys, was continuing the work begun by the Baird (AINA) expedition on Barnes Ice Cap [164]. Geomorphologists were intrigued by this 

remnant of the last "Ice Age" and started a major investigation to map and 

study evidence of Wisconsinan glaciation in the area. Included were studies 

of the Barnes Ice Cap itself and the small Lewis Glacier [163] at its northern 

margin (Ives, 1966, 1967a, b; L0ken, 1966; L0ken and Andrews, 1966; 

Sagar, 1966; Anonymous, 1967) and regional variations of glaciers in northern Baffin Island and Bylot Island (Falconer, 1962). Some additional observations were also made on Penny Ice Cap [168] (Andrieux, 1970; Weber and 

Andrieux, 1970).

Many of the pilots who returned or emigrated to Canada after the war 

brought with them skills that were invaluable in the north. Most of the 

expeditions described above owed much to the use of small fixed-wing aircraft equipped with low-pressure balloon tires thai were able to land on 

unprepared ground. The successful deployment of innumerable field camps 

was made possible by pilots who were willing to accede to the scientists' 

often unreasonable demands.

There was also much activity on the mainland at this time. In 1961, the 

AGS, in conjunction with the AINA, established the Icefield Ranges 

Research Project (IRRP) (Wood, 1963; Ragle, 1964, 1973). This was similar 

in scope and intent to the McGill and DRB expeditions. It was centered on 

what is now Kluane National Park and included detailed glaciological and 

climatological studies (Taylor-Barge, 1969), particularly on the Kaskawulsh 

Glacier [9] and around Mount Logan (Holdsworth, 1965, 1969; Shimizu and 

Wakahama, 1965; Brecher, 1966; Clarke, 1967; MacPherson and Krouse, 

1967; Dewart, 1968; Keeler, 1969; Collins, 1970; Loomis and others, 1970; 

Anderton, 1973; Cameron, 1976). It was an incarnation of the earlier 

Project Snow Cornice. Many glaciologists received their early training in the 

Icefield Ranges, and some, such as Garry Clarke and Gerald Holdsworth, 

have continued to work in the area. The results of the scientific investigations were published in four volumes by the AGS (Bushnell and Ragle, 

1969, 1970, 1972; Bushnell and Marcus, 1974).

Elsewhere, in the Coast Mountains, a study in connection with a mining development was initiated on the Leduc, Frank Mackie, Berendon, 

and Salmon Glaciers [30-33] by Bill Mathews of the l~niversity of British 

Columbia (Mathews, 1964c). Of particular concern was the activity of the 

Berendon Glacier [32] (fig. 9) (Untersteiner and Nye, 1968; Fisher and 

Jones, 1971). A more detailed report on this work is included in two separate sections of this volume, Glaciers of the Coast Mountains and Glaciers of the St. Elias Mountains. Other work here has focused on the 

provenance of material within and on the glacier (Eyles and Rogerson, 

1977a, b, c, 1978a, b; Rogerson and Eyles, 1979; Eyles and others, 1982). 

Research was also being carried out on a number of other glaciers in the 

Rocky Mountains (West and Maki, 1961), but most of this will be 

reviewed in the following section.

GLACIERS OF CANADA J41
Middle 1960's to the 1990's

The most important next stimulus was provided by the International 

Hydrological Decade (IHD) program (1965-74), which led to a major 

expansion of glaciological investigations in Canada. The nature of some of 

these developments has been reviewed by various authors (Meier and Post, 

1962; L0ken, 1971; Ommanney, 1975; Roots, 1984; Ommanney and Young, 

1988). In the Cordillera, five glaciers Place [62], Sentinel [71], Woolsey 

[82], Peyto [103] and Ram River [101] Glaciers were selected for an eastwest transect, and Berendon Glacier [32] was added to provide a link in the 

north-south chain. The program was run by the Glacier Section of the Geographical Branch, Department of Mines and Technical Surveys, the forerunner of the Snow and Ice Division, later known as the Hydrology Division 

(Glaciology Subdivision) of the National Hydrology Research Institute 

(NHRI), Department of the Environment (0strem, 1966b, 1973a, b; Mokievsky-Zubok, 1973a, b, 1974; Stanley, 1975; Zubok, 1975; Mokievsky-Zubok 

and Stanley, I976a, b; Young and Stanley, 1976a, b; Fogarasi and Mokievsky-Zubok, 1978; Young, 1981; Mokievsky-Zubok and others, 1985). It 

followed a set of standardized measurements for mass balance and hydrological observations outlined in the manual by 0strem and Stanley (1966), 

which was subsequently revised (0strem and Brugman, 1991) (fig. 10). 

Data were deposited with the World Glacier Monitoring Service (WGMS) in 

Zurich.

Decade Glacier on Baffin Island [165] was selected as a contribution to 

the north-south chain in the eastern Arctic (0strem and others, 1967; 

L0ken, 1972), which included the DRB studies on Per Ardua Glacier [126] 

and the McGill University studies on White [153] and Baby [149] Glaciers 

(Young, 1972). However, the effective network was much larger than the 

official "representative glacier basins" because existing research investigations continued or were expanded to include a larger hydrological component. Thus, in the Arctic, data continued to be collected and analyzed 

for the Ward Hunt Ice Shelf and Ward Hunt Ice Rise [120, 121] (Hattersley-Smith and Serson, 1970; Holdsworth, 1971; Williams and Hutter, 1983; 

Hattersley-Smith, 1985; Holdsworth, 1986b, 1987; MacAyeal and Holdsworth, 1986; Narod and others, 1988), Gilman Glacier [123], Meighen Ice 

Cap [155] (Arnold, 1965; Paterson, 1969; Alt, 1979), the Melville Island 

ice caps [156-159] (Spector, 1966; Paterson and Koerner, 1974), the 

Devon Ice Cap [160] (Koerner, 1970a, b, 1973, 1979, 1985, 1986; Koerner 

and others, 1973; Alt, 1978, 1985, 1987; Koerner and Russell, 1979) and

Figure 9. Photograph of the Berendon 

Glacier showing its prominent medial 

moraines. Coast Mountains, British 

Columbia, Canada, on 27 August 1974. 

Photograph by A.D. Stanley, National 

Hydrology Research Institute. (Glacier 32 

in table 1) [NTS Map: 104B01]

J42 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Figure 10. Photographs of the Place Glacier, Coast Mountains, British Columbia. A, 

Dr. Gunnar 0strem and members of the 

1980 Field Glaciology Course making massbalance measurements on Place Glacier. In 

1965, as part of a major expansion of glaciological studies during the International 

Hydrological Decade, Place Glacier was 

selected to be part of an east-west transect 

of glaciers to be monitored in western Canada. The mass-balance measurements 

begun here in 1965 have continued to the 

present day. B, Terminus of the Place Glacier and its proglacial lake in October 1975. 

Photograph by Oleg Mokievsky-Zubok, 

National Hydrology Research Institute. 

(Glacier 62 in table 1) [NTS Map: 092J07]

the Barnes Ice Cap [164] (L0ken and Sagar, 1968; Parker, 1975). New 

studies included those on an unnamed ice cap near St. Patrick Bay [125] 

(Hattersley-Smith and Serson, 1973), which was continued by Bradley 

(Bradley and England, 1977, 1978a, b; Bradley and Serreze, 1987a, b; Serreze and Bradley, 1987) and ones on .Boas [167] and Akudnirmuit [166] 

Glaciers by the University of Colorado (Andrews and Webber, 1969; 

Andrews and others, 1970; Andrews and Barry, 1972; Jacobs and others, 

1973; Williams, 1974, 1975; Weaver, 1975).

Similarly, on the mainland, new studies began on Rusty (Fox) [6] (Crossley and Clarke, 1970; Clarke, 1971; Collins, S.G., 1972; Faber, 1973), Cathedral [18] (Jones, 1974; Guigne, 1975; Miller, 1975; Cialek, 1977) and 

Drummond [107] (Nelson and others, 1966; Brunger arid others, 1967) Glaciers. Many of these did not continue throughout the IHD, and, of the representative basins, the investigations on Woolsey, Ram River, Berendon, 

Decade, and Per Ardua Glaciers were terminated during or at the end of 

the IHD, but various studies did continue on the other glaciers.

The availability of semipermanent facilities at most of these glaciers, and 

core staff to maintain a measurement program throughout the summer melt

GLACIERS OF CANADA J43
season, led to the development of many other complementary glaciological 

investigations. The case of Peyto Glacier [103] exemplifies this situation. 

Studies here, during and after the IHD, included the following: mapping 

(Sedgwick and Henoch, 1975; Henoch and Croizet, 1976; Young and Arnold, 

1978; Glenday, 1991; Wallace, 1995), dendrochronology (Parker and 

Henoch, 1971; Reynolds, 1992), depth sounding (Goodman, 1970; Goodman and Terroux, 1973; Hobson and Jobin, 1975; (Holdsworth and others, in 

press), instrumentation (Young, 1976), hydrochemistry (Collins and 

Young, 1979, 1981; Binda, 1984; Collins and Power, 1985; Binda and others, 

1985; Bradley, 1990), hydrological modeling (Derikx and Loijens, 1971; 

Henoch, 1971; Derikx, 1973, 1975; Loijens, 1974; Munro, 1976; Power and 

Young, 1979; Gottlieb, 1980; Young, 1982, 1990; Johnson and Power, 1985; 

Power, 1985; Johnson and David, 1987), mass balance and techniques, 

including remote sensing (Young, 1971, 1974, 1975, 1976,1981; Pietroniro 

and Demuth, 1999) and meteorology (Goodison, 1971, 1972a, b; Fohn, 

1973; Munro, 1976, 1989, 1990, 1991a, b; Munro and Davies, 1976, 1977, 

1978; Young, 1978; Munro and Young, 1980, 1982; Stenning and others, 1981; 

Nakawo and Young, 1982; Cutler and Munro, 1996) (fig. 11). The need to 

place these single-site observations within the larger regional context was 

recognized, so a study was made on Yoho Glacier [105] (David, 1989) and the

Figure 77. A, Photograph of Peyto Glacier, Rocky Mountains, Alberta, in late 

summer 1967. Peyto Glacier has been the 

site of numerous glacier studies since the 

early 1900's, including glacier variation, 

dendrochronology, hydrochemistry, meteorology, and mass-balance measurements and techniques. During the 

International Hydrological Decade, Peyto 

Glacier was one of the glaciers monitored 

in the east-west transect of western Canada. Mass-balance measurements begun 

here in 1964 are continuing. Photograph 

by C. Simon L. Ommanney, National 

Hydrology Research Institute. (Glacier 103 

in table 1) B, Photograph of the terminal 

lobe of Peyto Glacier, Rocky Mountains, 

Alberta, on 25 September 1991. Photograph by Gerald Holdsworth, Arctic Institute of North America.

J44 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Figure 12. Photographs of Bugaboo Glacier, Interior 

Ranges, British Columbia, Canada, in A, August 1970, and 

B, July 1970. Photographs by LA. Reid, Water Survey of 

Canada. (Glacier 83 in table 1) [NTS Map: 082KW]

*

¥ ? ?:& & &*£* * **, 

Yoho Valley on the other side of the Continental Divide, as well as the intervening Waputik Icefield from which both glaciers flow.

Although the IHD studies within the Columbia River basin had been terminated, some studies were initiated in Glacier National Park for the Canadian Parks Service (Champoux and Ommanney, 1986a, b), on Bugaboo 

Glacier [83] (fig. 12) (Osborn, 1986; Osborn and Karlstrom, 1988), and elsewhere (Power, 1985; Rogerson, 1985; Luckman and others, 1987; Duchemin and Seguin, 1998).

GLACIERS OF CANADA J45
Figure 13. Photographs of Sentinel Glacier, Coast Mountains, British Columbia, 

Canada, showing the transient snowline in 

A, September 1968 and B, 25 September 

1973. Photographs by Oleg MokievskyZubok, National Hydrology Research Institute. (Glacier 71 in table 1) [NTS Map: 

092G15]

B

In the Coast Mountains, continuous records were maintained on Sentinel 

[71] (fig. 13) and Place [62] Glaciers (Mokievsky-Zubok, 1987; Schmok, 1990), 

which served as bases for local studies (Yarnal, 1984b; Fogarasi and Mokievsky-Zubok, 1987; Brugman, 1991) and as benchmarks for comparison with 

shorter term mass-balance investigations elsewhere. The studies were closely 

related to the operational needs of the various governmental water-management agencies. Thus the program on the Bridge River glaciers, Sykora Glacier [53] (fig. 14), Bridge Glacier [54] (fig. 15), and Zavisha Glacier [55], 

aided in the management of the Downton Reservoir (Mokievsky-Zubok, 

1980a; Mokievsky-Zubok, 1985). On the basis of data from Andrei [25], Alexander [22], Forrest Kerr [26], Natavas [23], and Yuri [24] Glaciers, the feasibility of a hydroelectric development in the Stikine and Iskut River basins was 

being assessed (Fogarasi, 1981; Mokievsky-Zubok, 1983b; Mokievsky-Zubok, 

1992b). A similar study was started in the Homathko basin, on the Bench [42] 

and Tiedemann [45] (fig. 16) Glaciers (Mokievsky-Zubok, 1983a; MokievskyZubok, 1992a). Data from all these studies were compiled in annual reports 

by NHRI and deposited with the WGMS. In the early 1990's, following a review 

of future hydroelectric needs for British Columbia, support for operational 

programs was withdrawn by BC Hydro.

J46 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Figure 14. Photograph of the terminus of 

the Sykora Glacier, Coast Mountains, British Columbia, Canada, on 19 August 1975. 

Photograph by Oleg Mokievsky-Zubok, 

National Hydrology Research Institute. 

(Glacier 53 in table 1)

Figure 15. Photograph of the terminus of 

the Bridge Glacier, Coast Mountains, British Columbia, Canada, on 19 August 1975, 

showing icebergs which have calved into 

the proglacial lake. Photograph by Oleg 

Mokievsky-Zubok, National Hydrology 

Research Institute. (Glacier 54 in table 1) 

[NTS Map: 092J13]

Figure 16. Photograph of the terminus of 

the Tiedemann Glacier, Coast Mountains, 

British Columbia, Canada, in August 1982, 

showing prominent trim lines on the valley wall, prominent medial moraines, and 

the morainic-debris-covered lower part of 

the glacier. The difference in elevation of 

the trimline and the present surface of the 

glacier in its lower part indicates significant reduction in glacier volume and a 

prolonged period of negative mass balance. Photograph by Oleg MokievskyZubok, National Hydrology Research Institute. (Glacier 45 in table 1) [NTS Map: 

092N06]
Data from these transects and supplementary studies have been used in 

a number of regional analyses of the spatial distribution of glaciers, their 

variations, and the relationship between glacier mass balance and climate 

(Ilenoch, 1972; Yarnal, 1984a; Osborn and Luckman, 1988; Letreguilly, 

1988; Letreguilly and Reynaud, 1989, 1990; Luckman and others, 1993; 

Demuth, in press).

The Juneau Icefield Research Project, partly working from a base in 

Atlin, British Columbia, continued to introduce students to glaciology and 

mountain environments. Some results from work on the Juneau Icefield and 

Cathedra] Glacier [18] are available (Johnson, R.F., 1983; Marston, 1983; 

Hasenauer, 1984; Mauelshagen, 1984; Mauelshagen and Slupetzky, 1985; 

Yao Tandong, 1987; Rentsch and others, 1990; Marcus and others, 1992).

On Barnes Ice Cap [164] the mass-balance program soon changed to one 

emphasizing glacier physics (Jones, 1972; Hooke, 1973a, b, 1976a, b, 1981; 

Holdsworth, 1973a, b, 1975, 1977c; Barnett and Holdsworth, 1974; Hudleston, 

1976, 1980; Classen, 1977; Hooke and others, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1987; Hooke 

and Hudleston, 1980, 1981; Hudleston and Hooke, 1980; Hooke and Clausen, 

1982; Hudleston, 1983; Hooke and Hanson, 1986; Stolle, 1986, 1988; Hanson, 

1987, 1990). The mass-balance program maintained by R. Hooke (Hooke and 

others, 1987) lapsed. New studies subsequently began here, using remote 

sensing to assess changes in the ice cap (Lodwick and Paine, 1985; Moisan and 

Dubois, 1993; Jacobs and others, 1997). Work was also done on the subglacial 

characteristics of Aktineq Glacier [162] on Bylot Island (Souchez and De 

Groote, 1985; Souchez and others, 1988; Tison and others, 1989; Zdanowicz 

and others, 1996). In the south, Grinnell Glacier [171] was revisited in connection with a sediment study (Dowdeswell, 1986) and became the subject of an 

educational project that included mapping, directed by Gunnar 0strem (Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Administration, 1991). Nearby, a climbing 

expedition measured the fluctuations of Virginia Glacier [170] (Cochran, 1978).

Interest in reconstructing past climates in the High Arctic led to deep icecoring projects on Meighen Ice Cap [155], Devon Ice Cap [160] and Agassiz Ice 

Cap [139] (fig. 17). Although mass-balance investigations were an integral part 

of the initial surface observations, the focus subsequently changed to analysis 

of the core constituents and their interpretation. Reports have covered the 

following: climate at different time scales (Koerner and Paterson, 1974; 

Koerner, 1977a, 1989, 1992; Fisher and Koerner, 1981; Koerner and Fisher, 

1981, 1985, 1990; Alt and others, 1985, 1992; Harvey, 1988; Reeh, 1991; 

Fisher, 1992); snow and ice properties (Koerner, 1968, 1973; Fisher and 

Koerner, 1986; Goto-Azuma and others, 1997); englacial temperatures, 

precipitation and isotope analysis (Paterson, 1968, 1976a; Krouse and 

others, 1977; Paterson and others, 1977; Paterson and Clarke, 1978; Fisher, 

1979, 1991; Paterson and Waddington, 1984; Fisher and Koerner, 1988, 1994; 

Fisher and others, 1996); core particles and gases (Lichti-Federovich, 

1975; Koerner and Taniguchi, 1976; Koerner, 1977b; Koerner and Fisher, 

1982; McAndrews, 1984; Barrie and others, 1985; Raisbeck and Yiou, 1985; 

Bourgeois, 1986, 1990; Cresswell and Herd, 1991; Koerner and others, 1991, 

1998; Gregor, 1992; Nriagu and others, 1994; Sturges and others, 1998); glacier flow (Doake and others, 1976; Paterson, 1976b, 1977,1985; Koerner and 

Fisher, 1979; Waddington and others, 1986; Reeh and others, 1987; Reeh and 

Paterson, 1988); thickness and topographic measurements (Oswald, 

1975; Koerner, 1977c; Walford and others, 1977; Koerner and others, 1987; 

Haythornthwaite, 1988); basal conditions (Koerner, 1983; Gemmell and 

others, 1986; Fisher, 1987); and the interpretation of records (Fisher and 

others, 1983, 1985; Koerner and others, 1988; Illangasekare and others, 1990; 

Pfeffer and others, 1990; Clarke and Waddington, 1991). Attention was later 

directed to the Penny Ice Cap [168] on Baffin Island, where cores were taken 

and analyses made (Holdsworth, 1984; Short and Holdsworth, 1985; Fisher 

and others, 1998; Grumet and others, 1998).

J48 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Figure 17 Photograph of the electro-mechanical ice-core 

drill being lowered into the borehole on top of the Devon 

Ice Cap in April 1998. The drill was used in a partially fluidfilled borehole to minimize core fracturing. Lamp oil was 

used as a fluid and is filtered and re-used during drilling 

operations. On ice caps where the ice at the top of the 

flow line is often about 300-m thick, core fracturing usually begins at a depth of about 150 m and consists of 

micro fractures that obscure the stratigraphy. Geological 

Survey of Canada personnel working in the shelter tent 

are as follows: D.A. Fisher is at the control box on the 

right; C. Zdanovicz has his hand on the torque springs on 

the left; and R. M. Koerner is in the left foreground. The 

torque springs prevent the outer sonde casing and the 

cable from turning in the borehole. Geological Survey of 

Canada photograph.

McGill University continued the Axel Heiberg Island investigations after 

the end of the Jacobsen-McGill phase in 1962. Following the move of Fritz 

Miiller to the Geographisches Institut, Eidgenossische Technische Hochschule in Zurich, the work was largely directed from Switzerland. Many 

excellent research reports and papers were written by expedition members 

(Maag, 1969; Iken, 1972, 1974; Miiller and Iken, 1973; Miiller, 1976; Mean 

and Miiller, 1977; Hambrey and Miiller, 1978; Arnold, 1981; Braithwaite, 

1981; Weiss, 1984; Blatter, 1987a, b; Blatter and Hutter, 1991). Recently the 

work has been continued by Trent University on Baby [149] (Adams and 

Ecclestone, 1991; Tolland and others, 1991; Dicks and others, 1992; Adams 

and others, 1998) and White [153] (Jung-Rothenhausler and others, 1992; 

Adams and others, 1995; Cogley and others, 1996b; Robertson, 1997) Glaciers, with some continuing involvement by McGill University on Thompson 

Glacier [152] (Parent, 1991; Lehmann, 1992; Moisan and Pollard, 1992). 

Earlier results have been compiled and carefully analysed (Glenday, 1989; 

Cogley and others, 1995, 1996a)

Changing priorities and reduced resources eventually led to the abandonment of the Arctic glacier program of the Snow and Ice Division. Study 

of Per Ardua Glacier [126], which had been handed over to this group on 

the termination of the DRB Operation Tanquary, was given up, as was a new 

project on Leffert Glacier [143] (Holdsworth, 1978), and a shorter term 

study of d'lberville Glacier [140] (Holdsworth, 1975, 1977b). However, support subsequently became available for continuation of studies on the Ward 

Hunt tee Shelf and new studies along the northern Ellesmere Island coast 

(Jeffries, 1982, 1984, 1986a, b, 1991, 1992; Jeffries and Serson, 1983, 1986;

GLACIERS OF CANADA J49
Jeffries and Krouse, 1985; Jeffries and Sackinger, 1990; Jeffries and others, 

1988, 1991; Lemmen, 1988; Sackinger and others, 1985; Stewart, 1991). 

[See section in this volume on Ellesmere Island Ice Shelves and Ice Islands.] 

The University of Heidelberg later mounted a small multidisciplinary expedition to investigate the Webber, Gnome, Dwarf, Midget, Arklio, Van Royen, 

Okpuddyshao, and Nukapingwa Glaciers at the head of Oobloyah Bay 

[129-136] (Barsch and King, 1981; King, 1983) and a glacier tongue in the 

neighboring Hare Fiord [128] (Rommer and Hell, 1986; Hell and King, 

1988). Meanwhile, studies of some other glaciers on Ellesmere Island 

(fig. 18) had been initiated: on Quviagivaa Glacier [142] (Wolfe, 1995; 

Wolfe and English, 1996); around Blackwelder Ice Cap [138], on Shirley 

Glacier [137] and a revisit to Van Royen Glacier [136] (Smith, 1997); at the 

head of Phillips Inlet on Muskox Glacier [124] (Evans and Fisher, 1987; 

Evans, 1989,1993; Evans and England, 1992); and the University of Alberta 

commenced regular visits to John Evans Glacier [141] (Woodward, 1996; 

Arendt, 1997; Woodward and others, 1997).

In the middle 1960's, following the Glacier Mapping Symposium held in 

Ottawa and from recommendations made by the NRCC's Subcommittee on 

Glaciers, the WSC switched to a program of terrestrial photogrammetry 

that involved mapping the ablation areas of their glaciers every 2 years 

(Campbell and others, 1969a, b; Reid and Shastal, 1970; Reid and Charbonneau, 1972, 1975, 1979a, b; Reid, 1973; Reid and others, 1978). Terminus 

and plaque surveys of the Saskatchewan and Athabasca Glaciers [92-93] 

were continued in the intermediate years by the Calgary office of the WSC 

(Warner and others, 1972; Canada, 1976, 1982).

The accessibility of the Columbia Icefield [94] (Harmon and Robinson, 

1981), particularly the Athabasca (Kucera, 1972) and Saskatchewan Glaciers, and the availability of a fairly good historical sequence of observations, probably favored its selection as the site for a wide variety of 

glaciological studies. These included investigations of glacier chemistry 

(Sharp and Epstein, 1958; Epstein and Sharp, 1959; Hallet, 1976; Mayewski 

and others, 1979), glacier flow (Meier and others, 1954; Meier, 1958a, b, 

1960; Rigsby, 1958, 1960; Paterson, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1964, 1970; Paterson 

and Savage, 1963a, b; Savage and Paterson, 1963, 1965; Glee and others, 

1969; Raymond, 1971a, b, 1973), depth measurement (Kanasewich, 

1963; Neave and Savage, 1970; Goodman, 1973, 1975; Rossiter and others, 

1973; Trombley, 1986), glacial history (Luckman, 1986, 1988, 1993), photogrammetry (Reid, 1961; Konecny, 1966; Paterson, 1966; Reid and Paterson, 1973; Kite and Reid, 1977; Reynolds, and Young, 1997), remote 

sensing (0strem, 1973b; Gratton and others, 1990, 1993; Vachon and others, 1996); resistivity (Keller and Frischknecht, 1960, 1961), sediment 

transport and erosion (Mathews, 1964a, b; Iverson, 1991) and temperature (Paterson, 1971, 1972). Nearby studies have included the hydrology 

of the Small River Glacier [88] (Smart, 1992, 1998) and glacierized 

alpine karst (Smart, 1984, 1986, 1988; Smart and Ford, 1983, 1986; Worthington, 1991), erosion and hydrological characteristics of Decade 

Glacier [165] (0strem and others, 1967), Hilda Glacier [98] (Hammer and 

Smith, 1983; Gardner and Bajewsky, 1987; Bajewsky and Gardner, 1989), 

Boundary Glacier [96] (Gardner and Jones, 1985; Jones, 1987; Sloan, 

1987; Mattson, 1990; Mattson and Gardner, 1991) and Dome Glacier [97] 

(Gardner, 1992). A welcome development was the construction of a new 

Icefields Interpretative Centre in the middle 1990's (Waskasoo Design 

Group Limited, 1991)

The fortunate conjunction of a climbing camp in the St. Elias Range and 

the surge of the Steele Glacier [3] (Roots, 1967) led to studies of its cause 

(Bayrock, 1967; Nielsen, 1969; Stanley, 1969), spawned an influential symposium which outlined directions for future research (Ambrose, 1969), and 

helped generate grants for further work (Jarvis and Clarke, 1974; Clarke

J50 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Figure 18. Ice field adjoining ice cap, Victoria, and Albert Mountains, east coast 

Ellesmere Island, Queen Elizabeth 

Islands, Nunavut (SCPIS'N., 74°2TW.); 

view to the east; John Richardson Bay is at 

top right and Kane Basin and Greenland in 

the background. NAPL T400L-201. From 

figure 2 in Prest, 1983, p. 13.

and Jarvis, 1976). Carry Clarke has focused much of his research effort on 

the elucidation of the problem of surging glaciers. Extremely detailed 

studies have been carried out on the Trapridge (Hyena), Backe (Jackal), 

Rusty (Fox), and Donjek Glaciers [4-7] (Classen and Clarke, 1971; 

Johnson, 1971, 1972; Hoffmann and Clarke, 1973; Clarke and Goodman, 

1975; Jarvis and Clarke, 1975; Clarke, 1976, 1991, 1996; Collins and Clarke, 

1977; Collins, 1980; Narod and Clarke, 1980; Clarke and Collins, 1984; 

Clarke and others, 1984, 1986b; Maxwell, 1986; Clarke and Blake, 1991; 

Blake and Clarke, 1992; Stone and Clarke, 1993, 1998; Fischer and Clarke, 

1994, 1997; Murray and Clarke, 1995; Waddington and Clarke, 1988;

GLACIERS OF CANADA J51
Flowers and Clarke, 1999) (fig. 19). Other surging-glacier studies of have 

been made of the Tweedsmuir [14], Lowell [13] and Walsh Glaciers [8] 

(Post, 1966; Krimmel and Meier, 1975; Post and others, 1976), of Otto Glacier [127] (Hattersley-Smith, 1964, 1969a), Milne Glacier [122] (Jeffries, 

1984), Good Friday Bay Glacier [154] (Miiller, 1969), of the Barnes Ice 

Cap [164] (Holdsworth, 1973a, 1977c; L0ken, 1969), and of the distribution 

of such features (Post, 1969). The most recent surge to attract substantial 

public attention was that of Hubbard Glacier [12] (Begley and White, 1986; 

Mayo, 1989; Trabant and others, 1991; Krimmel and Trabant, 1992).

Curiosity about the environmental effects of the large polynya known as 

the North Water, located at the head of Baffin Bay between Greenland and 

Ellesmere Island, prompted Fritz Miiller to launch a major scientific program 

there. Although the focus was primarily on energy exchanges, sea ice, and 

atmospheric effects, mass-balance studies on Coburg Island, on Wolf Glacier, 

Laika Glacier, and Laikalce Cap [146-148] (Berger and Miiller, 1977; Blatter and Kappenberger, 1988), on Leffert Glacier, and on a neighboring 

unnamed glacier [143, 144] were started (Miiller and others, 1974-80, 1977). 

A popular account of this work, and that on Axel Hciberg Island, was also 

published (Miiller, 1981). Unfortunately, the unexpected death of Fritz 

Miiller led to the premature termination of this project before all the analyses 

had been completed.

A later initiative by Karl Packer, a private consultant, in conjunction with 

Bill Tupper of the British Columbia Institute of Technology, added

Figure 19. A, Oblique aerial photograph 

of Trapridge Glacier, Yukon, Canada, in 

August 1999. The peak in the background 

(top right) is Mount Wood. Photograph by 

Carry K.C. Clarke. B, (opposite page) Graduate students from the University of British Columbia connecting sensors to one 

of more than 20 data loggers operating 

year-round at Trapridge Glacier. Photograph by Carry K.C. Clarke, University of 

British Columbia. (Glacier 4 in table 1)

J52 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
significantly to our knowledge of recent glacier variations 

in the Coast Mountains. Studies of glaciers (glacier numbers in table 1 shown in brackets for each mountain 

range) ranged from the St. Elias Mountains [16], through 

the Hazelton Mountains [34, 35], the Pacific Ranges 

[36-41], the Chilcotin Ranges [43, 44, 48-52], the Elaho 

Range [56-58], the Clendenning Range [59-61], and the 

Lillooet Ranges [64] to Garibaldi Provincial Park [63, 

72-75] and Overlord Glacier [68] (Ricker, 1976, 1977, 

1979, 1980, 1990; Tupper and Ricker, 1982; Ricker and 

others, 1983; Ricker and Jozsa, 1984; Ricker and Parke, 

1984; Tupper and others, 1984, 1985, 1986; Ricker and 

Tupper, 1988, 1992, 1996). The extensive ice cover of 

parts of British Columbia means that geophysical surveys 

for mineral exploration are often conducted on and 

through glaciers; these have included Ridge Icefield Glacier [28] at McLymont Creek and Horstman Glacier [67] 

(J.P. Schmok, oral commun., 1991-93).

A valuable study was that begun by Robert Rogerson of 

Memorial University in 1981 on four glaciers in Labrador 

Superguksoak, Abraham, Hidden, and Minaret Glaciers 

[173-176]. As small glaciers arc expected to respond quite 

rapidly to changes in climate, and climatologists are predicting global warming as a result of the "greenhouse effect," 

the results, at the southeastern limits of glacier cover in 

Canada, would have been most interesting. Unfortunately, 

the program was concluded after only a few years (McCoy, 

1983; Branson, 1984; Rogerson, 1986; Rogerson and others, 

1986). However, Dan Smith of the University of Victoria 

started investigating the behavior of Moving Glacier [76] on 

Vancouver Island (Smith, 1994), which would be representative of the southwestern limits. While at the University of 

Saskatchewan, he had initiated a study ofRae Glacier [113] 

(Lawby and others, 1994), the most southerly of any glacier 

investigated in the Canadian Rocky Mountains.

In the Yukon Territory, Gerald Holdsworth, in conjunction with the AINA and their considerably reduced program in the Icefield Ranges, has been establishing the 

recent climate history of the southwest Yukon through the 

analysis of an ice core obtained from the 5,340-m-high plateau of Mount Logan [10] (fig. 20), (De la Barre, 1977; 

Holdsworth, 1977a, 1983, 1986a, 1990; Holdsworth and 

Jones, 1979; Holdsworth and others, 1984, 1989, 1991, 

1992; Holdsworth and Peake, 1985; Pourchet and others, 

1988; Monaghan and Holdsworth, 1990; Dibb and others, 

1993; Holdsworth and Sawyer, 1993; Mayewski and others, 

1993; Yang and others, 1995). Peter Johnson, together 

with staff and students from the University of Ottawa, has 

studied the glacier hydrology of the Grizzly Creek region 

and debris- and moraine-covered ice masses (Johnson, 

1976, 1980a, b, 1981, 1983; 1984, 1985, 1991a, b, 1992, 

1998; Lacasse, 1985; Johnson and David, 1987; Johnson 

and Lacasse, 1988; Kruszynski and Johnson, 1993).

Observations that cannot readily be subjected to either 

a systematic regional or chronological review are those on 

ice-dammed lakes and associated hazards. Their regional 

distribution on the mainland has been discussed by Post, 

and Mayo (1971) and other general aspects reviewed by

J53
several authors (VanDine, 1985; Young, 1985; Evans, 1986; Shoemaker, 1991; 

Clague and Evans, 1994). The catastrophic drainage (jokulhlaup) of Summit 

Lake, dammed by Salmon Glacier [33], caused severe flooding downstream 

and washed out the access road to the Granduc Mine at Berendon Glacier 

[32] (Mathews, 1965, 1973; Gilbert, 1971; Fisher, 1973; Mathews and Clague, 

1993). That of Ape Lake removed trees from a substantial area of forest 

downstream of Fyles Glacier [39] (Jones and others, 1985; Desloges and others, 1989; Desloges and Church, 1992). Other catastrophic events noted in 

British Columbia include those on Klattasine Creek associated with Cumberland Glacier [47] (Blown and Church, 1985; Clague and others, 1985) and on 

Tim Williams Glacier [29] (Evans and Clague, 1990). Detailed studies have 

been made on lakes associated with the surge-type Steele [3], Donjek [7] and 

Kaskawulsh [9] Glaciers (Collins and Clarke, 1977; Clarke and Mathews, 

1981; Clarke, 1982; Liverman, 1987; Kasper and Johnson, 1991; Johnson and 

Kasper, 1992). To the south, the Tulsequah Glacier [20] flood was investigated by Marcus (1960). Hydropower feasibility investigations in the Stikine 

and Iskut River basins have included similar studies (Perchanok, 1980), particularly of the Flood Glacier [21] jokulhlaup (Mokievsky-Zubok, 1980b; 

Clarke and Waldron, 1984) (fig. 21). An interesting case study was that of the

Figure 20. Photograph of Mount Logan 

(5,959 m), St. Elias Mountains, Yukon Territory, Canada, from the ice-core drill site 

at Eclipse (3,017m) in June 1990. Photograph by Gerald Holdsworth, Arctic Institute of North America.

Figure 21. Photograph of Flood Glacier, 

Coast Mountains, British Columbia, on 13 

July 1979 showing the iceberg-filled lake 

dammed by the glacier. In August 1979, 

the lake drained catastrophically, causing 

severe flooding downstream. Photograph 

by Oleg Mokievsky-Zubok, National 

Hydrology Research Institute. (Glacier 21 

in table 1)

J54 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Figure 22. Bed instruments 

developed for studying the 

subglacial mechanical processes of Trapridge Glacier. 

A, Slidometer used to measure basal sliding rate. 

B, Ploughmeter used to measure the ploughing interaction between a glacier and a 

soft sedimentary bed. C, Tilt 

cell to measure the deformation of subglacial sediment. 

D, Schematic diagram (not to 

scale) showing the foregoing 

instruments installed near the 

ice-bed contact. Detail: Progressive tilting of a tilt cell in 

response to shear deformation of subglacial sediment. 

Diagram from Carry K.C. 

Clarke, University of British 

Columbia.

Tilt cell

Pressure sensor

Cathedral Glacier [109] jokulhlaup, whose debris flows periodically block 

the CPR railway and Trans-Canada Highway in Kicking Horse Pass (Jackson, 

1979, 1980; Jackson and others, 1989). Such studies have not been limited to 

the mainland. Maag (1969) completed a comprehensive report on icedammed lakes and associated jokulhlaups in the expedition area of Axel 

Heiberg Island. Ricker (1962) has also reported on this area, and a later 

study was made by a McMaster University group along the margin of the 

Prince of Wales Icefield [145] on Ellesmere Island (McCann and Cogley, 1977; 

Blachut and McCann, 1981). Some environmental-impact studies have had a 

glaciological component that, carried out in connection with the proposed 

Alcan pipeline route in the Yukon, included a general study of glacierdammed lakes in the St. Elias Mountains (Canada, 1977; Young, 1980). Studies on Tats Glacier [17] (J.P. Schmok, oral commun.,1990) were in connection 

with an impact assessment of the Windy Craggy development (Canada, 

1990). In Alberta, a small glacier on Mount Cline [99] was assessed in 

response to a license application to mine the glacier for "pure" water and ice 

cubes (The Ice Age Co, 1989; Rains, 1990).

To complete this review, it is worth mentioning briefly that some of the 

field programs described above have prompted the development of new glaciological instruments and techniques. The geophysical group at the University of British Columbia, driven by the desire to measure Trapridge Glacier 

in even more detail, has been a leader in this area. Radars and ancillary 

equipment have been constructed (Narod and Clarke, 1983; Prager, 1983; 

Jones and others, 1989; Cross and Clarke, 1990), as well as devices for 

recording activity at the glacier bed (Blake and Clarke, 1991; Blake, 1992; 

Blake and others, 1992; Stone and others, 1993; Waddington and Clarke, 

1995; Kavanaugh and Clarke, 1996) (fig. 22) and on the surface (Clarke and 

others, 1986a). One member of the group has gone on to develop instrumentation for use elsewhere (Blake and others, 1998). The current techniques 

used for mass-balance measurement in mainland Canada have been documented (0strem and Brugman, 1991) and a conductivity measurement system automated for use in the Columbia River basin (Kite, 1994). A major 

contribution to the glaciological community has been Paterson's outstanding 

book on glacier physics (Paterson, 1994), now in its third edition.

GLACIERS OF CANADA J55
The 21st Century

In the decade or so leading up to the end of the 20th century, there was a 

significant decline in governmental support of glacier research in Canada. 

At the end of the 20th century, systematic long-term mass-balance observations were being continued at Peyto Glacier [103] in the Rocky Mountains, 

Place Glacier [62] and Helm Glacier [69] in the Coast Mountains, and White 

Glacier [153] on Axel Heiberg Island, Canadian High Arctic, Nunavut (Haeberli and others, 1999), by the GSC under its new National Glaciology Programme. Three of the sites, one in the Rockies and two in the Coast 

Mountains, are low latitude and are unlikely to be representative of the full 

extent of these ranges. Old glacier sites may be revisited from time to time 

and additional glaciers added to the record as opportunities present themselves (for example, Bow [104] and Robertson [112] Glaciers (M. Sharp, 

oral commun., 2000). Airborne and satellite remote sensing and geographic 

information system (GIS) technology will be used increasingly in glaciological studies, such as the use of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery in 

glacier-hydrology investigations of Place Glacier [62], Coast Mountains 

(Adam and others, 1997); Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) and SAR imagery of Wapta Icefield and Peyto Glacier [103] (Brugman and others, 1996); 

airborne laser altimetry and interferometric SAR (InSAR) mapping of the 

Wapta Icefield (Demuth and others, 2001); areal and volumetric changes of 

the Prince of Wales Icefield and Devon Ice Cap using historical aerial photographs and Landsat 7 imagery (Burgess and others, 2001); studies of fluctuations of glacier termini on Axel Heiberg Island, using historical aerial 

photographs and satellite imagery (Cogley, 2001); and the Illecillewaet Icefield and Illecillewaet Glacier [80], Interior Ranges (see section on Mapping Glaciers in the Interior Ranges and Rocky Mountains with Landsat 

Data, by Roger D. Wheate, Robert W Sidjak, and Garnet T Whyte, in this 

volume). Improvements in spatial [reduction in size of picture elements 

(pixels)] and spectral (increase in the number and/or smaller band width) 

resolution of satellite sensors [for example Landsat 7 Enhanced Thematic 

Mapper (ETM+) (15-m pixels), Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission 

and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) (15-m pixels, stereoscopic capability; 

and 14 spectral bands on three sensors), and IKONOS (1-m pixels)] and the 

surface profile and elevation data to be acquired by ICE Sat (±1 m) after its 

planned launch in December 2002, will provide glaciologists with additional 

remote sensing datasets. The Global Land Ice Measurements from Space 

(GLIMS) is using ASTER and other satellite images to foster increased 

cooperation between regional centers.

The work in the Yukon Territory, by teams from the University of British 

Columbia and Ottawa University, will likely continue, but continued 

research may well be in doubt when the principal investigators retire. In the 

Arctic, the continuation of some of the smaller expeditions, on Axel 

Heiberg and Ellesmere Islands, is also in doubt. The Polar Continental Shelf 

Project provided the logistical support that has enabled scientists to work 

in remote areas of Nunavut for the last 40 years. Fortunately, the GSC's icecoring project has been receiving sufficient support to continue acquiring 

data from existing core sites and even to obtain a new core from the Penny 

Ice Cap [168]. In 1998 and 1999, new ice cores to bedrock were obtained 

from Devon Island.

Looking to the future, it seems likely that water will return to the 

national agenda early in the 21st century. Recently there has been renewed 

public discussion in Canada about water exports. The gradual depletion of 

mountain reservoirs as the climate warms will alter not only the amount 

but also the timing of discharges. The switch from a glacial to a nival 

regime in some prairie rivers may adversely affect agriculture. The depletion of resources in central British Columbia potentially could lead to

J56 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
water-transfer disputes with the United States as flow in the Columbia 

River declines. If a warming climate creates more demand for energy, the 

hydroelectric-generating companies may be obliged to revisit some of their 

earlier proposals. All of these situations involve glaciers and may lead to 

the restoration of some previous studies and the initiation of new ones. 

However, as qualified and experienced scientists retire, a new generation of 

glaciologists will need to be trained.

Interest in past and present climates is expected to continue and even 

increase. Impact and adaptation studies funded by the Government of Canada's Climate Change Action Fund indicate renewed interest in water 

resources, including glacier hydrology. The Canadian CRYSYS (Cryospheric 

Systems Research Initiative), a Canadian contribution to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Earth Observing System (EOS) Program, 

includes a glacier/ice cap theme as part of a government/university partnership. In the first decade of the 21st century, we will probably see a redrilling 

on the Agassiz Ice Cap [139]. Additional drilling programs are in the planning stage for Barnes Ice Cap, Baffin Island, and on Mt. Oxford, Ellesmere 

Island, Nunavat. After a long and patient wait we can also expect Trapridge 

Glacier [4] to surge and, thanks to all the preparatory work that has been 

done by Garry Clarke and his colleagues, to provide valuable new insights 

into the mechanism of surging glaciers, perhaps finally answering the question "why do some glaciers surge and what are the process (es) that cause 

some glaciers to surge?"

A promising recent development has been the establishment of a 

National Glaciology Programme (NGP) in the Terrain Sciences Division, 

Geological Survey of Canada (GSC), Natural Resources Canada. In 2001, a 

new ice core from a glacier on Mount Logan was obtained as part of this 

program. The NGP of the GSC also provides a national correspondent (Canada) to the World Glacier Monitoring Service, Zurich, Switzerland, who is 

responsible for the annual submission of glaciological data, including fluctuation of glaciers in Canada, and mass-balance data from the Place, Peyto, 

Helm, and White Glaciers. Glaciologists with the NGP (GSC) and the International Glaciological Society (Cambridge, England, U.K.) also provided 

information for the special issue of Canadian Geographic on Canada's glaciers (Anonymous, 1998), including a fold-out map on the Glaciers of Canada (Shilts and others, 1998).

GLACIERS OF CANADA J57
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 1909, Modern glaciers: Canadian Alpine Journal, v. 2, 

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 1955, Studies in glacier physics on the Penny Ice Cap, 

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 1911, Motion of the Yoho Glacier: Canadian Alpine Journal, v. 3, p. 123-126.

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J80 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
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 1975, The variation of corrie elevation and equilibrium 

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Morrison, M.[C.], Talbot, R.[W], Dibb, J.[E.], and Linder, Ernst, 

1995, Global perspective of nitrate flux in ice cores: Journal of 

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abstract.)

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Canada during the International Hydrological Decade, 

1965-74: Journal of Glaciology, v. 30, no. 105, p. 188-198.

 1984b, Synoptic-scale atmospheric circulation over British Columbia in relation to the mass balance of Sentinel Glacier: Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 

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September 1970: Ottawa, Ont., Canadian National Committee 

fortheLH.D., p. 11-20.

 1972, White Glacier mass balance, in Miiller, Fritz, and 

others, eds., International Geographical Union, Field Tour Ea 

2, Arctic Archipelago I, 22nd International Geographical Congress: Montreal, Quebec, McGill University, Axel Heiberg 

Island Research Reports, Miscellaneous Papers, p. 25-30.

 1974, A data collection and reduction system for snow

accumulation studies, in Santeford, H.S., and Smith, J.L., 

eds., Advanced concepts and techniques in the study of snow 

and ice resources: Washington, D.C., National Academy of 

Sciences, p. 304-313.

 1975, Accumulation and ablation patterns as functions of

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 1976, An approach to glacier mass-balance analysis utilizing terrain characterization: Ottawa, Ont., Environment Canada, Water Resources Branch, Inland Waters Directorate 

Scientific Series No. 60, 34 p.

 1978, Relations between mass-balance and meteorological variables on Peyto Glacier, Alberta, 1967/1974: Zeitschrift 

fur Gletscherkunde und Glazialgeologie, 1977, v. 13, no. 1-2, 

p. 111-125.

 1980, Monitoring glacier outburst floods: Nordic Hydrology, v. 11, no. 5, p. 285-300. 

 1981, The mass balance of Peyto Glacier, Alberta, Canada, 1965 to 1978: Arctic and Alpine Research, v. 13, no. 3, 

p. 307-318.

 1982, Hydrological relationships in a glacierized mountain basin: Symposium at Exeter 1982 Hydrological Aspects 

of Alpine and High Mountain Areas, International Association 

of Hydrological Sciences Publication No. 138, p. 51-59.

 1985, Canada case study: catastrophic floods, in Young,

G.J., ed., Techniques for prediction of runoff from glacierized 

areas: International Association of Hydrological Sciences 

Publication No. 149, p. 137-143.

 1990, Glacier hydrology, in Prowse, T.D., and Ommanney,

C.S.L., eds., Northern hydrology Canadian perspectives: 

Saskatoon, Sask., Environment Canada, National Hydrology 

Research Institute Science Report No. 1, p. 135-162.

Young, G.J., and Arnold, K.C., 1978, Orthophotomaps of glaciers; 

an evaluation of an automated method applied to Peyto Glacier, Alberta: Zeitschrift fur Gletscherkunde und Glazialgeologie, 1977, v. 13, no. 1-2, p. 99-110.

Young, G.J., and Stanley, A.D., 1976a, Canadian glaciers in the 

International Hydrological Decade program, 1965-1974. No. 

3. Ram River Glacier, Alberta Summary of measurements: 

Ottawa, Ont., Fisheries and Environment Canada, Water 

Resources Branch, Inland Waters Directorate Scientific 

Series No. 70, 54 p.

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Alberta Summary of measurements: Ottawa, Ont., Fisheries 

and Environment Canada, Water Resources Branch, Inland 

Waters Directorate Scientific Series No. 71, 59 p.

GLACIERS OF CANADA J81
Zdanowicz, C.M., Michel, F.A., and Shilts, W.W., 1996, Basal Zubok, O.M., 1975, Half decade study of mass balance at Sentidebris entrainment and transport in glaciers of southwestern nel Glacier, BC, Canada, in Snow and Ice Symposium, MosBylot Island, Canadian Arctic: Annals of Glaciology, v. 22, cow, August 1971, Proceedings: IAHS-AISH Publication

p. 107-113. No. 104, p. 202-207.

J82 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Glaciers of North AmericaGLACIERS OF CANADA

MAPPING CANADA'S GLACIERS

By C. SIMON L. OMMANNEY

With a section on MAPPING GLACIERS IN THE INTERIOR RANGES AND ROCKY 

MOUNTAINS WITH LANDSAT DATA

By ROGER D. WHEATE, ROBERT W. SIDJAK, and GARNET T WHYTE

SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD

Edited by ^ICUK^D S. WILLIAMS, Jr., and JANE G. FERRIGNO

U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 1386-J-l

Between the mid-1940's and the mid-1990 ss, seven 1:1,000,000-scale, forty-eight 

1:500,000-scale (Glacier Atlas of Canada), and more than 110 miscellaneous scale 

(1:2,500- to 1:125,000-scale) maps of selected glaciers of Canada were completed by 

governmental and academic institutions; the types of maps include sketch, topographic, 

and stereo-orthophoto maps. Satellite images of glaciers and digital elevation models can 

be combined to produce maps (planimetric and topographic) and three-dimensional 

perspectives
CONTENTS

Page

Abstract J83

Introduction 83 

Glacier Maps of Canada (1:1,000,000 Scale) 83

TABLE 1. Glacier maps of Canada (1:1,000,000 scale) 84 

Glacier Atlas of Canada (1:500,000 Scale) 84

FIGURE 1. Part of Glacier Atlas of Canada map of the White and

Thompson Glaciers, Axel Heiberg Island, Nunavut 87 

TABLE 2. Glacier Atlas of Canada (l:500,000-scale Glacier Inventory

maps) 85

Water Survey of Canada 88

TABLE 3. Water Survey of Canada Glacier Map Series 88

Salmon Glacier 90

TABLE 4. Miscellaneous glacier maps of Canada 90

Glacier Maps of the High Arctic 93

FIGURE 2. Part of Thompson Glacier Region map, Axel Heiberg Island,

Nunavut 92

3. Photograph of compound termini of the White and Thompson

Glaciers, Axel Heiberg Island, Nunavut 93

4. Maps of the Grinnell Glacier, Baffin Island, Nunavut 94

IHD Glacier Maps -------------------------------------------------------------- 94

Miscellaneous Maps of Western Canada 95

FIGURE 5. Part of the Massif of Mount Hubbard, Mount Alverstone, and

Mount Kennedy map, Yukon Territory 97

Peyto Glacier and Columbia Icefield 96 

Orthophoto Maps 98

FIGURE 6. Orthophoto map of the Thompson Glacier termini, Axel

Heiberg Island, Nunavut 99

Satellite Mapping - 98

Mapping Glaciers in the Interior Ranges and Rocky Mountains with 

Landsat Data, by Roger D. Wheate, Robert W. Sidjak, and 

Garnet T. Whyte 100

Abstract----- 100

Introduction 100 

British Columbia Provincial Mapping 100 

Satellite Image Data 101

Digital-Image Processing for Glacier Mapping 101 

Illecillewaet Neve and Illecillewaet Glacier 102

FIGURE 7. Landsat 5 TM false-color composite image of the Illecillewaet

Neve and Illecillewaet Glacier on 18 August 1994 102 

8. A, Perspective view of the Illecillewaet Glacier and

B, Photograph of the Illecillewaet Glacier terminus 103 

TABLE 5. Selected glaciological parameters of the Illecillewaet Neve

and Illecillewaet Glacier 103

Monkman Glacier/Parsnip Glacier 104

FIGURE 9. Landsat 5 TM false-color composite image of the Monkman

Glacier/Parsnip Glacier on 23 September 1997 104 

10. A, Perspective view of the Monkman Glacier/Parsnip Glacier

and B, Photograph of Parsnip Glacier terminus 105

Acknowledgments 105 

National Topographic Series 106 

Conclusions 106 

References Cited 108

CONTENTS III
SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD

GLACIERS OF NORTH AMERICAGLACIERS OF CANADA

MAPPING CANADA'S GLACIERS 

By C. SIMON L. OMMANNEY 1

With a section on MAPPING GLACIERS IN THE INTERIOR 

RANGES AND ROCKY MOUNTAINS WITH LANDSAT DATA

By ROGER D. WHEATE,2 ROBERT W. SIDJAK,2 and GARNET T. 

WHYTE2

Abstract

The extent and nature of the mapping of Canada's glaciers from the middle 1940's to the 

middle 1990's, covering terminus surveys and sketch maps to higher order, large-scale maps 

(Swiss-style publication quality) and stereo-orthophoto maps, are traced.

Introduction

In 1965, at the time of the first Symposium on Glacier Mapping, Canada 

was experiencing a remarkable flourishing of glacier-mapping activity. Papers 

at the symposium, by Blachut and Miiller, and Konecny and Arnold (Gunning, 1966), reported on some of the developments at that time. The subsequent 20 years saw major developments in the large-scale mapping of 

Canada's glaciers, in which the Photogrammetric Research Section of the 

National Research Council of Canada (PRS-NRCC), the Department of Surveying Engineering of the University of New Brunswick, and the Glaciology 

Division of Environment Canada were the most significant contributors. A 

discussion of the maps produced by these agencies and others permits a general review of the growth and decline of this activity but does not necessarily 

reflect the overall history of glacier studies in Canada. In addition, there has 

been a replacement of the old system of mapping with a use of DEM and satellite images. Many of these maps appear in journal articles or reports and are 

in digital format.

Glacier Maps of Canada (1:1,000,000 Scale)

The decision to map Canada's glaciers at a scale of 1:1,000,000 arose 

from the need of the Geographical Branch, Department of Mines, to have

Manuscript approved for publication, 7 March 2002.

1 International Glaciological Society, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1ER, England, U.K. (formerly 

with the National Hydrology Research Institute [now the National Hydrology Research Centre], Environment Canada, 11 Innovation Boulevard, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 3H5, Canada).

2 Faculty of Natural Resources and Environmental Studies, 3333 University Way, University of Northern British Columbia, Prince George, British Columbia V2N 4Z9, Canada.

GLACIERS OF CANADA J83
TABLE 1. Glacier maps of Canada (1:1,000,000 scale)

[Abbreviations used: DEMR, Department of Energy, Mines and Resources; DMTS, Department of Mines and Technical Surveys; GEOG, Geographical Branch; IWB, Inland Waters Branch; NTS,

National Topographic Series]

Glacier map name

Southern British Columbia and Alberta..............

Northern British Columbia and southeastern 

Alaska...................................................................

Yukon Territory and District of Mackenzie.........

Southern Baffin Island and northern

Labrador Peninsula.............................................

Northern Baffin Island1 ..........................................

Southern Queen Elizabeth Islands.......................

Northern Queen Elizabeth Islands.......................

Number

IWB 1000

IWB 1001

IWB 1002

IWB 1006

IWB 1005

IWB 1004

IWB 1003

Contours

none

none

none

none

none

none

none

Survey date

date of NTS base map

date of NTS base map

date of NTS base map

date of NTS base map

date of NTS base map

date of NTS base map

date of NTS base map

Production agency

GEOG, DMTS

IWB, DEMR

IWB, DEMR

IWB, DEMR

IWB, DEMR

IWB, DEMR

IWB, DEMR

Glacier representation

Purple glaciers on white

Purple glaciers on white

Purple glaciers on white

White glaciers on brown

White glaciers on brown

White glaciers on brown

White glaciers on brown

1 Included in map siipplement to Journal of Glaciology, v. 9, no. 55,1970.

small-scale maps available that were suitable for planning glaciological 

research and accurately depicting the geographic distribution of glaciers. A 

study was made in the middle 1960's on the representation of glaciers on 

topographic maps published at various scales, particularly how glacier 

information was generalized. Glaciers were delineated with heavy black-ink 

lines on the best available maps in 1965 and reduced to the common scale 

(Falconer and others, 1966). One surprise from the study was the conclusion that small-scale maps may depict glaciers better than large-scale maps 

(see fig. 2 in Falconer and others, 1966). The three maps of the western 

Cordillera show glaciers in purple on a white background (a combination 

that was thought to give the best visual contrast, even for small glaciers), 

whereas on the four Arctic maps, glaciers are white on a brown background 

(Henoch and Stanley, 1968a, b, 1970; table 1). The maps have been used to 

complement the standard topographic maps (Henoch, 1969) primarily for 

plotting information such as glaciation levels, equilibrium lines, ice-cored 

moraines, transient snowlines, and glacier mass balance (0strem, 1973; 

Miller and others, 1975); as base maps for the National Atlas of Canada (see 

Fremlin and Mindak, 1968); and for use in schools.

Glacier Atlas of Canada (1:500,000 Scale)

Much more detailed information on all glaciers was subsequently compiled through the Canadian glacier inventory. Until 1972, identification 

numbers and basin designations were published in individual sheets of 

the Glacier Atlas of Canada. Modified 1:250,000-scale National Topographic System (NTS) maps formed the basis for the four-color plates. 

Glaciers appear in a blue vignette within their hydrological basins, and the 

maps are bordered in brown (fig. 1). Ommanney (1980) described the 

program, and the maps published (Ommanney, 1989) are listed in table 2. 

The series was used in compiling the base map (1:2,000,000 scale) for the 

5th edition of the National Atlas of Canada,3 published at a scale of 

1:7,500,000 on which glaciers are shown with a light purple vignette (Gosson, 1985), and subsequently for educational maps (Royal Canadian Geographical Society, 1998).

3 The 6th edition of the National Atlas of Canada is available online at the following URL address: 

[http://atlas.gc.ca/].

J84 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
TABLE 2. Glacier Atlas of Canada (l:500,000-scale Glacier Inventory Maps1)

[Abbreviations used: DEMR, Department of Energy, Mines and Resources; DOE. Department of the Environment; IWB, Inland Waters Branch; IWD, Inland Waters Directorate]

Plate no. Name

ELLESMERE ISLAND

1.1.1.................... Glacier Strait....................................................................

1.1.2.................... Starnes Fiord ...................................................................

1.1.3.................... Sydkap Ice Cap ................................................................

1.1.4.................... Bjorne Peninsula .............................................................

1.2. 1 .................... Raanes and Svendsen Peninsulas .................................

1.2.2.................... Fosheim Peninsula............... ...........................................

DEVON ISLAND

2.0....................... Devon Island ................................................. ...................

2.1....................... Grinnell Peninsula... ........................................................

2.2 ....................... Colin Archer Peninsula...................................................

2.3....................... South West Devon Island ...............................................

2.4....................... Maxwell Bay.....................................................................

2.5....................... Bear Bay ................................................................... ........

2.6....................... Devon Ice Cap - South West...........................................

2.7 ....................... Devon Ice Cap - North ....................................................

2.8....................... Devon Ice Cap - South East ...........................................

SVERDRUP ISLANDS

4.0....................... AxelHeiberg Island..... ....................................................

4.1 ....................... Southern Axel Heiberg Island........ ................................

4.2 ....................... Central Axel Heiberg Island.... .......................................

4.3....................... Western Axel Heiberg Island .........................................

4.4....................... Northern and Eastern Axel Heiberg Island... ...............

BAFFIN AND BYLOT ISLAND

5.0....................... Baffin Island.....................................................................

5.1....................... Bylot Island ......................................................................

5.2....................... Brodeur Peninsula.... .......................................................

5.3 ....................... Borden Peninsula - West.................................................

5.4....................... Borden Peninsula - East .................................................

5.5....................... Milne Inlet ........................................................................

5.6....................... Tay Sound............................................. ............................

5.7....................... Pond Inlet........... ..............................................................

5.8....................... Cambridge Fiord .............................................................

5.9....................... Barnes Ice Cap....... ..........................................................

5.10..................... Gihhs Fiord ......................................................................

5.11 ..................... Sam Ford Fiord............................................... .................

5.12..................... Clyde Inlet........................................................................

5.13..................... McBeth Fiord. ..................................................................

5.14..................... Home Bay .........................................................................

5.15..................... Okoa Bay ..........................................................................

5.16..................... Coronation Fiord. ............................................................

5.17..................... Padle Fiord................................. ......................................

5.18..................... Hoare Bay............. ............................................................

5.19..................... Kingnait Fiord......................... .........................................

5.20..................... Peimv Ice Cap..................................................................

5.21..................... Pophani Bay..-. ...................................................... ..........

5.22..................... Beekman Peninsula.........................................................

5.23..................... Blunt Peninsula .............................................................. .

5.24..................... Meta Incognita Peninsula...... .........................................

NELSON RIVER DRAINAGE BASIN

7.0....................... Nelson River Drainage Basin....... .......................... ........

7.1....................... Oldman River.. .................................................................

7.2....................... Bow River.............................. ...........................................

7.3....................... Red Deer River ................................................................

7.4....................... North Saskatchewan River ............................................

PACIFIC OCEAN DRAINAGE AREA

8.8.1 .................... Vancouver Island - South................................................

8.8.2 .................... Vancouver Island - North... .............................................

Number

............ IWD 1147

............ IWD 1148

............ IWD 1149

............ IWD 1150

............ IWD 1151

............ 1WD 1152

............ IWB 1146

............ IWB 1144

............ IWB 1145

............ IWB 1138

............ IWB 1136

............ IWB 1140

............ IWB 1143

............ IWB 1141

............ IWB 1142

............ IWB 1129

............ IWB 1106

............ IWB 1112

............ IWB 1115

............ IWB 1105

............ IWB 1100

............ IWB 1102

............ IWB 1104

............ IWB 1101

............ IWB 1103

............ IWB 1109

............ IWB 1111

............ IWB 1107

............ IWB 1114

............ IWB 1116

............ IWB 1117

............ IWB 1110

............ IWB 1113

............ IWB 1108

............ IWB 1118

............ IWB 1119

............ IWB 1121

............ IWB 1126

............ IWB 1123

............ IWB 1122

............ IWB 1120

............ IWB 1127

............ IWB 1128

............ IWB 1130

............ IWB 1124

............ IWB 1135

............ IWB 1132

............ IWB 1134

............ IWB 1133

............ IWB 1131

............ IWB 113719

.......... IWB 113919

Date

1972

1972

1972

1972

1972

1972

1972

1971

1971

1971

1970

1Q71

1971

1971

1971

1969

1969

1969

1969

1969

19(59

1969

1969

1969

1969

1969

1969

1969

1969

1969

1969

1969

1969

1969

1969

1969

1969

1969

1969

1969

1969

1969

1969

1969

1969

1970

1970

1970

1970

1970

1971

1971

Producer

DOE

DOE

DOE

DOE

DOE

DOE

DOE

DOE

DOE

DOE

DOE

DOE

DOE

DOE

DOE

DEMR

DEMR

DEMR

DEMR

DEMR

DEMR

DEMR

DEMR

DEMR

DEMR

DEMR

DEMR

DEMR

DEMR

DEMR

DEMR

DEMR

DEMR

DEMR

DEMR

DEMR

DEMR

DEMR

DEMR

DEMR

DEMR

DEMR

DEMR

DEMR

DEMR

DEMR

DEMR

DEMR

DEMR

DEMR

DOE

DOE

Printer

DEMR

DEMR

DEMR

DEMR

DEMR

DEMR

DEMR

DEMR

DEMR

DEMR

DEMR

DEMR

DEMR

DEMR

DEMR

DEMR

DEMR

DEMR

DEMR

DEMR

DEMR

DEMR

DEMR

DEMR

DEMR

DEMR

DEMR

DEMR

DEMR

DEMR

DEMR

DEMR

DEMR

DEMR

DEMR

DEMR

DEMR

DEMR

DEMR

DEMR

DEMR

DEMR

DEMR

DEMR

DEMR

DEMR

DEMR

DEMR

DEMR

DEMR

DEMR

DEMR

1 The first map in each complete series (numbered X.O) is a small-scale index map showing the distribution of subsequent maps.

J85
CANADA

INLAND WATERS BRANCH

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY. MINES AND RESOURCES

THC sunvevs AND MAPPING WWNCH

IB4T OP ENrWJV. MINES AND RCSOUHCC* AXEL HEIBERG ISLAND - CENTRAL

GLACIER INVENTORY 

J86 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD L AREA 46444
GLACIER ATLAS

of 

CANADA

Figure l. Hart ot Ulacier Atlas or 

Canada, Plate No. 4.2, Map No. IWB 

7772, Central Axel Heiberg Island, 

Nunavut, that includes the White Glacier (Glacier 46444E-15) and Thompson Glacier (Glacier 46444E-21). Map 

published in 1969 by the Inland 

Waters Branch, Department of 

Energy, Mines and Resources; scale 

1:500,000 (see table 2 for other maps 

in the Glacier Atlas of Canada series).

GLACIERS OF CANADA J87
Water Survey of Canada

In 1945, the Dominion Water and Power Bureau, forerunner of the Water 

Survey of Canada (WSC), began annual surveys of 15 glaciers in western 

Canada to determine the effects of glacier variation on river runoff. The 

lower limits and activity of the glacier termini were measured from fixed 

points, and the movement and height change of the glacier surface were 

determined along a transverse profile of plaques in the ablation area. Glacier photographs and sketches of the relative changes were included in the 

annual reports of the district engineers, and some results were reported by 

Collier (1958). In 1950, the surveys became biennial and some surveys 

were terminated.

In 1959, the WSC carried out an aerial photogrammetric survey of Athabasca Glacier4; this was followed in 1962 by the University of New Brunswick 

terrestrial survey undertaken by Konecny (1964). The WSC decided that the 

latter technique was the most cost-effective and adopted it for future surveys 

of the Athabasca and Saskatchewan Glaciers in Alberta (1963 to 1979) and 

the Bugaboo, Kokanee, Sentinel, Sphinx, and Nadahini4 Glaciers in British 

Columbia (1964 to 1978). Paterson (1966) assessed its accuracy and Reid 

(1973) discussed the procedures used. Maps were plotted at scales of 

1:10,1)00 to 1:2,500 with topographic contours at 5 to 10 rn on the ice, 

depending on glacier size (table 3). The biennial volumetric changes were 

also calculated and the maps and results published (Reid and Charbonneau, 

1980, 1981). The map styles vary but generally use solid blue for ice, blue 

stipple for snow with blue-line contours on the glaciers; brown or gray contours are used outside the margins of the glacier. Only the exposed ice in the 

ablation area is mapped, however. Surveys of all these glaciers were terminated by 1980 (Reid, 1973; Reid and Charbonneau, 1980, 1981).

TABLE 3. Water Survey of Canada Glacier Map Series

[DEMR, Department of Energy, Mines and Resources; DFE, Department of Fisheries and the Environment; DNANR, Department of Northern Affairs and National Resources; DOE, Department of the 

Environment; IWB. Inland Waters Branch: IWD, Inland Waters Directorate; UNB, University of New Brunswick; USGS, United States Geological Survey; WRB, Water Resources Branch]

Glacier map name

Athabasca Glacier ............

Athabasca Glacier ............

Athabasca Glacier ............

Athabasca Glacier2 ..........

Bugaboo Glacier...............

Bugaboo Glacier...............

Bugaboo Glacier...............

Bugaboo Glacier...............

Number

1-6

2-6

3-6

4-6

5-6

6-6

7-6

8-6

1-5

2-5

3A-5

3B-5

4-5

5-5

6-5

7-5

8-5

Scale

1:4,800

1:4,800

1:10,000

1:10,000

1:10,000

1:10,000

1:10,000

1:10,000

1:10,000

1:10,000

1:2,500

1:2,500

1:2,500

1:2,500

1:2,500

1:2,500

1:2,500

1:2,500

1:2,500

Contours

25/50/100 ft

25/50/100 ft

10/20/30 ft

50ft

50ft

50/100 fl

10/25 m

10/25 m

10/25 m

10/25 m

10m

10m

Survey date(s)

1 Aug 1959

1962

26 Jul 1965

25 Jul 1967

25 Jul 1969

12 and 16 Aug 1971

3 Aug 1973

27 Aug 1975

13 Aug 1977

If) AHO IQVQ

9 Jul 1964

4 An*? IQfifi

1 Aug 1968

1 Aug 1968

18 Aug 1970

29 Aug 1972

24 Aug 1974

21 Aug 1976

19 Aug 1978

Production agency

WRB, DNANR

WRB, DNANR

IWB, DEMR

IWB, DEMR

IWB, DEMR

IWD, DOE

IWD, DOE

IWD, DFE

IWD, DFE

IWD, DFE

WRB, DNANR

IWB, DEMR

IWB, DEMR

IWB, DEMR

IWD, DOE

IWD, DOE

IWD, DOE

IWD, DFE

IWD, DOE

Glacier representation1

C

A

A

A

B, not all moraines shown

A

B, not all moraines shown

A

C

C

B

B

B

B

B

A

A

The names in this section conform to the usage authorized by the Secretariat of the Canadian Permanent Committee on Geographic Names ^CPCGN); URL address: [http://GeoNames.NRCan.gc.oa/]. The 

website is maintained by the Secretariat through Geomatics Canada, Natural Resources Canada, and combines the CPCGN server with the Canadian Geographical Names Data Base (CGNDB). Variant names and 

names not listed in the CPCGN/CGNDB are shown in italics.

J88 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
TABLE 3. Water Survey of Canada Glacier Map Series Continued

[DEMR, Department of Energy, Mines and Resources; DFE, Department of Fisheries and the Environment; DNANR, Department of Northern Affairs and National Resources; DOE, Department of the 

Environment; IWB, Inland Waters Branch; IWD, Inland Waters Directorate; UNB, University of New Brunswick; USGS, United States Geological Survey; WRB, Water Resources Branch]

Glacier map name

Kokanee Glacier..................

Kokanee Glacier..................

Kokanee Glacier..................

Kokanee Glacier..................

Kokanee Glacier 3 ................

Nadahini Glacier ...............

Nadahini Glacier ...............

Nadahini Glacier ...............

Nadahini Glacier ...............

Nadahini Glacier ...............

Nadahin i Glacier ...............

Nadahini Glacier ...............

Saskatchewan Glacier 4 ......

Saskatchewan Glacier ........

Saskatchewan Glacier ........

Saskatchewan Glacier ........

Saskatchewan Glacier ........

Saskatchewan Glacier ........

Saskatchewan Glacier ........

Saskatchewan Glacier ........

Sentinel Glacier...................

Sentinel Glacier...................

Sentinel Glacier...................

Sentinel Glacier...................

Sentinel Glacier...................

Sentinel Glacier3 .................

Sphinx Glacier.....................

Sphinx Glacier .....................

Sphinx Glacier.....................

Sphinx Glacier.....................

Sphinx Glacier.....................

Sphinx Glacier.....................

Sphinx Glacier.....................

Number

1-4

2-4

3A-4

3B-4

4-4

5-4

8-4

1-3

2-3

3A-3

3B-3

4-3

5-3

6-3

7-3

8-3

1-7

2-7

3-7

4-7

5-7

6-7

7-7

8-7

1-1

2-1

3A-1

3B-1

4-1

5-1

8-1

1-2

2-2

3A-2

3B-2

4-2

5-2

7-2

8-2

Scale

1:2,500

1:2,500

1:2,500

1:2,500

1:2,500

1:2,500

1:2,500

1:2,500

1:5,000

1:5,000

1:5,000

1:5,000

1:5,000

1:5,000

1:5,000

1:5,000

1:24,000

1:20,000

1:10,000

1:10,000

1:10,000

1:10,000

1:10,000

1:10,000

1:10,000

1:10,000

1:2,500

1:2,500

1:2,500

1:2,500

1:2,500

1:2,500

1:2,500

1:5,000

1:5,000

1:5,000

1:5,000

1:5,000

1:5,000

1:5,000

1:5,000

Contours

20ft

20ft

20/50 ft

20ft

20ft

20 and 50 ft

50ft

10ft

20ft

20ft

10/50 ft

10/50 m

10/50 m

20ft

20ft

20ft

5m

50ft

25ft

25ft

10m

10m

10m

10m

10m

Survey date(s)

17 An? 1Qfi4

7 and 8 Aug 1966

5 and 6 Aug 1968

5 and 6 Aug 1968

23 and 26 Aug 1970

24 and 25 Aug 1972

17 Aug 1978

26 Jul 1964

16 Aug 1966

16 Aug 1968

16 Aug 1968

3 Sep 1970

12 Aug 1972

16 and 17 Aug 1974

12 Aug 1976

10 Aug 1978

1954 and 1963

29 Jul 1963

27 Jul 1965

26 Jul 1967

30 Jul 1969

9 and 10 Aug 1971

1, 9, 10 Aug 1973

28 Aug 1975

14 Aug 1977

9 and 10 Aug 1979

3 Sep 1964

21 Aug 1966

24 Aug 1968

24 Aug 1968

11 and 12 Sep 1970

20 Aug 1972

15 Aug 1978

3 Sep 1964

22 Aug 1966

26 Aug 1968

26 Aug 1968

9 and 10 Sep 1970

18 and 19 Aug 1972

17 Aug 1976

13 Aug 1978

Production agency

WRB, DNANR

IWB, DEMR

IWB, DEMR

IWB, DEMR

IWD, DOE

IWD, DOE

IWD, DOE

WRB, DNANR

IWB, DEMR

IWB, DEMR

IWB, DEMR

IWD, DOE

IWD, DOE

IWD, DOE

IWD, DOE

IWD, DOE

USGS, UNB, IWB

IWB, DEMR, UNB

IWB, DEMR

IWB, DEMR

IWB, DEMR

IWD, DOE

IWD, DOE

IWD, DFE

IWD, DFE

IWD, DFE

WRB, DNANR

IWB, DEMR

IWB, DEMR

IWB, DEMR

IWD, DOE

IWD, DOE

IWD, DOE

WRB, DNANR

IWB, DEMR

IWB, DEMR

IWB, DEMR

IWD, DOE

IWD, DOE

IWD, DFE

IWD, DOE

Glacier representation1

C

C

B

A

A

A

A

C

C

A

A

A

A

A

A

A

C

A

A

B

B

B

B

B

C

C

A

A

A

A

A

C

C

A

A

A

A

A

A

1 A, Glaciers shown in a screened solid blue, off-ice areas in a solid buff color, contours on land and ice are gray with form lines used in the accumulation areas 

where adequate control is lacking. Seasonal snow cover and accumulation areas are shown in a blue stipple; old snout positions shown with a dotted line and the 

respective date. Symbols are used for measurement stakes and ablation mounds. B, Same as A but includes moraines depicted using a black stipple. C, Glaciers shown 

in a screened solid blue, off-ice areas are uncolored, contours on land are brown and on ice are blue with form lines used in the accumulation areas where adequate 

control is lacking. Seasonal snow cover and accumulation areas are shown in a blue stipple. Symbols are used for measurement stakes and ablation mounds. D, 

Glacie rs shown in a screened solid blue, off-ice areas in a solid buff color, contours on land and ice are brown with form hues used in the accumulation areas where 

adequate control is lacking. Seasonal snow cover and accumulation areas are shown in a blue stipple, old snout positions shown with a dotted hue and the respective 

date. Symbols are used for measurement stakes and ablation mounds. From 1976, the glacier maps were published in a bilingual format.

 Map included in supplement to 1970-1975 Permanent Service on the Fluctuation of Glaciers (PSFG) report (Miiller, 1977).

'^ No maps made for 1974 and 1976 because of snow cover. 

Map included in supplement to Proceedings of Glacier Mapping Symposium (Gunning, 1966).

f> No map made for 1974 because of snow cover.

GLACIERS OF CANADA J89
Salmon Glacier

The PRS-NRCC has probably had a greater impact on glacier mapping in 

Canada than any other agency. Initially involved with the University of Toronto International Geophysical Year (IGY) Expedition, they developed and 

applied aerial photogrammetric techniques appropriate for mapping the 

lower part of Salmon Glacier (1:25,000/20 m),5 British Columbia, and its 

terminus (1:12,500/20 m). 5 The color maps (five discrete colors) were published in conjunction with a detailed report on the survey by Haumann 

(1960). The photogrammetric base was used for assessing volumetric 

changes between 1949 and 1957. Details of these and subsequent maps discussed in the following paragraphs are shown in table 4.

TABLE 4. Miscellaneous glacier maps of Canada

[Abbreviations: AINA, Arctic Institute of North America; ASE, Army Survey Establishment; BCIT, British Columbia Institute of Technology; DEMR , Department of Energy, Mines and Resources; 

DMTS, Department of Mines and Technical Surveys; DOE, Department of the Environment; DRB, Defence Research Board, Department of National Defence, Ottawa; EC, Environment Canada; ETHZiirich, Eidgenossische Technische Hochschule, Zurich, Switzerland; FEC, Fisheries and Environment Canada; FGER, Foundation for Glacier and Environmental Research, Glaciological and Arctic 

Sciences Institute, Juneau, Alaska; Gestalt, Gestalt International Limited, Vancouver, B.C.; GD, Glaciology Division; IPTUK, Institut fur Photogrammetrie und Topographic der Universitat Karlsruhe, 

Germany; IWB, Inland Waters Branch; IWD, Inland Waters Directorate; McGill, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec; NGS, National Geographic Society, Washington D.C., U.S.A.; NHRI, National 

Hydrology Research Institute; NRCC, Photogrammetric Section, Division of Physics, National Research Council of Canada; NVE, Norges Vassdrags-og Energiverk, Oslo, Norway; Parks, Parks Canada; 

8MB, Surveys and Mapping Branch, Department of Energy, Mines and Resources; TUB, Technical University of Hannover, German; UNB, University of New Brunswick; U of T, University of Toronto; 

AP, aerial photogrammetry; BR bedrock portrayal; BW, black and white; MC, multi-colored; RS, relief shading; TP, terrestrial photogrammetry; mor., moraine; cont., contours; glac., glacier; struct, 

structural; crev, crevasses; unpub., unpublished; spot elev., spot elevations]

Glacier map name Number Scale Contours Survey date(s) Production agency Glacier representation

Athabasca Glacier...........................

Baby Glacier....................................

Berendon Glacier............................ IWB 1009

Glacier at Cathedral Peak..............

Cathedral Massif Glacier and 

forefield .........................................

Cathedral Massif, Atlin Provincial 

Park................................................

Centennial Range............................ M.C.R. 7

Columbia Icefield............................ IWD 1011

Crusoe Glacier Tongue1 ..................

Decade Glacier................................

d'lberville Glacier............................

Fox Glacier...................................... 115F/01

Part of Grinnell Glacier..................

Hare Fiord Glacier..........................

Lowell Glacier..................................

Meighen Ice Cap1 ............................ 69H/560B

Meighen Island N 1/21 ..................... 69G-H/560B

Meighen Island S 1/21 ...................... 69 G-H

Mount Logan....................................

Mount Logan....................................

Mount Logan....................................

The Massif of Mount Hubbard, 

Mount Alverstone, and Mount 

Kennedy.........................................

1:5,000 5m 2 Aug 1960

1:10,000 10/20 m 22 Aug 1968

1:5,000 5m 13 Aug 1975

1:5,000 10 m

1:20,000 100 ft

1:125,000 500ft

1:50,000

1:5,000

1:10,000

1:50,000

1:10,000

1:20,000

1:20,000

1:50,000 

1:25,000 

1:50,000 

1:50,000 

1:10,000 

1:10,000 

1:10,000

20m

5m

10m

none

10m

10/20 m

20m

20m

5 in

10m

10m

20m

20m

20m

13 Aug 1975

from 1:250,000 

maps

2 Aug 1960

1958 and 1978

17 Aug 1974 

5 Aug 1960 

5 Aug 1959 

5 Aug 1959 

11 Aug 1972

1992

1993

1:31,680 100 ft 1965

McGill, NRCC, ASE 

IWB, DMTS 

FGER (1976), TUH

Mauelshagen and Slupetzky (1985)

Cialek (1977) 

DEMR

NHRI, Parks, DOE 

NRCC, McGill, DMTS 

IWB, DMTS 

GD,EC 

ASE, DMTS 

NVE (1991)

Rommer and Hell

(1986)

IWD, DOE

DMTS

DMTS

DMTS

IWD, FEC

NHRI

AINA

NGS© (1968), UNB, 

8MB

Orthophoto map 

2-color, AP, mor. stipple 

4-color, AP, blue/brown cont.

3-color, TP, RS, mor. stipple

MC, AP, blue/brown cont.

4-color, AP, RS

MC, RS, BP, AP + text

2-color, RS, blue glac., AP

BW, AP, unpublished ozalid

BW

AP, unpublished ozalid

3-color, green glac., AP

2-color, MC, blue glac., AP

3-color, RS on glac., AP 

MC, AP, subglacier contours 

MC, AP, subglacier contours 

MC, AP, subglacier contours 

2-color, AP, RS, BP 

BW, line map 

2-color relief

2-color (blue and gray), AP, 

RS, BP

' Scale of map and contour interval on the glacier.

J90 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
TABLE 4. Miscellaneous glacier maps of Canada Continued

Glacier map name

Oobloyah Bay, Ellesmere Island...

Otto Fiord Glacier 1959 ! - 2 ............

Otto Fiord Glacier 19641 ' 2 ....... ......

Per Ardua Glacier '..........................

Per Ardua Glacier toe 1 ...................

Peyto Glacier Basin3 .......................

Peyto Glacier...................................

Peyto Glacier3 .................................

Peyto Glacier 4 .................................

Place Glacier ...................................

Ram River Glacier...........................

Rusty Glacier...................................

Salmon Glacier.. ..............................

Salmon Glacier terminus ...............

Sentinel Glacier...............................

Steele Glacier ..................................

Steele Glacier ..................................

Steele Glacier ..................................

Thompson Glacier Region.............

Thompson Glacier Snout...............

Thompson Glacier Snout ...............

Thompson Glacier Snout ...............

Thompson Glacier ..........................

Trapridge Glacier.. .................... ......

Tweedsmuir Glacier........................

Tweedsmuir Glacier........................

Wedgemount Glacier......................

White Glacier3 .................................

White Glacier...................................

White Glacier 1 .................................

Woolsey Glacier ..............................

Number Scale

1:25,000

1:50,000

1:50,000

1:20,000

1:5,000

1:10,000

IWU 1008 1:10,000

IWD 1010 1:10,000

1:10,000

92J/07E 1:10,000

82N/16E 1:10,000

1:10,000

1:25,000

1:12,500

92G/15W 1:10,000

1:25,000

1:25,000

1:50,000

1:50,000

1:5,000

1:5,000

1:5,000

1:5,000

1:10,000

1:50,000

1:50,000

1:5,000

1:2,500

1:5,000

1:10,000

82M/01E 1:10,000

Contours

25m

10m

10m

10m

5 m

none

10m

10m

10m

10m

10m

10m

20m

20m

10m

20m

20m

50m

25m

5 m

10m

5 m

10m

10m

20m

20m

10m

spot elev.

5 m

10m

10m

Survey date(s)

1959 and 1960

17 Aug 1959

16 Aug 1964

17 Aug 1964

Jul 1964

20 Aug 1966

20 and 22 Aug

1966

20 and 22 Aug

1966

1984

7 Sep 1965

20 Aug 1966

Aug 1957

Aug 1957

7 Sep 1964

Jul 1951

Aug 1967

Jul 1951

28 Jul, 13 Aug

1959

2 Aug 1960

Aug 1977

1951

31 Aug 1974

1P73

17 and 26 Jun

1969

2 Aug 1960

2 Aug 1960

20 Aug 1966

Production agency

IPTUK

DRB, UNB

DRB, UNB

DRB. UNB

DRB, UNB

NHRI, DOE, Gestalt

IWB, DEMR

NHRI, DOE, DEMR

NHRI

IWB, DMTS

IWB, DMTS

ASE

U of T, NRCC, ASE

UofT, NRCC, ASE

IWB, DMTS

IWB, DMTS

IWB, DMTS

IWB, DMTS

McGill, NRCC, ASE

McGill, NRCC

McGill, NRCC

McGill, NRCC

ETH-Zurich

Nadir Mapping Corp.

IWB, DOE

IWB, DOE

Karl Ricker, BCIT

McGill

McGill, NRCC

NRCC, McGill, DMTS

IWB, DMTS

Glacier representation

Orthophoto map

BW,AP

BW,AP

BW,AP

BW.TP

Stereo-orthophoto map, AP

MC, AP, BP, RS, 1st ed.

MC, AP, RS, BP, 2nd ed.

BW, line map

3-color, AP, crevasses shown

4-color, AP, RS, struct.

shading

MC, AP, mor. stipple, crev.

MC, AP, mor, stipple, crev.

4-color, AP, crevasses shown

BW, AP, unpub. ozalid,

2 sheets

BW, AP, unpub. ozalid.

2 sheets

BW, AP, unpub. ozalid,

1 sheet

MC, AP, RS, BP

2-color, AP, mor. stipple,

crev.

Orthophoto map

Orthophoto map

Orthophoto map

3-color, TP

TP, unpublished ozalid

AP, BW, fluctuations shown

BW, TP, comparison plotting

MC, AP, RS, mor. stipple

crev.

3-color, RS, blue glac., AP

MC, RS, AP

1 Included in map supplement to Proceedings of Glacier Mapping Symposium (Gunning, 1966).

2 Renamed Otto Glacier.

3 Included in map supplement to the Permanent Service on the Fluctuation of Glaciers (PSFG) report 1970-1975 (Muller, 1977).

4 Holdsworth and others (in press).

J91
ALL ELEVATIONS IN METRES ABOVE DATUM 

CONTOUR INTERVAL 25 METRES

'

 f ft^oS

& e , Ground Control Signal, cairn, plate. 

1081.7 Spot elevation 

I" .- I Crevasses and ice cliffs

1 7^) -. I Water features on glacier, lake, river, moulin 

U'Qvl Icebergs

I ___ I Coarse morainic material 

I I Fine debris and dust on glacier 

I I Gravel and scree

Glaciers and perennial snow in light blue

Vegetated areas and soil in brown

Unvegetated areas: scree, till, barren etc. in grey

Mud and periodically submerged terrain in blue-grey.

J92 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Figure 2. (opposite page) Part of Thompson Glacier Region map, Axel Heiberg 

Island, Nunavut; scale 1:50,000; contour 

interval 25 m. The map was the first glacier map in Canada to use eight colors, 

portray bedrock outcrops, and use relief 

shading.

Figure 3. The compound termini of the 

White Glacier, Axel Heiberg Island, 

Nunavut, High Arctic, Canada, in August 

1964. The confluence of the two glaciers 

is marked by the medial moraine. View 

looking north-northeast across the outwash plain and source of the Expedition 

River. A low terminal moraine in front of 

White Glacier is visible in the center of 

the photograph. Photograph by C. 

Simon L. Ommanney, National Hydrology Research Institute. Maps of the area 

are shown in figures 1 and 2. A summary 

of historical information for White Glacier 

(153) and Thompson Glacier (152) is 

given in table 2 in the subchapter History 

of Glacier Investigations in Canada, by C. 

Simon L. Ommanney, this volume] [NTS 

map: 059H06].

Glacier Maps of the High Arctic

After PRS-NRCC concluded the Salmon Glacier project, it became 

involved with the Jacobsen-McGill University Arctic Research Expedition 

to Axel Heiberg Island, Nunavut. This collaboration led to a remarkable set 

of maps, compiled using aerial photogrammetric methods; most of the 

maps were included in the report by Miiller and others (1963). The Thompson Glacier Region map (1:50,000/25 m) 5 (fig. 2) was the first of its kind in 

Canada to combine eight colors, bedrock portrayal, and shading to create a 

strong visual impression of the landscape (McKortel, 1963). Large-scale 

glacier maps were made of Crusoe Glacier tongue, Baby Glacier, and the 

Thompson Glacier terminus (1:5,000/5 m) 5 (fig. 3). All of White Glacier, the 

focus of the expedition's glaciological work, was mapped and printed in two 

colors (1:10,000/10 m),5 and its terminus only (1:5,000/5 m)J in six colors 

(Haumann, 1963; McKortel, 1963). The maps were used as a base for much 

of the scientific work of the expedition (Blachut, 1963a, b; Blachut and 

Miiller, 1966). An overview was provided by a smaller scale map of the 

expedition area (1:100,000/100 m).5 In a subsequent experiment in the use 

of terrestrial photogrammetry for mass-balance determination, Arnold 

(1977, 1981) mapped the lowest 2 km of the White Glacier (1:2,500/5 m).5

To the west, the Surveys and Mapping Branch, Department of Energy, 

Mines and Resources, and the Polar Continental Shelf Project mapped 

Meighen Island (1:50,000/10 m) 5 and its ice cap (1:25,000/5 m),5 using 

aerial photography taken 1 year apart (see fig. 9B in Glaciers of the High 

Arctic Islands in this volume), and compared the changes. An aspect not 

seen on any other Canadian glacier maps is that both the surficial and subglacial topography are contoured. The maps are multicolored and have 

been described by Arnold (1966).

On Ellesmere Island, the surging Otto Glacier was mapped twice by the 

Defence Research Board (1:50,000/10 m) 5 and the results reported by 

Konecny (1966). The terminus of d'lberville Glacier was mapped (1:50,000 

scale), but not contoured, in a project aimed at measuring displacement 

values of a tidewater glacier (G. Holdsworth, 1977; unpub. data). The 

changes in the ice shelves along the northern coast, surveyed and mapped 

by Jeffries and Serson (1986), did not result in a published topographic 

map (see subchapter on Ellesmere Island Ice Shelves and Ice Islands in this 

volume). In Hare Fiord, part of the ice tongue position in 1958 has been 

plotted against the 1978 position (Rommer and Hell, 1986).

GLACIERS OF CANADA -193
66° 40" W UTM 620 km E

Part of GRINNELL GLACIER 

Baffin Island, N.W.T.

Contour interval 10 m on glacier 

20 m elsewhere

Coordinate system: UTM, Zone 19V 

Plotted by Marianne Lindstrom from 

air photos A-16769. 147-149 taken 

on 2 Sept. 1959 from 30 000' elev. 

Drafted by Ase-Wenche Lunde.

NORWEGIAN WATER RESOURCES AND 

ENERGY ADMINISTRATION 1991 

0

In southern Baffin Island collaboration between Gunnar 0strem and the 

college in Iqaluit led to the mapping and publication of part of the Grinnell 

Glacier by Norges Vassdrags- og Energiverk (NVE) (1991) (fig. 4).

IHD Glacier Maps

Canadian participation in the International Hydrological Decade (IHD) 

included mass- balance investigations on several glaciers in western Canada 

and the north for which metric maps at a scale of 1:10,000 with 10-m contours were required. Those of the Berendon, Place, and Sentinel Glaciers 

were printed in four process colors; in addition, the maps of Ram River and 

Woolsey Glaciers, both in National Parks, were embellished with shaded 

relief. The Peyto Glacier map is discussed later. The map of Decade Glacier, 

Baffin Island (1:10,000/10 m)5 was not printed. Two maps were made of Per

Figure 4. A, Map of part of the Grinnell 

Glacier, Baffin Island, Nunavut; reduced 

from original scale of 1:20,000; contour 

intervals 10 and 20 m. Published by 

Norges Vassdrags- og Energiverk (NVE) in 

1991. The map is printed in three colors 

(black, blue, green), with the glacier and 

associated glaciological features (crevasses) shown in green. NVE pioneered 

the use of green to depict glaciers, instead 

of the conventional blue, reserving blue 

for hydrological features. B, see opposite 

page.

J94 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
CANADA

INLAND WATERS BRANCH

I 1 -"i,/0- -T""' , » ' -~

i I / » '.. »/ j£

«-1 V " *U,, "<- -.:

META INCOGNITA PENINSULA

GLACIER INVENTORY 

AREA 46205

Figure 4B Glacier Inventory Map (Area 

46205) of the Meta Incognita Peninsula, 

showing the location of the Grinnell Glacier. Plate Number 5-24, Map No. 

IWB 1124, of the Glacier Atlas of Canada, 

1969 (reduced from original scale).

Ardua Glacier, Ellesmere Island, by Konecny (1966): the entire glacier 

(1:20,000/10 m) 5 and its tongue (1:5,000/5 m).5 Maps of the Barnes Ice Cap 

were prepared by the Surveys and Mapping Branch as l:50,000-scale NTS 

maps. Some were Arctic Provisional Maps with black contours, blue 

hydrography, and 25-ft contours; others were standard NTS maps with the 

ice shown in a blue vignette and dashed- brown 50-ft contours.

The original intent was to remap all IHD glaciers after the 10-year program was concluded to compare the accumulated mass balance with photogramme trically determined volumetric change. This was not done, nor are 

there any plans to do so now. However, all glaciers in an east-west transect 

from Ram River Glacier to Sentinel Glacier were photographed almost 

simultaneously (22 to 24 August 1966). Some of the detailed glacier maps 

mentioned above and in tables 3 and 4 were compiled from this aerial photography. One of the objectives of the aerial photography was to map simultaneously the elevation of the transient snowline along the east-west 

transect (0strem, 1973).

Miscellaneous Maps of Western Canada

Many individual glaciological projects require accurate maps for plotting 

results and determining changes in the glaciers. This was recognized quite 

early when the American Geographical Society (AGS) (1960) embarked on a

GLACIERS OF CANADA J95
project to map nine glaciers in North America, one of which was the Little 

Jarvis Glacier in the St. Elias Mountains, in a project that has been described 

in Brandenberger and Bull (1966). The AGS also sponsored termini mapping 

in Alaska by Bill Field that included the Grand Pacific Glacier, a Canadian glacier at the head of Glacier Bay (Field, 1966). Subsequent work in this region 

has resulted in a more general map of this glacierized area (Molenaar, 1990).

Steele Glacier, which surged during the Yukon Centennial Expedition of 

1967, was mapped from 1951 aerial photography (1:50,000/25 m; 1:25,0007 

20 m) 0 and 1967 photography so that its velocity vectors could be plotted 

(Stanley, 1969). A four-color map of the Centennial Range (MCR-7, 

1:125,000/500 ft),5 that followed this expedition, had details of glaciological 

features normally omitted from NTS maps. Other surging glaciers in the 

Yukon and northern British Columbia have attracted considerable attention. 

The Army Survey Establishment compiled a map of Rusty Glacier (1:10,000/ 

10 m).° In 1983, Nadir Mapping Corporation prepared a map of Trapridge Glacier (1:10,000/10 m)5 for Carry K.C. Clarke, University of British Columbia.

Two maps of Tweedsmuir Glacier (1:50,000/20 m),5 before- and aftersurge, were produced under the direction of Gerald Holdsworth from 1951 

aerial and 1974 terrestrial photography; the former was published in three 

colors. Finally, a three-color map of Lowell Glacier (1:50,000/20 m)° with 

moraine shading was prepared from 1974 photography in anticipation of a 

surge (see fig. 11 in Quantitative Measurements of Tweedsmuir Glacier and 

Lowell Glacier Imagery in the section about Glaciers of the St. Elias Mountains in this volume).

The Foundation for Glacier and Environmental Research (FGER), in collaboration with the Technical University of Hannover, Germany, has included 

mapping with its other studies of Cathedral Glacier near Atlin (1:5,000/5 m)0 

(Cialek, 1977; FGER, 1976; Mauelshagen, 1984; Mauelshagen and Slupetzky, 

1985; Slupetzky and others, 1988).

A map of the northwest col of Mount Logan with hachured bedrock and 

relief shading (1:10,000/20 m) 5 was compiled in 1976 (Holdsworth and others, 1976) in connection with an ice core deep-drilling project there by Gerald Holdsworth of the Glaciology Division. It was subsequently modified in 

1992 to include an area targeted for drilling in 2001 (Holdsworth and others, 

1992). Two maps of the Mount Logan massif (1:75,000/40 m and 1:100,0007 

40 m) 0 were produced by Holdsworth and Sawyer (1993).

A joint project between the British Columbia Institute of Technology and 

Karl Ricker (1977) resulted in a map of Wedgemount Glacier (1:5,000/10 m).5

One of the finest North American examples of the cartographer's art is 

The Massif of Mount Hubbard, Mount Alverstone, and Mount Kennedy map 

(1:31,680/100 ft),0 produced by the National Geographic Society with field 

surveys by the University of New Brunswick (Washburn and others, 1965; 

Washburn, 1971a, b). The two-color map with hachured bedrock and relief 

shading is a visual delight (fig. 5).

Peyto Glacier and Columbia Icefield

In 1970, a map of Peyto Glacier, Alberta, was published in nine colors 

using the French technique of bedrock portrayal (Sedgwick and Henoch, 

1970) (1:10,000/10 m).5 Subsequently, it was decided to experiment with 

the enhancement of this map to create a three-dimensional visual effect 

using the Swiss technique of hachured bedrock portrayal and shaded relief 

(Henoch and Croizet, 1976). The resultant map, published in 1975 at the 

same scale as the original edition, was printed in eight colors and accompanied by an explanatory booklet with the ensemble designed to cater to the 

scientist, teacher, and the general public.

J96 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
V.}K MOUNT KENNEDY

 JJi^^S, i- .-y^ I

r /MbUNT HUBBARD

j^'fJS&wt'W*.

*

 ;: ^f-c* , ''.i

139°oo' 138' 55

Figures. Part of the Massif of Mount Hubbard, Mount Alver- Washburn, Honorary Director, Boston Museum of Science, 

stone, and Mount Kennedy map, Yukon Territory, showing the Published and copyrighted by the National Geographic Sodhighly glacierized terrain, including the source of the Hub- ety (NGS), Washington, D.C., in 1968. Used with permission 

bard and Lowell Glaciers. Map project directed by Bradford of Bradford Washburn and NGS. Reduced from original scale.

GLACIERS OF CANADA J97
Following the success of the Peyto Glacier map, it was decided to experiment with a larger glaciological unit and a smaller scale, though continuing 

to apply the same cartographic techniques. The Columbia Icefield was 

selected as a joint project with Parks Canada in 1976. In 1981, a ten-color 

map with hachured bedrock portrayal, shaded relief, and interpretive information on the reverse side was published (1:50,000/20 m).5

Orthophoto Maps

Blachut and Miiller concluded in 1965 that the orthophoto map would 

probably find extensive use in glaciological work (Blachut and Miiller, 

1966). Canadian experience has shown a trend toward this, although few of 

the resultant maps have been published or distributed widely. Once again 

PRS-NRCC has been a pioneer, producing stereo-orthophoto maps of Axel 

Heiberg Island glaciers in collaboration with Environment Canada and the 

Technical Universities of Vienna and Zurich: White Glacier (1:10,000/20 

m),5 Thompson Glacier and White Glacier termini (Institute of Cartography, 1998) (1:5,000/10 m) 5 (fig. 6), Crusoe Glacier terminus and Baby Glacier (1:5,000/10 m). 5 To the east, a map of Oobloyah Bay (1:25,000/25 m) 5 

was prepared as a base map for the Heidelberg-Ellesmere Island Expedition 

1978 (Hell, 1981).

In western Canada, the British Columbia Institute of Technology compiled a map of Wedgemount Glacier (1:10,000/20 m). 5 A stereo-orthophoto 

map of Peyto Glacier (1:10,000 scale) was prepared as part of a pilot study 

for the Forest Management Institute, Environment Canada, by Gestalt 

International, Ltd. Contours were not plotted on the map, but the elevation 

data were analyzed from the digital terrain model, which was a byproduct 

of the stereophotogrammetric-compilation process (Young and Arnold, 

1978). The Gestalt system was further tested in the construction of three 

maps of the Columbia Icefield (1:25,000 scale) by the Surveys and Mapping 

Branch for the Glaciology Division using 1977 photography (Athabasca Glacier, Saskatchewan Glacier, Athabasca and Saskatchewan Glaciers). A 

larger scale map of Athabasca Glacier (1:5,000 scale), based on 1980 photography, was produced for the latter agency by Orthoshop of Calgary as 

part of a study of photogrammetric applications to mass-balance measurements.

Satellite Mapping

While the immediate future technology for glacier mapping in 1965 was 

the orthophoto map derived from aerial photographs, the current and 

future technology is based on satellite images and other remote-sensing 

devices (for example, satellite laser altimetry). Significant improvements in 

resolution (1-m pixel resolution of Ikonos) combined with stereo and allweather capabilities [Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR)] make this technology increasingly viable. The Surveys and Mapping Branch used Landsat 

images to revise their l:250,000-scale NTS maps. Experiments have been 

carried out on the viability of using existing images to update glaciological 

information (Howarth and Ommanney, 1983), and some attempts were 

made to map with this technology (Sidjak and Wheate, 1999). The full 

range of potential applications has been documented in this volume and 

other volumes in the U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1386, Satellite Image Atlas of Glaciers of the World.

J98 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Thompson Glacier

Axel Heiberg Island, N.W.T., Canada

1: 5000

Orthophotomap with contours 

at 10 m interval

Research Project on Canadian Arctic Glaciers 1977

directed by Prof. Dr. Fritz Muller, Institute of Geography.

Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich

General Situation Map 

Canadian Arctic

Legend

Glaciers and perennial snow

ff" J' .. jfr?-'j 'if Gletscher und perennierender Schnee

Moraine cover on glacier 

Schuttbedeckung des Gletschers

Outwash plain with scree, boulders 

Schwemmebene mit Geroll, Felsblocke

Streams 

Bachsystem

Push moraine 

Stauchmorane

Aerial photography by RCAF of August 1977, image scale 1 :20'OOQ

AerotrianguiaMon and contour plotting by the Photograrnrnetric Research 

Section of the NCR of Canada

Orthophoto production by the Institute of Photogrornrnetry of the Technical 

University of Vienna; Director: Prof. Dr.-lng. Kari Krous

Cartographic and reproduction techniques by the Institute of Cartography. 

Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich: Prof. Dr. h. c. Ernst Spiess 

(direction), Franz Furrer (photolitho techniques), Rosio Baca, Lara 

Zirnmermann and Valeric Duttli (cartographic project 1994/95)

Figure 6. Orthophoto map of the Thompson Glacier termini, 

Axel Heiberg Island, Nunavut; reduced from the original scale 

of 1:5,000; contour interval 10 m. Map based on 1977 aerial

photography by the Royal Canadian Air Force. Compiled in 

1994/95 by the Institute of Cartography, Swiss Federal Institute ofTechnology, Zurich (Institute of Cartography, 1998).

GLACIERS OF CANADA J99
Mapping Glaciers in the Interior Ranges and 

Rocky Mountains with Landsat Data

By Roger D. Wheate, Robert W. Sidjak, and Garnet T. Whyte 

Abstract

The areal extent and glacier facies of glaciers in Canada can be mapped effectively and 

monitored using satellite imagery especially where accessibility, size of ice mass, and large 

number of glaciers are limitations to conventional surveying methods. Glacier delineation, 

glacier facies, and surface details are enhanced by the use of specialized digital-imaging and 

analytical techniques, notably principal components analysis, the TM 4/5 ratio, and a normalized difference snow index (NDSI). The two examples illustrated here depict the glacier 

facies of the Illecillewaet Glacier, Columbia Mountains, Interior Ranges, British Columbia, 

and the retreat of the Monkman Glacier/Parsnip Glacier, Peace River, British Columbia, over 

a period of approximately 10 years. Retreat of glaciers in western Canada is clearly detectable using Landsat imagery with its good spatial resolution and decades of data acquisition, 

beginning with the launch of ERTS-1 (Landsat-1) on 23 July 1972. Three-dimensional perspectives can be produced by combining satellite images and digital elevation models.

Introduction

Glacier retreat represents a substantial change that is occurring in the 

Coast Mountains, Interior Ranges, and Rocky Mountains in western Canada. Topographic maps are revised at irregular intervals, but changes in 

areal extent of many Canadian glaciers and glacier facies may be significant 

on an annual basis. Glaciers in these mountains appear on 1:50,000- and 

l:250,000-scale National Topographic System (NTS) and other map sheets. 

However, many of these sheets are based on glacier extent in the 1970's and 

1980's and, thus, are generally outdated. Despite considerable cloud cover, 

it is usually possible to obtain cloud-free satellite images of western Canada 

during most years.

British Columbia Provincial Mapping

Glacier margins in digital format at the 1:250,000 scale for the Province of 

British Columbia (BC) were created in 1996 and are available to the public. 

The entire province has also been mapped at a scale of 1:20,000, using stereo 

aerial photogrammetric methods, as part of the Terrain Resource Inventory 

Management (TRIM) Program, which was completed between 1985 and 1996. 

Digital thematic datasets (layers) include glacier margins, but the accuracy of 

the glacier outlines may not always be reliable because of (1) masking by 

residual snowpack and (2) lack of experience in glacier mapping by cartographers whose primary experience is in forest-cover mapping. These two 

sources of error produced maps of glaciers that were initially incorrect and 

only become more so because of subsequent glacier changes in the more than 

15 years since the mapping program began.

A second generation of mapping designed to update the changes since 

1985, known as TRIM II, was begun in 1998 and is still in progress. Within 

the TRIM II program, orthophotographs have been produced for each 

l:20,000-scale digital map quadrangle, each of which covers 12 min. longitude by 6 min. latitude (approximately 13 km x 11 km); there are 100 

l:20,000-scale quadrangles in each l:250,000-scale NTS sheet. However, 

an initial evaluation of some of these new data indicate that the use of 

early-summer aerial photography precludes the precise determination of 

glacier margins (concealment by snowpack). Hence, glacier-extent maps 

and precise location of ice-front positions for western Canada do not exist 

unless the glaciers were the subjects of special studies, such as Luckman

J100 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
and others (1987) (see also tables 1 and 4), which may now also be as 

dated as the first TRIM data.

The TRIM programs included the production of a digital elevation model 

(DEM), which contains sampled points from digital aerial stereophotogrammetry at approximately 50-70 m intervals along north-south transects, 

producing a 20-m contour interval. In many cases, the frequency of points 

decreases on glaciers because of the inability to determine elevation location under conditions of no contrast (for example, on a snow-covered glacier). Therefore, elevational inaccuracies are common in the accumulation 

areas of glaciers. Uncertainty in the accuracy of the DEM also complicates 

the calculation of the position of the equilibrium line altitude (ELA). Lodwick and Paine (1985) experimented with deriving elevation data directly 

from Landsat MSS data for the Barnes Ice Cap by applying principal components analysis (PCA) and utilizing the information contained in the lower 

components. However, their encouraging results have not been pursued 

with the higher resolution and spectral range of either Landsat Thematic 

Mapper (TM) or Enhanced Thematic Mapper (ETM+) data.

Satellite Image Data

Satellite imagery offers the dual advantages of repetitive coverage and 

multispectral remote sensing for updating glacier maps. The first increases 

the likelihood of obtaining cloud-free and snow-free scenes in mountainous 

areas at the latitude of western Canada and proximity to the coast, a region 

which typically experiences both frequent cloud cover and remnant snowpack most of the year. Ideally, satellite images are best obtained at the endof-the-melt season, in late August to early September, to minimize snow 

cover, while avoiding shadows cast by the lower Sun angles in the autumn. 

Landsat TM data have so far offered the best combination of spatial resolution and spectral selection compared to other available sensors, such as the 

Systeme Probitoire d'Observation de la Terre (SPOT) and the Indian 

Remote Sensing (IRS) satellites, especially the inclusion of mid-infrared 

(IR) wavelength bands. The potential role of these bands [TM bands 5 

(1.55jim-1.75jim) and 7 (2.08nm-2.35p.m)] is based on the lower reflectance of snow and ice, in comparison to the higher reflectance and often 

complete saturation in the visible wavelengths. Landsat data have been 

shown to be effective in the mapping of the areal extent of glacier fades, 

including ice, wet snow, and snow (Williams, 1987; Williams and others, 

1991). The 30-m picture-element (pixel) resolution has proven to be adequate here for monitoring glaciers with an area of 10 km2 and greater, and 

for changes over periods of 4-5 years, as was also determined by Bayr and 

others (1994) in the Austrian Alps and for longer time periods in Iceland 

(Williams, 1986; Hall and others, 1992; Williams and others, 1997).

Digital-Image Processing for Glacier Mapping

Challenges facing the automated mapping of glacier areas include discrimination of the glacier facies, identification of debris-covered ice, topographically and cloud-shadowed areas, and water bodies marginal to the 

glaciers. Although glacier margins can be readily discerned visually using 

an optimum color composite of TM bands 3 (0.63p.m-0.69(im), 4 

(0.76jirn-0.90jxm), and 5 [or one in each part of the visible (0.4^im-0.7(im), 

near-IR (0.7p.m-1.5p.m), and mid-IR (1.5^uri-8.0p.m) wavelengths], the following image spectral bands and processes have been shown to greatly 

increase delineation of glacier facies and margins (Sidjak and Wheate. 

1999).

PCA has been employed to reduce data redundancy due to correlation 

between TM bands and to enhance contrast in features of interest. The

GLACIERS OF CANADA J101
second principal component (PC2) is usually influenced by the mid-IR 

bands 5 and 7 and cleanly isolates glacier from nonglacier surfaces, unless 

the surface is covered with morainic material. PC4 displays more detail on 

the glacier surface than any of the TM bands; this has been suggested to be 

related to snow grain size (Brugman and others, 1996). The second component (PC2) can also be used to generate a mask to eliminate nonglacier surfaces in further analysis.

Pixel saturation is recognized as a typical problem over glacierized and 

snow-covered scene areas, particularly in the visible bands [Landsat TM 

bands 1 (0.45|am-0.52^im), 2 (0.52^iin-0.60^im), and 3 (Hall and others, 

1988)]. PCA reduces this problem by identifying most of the scene-brightness variance, and thus the saturation, within the first principal component 

(PCI). Subsequent principal components, especially the second, third, and 

fourth, usually depict strong, unsaturated contrast over the glacier areas, 

enhancing surface features and facies. Further image processing has 

involved the normalized difference snow index (NDSI) (Riggs and others, 

1994) where NDSI - (TM2-TM5)/(TM2+TM5). The TM4/TM5 ratio has also 

been cited by Hall and others (1987) as effective for discriminating the iceand-snow facies, particularly in areas of shadow.

Illecillewaet Neve and Illecillewaet Glacier

Illecillewaet Glacier (lat 51°14'N., long 117°27'W.) is the best known glacier in Glacier National Park, Columbia Mountains, east of the town of Revelstoke, B.C., and directly accessible from the Trans-Canada Highway. In 

the early 20th century, it formed the backdrop to a mountain lodge and was 

a popular climbing attraction. Champoux and Ommanney (1986) studied

Figure 7. Landsat 5 TM false-color composite image of the Illecillewaet Neve and 

Illecillewaet Glacier. The band combination 

is optimum for defining glacier extent. The 

image is oriented with south at the top. The 

Trans-Canada Highway is visible in the 

northwest corner of the image. The arrow 

indicates the perspective of the view 

shown in figure 8. Landsat 5 image 

(50440240094230TO; bands 3, 4, 5; 18 

August 1994; Path 44, Row 24) from 

RADAHSATInternational, British Columbia.

117°25W 117°30W

012 345 Kilometres

J102 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Figure 8. A, Perspective view of the 

Illecillewaet Glacier seen from the TransCanada Highway looking toward the 

southeast. The view is created by combining the Landsat image shown in figure 7 

with the Province of British Columbia 

DEM. The following glacier fades are 

shown: accumulation area (snow): white; 

firn/wet snow: medium blue; bare ice 

(ablation area): dark blue; debris-covered 

ice: red; shadowed glacier: purple; meltwater lakes: green. Nonglacier surfaces 

are shown in gray (forested) and pink/ 

salmon (nonforested). B, Photograph of 

the terminus of the Illecillewaet Glacier 

looking southeast from a position southeast of the Trans-Canada Highway, west of 

Rogers Pass, Glacier National Park, British 

Columbia, in August 1995. Photograph by 

Robert W. Sidjak, University of Northern 

British Columbia.

TABLE 5. Selected glctciologicol parameters of 

the Illecillewaet Neve and Rlf.cillp.waet Glacier

Illecillewaet Illecillewaet 

Neve Glacier

Accumulation area 13.04 km2 

Ablation area 8.35 km2 

Total area 21.39km2 

Accumulation-area ratio 0.61

4.92 km2 

3.91 km2 

8.83 km2 

0.56

the evolution of Illecillewaet Glacier using historic data, aerial photography 

and satellite imagery. This study uses the above Landsat combination 

(TM4/TM5 ratio) of spectral bands to classify the following glacier facies 

and give the best estimate of transient snowline and equilibrium line location: snow (accumulation area), bare ice (ablation area), from which the 

accumulation-area ratio (AAR) can be calculated (see table 5); water, 

shadowed glacier, and debris-covered ice (recognized as a significant challenge in glacier-inventory mapping by Whalley and Martin, 1986). The 

Landsat 5 TM false-color composite image (50440240094230TO; bands 3, 4, 

5; 18 August 1994; Path 44, Row 24) is shown in figure 7. The computerclassified image is draped on the B.C. provincial DEM in figure &4, as 

viewed from the northwest, a similar direction from the ground photograph 

(fig. 85). Snow (accumulation area) is shown in white, bare ice in dark 

blue, and firn/wet snow in medium blue. There are a few scattered clouds 

on the south end of the icefield (white on figure 7).

GLACIERS OF CANADA J103
500^ 0 500 1000 1500 Figure 9. Landsat 5 TM false-color composite image of the Monkman Glacier/ 

Parsnip Glacier. The image is oriented with 

southeast at the top. The superimposed 

contours are taken from the Province of 

British Columbia DEM; the contour interval is 100 m. The ablation area/accumulation area boundary is shown in white; the 

1986 margin of the glaciers, derived from 

the Terrain Resource Inventory Management (TRIM) Program, is shown in green. 

Landsat 5 image (50480220097266TO; 

bands 3, 4, 5; 23 September 1997; Path 48, 

Row 22) from RADARSAT International, 

Richmond, British Columbia.

Monkman Glacier/Parsnip Glacier

The Monkman Glacier/Parsnip Glacier (lat 54°30'N., long 121°30'W.) is the 

largest of a group of glaciers in the front ranges of the Rocky Mountains, about 

100 km northwest of the city of Prince George, B.C. (see discussion of Hart 

Ranges in the Glaciers of the Canadian Rockies section); access to this area is 

very difficult except by helicopter. Comparison of image data from 23 September 1997 with the B.C. TRIM contour maps from the middle 1980's shows a 

decrease in glacier area from 24.8 to 23.2 km2 and ice-front retreat ranging 

between about 100-200 m. Figure 9 shows a Landsat 5 TM false-color composite image (50480220097266TO; bands 3, 4, 5; 23 September 1997; Path 48, 

Row 22) overlain with 100-m DEM contours and includes the equilibrium line 

in white. The green line from the TRIM contour maps indicates the approximate areal extent of the glacier in 1986. Smaller ice patches that are not visible in dark shadow indicate some complications of using satellite images for 

glacier mapping and emphasize the need for derived products such as

J1U4 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Figure 10. A, Perspective view of the 

Monkman Glacier/Parsnip Glacier looking toward the east. The area/ extent 

(margins of the glaciers) in 1986, taken 

from the Terrain Resource Inventory Management (TRIM) Program, is shown as a 

green line. The view is created by draping the Landsat image shown in figure 9 

with the Province of British Columbia 

DEM. B, Photograph of Parsnip Glacier 

and its proglacial lake looking toward the 

southeast from a terminal moraine on 26 

July 2000. Photograph by Roger D. 

Wheate, University of Northern British 

Columbia.

principal components and ratios to compensate for topographic shadows. Figure 1QA depicts the same image (without contours), draped over the provincial DEM. Figure 105 is aground photograph of the Parsnip Glacier.

Acknowledgments

The Illecillewaet Neve/Illecillewaet Glacier study was done in collaboration 

with Drs. Mclinda M. Brugman and Alain Pietroniro of the National Water 

Research Institute, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, under the cryospheric systems 

research initiative (CRYSYS), a Canadian contribution to the NASA Earth 

Observing System (EOS) program. The authors wish to acknowledge CRYSYS 

for providing the operating funds for the studies. The authors would also like 

to thank the following organizations and people for their observations, suggestions, and other support: BC Parks, Mike Demuth, and Birthe Miller. Special thanks to Nancy Alexander, Tanya Whyte, and Terry and Joyce Whyte.

GLACIERS OF CANADA J105
National Topographic Series

While individual glaciological investigators were producing the specialized maps necessary for their work, the quality, scale, and coverage of the 

federal and provincial mapping was improving. There is now complete coverage of Canada at the scale of 1:250,000. Of the maps involved, 157 of 

them contain some depiction of glaciers, and there are possibly another 28 

sheets that cover regions where one might expect to find glacier-related 

features such as glacierets, snow patches, and rock glaciers that may have 

been overlooked. The mapping of Canada at the 1:50,000 scale still remains 

to be completed. Unfortunately for the glaciologist, the isolated, unpopulated, ice-covered regions of the country have the lowest priority. The 

exception is Kluane National Park, St. Elias Mountains, Yukon Territory, 

which is covered with nonstandard map sheets in black and white with lowquality relief shading that are useful for glaciological applications (see section on Quantitative Measurements of Tweedsmuir Glacier and Lowell Glacier Imagery in the subchapter Glaciers of the St. Elias Mountains, by Garry 

K.C. Clarke and Gerald Holdsworth, this volume). It is expected that about 

1,450 of these sheets might be required to provide complete coverage of all 

the glacierized areas in the country, but only about half have been published. However, the depiction of glaciological features has improved over 

the years as the mapping agencies have recognized the need for and availability of knowledge to interpret them. Glacier-inventory maps were used 

for reference when the l:50,000-scale maps of Baffin Island were being 

compiled, leading to a vast improvement in the representation of marginal 

features such as moraines. Of great benefit has been the opportunity to 

acquire current maps in digital form so digital terrain models can be much 

more easily constructed. The move by some mapping agencies towards 

publication of new maps at scales as large as 1:20,000, also in digital form, 

may reduce the need for glaciologists to produce special large-scale maps 

of the glaciers on which they are working. Instead they may be able to concentrate their efforts on determining the changes taking place.

Conclusions

One of the most fruitful collaborations in glacier mapping was between 

Fritz Miiller of the McGill University Axel Heiberg Island Expedition and 

the PRS-NRCC. This collaboration resulted in the preparation of large-scale 

topographic maps and stereo-orthophoto maps of several of the island's glaciers. Another productive relationship was that of Gottfried Konecny, University of New Brunswick, with the Defence Research Board, the Water 

Survey of Canada, and the National Geographic Society. The role of the Glaciology Division in the production of glacier maps for the IHD, specialty 

maps of Peyto Glacier and the Columbia Icefield, and orthophoto maps, has 

also been significant. Unfortunately, none of the above are still involved in 

any glacier mapping activity, and the Glaciology Division has since been disbanded. Glacier-mapping activity in Canada is limited to a few small 

projects where the product is unlikely to be published or distributed widely 

(Cogley, 1999), and this trend will likely continue. Scientists and lay people 

alike may well regret the loss of this valuable aid. However, financial 

resources for producing high-quality, multicolored, large-scale maps are no 

longer readily available. The only possible exception may be Parks Canada 

(the Canadian Parks Service), which has a large tourist clientele that might 

make such a venture viable.

J106 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
With the proliferation of personal computers and growth in their 

storage capacity, the future may see much greater use of digital terrain 

models and satellite images by individual glaciologists. Optical disks 

permit the storing, exchange, and analysis of photographic and cartographic information so that the printed thematic map may become a 

collector's item.

We know that the next generation of satellites will be capable of providing greatly improved spectral and spatial resolution and more current information on glaciers. The technology for analysis of this 

information using personal computers is developing rapidly.

Although the heyday of the printed glacier map may be past in Canada, there are exciting prospects and challenges ahead for glaciologists 

in digital cartography, GIS, and analysis of remotely sensed data.

GLACIERS OF CANADA J107
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J110 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Glaciers of North America 

GLACIERS OF CANADA

GLACIERS OF THE ARCTIC ISLANDS

GLACIERS OF THE HIGH ARCTIC ISLANDS 

By ROY M. KOERNER

SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD

Edited by RICHARD S. WILLIAMS, Jr., «WJANE G. FERRIGNO

U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 1386-J-l

Canadian High Arctic ice caps, both dynamic and stagnant, respond only very slowly 

to changes in climate. Ice cores contain records of environmental change during the 

past 100 thousandyears, temperatures ranging from -20° C to +2.5° C. The last 150 

years have been the warmest in the past 1,000years, but only slight changes in area 

and volume (mass-balance) of ice caps are evident
CONTENTS

Abstract Jill

History of Glacier Research 111

FIGURE 1. Index map of the Canadian High Arctic islands 112

The Ice Caps and Glaciers 113 

Dynamic Ice Caps and Outlet Glaciers 113

FIGURE 2. Landsat 3 MSS image showing the western part of Devon Ice

Cap on 10 August 1979 114

3. Vertical aerial photograph taken in 1959 of Sverdrup Glacier

on the northwest side of Devon Ice Cap 115

4. Landsat 1 MSS false-color composite image of southwestern 

Ellesmere Island and part of northwestern Devon Island on 

22 August 1974 -- «--- 116

Topography 113

FIGURE 5. Landsat 1 MSS false-color composite image mosaic of the 

Prince of Wales Icefield and part of the Manson Icefield, 

central and southeastern Ellesmere Island on 20 and 22 

August 1974 - . 117

6. Ice-thickness profiles measured by radio-echosounding in

April-May 1976 118

7. Mosaic of two Landsat MSS images of part of Axel Heiberg

Island and Meighen Island on 24 and 29 August 1977 119

8. Landsat 2 return-beam vidicon (RBV) image of the Victoria

and Albert Mountains, Ellesmere Island on 25 July 1976 120

Velocity --------------------------------------------------------------- 121

TABLE 1. Velocity measurements (winter-summer) of selected

Canadian High Arctic glaciers on Axel Heiberg Island,

northern Ellesmere Island, central Ellesmere Island, and

Devon Island 121

Thickness ------------------------------------------------------------- 122

Stagnant Ice Caps -- - - - -- ----- -------------- 122

FIGURE 9. Landsat image and aerial photograph showing changes in the 

Meighen Island Ice Cap between 5 August 1959 and 

24 August 1977 123

Mass Balance 125

TABLE 2. Glaciers in the High Arctic where mass-balance

measurements have been carried out 126

Winter Balance 125

FIGURE 10. Map of winter balance in the Queen Elizabeth Islands based

on pit and shallow-core analysis done in 1974 127

Annual and Summer Balance 127

FIGURE 11. Temperatures and snow-depth changes as measured at an 

automatic weather station on Devon Ice Cap at 1,850 m 

in 1998-99 128

12. Mass-balance records from the northwestern part of Devon 

Ice Cap, Meighen Ice Cap, Melville South Ice Cap, and 

Drambuie Glacier on the northeast side of Agassiz Ice Cap - 129

Results 130

Summer Ablation and the Glacier Landscape 130

FIGURE 13. High-angle, oblique aerial photograph of Iceberg Glacier,

Axel Heiberg Island, taken on 23 July 1964 131

Ice Caps and Climatic Change 132

CONTENTS III
Page

The Ice-Core Record 132

FIGURE 14. 818O profiles from Canadian ice caps, Greenland ice sheet,

and Antarctic ice sheet 133 

15. Paleoclimate records from the Holocene section of ice cores

from Penny and Agassiz Ice Caps 134

Aerial Photographic and Satellite Image Evidence of Glacier 

Fluctuations 135 

Dynamic Ice Caps and Outlet Glaciers 136 

Stagnant Ice Caps 137

FIGURE 16. Landsat image from 1977 and an aerial photograph from 1957

showing slight changes in the Melville Island ice caps 139

Evidence of Changes in Glacier Volume 140

Conclusions and Recommendations 141

Acknowledgments 142

References Cited 143

IV CONTENTS
SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD

GLACIERS OF NORTH AMERICAGLACIERS OF CANADA

GLACIERS OF THE ARCTIC ISLANDS 

GLACIERS OF THE HIGH ARCTIC ISLANDS 

By ROY M. KOERNER1 

Abstract

If we exclude the massive ice sheets of Greenland and Antarctica, the Canadian High Arctic ice caps are among the oldest and largest in the world and contain long records of past 

environmental changes. Ice-core records indicate that these ice caps formed about 100 thousand years ago, beginning their growth as the last interglacial was coming to an end and the 

last glacial was beginning. However, the same ice-core records from these ice caps show that 

substantial climatic changes took place over their history. These changes encompass a range 

from a 20- degree Celsius cooling (compared to today) in the coldest parts of the last glacial to 

a period 10 thousand years ago that was 2.5-degrees Celsius warmer than today. Ice-core 

records show that the last 150 years, although still cooler than the warm period at the beginning of the present interglacial (the Holocene), are the warmest for at least the last 1,000 

years. On the other hand, continuing mass-balance measurements show very few signs of 

warming or cooling in the eastern Canadian Arctic during the last 40 years. Satellite imagery 

reveals only a very slow pattern of change in the geometry of these ice caps in response to the 

climatic change of the last 150 years, including the very warm period from 1920 to 1960. The 

differences between the ablation and accumulation zones on these ice caps can be clearly 

seen on satellite imagery. However, because one of the modes of accumulation on these subpolar ice caps is by superimposed ice, the demarcation between the two zones cannot be 

clearly determined. Recent improvements in satellite sensors, however, are opening up a new 

approach to the mapping and study of glaciers hitherto unattainable by traditional methods.

History of Glacier Research

The Canadian High Arctic islands (Queen Elizabeth Islands, Nunavut, 

and Northwest Territories) (fig. 1) contain 151,057 km2 (0.17 percent) of 

the world's, and 5 percent of the Northern Hemisphere's, glacierized area 

(Ommanney, 1970). Most of the ice masses are in the mountainous eastern 

part of the archipelago. The western islands are lower in elevation, and the 

only ice masses are on the higher parts of southwestern Melville Island.

Scientific work on the ice caps and glaciers in the Canadian High Arctic 

began in the 1950's with the work of the Canadian Defence Research Board 

(Hattersley-Smith, 1974). The Board began its work on the Ward Hunt Ice 

Shelf in northern Ellesmere Island in the early 1950's (Crary, 1960). In 1955, 

the same group established a glaciological research program on the northernmost ice caps in Canada, some of which lie north of the orbital coverage of 

Landsat 1-3 imagery. Toward the end of the 1950's, McGill University began 

work on Axel Heiberg Island (Miiller, 1961, 1963a, b, 1966). The Polar Continental Shelf Project (in the Department of Energy, Mines and Resources 

(now Natural Resources Canada) of the Federal Government of Canada) 

began mapping and studying the ice cap on Meighen Island in 1959 (Arnold,

Manuscript approved for publication, 7 March 2002.

1 Geological Survey of Canada, 601 Booth Street, Ottawa, Ontario K1A OE8, Canada.

GLACIERS OF CANADA Jill
150°W 85°N 140° 130 120° 110° 100° 90° 80

80°N

75"

0 100 200 KILOMETERS

I.I I, l.l .

QUEEN ELIZABETH 

ISLANDS

Meighen ^,S /\Ar ci' 

Meighen [drill sit 

Ice Cap \ /

MEIGHEN)V^_^_ <f tee'Cap , 

" ISLANDT, HEIBEB^3

FAY

ISLANDS w f" Baby 

Glacier G| acier

NORTHWEST 

TERRITORIES

^ \ 

NUNAVUT-b

MELVlLlE I'ND

1965). In 1960, the Arctic Institute of North America prepared for its first 

year-round High Arctic expedition, and from 1961 to 1963, the Devon Island 

expedition included major investigations of the Devon Ice Cap and Sverdrup 

Glacier (Muller and Keeler, 1969; Hyndman, 1965; Koerner, 197Ua, b).

In the 1960's and 1970's, various research programs were conducted on 

Coburg Island and in the following locations on Ellesmere Island: an ice piedmont near Cape Herschel (Muller and others, 1978), Leffert Glacier (Gerald 

Holdsworth, oral commun., 1984), Gilman Glacier (Arnold, 1968), an ice cap 

west of Tanquary Fiord (Hattersley-Smith and others, 1975), Ward Hunt Ice 

Shelf (Hattersley-Smith, 1963; Hattersley-Smith and Serson, 1970), and a 

small ice cap near St. Patrick Bay (Hattersley-Smith and Serson, 1973).

New programs were started in the 1980's on the Ward Hunt Ice Shelf (Jeffries and Serson, 1983) and the St. Patrick Bay ice cap (Serreze and Bradley, 

1983). The Polar Continental Shelf Project (PCSP) conducted a climatechange and ice-physics program between 1964 and 1987, when surface-tobedrock cores were drilled on Meighen, Devon, and Agassiz Ice Caps (Paterson, 1968, 1969; Koerner, 1968; Paterson and others, 1977). The program and 

staff transferred to the Geological Survey of Canada (GSC) in 1987. Since 

then, further cores have been drilled from the top of Agassiz and Devon Ice 

Caps and two from Penny Ice Cap on Baffin Island (Fisher and others, 1983; 

Fisher and others, 1998). The same program continues to monitor the mass 

balance on the Meighen, Devon, and Agassiz Ice Caps and the most southerly

Figure 1. Canadian High Arctic islands. 

Green areas represent glacier-covered 

regions. The black dots within black concentric circles are ice-drilling sites.

J112
ice cap on Melville Island (Koerner and Lundgaard, 1995). Work on White and 

Baby Glaciers on Axel Heiberg Island has continued through the 1980's 

(Arnold, 1981) and to the present day (Cogley and others, 1995,1996). A new, 

and continuing, program on John Evans Glacier in central Ellesmere Island led 

by the University of Alberta began in 1994 (Skidmore and Sharp, 1999).

Field reports from all these studies can be found in the annual reports of 

glacier research conducted in Canada and published in the following journals: Canadian Geophysical Bulletins between 1961 and 1984, Arctic from 

1961 to 1965, and Ice (a publication of the International Glaciological Society) to the present day.

The Ice Caps and Glaciers

We may differentiate between the larger, dynamic glaciers and the smaller, 

stagnant ones. The ice shelves will be discussed in the following section on 

"Ellesmere Island Ice Shelves and Ice Islands" by Martin 0. Jeffries.

Dynamic Ice Caps and Outlet Glaciers

It was first thought, from ice-core analysis, that the larger ice caps, such as 

those on Devon, Axel Heiberg, and Ellesmere Islands (fig.l), predated the last 

interglacial period (Koerner and others, 1987). However, further work on the 

same and newer data have suggested that no ice caps survived that period and 

that they began their growth in the very early stages of the last glacial period.

The smaller ice caps on Devon Island and southern Ellesmere Island 

((D) in figs. 2, 3, 4) may be much younger. These do not reach such high 

elevations, have smaller accumulation areas, end well above sea level, and 

have very few channeled outlet glaciers. Whereas some of these ice caps 

may be more than 10 thousand years (kilo-annum (ka)) old, it is more likely 

that they began their growth during the second half of the Holocene Epoch, 

at less than 4.5 ka B.R The whole question of glacial history and ice-core 

research will be discussed more fully later.

Topography

The surface topography of almost all the large ice caps in the Canadian 

High Arctic is very strongly controlled by the subglacier topography. The 

Prince of Wales Icefield and part of the Manson Icefield in southeastern Ellesmere Island (shown in fig. 5) are good examples. Valley glaciers on the east 

side descend to sea level between mountainous ridges that are often ice covered. Isachsen Glacier is a good example of this (fig. 5). Some of these glaciers 

are a few hundred meters thick, and the bedrock in their lower reaches is 

below sea level (Cadogan Glacier, figs. 5 and 6). On the west side, the ice is not 

as thick and often forms broad, slow-moving tongues that, in places, are 

almost as broad as they are long (see arrows, fig. 5). The same pattern of 

lobate glaciers on the one side and valley outlet glaciers on the other can be 

found on southern Ellesmere Island (fig. 4) and along large stretches of eastern Ellesmere Island from Baffin Bay to Kennedy Channel (fig. 1). On Axel 

Heiberg Island, the broad, lobate ice is on the east side, and the outlet valleytype glaciers are on the west (fig. 7). However, asymmetry is not characteristic of the most northerly of the large ice caps on Ellesmere Island (for example, Agassiz Ice Cap, fig. 8), where valley outlet glaciers emerge from all sides 

of the ice caps. Among all these ice caps, only that on Devon Island shows anything like the symmetry of a true ice cap, and has a nunatak-free central 

region. Even then, this is strictly true only of its western part (fig. 2).

GLACIERS OF CANADA J113
76°l\l 80°W

85°W

---<§>,.

^Site of boreholes:

' 1970, 1972, 1973, 1998,

x and 1999

76°N

Devon Ice Cap \

Figure 2. Landsat 3 MSS image showing the western part of Devon Ice Cap. 

The dotted lines represent the location of the stake network measured annually for mass balance; these lines (northwest side profile) and the dashed 

line (south side profile) are the locations of the ice-thickness profiles for 

Devon Ice Cap shown in figure 6. The location of the five borehole sites is 

shown with a concentric circle and dot symbol; the boreholes include a 

230-m deep core drilled in 1970, two 299-m surface-to-bedrock cores drilled 

in 1972 and 1973, and nearby sites of a 305-m borehole-ice-core drilled in 

1998, and one drilled in 1999. The ice caps marked with the letter (D) are 

dynamic and probably Holocene in origin, unlike the larger, and older, 

dynamic main ice cap, which has ice formed at least by 60 ka at its base. The 

outlined area is shown in figure 3. The Landsat image (30523-17365, band 7; 

10 August 1979; Path 44, Row 6) is from the Canada Centre for Remote Sensing, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

J114
Figure 3. Vertical aerial photograph taken in 1959 of Sverdrup Glacier on 

the northwest side of Devon Ice Cap (see outline in fig. 2). The letter (m) 

refers to supraglacier meltwater streams; the northernmost (m) is a moulin 

(where meltwater streams plunge into, and sometimes under, the glacier). 

The dotted line represents the location of the leveling profile measured for 

surface-height changes and is referred to in the text. Ice cap (D) is a 

dynamic ice cap that is much younger than the main Devon Ice Cap to its 

south and east. Ice caps (A), (B), (E), and (F) are all stagnant and probably 

less than 1 ka. Ice cap (C) is less than 200 or 300 years old, as are the three 

small ice caps, indicated by arrows, all of which have now melted and 

appear as bare ground in figure 2. All these ice caps are discussed in more 

detail in the text.

GLACIERS OF CANADA J115
86 W 77C N

77°N

90°W

Figure 4. Landsat 1 MSS false-color composite image of southwestern 

Ellesmere Island and part of northwestern Devon Island. Ice caps marked 

(D) are examples of the small dynamic types discussed in the text. The 

arrows mark the 1957 position of a glacier in South Cape Fiord that retreated 

to the position marked by a dotted line sometime between 1957 and 1974. 

The ice between these two positions is sea ice or icebergs. The Landsat 

image (1760-18015, bands 4, 5, and 7; 22 August 1974; Path 48, Row 5) is 

from the Canada Centre for Remote Sensing, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

J116 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
74°W 79°N

 -"Pv

s

78"W

&>X,N

rv> ;/ x Baffin

f*.

 «vIsachsen Glacier

rt

#'

S. 4-

79nN /

*> 

^

* ^

' V,

I

J*

»;' f

r

,».

t

 >..'* 

. -',- * / 

& - / /

 r< '.if

& J c/ /

r\-:7/'

CP x? .

. .- .>

^

& V

*\ 

~

^ i /

** '- / -? *~ H * " 

/" "-.>

f 'Jh.

Prince of "^

Wales "*"" 

Icefield -^

> f'S

 '' *-i?~' *ii--

,' *» * 

s' - ** ^^-L.

--.. ^ 

% *£.

*^;V A *+* * c

-^.

^^ ^^ Cadogan Glacier r*- ^T

+ //*.'- .

Mr- ' i. « -. *

r^\ i - *f

% ,

'.\ ^^

" >.».

. . j-«*-

nv*

/

ft

I^,-^. ro

*

rr*v

 *y^

Figure 5. Landsat 1 MSS false-color 

composite image mosaic of the Prince of 

Wales Icefield and part of the Manson 

Icefield, central and southeastern Ellesmere Island. The dashed line shows the 

location of the ice-thickness profile (east 

side of central Ellesmere) shown in figure 

6. The broad, slowmoving outlet lobes of 

the ice cap are indicated with arrows. The 

blue to white color tones above them represent various stages in the summer melt 

season (see text in "Summer Ablation and 

the Glacier Landscape" section). Isachsen 

Glacier and Cadogan Glacier are seen on 

the mosaic. Land-fast sea ice obscures the 

coastline at the terminus of the Cadogan 

Glacier and also to its south. Landsat 

images (1760-18010, band 7; 22 August 

1974; Path 48, Row 3 (north), and 

1758-17500, band 7; 20 August 1974; Path 

46, Row 4 (south)) are from the Canada 

Centre for Remote Sensing, Ottawa, 

Ontario, Canada.

ff*

 zJjr* ^

.^

82°W

78°N

r;

r»

:1^V , T-- -»4

MaWson

-Kjcfield-TrT

--a ** ?^. ^A, > 

WXIMATESCAU

77°N

GLACIERS OF CANADA J117
KILOMETERS

2000

o

CD

GO 

EC

12 16 20 24 32 36 40 44 48

i I i i i i i i i i I i i i i i i i i i i i i i

West side of Axel Heiberg, 

including Thompson Glacier

East side of Axel Heiberg

South side of Devon Ice Cap

Northwest side of Devon Ice Cap

0

1500

East side of central Ellesmere, 

including Cadogan Glacier

r i i r \ i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i r 

0 4 8 12 16 20 24 28 32 36 40 44 48 

KILOMETERS

Figure 6. Ice-thickness profiles measured by 

radio-echosounding in April-May 1976 (Koerner, 

1977b). The green represents ice, and the dark 

blue represents ice below sea level on Cadogan 

Glacier. See figures 2, 5, and 7 for the locations of 

five of the profiles. Reproduced by permission of 

the Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences.

Figure 7 (opposite page) Mosaic of two Landsat 

MSS images of part of Axel Heiberg Island and 

Meighen Island. A concentric circle and dot symbol 

marks the Meighen glacier-borehole site, where a 

121-m surface-to-bedrock core was drilled by the 

Polar Continental Shelf Project in 1965 (see also 

fig. 9/\). The dashed lines on the Muller Ice Cap on 

Axel Heiberg Island represent ice-thickness profiles 

(east side and west side) shown in figure 6. Iceberg 

Glacier (see also fig. 13), White Glacier, which has 

been the site of glacier research since 1959, and 

Good Friday Bay Glacier, which advanced 

(surged?) sometime between 1952 and 1959, are all 

seen in the mosaic. The area northeast of the Fay 

Islands, between Meighen and Axel Heiberg 

Islands, is a region where sea ice persists throughout many summers. An incipient ice shelf formed 

here in the 1950's and 1960's and reached a few 

meters in thickness before it broke up in the middle 1970's. The Landsat images (1158-18455, band 

7; 24 August 1977; Path 69, Row 1 (north) and 

20950-18542, band 7; 29 August 1977; Path 66, How 

2 (south) are from the Canada Centre for Remote 

Sensing, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

J118 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
.APPROXIMATE SCAIE 

0 30 KILOMETERS

90°W

GLACIERS OF CANADA J119
74°W 80°N

78°W

Figure 8. Landsat 2 return-beam vidicon (RBV) image of the Victoria and 

Albert Mountains, Ellesmere Island. A symbol indicates the location of six 

surface-to-bedrock boreholes drilled into the Agassiz Ice Cap by the Polar 

Continental Shelf Project: a 337-m core in 1977, a 137-m core in 1979, two 

127-m cores in 1984 and 1987, and two 130-m cores in 1994. Glaciers (A), 

(B), (C), and (D) have either heavily crevassed or hummocky surfaces, and, 

therefore, very high summer ice-melt rates (see text in "Summer Ablation 

and the Glacier Landscape" section). Glacier (B) has advanced across the 

head of Greely Fiord and thereby created an ice-locked lake (Lake Tuborg). 

Dating of the basal waters of this lake indicate that the glacier advanced at 

about 3.5 ka (Hattersley-Smith and others, 1970). The Landsat image 

(2550-18480, band 3; 25 July 1976; Path 58, Row 1) is from the EROS Data 

Center, Sioux Falls, S. Dak.

J120 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Velocity

Glacier motion has been measured by various methods. Arnold (1965, 

1968, 1981) used traditional field surveying and photogrammetric techniques on Meighen Ice Cap, Oilman Glacier (Ellesmere Island), and White 

Glacier (Axel Heiberg Island), whereas Doake and others (1976) used 

radio-echosounding techniques at the top of Devon Ice Cap. The results of 

these and other measurements are shown in table 1. New approaches to 

measuring velocity, such as the Global Positioning System (GPS) of satellites and satellite radar interferometric (InSAR) techniques are quickly 

expanding the present slim velocity data base.

Velocities in this area are generally of the order of 10-50 m a"1 . However, 

velocity in summer can be as much as twice as high as in winter (table 1). 

This can be attributed to the presence of meltwater at the glacier bed in 

summer (Iken, 1974) and indicates that parts of some glaciers are at the 

melting point at their beds. Calculations of basal temperatures using known 

ice thicknesses and 10-15-m englacier temperatures (Miiller, 1976; Paterson, 1994), as well as measured basal temperatures (Blatter, 1987), confirm 

the unfrozen basal condition of many High Arctic glaciers.

One consequence of relatively low glacier velocities (strictly speaking, 

low strain rates) is that, compared to glaciers in other areas of the world, 

many of these glaciers are not very crevassed. Sverdrup Glacier, although it 

is the major outlet for ice from the northwest side of the Devon Ice Cap, is a 

good example (fig. 3). Another example is the crevasse-free ice cap above, 

and to the east of, Sverdrup Glacier (fig. 3, (D)).

A few glaciers in the High Arctic, however, maintain high velocities, and probably comparably high strain rates, in their lower reaches 

and are more crevassed. Good examples are the glaciers draining the 

west side of Agassiz Ice Cap (fig. 8, (A), (C), and (D)). Using aerial 

photographs, Holdsworth (1977) calculated tongue velocities of more 

than 400 m a"1 on one of them (D'lberville Glacier; (D), fig. 8; table 1). 

These glaciers act as the major outlets for Agassiz Ice Cap and drain 

large catchment areas.

Calving of the glaciers in the High Arctic islands has not received 

much attention. Although it certainly does not rule it out, very little 

photographic evidence exists of calving. For example, we can see very

TABLE 1. Velocity measurements (winter-summer) of selected Canadian High Arctic glaciers on 

Axel Heiberg Island, northern Ellesmere Island, central Ellesmere Island, and Devon Island

[Note that Meighen Ice Cap and Melville ice caps are stagnant. See figure 1 for locations. Abbreviations: I., island; N., northern; C., central;

do, ditto; Accum., accumulation area; Eq. line, equilibrium line; Abl., ablation area; <, less than; leaders (- -), not determined. Data archived

at the Geological Survey of Canada, 601 Booth Street, Ottawa, Ontario K1A OE8, Canada]

Location

Axel Heiberg I. 

.....do...........

.....do...........

.....do...........

.....do...........

N. Ellesmere I. 

.....do...........

.....do...........

C. Ellesmere I. 

.....do...........

Devon Island 

.....do...........

Glacier

White 

.....do..........

.....do..........

.....do..........

Oilman 

.....do..........

.....do..........

D'lberville 

Leffert

Devon Ice Cap

Velocity 

m a"1 winter

<13.0

24.5

21.4

10.4

47.0

14.8 

22.9

19.6

457.0 

40.0

2.4 

36.4

Velocity 

m a"1 summer

--

44.0

51.0

0 

22.2

500.0

65.0

Location on 

glacier

Accum. 

Eq. line

Abl.

Abl.

Accum.

Abl.

Tongue 

do

Top of ice cap 

Abl.

Reference

Mtiller, 1963b 

Do.

Do.

Do.

Do.

Arnold, 1968 

Do.

Do.

Holdsworth, 1977 

Gerald Holdsworth,

oral commun., 1984 

Doake and others, 1976 

Cress and Wyness, 1961

GLACIERS OF CANADA J121
few icebergs adjacent to Sverdrup Glacier (fig. 3). Most of the icebergs 

that enter the shipping lanes south of here off the coast of Newfoundland are from the west coast of Greenland. New studies are needed to 

determine the importance of calving in this area.

Thickness

The ice thickness of Canadian High Arctic ice caps has been measured 

by radio-echosounding techniques (Hattersley-Smith and others, 1969; 

Paterson and Koerner, 1974; Koerner, 1977b; Oswald, 1975; Narod and 

Clarke, 1983). Unpublished work was done as well by the Scott Polar 

Research Institute at the top of Devon Ice Cap in 1974; the work is available as maps at the GSC. Some of the results (from Koerner, 1977b) are 

shown in figure 6, where the asymmetry in thickness of some of the ice 

caps can be seen. This is largely attributable to high snow-accumulation 

rates on the slopes facing Baffin Bay, where relatively thick ice sheets have 

built up. Although not shown in Koerner (1977b), areas several kilometers 

square were sounded at the tops of Agassiz Ice Cap and ice caps on Axel 

Heiberg and central Ellesmere Islands. In general, the data show that at 

the tops of most of the ice caps the ice is about 100-300 m thick. Downslope, the thickness may reach 1,000 m in channeled areas. However, the 

most common thickness is approximately 500 m, even in valley glaciers. 

Some of the glaciers, in their lower reaches, flow over bedrock that is 

below sea level (for example, Cadogan Glacier, figs. 5 and 6). In 1995, 

traverses were flown over many of the Canadian ice caps by a National 

Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) P-3 aircraft using ice-penetrating radar (160 MHz) and geodetic airborne laser altimetry. In Spring 

2000, J.A. Dowdeswell (oral commun.) mapped glacier thicknesses by 

using airborne radio-echosounding surveys of the Queen Elizabeth Islands' 

ice caps. In May 2000, NASA, using a chartered Canadian Twin Otter aircraft, resurveyed ice caps on Ellesmere Island, Axel Heiberg Island, Devon 

Island, and Baffin Island, Nunavut. When published, all of these data will 

greatly extend our knowledge of ice-cap volumes in the Queen Elizabeth 

Islands. The NASA surveys also constitute a valuable baseline for monitoring the changing geometry of ice caps in an era of predicted global warming. The NASA ice-penetrating-radar data are available on the NASA website at [http://tornado.rsl.ukans.edu/1995.htm].

Stagnant Ice Caps

The smallest ice caps have no outlet glaciers. Traditional surveying and 

also ice-fabric analysis indicate that they are stagnant. Examples of these 

ice caps are shown in figure 3 ((A), (B), (E), and (F)). The first work on 

these ice caps was done on Meighen Ice Cap (fig. 9) by Arnold (1965), 

Koerner (1968), and Paterson (1969). Surveying of markers, over a 2-year 

period, by Arnold (1965) showed no evidence for movement. Ice-fabric 

analysis of an ice core from the same ice cap suggested that it has been 

stagnant throughout its history (Koerner, 1968). Similar ice-fabric work at 

the edge of a smaller ice cap on Devon Island (fig. 3, (B); R.M. Koerner, 

unpublished data, 1984) suggests that it too has always been stagnant. It, 

therefore, seems reasonable to consider that ice caps of similar and smaller 

size are, and always have been, stagnant. Their past and present stagnant 

nature puts limits on the maximum dimensions that they may have reached 

during their lifetime. The oxygen isotope (5180) values of the basal ice in 

Meighen Ice Cap are not sufficiently negative to suggest that the ice is of 

Pleistocene age (Koerner and Paterson, 1974). Furthermore, it is unlikely 

that any of these ice caps would have been large enough to survive the

J122 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
99°W

80°N

Q)

/

APPROXIMATE SCALE 

0 if 10 KILOMETERS

Figure 9. Landsat image from 1977 and an aerial photographic mosaic from 1959 showing changes in the Meighen 

Island Ice Cap. A, Part of an enlarged Landsat 1 MSS falsecolor composite image. The site of a 121-m surface-to-bedrock drill hole drilled in 1965 is shown with the concentric

circle and dot symbol. Compare the margins and nunataks 

marked by arrows with the same locations in figure 9B. 

Landsat image (11858-18455, bands 4, 5, and 7; 24 August 

1977; Path 69, Row 1) is from the Canada Centre for Remote 

Sensing, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. B, see following page.

GLACIERS OF CANADA J123
warm period between about 9 ka and 4.5 ka (Koerner and Fisher, 1990). 

They are, therefore, most probably less than 4.5 ka.

Ice caps smaller than Meighen Ice Cap (for example., fig. 3, ((A), (B), 

(E), and (F)) must be much younger than 4.5 ka, probably less than 1 ka. 

The smallest (e.g., fig. 3, (C) and the three ice caps indicated by arrows) 

may be only 200 to 300 years old; perhaps they began their growth about 

300 years ago or during the "Little Ice Age" about 200 years ago. They are 

mostly less than 1 km in diameter and are only 10-20 m thick. The three 

small ice caps marked by arrows in figure 3 had melted completely by the 

end of 1962.

Figure 9B Vertical aerial photographic 

mosaic taken on 5 August 1959. Arrows 

show areas of glacier recession in later 

years. Note the banding on the ice surface along the east margin that is caused 

by annual cycles of accumulation in a 

cold period, which have been later crosscut by ablation as the climate became 

warmer.

J124 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
The surface topography of stagnant ice caps depends on the geometry of 

the underlying bedrock topography, their age, and their mass-balance history. The surface profile of a stagnant ice cap is, in part, an integration of all 

the annual mass-balance gradients since its inception (where the gradient 

is the change in mass balance with elevation). For example, on Meighen Ice 

Cap (figs. 7, 9), the north-facing slopes are much less steep than those facing south. Mass-balance measurements (IAHS/UNESCO, 1985) show that 

the north slopes of Meighen Ice Cap are losing ice at a much greater rate 

than the rest of the ice cap (Koerner and Lundgaard, 1995). These slopes 

are unlikely to have been able to withstand long periods of warm climate 

(such as the one ending at about 1 ka) and are probably much younger than 

the southern part of the ice cap.

The annual cycle of ablation and accumulation on these ice caps exposes 

the sedimentary ("annual growth") layers at the surface. These bands are well 

depicted in figure 3 ((A), (B), and (C)), and above parts of the east margin of 

Meighen Ice Cap (fig. 9A). The light-colored bands are composed of finegrained ice. This ice forms during cold summers, when less melting and less 

percolation take place than usual. An incompletely soaked, low-density, bubbly 

layer is then formed. Conversely, the dark bands consist of coarse-grained ice 

formed during warmer summers, when the surface snow layer becomes completely saturated before refreezing. An almost bubble-free layer is then formed 

(Koerner, 1970a). Originally, each of these surface layers may cover large areas 

of the ice cap. Subsequently, melting toward the outer parts of the ice cap 

removes part of the layers, while accumulation further in buries the rest. This 

type of banding should not be confused with foliation bands found on valley 

glaciers (Hambrey and Muller, 1978) (for example, Sverdrup Glacier, fig. 3). 

Foliation is a tectonic feature formed by dynamic processes in moving ice.

Mass Balance

The mass balance of a glacier is the difference between the amount of 

precipitation accumulating on the glacier and the amount that leaves as 

melt or ice calving throughout the year. The glaciers where measurements 

have been made between 1957 and the present (table 2) are shown in figure 1. Some of these records are more than 35 years old and are among the 

longest high-latitude records in the world. Mass-balance techniques are 

described by 0strem and Brugman (1991). However, some of these techniques do not apply to subpolar glaciers, where some of the summer snowmelt refreezes in the firn. Here, we describe the methods used by the 

Geological Survey of Canada on the Queen Elizabeth Islands' glaciers. The 

reader is referred to Geografiska Annaler (1999) for an up-to-date reference on modern methods of measurement and modeling and to Jania and 

Hagen (1996) for a review (with summary annual data) of Arctic mass balance covering Alaska, Canada, Greenland, Iceland, Svalbard, northern 

Scandinavia, and the Russian Arctic.

Winter Balance

To obtain winter balance, poles are drilled into the ice and firn in both 

the accumulation and ablation areas; these are used as reference points. 

Accumulation comes as snow throughout the winter. Each spring, snow 

depths are taken by using a depth probe to the easily recognized, end-ofmelt-season, firn layer underneath. These depths, along with density measurements, give the winter balance. The length of the reference poles is 

measured at the same time each year.

GLACIERS OF CANADA J125
TABLE 2. Glaciers in the High Arctic ivhere mass-balance measurements have been

carried out

[Abbreviations: No., number, NW, northwest side; For explanation of italicized names, see text footnote 2 on p. J136]

No.

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

Glacier

Ellesmere Island1

Ward Hunt Ice Shelf

Ward Hunt Ice Rise

Oilman Glacier

Unnamed ice cap

Per Ardua Glacier

Agassiz Ice Cap

Leffert Glacier

Unnamed glacier

Coburg Island1

Laika Glacier

Laika Ice Cap

Wolf Glacier

Axel Heiberg Island1

White Glacier

Baby Glacier

Meighen Island1

Meighen Ice Cap

Melville Island1

Melville South Ice Cap

Melville West Ice Cap

Melville East Ice Cap

Leopold Glacier

Devon Island1

Devon Ice Cap (NW)

Baffin Island2

Lewis Glacier3

Barnes Ice Cap

Decade Glacier

Akudnirmiut Glacier

Latitude 

North

83°7'

83°7'

82°6'

81°57'

81°31'

80°

78°41'

78°39'

75°53'

75°55'

75°54'

79°26'

79°26'

79°57'

75°25'

75°38'

75°39'

75°49'

75°20'

70°26'

70°10'

69°38'

67°35'

Longitude 

West

73°30'

74°10'

70°37'

64° 12'

76°27'

75°

75°01'

74°55'

79°5'

79°9'

79°12'

90°40'

90°58'

99°08'

115°10'

114°45'

114°29'

114°49'

82°30'

74°46'

74°46'

69°50'

65°15'

Period observed

1960-85

1958-85

1957-69

1966-76

1964-71

1977-present

1979-80

1979-80

1973-80

1974-80

1979-80

1959-present

1959- present

1959-present

1963-present

1963-73

1963-73

1963-73

1961-present

1963-65

1963-84

1965-73

1971-72

Years missed

1977,

1977,

1968,

1976,

1976,

1980,

1973,

1972,

1968,

1968,

1968,

1968,

1968

1972

'78, '79

'78, '79

'69

'77, '78

'77, '78

'81, '82, '83

1978-88

'79

'72, '75-79

'72

'72

'72

1 See figure 1.

2 See figure 1 in "Glaciers of Baffin Island" section.

3 See figures 6 and 12 in "Glaciers of Baffin Island" section.

Maps of the winter balance in the Queen Elizabeth Islands (fig. 10) show 

a very pronounced accumulation gradient running from the southeast to 

the northwest across the islands. This gradient should not be interpreted in 

terms of a Baffin Bay moisture source. It is rather that the major watervapor trajectories are from the southeast (Koerner, 1979), and they 

probably have a source that is quite distant. Calculations, based on the stable isotope relationships of precipitation in the area, suggest that only 8 

percent of the precipitation on the top of Devon Ice Cap is from Baffin Bay. 

The pattern of snow accumulation is associated with the growth of more 

dynamic glaciers in the southeast of the Queen Elizabeth Islands, that is, 

those facing Baffin Bay (fig. 1). This is the only area in the islands where 

major ice caps reach sea level. Elsewhere, they end on plateaus well above 

sea level and reach sea level only in the form of channeled outlet glaciers,

J126 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Figure 10. Winter balance in the Queen 

Elizabeth Islands based on pit and shallow-core analysis done in 1974. Values in 

Greenland are from Benson (1961) or 

Mock (1968). The green represents icecovered areas, and the concentric circle 

and dot symbol represents ice-core sites.

Snow accumulation, in grams per square centimeter per year

such as Sverdrup Glacier (figs. 2, 3). On the other hand, the precipitationshadow area in north-central Ellesmere Island is very dry (fig. 10). The 

weather station Eureka (figs. 1, 10) sits in the middle of this area and is well 

known for its clear skies. Indications of slightly higher snow accumulation 

exist close to the Arctic Ocean, perhaps associated with northerly air-mass 

trajectories, rather than an Arctic Ocean moisture source.

Annual and Summer Balance

The ablation season normally covers part or all of the months of June, 

July, and August. The amount of melt is, in general, inversely related to elevation, and about 1-3 m of ice ablates at sea level on the glaciers each summer. However, in approximately 9 summers out of 10, melting extends righl 

to the tops of all the ice caps, where the meltwater refreezes within the 

annual surface-snow layer. The effects of melting on the glacier landscape 

will be discussed later in the "Summer Ablation and the Glacier Landscape" 

section.

Measurement of the summer balance in the ablation area, on an 

annual basis, consists of measuring the length of a number of poles drilled 

into the ice. Their changing length gives the amount of ice melted each 

year. Since the introduction of automatic weather stations a few years ago, 

the progress of melt throughout each summer season can be recorded at a 

few sites (fig. 11). An ultrasonic sounder measures the distance from the 

sounder to the ice surface. As the ice melts, the distance increases, which 

thereby gives the ablation rate. Because all the winter snow melts in the 

ablation area (that is, where the annual balance is negative), the annual 

balance is the sum of winter snow and total ice melt. Very occasionally, 

such as in the summer of 1962, the ablation area may creep into the firn 

zone. In this case, the annual balance is the sum of snow and firn melt, 

although the latter is very difficult to assess, as we explain below.

The measurement of mass balance in the accumulation area, of subpolar glaciers is not simple. In general terms, snowmelt and icemelt on 

temperate glaciers form part of the ablation process. The meltwater,

GLACIERS OF CANADA J127
Devon Ice Cap, 1,850 m, 1998-99

MONTH

whether it runs off the surface of the glacier or drains through the firn, 

leaves the glacier. This is not the case on subpolar glaciers where meltwater 

either refreezes on the ice surface under the snow or firn, or within the firn 

itself. Benson (1961) divided the accumulation area of polar ice caps and 

ice sheets into fades zones. In order, with decreasing elevation, he defined 

dry-snow, percolation, and wet-snow fades, as well as superimposed ice 

zones. No melting takes place at any time of year in the dry snow zone, 

which covers large parts of Greenland and Antarctica. However, High Arctic 

islands' ice caps lie below this zone, except in very cold summers (for 

example, 1965). In the percolation fades, melting refreezes within the 

current annual snow layer. The upper parts of the accumulation areas of 

the Canadian High Arctic ice caps generally fall within this zone, except in 

warm summers like those of 1962 and 1998 (fig. 12). In the wet-snow 

fades, melt will percolate through more than the annual layer of new snow 

on the surface. In warm summers, this zone may cover the entire firn accumulation area. In the superimposed ice zone, the annual snow layer 

melts and part of it refreezes on the ice surface beneath (Schytt, 1949, 

1955; Koerner, 1970a).

On temperate glaciers, the equilibrium line separates an accumulation 

area, where the surface is firn, from the ablation area, where the surface 

is ice. Satellite imagery can be used to map these areas as they have very 

different reflective properties (Williams and others, 1991). On a subpolar 

glacier, the accumulation area includes the superimposed ice zone. This 

means that ice extends, at the surface, beyond the ablation area and into

Figure 11. Temperatures and snowdepth changes as measured at an automatic weather station on Devon Ice Cap 

at 1,850 m in 1998-99. The blocks in late 

May, June, and July mark periods of 

snow accumulation during the melt season. Lowering of the snow surface in this 

period is due to snow melt in what was 

then the percolation zone. The lowering 

does not represent mass loss because 

the snowmelt refreezes at depth, in this 

case within the annual snow layer. The 

red and blue temperature traces represent maximum and minimum daily temperatures.

J128 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
the accumulation area; hence, the equilibrium line is at the down-glacier 

margin of superimposed ice zone. Satellite imagery cannot, therefore, at 

present, clearly differentiate the demarcation between the accumulation 

and ablation areas on subpolar glaciers.

Mass-balance-measurement techniques should be unique to each of Benson's facies zones in the accumulation area:

(1) In the superimposed ice zone, the additional layer of ice has to be measured at the end of each melt season. This is normally done by measuring the increased height of ice on poles drilled into the ice. However, the 

pole may channel meltwater down to the ice under the winter snow and 

thereby cause a local increase in superimposed ice formation. An area 

around the pole has to be checked to account for this.

(2) Measuring annual accumulation in the wet-snow facies is more difficult. 

It is seldom possible to determine the depth to which meltwater has 

percolated. Consequently, no well-defined annual layer exists. Densification of the firn and snow, due to meltwater percolation and refreezing, makes pole measurement highly inaccurate. This is not always 

taken into account (Cogley and Adams, 1998). The practice at the GSC 

has been to use trays buried deeply enough in year 1 to catch meltwater 

percolating down in year 2. This method is adequate in most years. 

However, in heavy melt years (for example, 1962 and 1998 in fig. 12), 

the percolation tray may overflow, or, at the very least, seriously affect 

the melt process itself. The use of automatic weather stations (fig. 11) 

increases the accuracy of the mass-balance measurement, particularly 

in very warm summers. The automatic weather stations records the 

snow accumulation, on an hourly or daily basis, throughout the year. In 

this case, it is the part of the record between spring and the end of the 

melt season (that is, the summer balance) that is important. Because 

the automatic weather station only records the change in height of the 

ultrasonic snow sounder above the snow surface, the snow density

Figure 12. Mass-balance records from 

the northwestern part of Devon Ice Cap, 

Meighen Ice Cap, Melville South Ice Cap, 

and Drambuie Glacier on the northeast 

side ofAgassiz Ice Cap. The top (blue) line 

is the winter balance, the middle (purple) 

line is the net balance, and the lowermost 

(red) line is the summer balance. The figure shows that net balance is driven by 

summer melting rather than by winter 

snow accumulation, which is relatively 

consistent from year to year. The Drambuie Glacier time series is not a true mass 

balance because it does not include area. 

It is the sum of the specific balance at each 

of the poles, measured each year. 

Although the system [used for the Drambuie Glacier7 does not represent mass balance for the ice cap and glaciers, it 

nonetheless serves to monitor climate 

change (see Koerner, 1986). The values 

from Drambuie Glacier are more negative 

than on the other glaciers because the 

measurements do not extend to the top of 

the ice cap. Data are from the Geological 

Survey of Canada.

Devon Ice Cap (northwestern part)

GLACIERS OF CANADA J129
remains unknown. Measurements over four decades have shown that 

new snow, which is almost always associated with wind drift, has a density of between 0.1 and 0.2 g cm"2 . A density within this range is chosen 

according to the nature of the automatic weather station record. The 

method introduces a 5-10 percent error into the annual accumulation 

measurements between the percolation line and the upper limits of the 

superimposed ice zone.

(3) Mass-balance measurements in the percolation fades are simpler. Pole 

measurements are used as a guide so that the annual layer is readily 

recognized from its an annual sequence of refrozen melt-soaked firn 

overlying unsoaked firn. Depth and density measurements then give the 

mass balance.

Results

The mass-balance results from the GSC program are shown in figure 12. 

It is very clear that the net annual balance is driven by the summer melting. 

Each series shows that the period of record has been one of very slightly 

negative balance. Alt (1978, 1979) has analyzed some of these records and 

related them to synoptic conditions in the Arctic Islands. However, no statistically significant trend is found in the various time series (Koerner and 

Lundgaard, 1995; Koerner, 1996; Cogley and others, 1995, 1996). The same 

lack of trend extends eastward to the glaciers in Svalbard (Dowdeswell and 

others, 1997; Hagen and Liest01, 1990). This contrasts with the substantial 

warming over the same period in the western Arctic. Regional differences 

in climatic change should not be unexpected, and they emphasize the need 

for monitoring the climate closely. As we have seen, glaciers are particularly 

valuable in this respect.

Summer Ablation and the Glacier Landscape

Melting produces a variety of impressive supraglacier, englacier, and 

subglacier features (Maaq, 1969). Melt streams can be seen in figure 3, 

where they are marked with a letter 'm'. These melt streams may be up to 

15-m wide and flow in channels as deep as 30 m that have vertical, or even 

overhanging, sides. Some even flow in tunnels just below the ice surface 

(for example, just downstream of the confluence of the two glaciers forming Sverdrup Glacier in fig. 3). Most of the melt water finds its way to the 

margins of the glaciers, where large streams flow between the rock wall 

and glacier side and commonly through subglacier and englacier tunnels. 

Many streams disappear down moulins, especially near the terminus (for 

example, the northernmost 'm' on Sverdrup Glacier in fig. 3). Streams 

flow at high velocities because of the low friction between water and ice 

and the smooth nature of the channels. Consequently, they are able to 

transport boulders greater than 1 m3 in size. Several such boulders can be 

found perched along the courses of abandoned streambeds.

The heavily crevassed glaciers draining the west side of Agassiz Ice Cap 

in northern Ellesmere Island (fig. 8, (A), (C), (D)) have much higher melting rates in their ablation areas than typical High Arctic glaciers. This is 

suggested by unpublished measurements by the GSC on one of these glaciers (fig. 8, (A)), as well as on highly hummocked areas of glaciers on 

southeastern Devon Island (Koerner, 1970b). Not only do these glaciers 

have relatively high specific ablation rates, which are related to their 

increased mesorelief and lower albedo, but they also have a greater surface 

area as a result of their crevassed and hummocked relief. Thus, ice loss due 

to melting may be up to an order of magnitude higher in their ablation

J130 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Figure 13. High-angle, oblique aerial 

photograph of Iceberg Glacier, Axel 

Heiberg Island (see fig. 7 for location), 

taken on 23 July 1964. The highly hummocked surface is associated with intense 

melting.

zones than on glaciers elsewhere. An example of a highly hummocked glacier, Iceberg Glacier, which undergoes intense summer melting, is shown in 

figure 13.

A late August 1974 Landsat 1 multispectral scanner (MSS) false-color 

composite mosaic image (fig. 5) illustrates a High Arctic landscape at the 

height of the summer melt season. Various shades of blue and gray through 

to white (most clearly seen on the west side of the ice cap) are related to 

the progress of melting at different elevations. At the top of the ice cap, the 

snow is still highly reflective, which shows that it has melted very little, if at 

all. Lower down, it changes to a light gray, which indicates snow in an 

advanced state of melt. On the west side of the ice cap, the light-gray tone 

abruptly changes to either a dark gray blue or to blue. The blue tone is 

probably new superimposed ice, formed either during the melt season 

when the image was taken or during the previous melt season. The dark 

gray blue is older glacier ice that was formed higher up the flowline by firn 

compaction. The gray part of the tone becomes more pronounced closer to 

the glacier terminus. The light-gray tone (wet snow) extends right down to 

sea level on the east side of the ice cap. This is because the snow, which 

accumulates to much greater depths there, has not yet completely melted 

to expose the blue glacier ice underneath. The heads of Makinson Inlet and 

Vendom Fiord are already free of sea ice. The melting of the sea ice is hastened by runoff of snowmelt from ice-free terrain.

« **:-.:>. .

GLACIERS OF CANADA J131
Ice Caps and Climatic Change

Early attempts to derive climate-change records from ice caps were 

based on the number and thickness of ice layers and on changing stratigraphy in snow-firn pits (Hattersley-Smith 1960; Miiller, 1963b; Koerner, 

1970b). Hattersley-Smith (1960) detected a sharp warming of climate in 

the 1920's by using this method.

The Ice-Core Record

Ice cores allow climate-change studies to be carried out to much greater 

depth (that is, a longer length of time). As snow accumulates year by year 

in the accumulation area of ice caps, it traps within it atmospheric aerosols, 

which include cosmic and terrestrial particles (for example, dust and 

tephra), heavy metals, pollen, and acids. Atmospheric gases also are 

trapped. The oxygen-18/oxygen-16 ratio of the snow (18O/16O) and the 

changing percentage of ice layers in the core give a proxy record of past 

temperatures. At the top of the ice caps, where ice movement is mainly vertical, a continuous record of these variables exists that covers the entire 

history of the ice cap. This is where ice cores in the High Arctic islands have 

been drilled. The location of each deep drill site in the Canadian High Arctic 

is shown in figure 1.

One of the most important contributions of ice-core analysis to climatechange studies is a temperature proxy. This is a temperature derived from a 

variable measured in the core. The stable isotope-temperature relationship 

depends largely on the temperature of formation of precipitation; the lower 

the condensation temperature, the more negative the 18O values of precipitation. The isotope record is either in terms of hydrogen or oxygen isotopes 

in water: hydrogen-deuterium-oxygen (HDO) or H2 18O, both with respect 

to Standard Mean Ocean Water (SMOW); that is, 8D or 818O. This is translated into temperature on well-founded empirical relationships between 

surface temperatures and the 8D or 818O composition of the snow (Dansgaard and others, 1973). Limitations apply to this temperature proxy. The 

most serious are changing sources of water vapor, variations in the length 

of the seasonal fractions of snowfall, and changing elevation of the drill site. 

However, except for the areas facing Baffin Bay, the Queen Elizabeth 

Islands' ice caps bear only a very weak relationship with elevation (Koerner, 

1979). Ice layers that form in the snow pack in summer can be used as a 

summer temperature proxy (Koerner, 1977a). The warmer the summer, 

the greater the number or thickness of ice layers that form. Changing concentrations of ice layers in the ice cores can then be related to summer climate changes in the past (Koerner and Fisher, 1990).

The first task of ice-core analysis is the determination of a time scale. 

This may be done by counting annual cycles of some of the included "contaminants" down selected lengths of the core, by detecting acid layers from 

known volcanic events, by picking up well-known climatic events in the 

oxygen-isotope record, or, theoretically, from a knowledge of the flow law of 

ice. A combination of these methods has been used to develop a time scale 

for the Canadian High Arctic ice cores. This time scale is accurate to about 

5 percent for the last 5,000 years and to about 10 percent for ice that 

formed at 10 ka to 5 ka. In ice older than 10 ka, the time scales have been 

derived from comparisons between oxygen-isotope and particulate profiles 

in the Canadian and the more accurately dated Greenland ice cores. This 

part of the record is contained in the lowermost 5-10 m of the core, where 

flow over uneven bedrock can produce distortions and gaps in the stratigraphy (Paterson and others, 1977).

J132
Figure 14. d18O profiles from Canadian 

ice caps (Fisher and others, 1983, 1998), 

the Greenland ice sheet (Dansgaard and 

others, 1985; Johnsen and others, 1992), 

and the Antarctic ice sheet (Jouzel and 

others, 1993). The 6 18O values are in parts 

per thousand with maximum and minimum values listed under each ice-core 

section. The shaded part at the base represents ice that has a high silt content. (A), 

Holocene; (B), Wurm/Wisconsinan glacial; 

(C), Eemian/Sangamonian interglacial 

(Summit, Vostok), or early growth ice dating either from late Eemian/Sangamonian 

interglacial or early Wurm/Wisconsinan 

glacial (Penny, Devon, Agassiz, Dye 3, 

Camp Century); (D), earlier Pleistocene. 

See text for location of sections. The Summit and Vostok cores are plotted on a time 

scale (right-hand side of the diagram). For 

ice older than 110 ka, the Summit time 

scale is inaccurate due to dynamic disturbance of the ice at those depths. The other 

six cores are plotted on individual linear 

depth scales, where the depth interval is 

noted for each profile.

The first deep ice core drilled from the Queen Elizabeth Islands was 

from the Meighen Ice Cap (figs. 1, 9A). Analysis of the 121-m core, which is 

from the highest part of the ice cap close to its southern edge (Paterson, 

1968, 1969; Koerner, 1968; Koerner and others, 1973; Koerner and Paterson, 1974), originally suggested that the deepest ice is of the order of 4.5 

ka. However, because of the difficulty of establishing a time scale in an ice 

cap formed dominantly of superimposed ice (Dowdeswell and others, 1990; 

Koerner, 1997), all one can say is that it began to form in the latter part of 

the Holocene Epoch.

Records from some of the other cores are shown in figure 14, which has 

three records from Canada, which show a -20 degree Celsius cooling 

(compared with today) in the coldest parts of the last glacial (Fisher and 

others, 1983, 1998), four from Greenland (Dansgaard and others, 1985; 

Johnsen and others, 1992), and one from Antarctica (Jouzel and others, 

1993). Ice deposited during glacials is differentiated from interglacials on 

the basis of the presence of higher concentrations of microparticles and 

major ions in glacial-period ice, its more negative 5180 values, and its finer 

grained ice texture. Despite quite different thicknesses, the main interglacial-glacial sections are common to each ice core. However, only the Vostok 

and Summit cores from Antarctica and central Greenland, respectively, 

contain ice older (fig. 14, (D)) than that deposited during the last interglacial (C) (Jouzel and others, 1993; Johnsen and others, 1992).

Basal ice in the Canadian cores (fig. 14, (C)) has high pollen concentrations and less negative oxygen-isotope 5180 values, consists of much 

clearer (less bubbly) ice, and, on Agassiz Ice Cap, contains large amounts of 

dirt (Koerner and others, 1988). Such a signature, as well as its position at 

the base of the ice cores, suggests that it was deposited in the early growth 

stages of the ice cap, during the last interglacial, when the climate was 

entering the Wisconsinan glacial. Ice older than this must have melted during the main part of the same interglacial time, as it did at the sites of the 

Camp Century and Dye 3 cores in Greenland (Koerner, 1989). Because the 

Canadian ice-core sites are in the central and highest parts of their respective ice caps, it suggests that the Canadian High Arctic islands were ice free 

during some part of that same interglacial (Koerner, 1989). Similarly, it has 

been suggested (Koerner, 1989; Cuffey and Marshall, 2000) that the Greenland ice sheet, although it was not completely removed, must have been 

substantially smaller at that time.

The Holocene part of some of these records is shown in figure 15. The 

Penny Ice Cap and Agassiz Ice Cap 5180 records show an early thermal

Canada

-40 -35 -3D -25 -20 -40 -35 -30 -25 -20 -40 -35 -30 -25

Penny Ice Cap Devon Agassiz

326-334 m 279-289 m 117-128 m

-23,-36 -23,-35 -25-39

Greenland

-35 -30 -25 -20 -40 -35 -30 -25 -20 -45 -40 -35 -30 -25

Renland Dye 3 Camp Century

303-330 m 

-24-33

1694-2037 m 

-23,-36

1040-1388 m 

-23,-42

Antarctica

GLACIERS OF CANADA J133
maximum. However, it is not as early as that shown by the ice-layer record 

from Agassiz Ice Cap (percent of melt). The difference may be due to the 

effect of massive runoff of meltwater from the Laurentide ice sheet at this 

time. This water, which had very negative [oxygen-isotope] 8180 values, and 

which may have pushed the water-vapor source farther south, is likely to 

have had the effect of making the [oxygen-isotope] 8180 values too negative 

(Koerner, 1988; Fisher, 1992). The salt record from Penny Ice Cap also 

shows a very early Holocene maximum. Salt has been shown to have an 

inverse correlation with sea-ice extent in Baffin Bay (Grumet and others, 

2001). The Holocene salt record, therefore, suggests that the extent of sea 

ice has been slowly increasing in Baffin Bay from an early Holocene minimum. Dyke and others (1996) concluded, from 14C-dated fossil bones in the 

Arctic Islands, that Bowhead whale populations were at a maximum in the 

early Holocene. Together, the 8180, ice-layer, and salt records suggest a 

varying, but overall, cooling trend has taken place throughout most of the 

Holocene Epoch, particularly during the last 5,000 years. The modern

Figure 15. Paleoclimate records from the 

Holocene section of ice cores from Penny 

and Agassiz Ice Caps. A higher percent 

melt from the ice-layer record or less negative 8 18O values signify a warmer climate. Conditions in the early and middle 

Holocene were warmer than today by 

about 2°C and show an early Holocene 

thermal maximum. The sea-salt record 

from the Penny Ice Cap also shows a very 

early Holocene maximum. Salt has an 

inverse correlation with sea-ice extent in 

Baffin Bay. Therefore, the record suggests 

a gradually increasing sea-ice extent in 

Baffin Bay from an early Holocene minimum. Three horizontal error bars indicate 

the range of uncertainty in the sea-salt 

record during these intervals of time. The 

Holocene pollen record also suggests 

warmer conditions in the early Holocene 

and in the last 2,000 years.

 Penny Ice Cap ssNa (ppb)

THOUSANDS OF YEARS BEFORE A.D. 2000

J134 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
warming during the last 100-150 years appears to have produced the 

warmest period of at least the last 1,000 years. It follows, but highlights, a 

cold period ("The Little Ice Age") ending about 150 years ago. The "Little 

Ice Age," coming at the end of an overall cooling trend, may be nothing 

more than a slight cooling variation within that trend.

The Holocene pollen record, although it shows higher pollen concentrations in early Holocene ice that suggest warmer conditions, also shows 

increasing concentrations in the last 2,000 years. Pollen is probably not a 

direct temperature proxy. Whereas the other records suggest that the thermal 

maximum was in the early Holocene, it was a time when the Laurentide ice 

sheet still covered a large part of Canada. What is a pollen source today was, 

therefore, covered by ice at that time. An alternate early Holocene source may 

have been northwestern Canada, where the tree line reached farther north 

than today. Whether the late Holocene pollen increase represents a return to a 

western air-mass trajectory and pollen source has not yet been determined.

Ice-core records from Severnaya Zemlya and Svalbard to the east 

(Koerner, 1997) show similar Holocene 8180 and ice-layer records: an early 

thermal maximum followed by a trend of decreasing temperatures 

(Koerner, 1997). It has already been shown that glacier mass balance is 

slightly negative today, which the ice-core records indicate is not as warm 

as the early Holocene (fig. 15). It suggests, therefore, that ice caps and glaciers must have had more strongly negative balances in the early Holocene 

than today. Only two ice cores from the Severnaya Zemlya and Svalbard 

group of islands show any evidence of the Pleistocene ice seen in the Canadian cores (fig. 14). The evidence for Pleistocene ice from one of these 

cores, Vavilov Ice Cap (Stievenard and others, 1996), is questionable. Probably most of the Pleistocene ice caps at these sites melted during the 

period of negative balance in the early Holocene; only the larger ice caps in 

the Canadian islands and Academii Nauk Ice Cap on Severnaya Zemlya survived. Increasingly colder conditions, particularly during the last 5,000 

years, have promoted regrowth of glaciers. They reached their maximum 

extent about 150 years ago (Miiller, 1966). It was at this time that the desperate, but unsuccessful, attempts to open up the Northwest Passage were 

made. Success was achieved by the Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen 

early this century when summer conditions promoted more open sea- ice 

conditions (Koerner, 1977a; Alt, 1985).

Aerial Photographic and Satellite Image Evidence of 

Glacier Fluctuations

Although ice cores are valuable in revealing climatic changes in the 

past, they do not tell much, on their own, about past changes in the 

dimensions of the ice caps. They show how climate changes over a broad 

range of wavelengths and amplitudes with respect to time and temperature. In terms of the response of glaciers to climatic changes, the waxing 

and waning of continental ice sheets is a response at one end of the spectrum, and the growth and disappearance of stagnant ice caps is a 

response at the other end of the same spectrum. Nye (1963) and Johannesson and others (1989) considered the problem of response times of 

glaciers, times that may vary from a few years to many thousands of 

years. In the Canadian High Arctic islands, one might expect a response 

time of about 2,000 years on the largest dynamic ice caps without valley 

outlets, such as, for example, the west side of Devon Ice Cap (fig. 2), but 

one might expect an immediate response on stagnant ice caps. Thus, a 

small glacier may be advancing in response to a recent climatic change 

while a larger one is retreating in response to a climatic change that 

ended a thousand years before. Relating these geometry changes to those

GLACIERS OF CANADA J135
of climate is further complicated because of our poor knowledge of the ice 

volume and bedrock topography of the Queen Elizabeth Islands' ice caps. 

Extensive radio-echosounding will help enormously in this respect (J.A. 

Dowdeswell, oral commun., 1999).

To examine changes in the areal extent of the Queen Elizabeth Islands' 

glaciers and ice caps, we compare vertical aerial photography taken in the 

1950's with Landsat imagery taken in the 1970's. The Landsat MSS imagery, 

because of its 79-m pixel resolution, can only detect changes at the terminus of glaciers over a 20 year timespan, if the changes are greater than an 

average, cumulative change of 4 m a"1 (Williams and others, 1997).

Dynamic Ice Caps and Outlet Glaciers

On the basis of Landsat imagery shown in figures 2, 4, 5, and 7 and the 

vertical aerial photograph in figure 3, no significant marginal changes have 

been found on the larger ice caps. Some measurable changes are evident in 

glacier terminus positions that are mostly "increased-ablation" retreats in 

response to the warmth of the 1950's (Bradley and England, 1978). Because 

the time period between the aerial photography and the Landsat images 

includes part of the very warm period from 1920 to 1960, it may appear surprising that relatively few measurable changes are seen at the margins of the 

small glaciers. Similarly, why are some of the glaciers not advancing in 

response to the cooler climate of the "Little Ice Age" (about 1550 to 1850)? 

Continuing mass-balance measurements also show very few signs of warming or cooling in the eastern Canadian Arctic during the last 40 years.

The answer may be found in the low activity index of the High Arctic 

glaciers. That is, the accumulation and ablation rates are relatively small 

when compared with those of alpine glaciers or the maritime-nourished glaciers of Alaska. Changes are, therefore, likely to be small and not detectable 

by the use of 79-m pixel resolution imagery in a time period of only a few 

decades. The higher resolution satellite imagery, such as the Landsat 

Enhanced Thematic Mapper (ETM+) (15-m pixels), the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) (15-m pixels), and IKONOS (1-m pixels), that is available will provide a better 

opportunity to detect changes.

A few documented cases do exist, however, of glaciers that have 

advanced dramatically in the High Arctic islands. One of them, the Otto 

Glacier in northern Ellesmere Island (fig. 1), has been described as a surging glacier (Hattersley-Smith, 1969). This glacier advanced 2-3 km 

between 1950 and 1959 and a farther 2-3 km between 1959 and 1964. The 

lower part of this advancing tidewater glacier was afloat. However, because 

the Otto Glacier is both a tidewater glacier and a surging glacier, the 

advance may not be related to climate (Post, 1975).

Another case of a possible surging glacier is the Good Friday Bay Glacier2 (fig. 7). An advance of about 2 km began on this glacier between 

1952 and 1959. Although some of the surface characteristics of this glacier 

suggest a surge (Miiller, 1969), climatic forcing cannot be ruled out.

Figure 4 illustrates a 6.5-km retreat of a valley glacier that flows into 

South Cape Fiord on southwestern Ellesmere Island. The retreat took 

place between 1957 and July 1974. The retreat is associated with 

increased crevassing of the surface toward the terminus. However, no 

changes to surface level can be seen along the glacier. We cannot say 

whether the glacier is retreating from a more common position or to a 

more common position. None of the nearby glaciers has advanced or

2 The names in this section conform to the usage authorized by the Secretariat of the Canadian Permanent Committee on Geographic Names (CPCGN); URL address: [http://GeoNames.NRCan.gc.ca/]. The 

Website is maintained by the Secretariat through Geomatics Canada, Natural Resources Canada, and combines the CPCGN server with the Canadian Geographical Names Data Base (CGNDB). Variant names and 

names not listed in the CPCGN/CGNDB are shown in italics.

J136 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
retreated during the same period. On first inspection, the Landsat image in 

figure 4, taken only a month after a set of aerial photographs that showed 

the retreat, appears to show the terminus in its old, advanced position. 

Prior knowledge that the glacier has retreated, together with very careful 

examination of the image, shows that the ice in front of the terminus is 

either sea ice or icebergs.

Stagnant Ice Caps

Stagnant ice caps respond immediately to climatic change. A warming 

trend will always cause marginal retreat of these ice caps. However, retreat 

at its margins does not necessarily indicate that the ice cap has a negative 

balance. As long as the equilibrium line altitude (ELA) is low enough, the 

ice cap may retreat despite having a positive balance. Because the ice cap is 

stagnant, the margin will "advance" only if the ELA lies beyond the margin. 

Although Meighen Ice Cap does not have an overall positive balance, it does 

have a slightly positive balance at its highest elevations. Retreat of its margins, accompanied by thickening in its central parts, is steepening its 

slopes. Theoretically, steeper slopes could cause greater basal shear stress 

and change it from a stagnant to a weakly dynamic ice cap.

Figure 16^4 shows three of the ice caps on Melville Island (fig. 1). The 

small nunataks on one of the two more northerly of the Melville Island ice 

caps (arrows in fig. 16A) show no measurable change between a 1957 aerial 

photograph and the 1977 Landsat image. Some retreat is evident at (A) and 

(B) on the southern ice cap (compare with fig. 165). Retreat elsewhere 

may be hidden by a late snow cover at the time the Landsat image was 

taken; some snow still remains on the surrounding plateau. However, even 

if a general retreat is present at the margins, it must be quite small.

The situation is a little different on Meighen Ice Cap (fig. 9). The nunataks marked by arrows (fig. 9A) are more exposed in the 1977 Landsat 

imagery than in earlier (1959) aerial photography (fig. 95). In one case, a 

nunatak near the west margin that is seen on the earlier aerial photograph 

is part of the surrounding plateau in the later Landsat image. The ice margin has also retreated at the locations indicated by arrows. From aerial photographs, Arnold (1965) found slow wastage at the margins of Meighen Ice 

Cap for the period 1950-59. An oblique aerial photograph taken on 18 July 

1950, and shown in Arnold (1965), shows a continuous ice cover where the 

Landsat image shows a long narrow nunatak at the northern end.

Clear changes can be seen on the smallest stagnant ice caps when comparing aerial photographs of the 1950's and the satellite imagery of the 

1970's. Comparing figures 2 and 3 of the area close to the northwest margin of the Devon Ice Cap, we can see that three small ice caps (fig. 3, 

arrows) have disappeared by the 1970's, when they were replaced by bare 

ground (fig. 2). Another small ice cap (fig. 3, (C)) just above the terminus 

of Sverdrup Glacier has almost disappeared, and a slightly larger one to 

the southwest (fig. 3, (E)) has been separated from a section located in a 

nearby gully.

These are not especially dramatic changes, but they do suggest that the 

climate of the 20-year period between the 1950's and 1970's was warmer 

than the climate under which these ice caps formed. The records of negative balance from Meighen Ice Cap and Melville Island ice caps would certainly apply to these smaller stagnant ice caps. It seems most likely that 

they began growth during the colder parts of the last 1,000 years and are 

presently out of phase with modern warming. Many more may disappear 

within the next 50 years if the climate does not cool again.

GLACIERS OF CANADA J137
115°W 75 30'N

75°30'N

J138 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Melville South Ice Cap

Figure 16. Landsat image from 1977 and an aerial photograph from 1957 showing slight changes in the Melville 

Island ice caps. A, (opposite page) Part of an enlargement 

of a Landsat image of three of the Melville Island ice caps. 

The nunataks at the top of the figure (indicated by arrows) 

show very little change in area compared to an aerial photograph taken 20 years earlier. A slight retreat can be seen 

on the southern ice cap at points (A) and (B) when compared with figure 16B. The Landsat image (11855-18310, 

bands 4, 5, and 7; 21 August 1977; Path 66, Row 6) is from 

the Canada Centre for Remote Sensing, Ottawa, Ontario, 

Canada. B, Vertical aerial photograph of Melville South Ice 

Cap taken in 1957. The ice margins at (A) and (B) should be 

compared with the same points in figure 16A. Note the 

"banding" on the ice surface at (C) formed by outcropping 

of dust layers.

GLACIERS OF CANADA J139
Evidence of Changes in Glacier Volume

Changes of glacier thickness may be assessed by more traditional techniques. The absolute, or relative, change of glacier elevation is measured 

photogrammetrically, by surveying across the glacier between fixed points 

off the glacier, by radio-echosounding, by gravimetric methods, or by 

changing borehole length. These surveys measure the difference between 

the vertical velocity of the glacier and the ice-melt or accumulation rate for 

the period between the surveys. The vertical velocity in this case is a longperiod, or even paleobalance, rate, representing a period of unknown 

length.

Arnold (1968, 1981) discussed at length the techniques used for glacier 

surveys. Briefly, one has to survey the surface of a glacier on at least two 

occasions sufficiently separated in time to detect vertical (height) changes. 

If markers on the glacier move, any resurveys must be made to the original 

coordinates. Sets of changing vertical angles, made by the use of traditional 

survey methods, determine height changes of the glacier surface. Modern 

photogrammetric techniques can give the same results; the effort involved 

is less, but the expense greater. Arnold (1968, 1981) has done work of both 

kinds on Oilman Glacier (fig. 1) and on White Glacier (figs. 1,7).

Another method involves leveling along a straight line across a glacier 

between two fixed points on the valley walls. When repeated, comparison of 

the two surveys gives the change of elevation of the glacier surface. This 

method has been used on Sverdrup Glacier (fig. 3, dotted line; Cress and 

Wyness, 1961).

Very careful radio-echosounding, repeated after an interval of a few 

years, can be used to detect glacier-thickness changes (Nye and others, 

1972). Precision gravimeters can also be used to achieve the same results 

(Bentley, 1975). The latter technique has been used at the top of Devon Ice 

Cap (Winter, oral commun., 1976). It is also possible to use repeated measurements of the length of surface-to-bedrock boreholes to achieve the 

same results (Paterson, 1976).

Arnold's (1968) measurements in the accumulation area of Gilman Glacier (fig. 1) found no significant changes during the 1957-67 period. Similarly, gravimeter measurements on Devon Ice Cap detected no change for 

the 1971-76 period (Peter Winter, oral commun., 1976). In contrast, Paterson's (1976) measurements of change in borehole length indicated a slight 

thickening of the highest part of this ice cap. Arnold (1968) measured an 

average surface lowering of 1.66 m (0.17 m a"1 ) for 1957-67 in the ablation 

area of Gilman Glacier. He alsb measured an average surface lowering of 

8.2 m (0.83 m a'1 ) for the period 1960-70 on White Glacier (Arnold, 1981). 

The lowering of Gilman Glacier and White Glacier took place during periods 

that included the warmer early 1960's, including the summer of 1962 that 

had the most negative glacier mass balances on record (fig. 12). Farther 

south, on Sverdrup Glacier, leveling in 1965 and again in 1975 detected no 

significant height changes of the glacier 10 km from the terminus and 300 m 

above sea level.

The most effective method for measuring ice-thickness change, however, consists of repeated geodetic airborne laser altimetry surveys (Krabill 

and others, 1995). One such survey was done by NASA in 1995 and was 

repeated in 2000 along flightlines suggested by the GSC. The results of this 

survey will give broad spatial coverage of change in ice-cap thickness [relative change based on change in surface elevation] in the Canadian High 

Arctic islands from northern Ellesmere Island to southern Baffin Island.

J140 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Conclusions and Recommendations

The Landsat imagery (having 79-m pixel resolution) used in this chapter 

is barely adequate to detect changes in the margins of the larger ice caps 

during a 10- to 20-year period. Partly, this is due to the low activity index 

of High Arctic glaciers. Both snow-accumulation and ice-melt rates are 

small compared to those of alpine glaciers. Changes in both snowfall and ice 

melt might also be small. Unlike Greenland and Antarctica, where similarly 

low activity indices apply, the glaciers in the High Arctic are relatively 

small, so that the kinds of dramatic changes, like massive ice-shelf calving 

are not present. Stagnant ice caps, on the other hand, do show changes. 

Their response to climatic change has no lag, unlike dynamic glaciers, and 

marginal retreat can be directly related to summer climate even on an 

annual basis. A few of the smaller stagnant ice caps, detectable in the earlier aerial photography, disappeared between the 1950's and 1970's.

Satellite imagery is continually improving, however, and future coverage 

having improved resolution, such as coverage by the Landsat 7 (ETM+) 

(15-m pixel resolution), Ikonos (1-m pixel resolution), and the Global Land 

Ice Mapping System (GLIMS) ASTER (15-m pixel resolution), should prove 

to be valuable new tools for glacier monitoring in terms of changes in glacier area. The aerial photography taken in the 1940's and 1950's will, therefore, serve as an invaluable baseline for future comparative purposes. The 

recent application of satellite synthetic aperture interferometry techniques 

is enabling the mapping of velocity fields on glaciers, ice caps, and ice 

sheets (Mohr and others, 1998). Now, by combining interferometry and 

local mass-balance and ice-radar techniques, it is proving possible to calculate surface-elevation changes, as well as the velocity fields on glaciers 

(Reeh and others, 1999).

Recent application of airborne laser altimetry surveys (having 0.1-m vertical accuracy) to the Greenland ice sheet (Krabill and others, 1995) and 

smaller circumpolar ice caps (Garvin and Williams, 1993) has already 

shown its value. A repeat of a 1995 series of flightlines over the Canadian 

High Arctic islands and Baffin Island in 2000 gave, for the first time, an 

extensive measure of the changes in ice-cap thickness there. However, any 

changes on a dynamic glacier relate to climatic change that has taken place 

in the past, as well as in the present. It may prove difficult to relate those 

changes of thickness to any particular period of climatic change, although 

they are directly relevant to the part played by glaciers in sea-level change.

One limitation of satellite imagery over subpolar ice caps is the problem 

of detecting the equilibrium line. This is because superimposed ice forms 

part of the accumulation process. Consequently, the accumulation region 

includes a zone where the surface is ice. This ice has the same characteristics as the ice below the equilibrium line, which is superimposed ice that 

has flowed down the ice cap in the past from its zone of formation. With 

improvements in the sensors carried on satellites expected to be launched 

in the future, the situation of satellite monitoring of glaciers will improve. 

However, it will be essential to conduct field-based glacier research for 

accurate image interpretation.

The use of automatic weather stations is becoming more applicable and 

popular in the practice of glacier research and monitoring. These stations 

are proving especially valuable in terms of correcting for meltwater percolation and refreezing in the accumulation area. However, the effect of rime-ice 

and hoarfrost accumulation on automatic weather station sensors must be 

assessed. GSC research is showing that wind and radiation recorded during 

large parts of the winter (when hoarfrost develops) and summer (when rime 

ice forms) produce barely usable and, at worst, misleading results. Research 

should be directed to keeping the sensors free of these deposits.

GLACIERS OF CANADA J141
The importance of glacier calving and basal-ice melt by the sea under 

floating glacier tongues in the High Arctic islands is poorly understood. 

Examination of aerial photography suggests that calving is not a very 

important factor in mass balance, and basal melt under the glacier tongues 

is even less so. However, this is an area deserving of future research.

Acknowledgments

I am greatly indebted to reviewers of this chapter, Drs. Martin 0. Jeffries, 

Julian A. Dowdeswell, and W.S.B. Paterson. Dr. Paterson, in particular, suggested that I undertake a major revision of the entire chapter and made 

many veiy constructive suggestions. Although I did not agree to all the 

reviewers' suggestions, the chapter is the better for the time and effort that 

they put into their technical reviews.

J142 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
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J146 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Glaciers of North America 

GLACIERS OF CANADA

GLACIERS OF THE ARCTIC ISLANDS

ELLESMERE ISLAND ICE SHELVES AND ICE ISLANDS 

By MARTIN O. JEFFRIES

SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD

Edited by RICHARD S. WILLIAMS Jr., and JANE G. FERRIGNO

U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 1386-J-l

Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, has ice shelves in several fjords along its northwest coast. 

They can be classified into three types: sea ice (Ward Hunt Ice Shelf), glacier (Milne Ice 

Shelf), and composite ^Alfred Ernest Ice Shelf). Some ice shelves and ice plugs 

(multiyear landfast sea ice) calve and are the source of ice islands such as Hob son's 

Choice ice island that drift around the Arctic Ocean
CONTENTS

Page

Abstract J147

Introduction 147

FIGURE 1. Subscene of a SPOT-1 image ofHobson's Choice ice island

and 19 smaller ice islands on 25 July 1988 148

2. High-angle oblique trimetrogon aerial photograph of the

Ward Hunt Ice Shelf 148

3. Index map of northern part of Ellesmere Island, Queen

Elizabeth Islands, Nunavut, Canada, showing the location

of the largest remaining ice shelves 149

Origin and Age of the Ellesmere Ice Shelves 150

Ice-Shelf Types -~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ----- - --------------------- 151

Sea Ice: Ward Hunt Ice Shelf 151

FIGURE 4. Subscene of a radiometrically calibrated RADARSAT

Standard Beam 5 (ST5) SAR image of the Ward Hunt Ice

Shelf on 26 May 1998 ------ 152

Glacier: Milne Ice Shelf 153

FIGURE 5. SPOT-1 haute (high) resolution visible (HRV) [high-resolution 

visible spectrum] image of the Milne Ice Shelf on 

8 August 1988 154

6. Subscene of a radiometrically calibrated RADAESAT

Standard Beam 1 (ST1) SAR image of the Milne Ice Shelf

on 13 April 2000 155

Composite: Alfred Ernest Ice Shelf 156

7. Subscene of a radiometrically calibrated RADAESAT SAR

image of the Alfred Ernest Ice Shelf on 5 April 2000 156

Surface Topography 157 

Ice-Shelf Dams and Coastal Oceanography 158

FIGURE 8. Subscene of a radiometrically calibrated RADARSAT Wide 

Beam B ScanSAR image of northernmost Ellesmere 

Island on 8 April 2000 160

Ice Islands, Ice-Shelf Regrowth, and Ice Plugs 159

FIGURE 9. Landsat multispectral scanner (MSS) images of the Nansen

Ice Plug on 22 June 1990 and 24 August 1990 161 

10. Radiometrically calibrated ERS-1 SAR subscenes of 

Hobson's Choice ice island on 13 October 1991 and 

12 November 1991 162

Conclusion 161 

References Cited 163

CONTENTS III
SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD

GLACIERS OF NORTH AMERICAGLACIERS OF CANADA

GLACIERS OF THE ARCTIC ISLANDS

ELLESMERE ISLAND ICE SHELVES AND ICE ISLANDS

By MARTIN O. JEFFRJES1

Abstract

Within fjords along the northwest coast of Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, are several types of 

ice shelves. Three types have been recognized: sea ice, such as the Ward Hunt Ice Shelf; glacier, such as the Milne Ice Shelf; and composite, such as the Alfred Ernest Ice Shelf. Ice plugs, 

such as the Nansen Ice Plug, which are composed of multiyear landfast sea ice, and ice 

shelves are the source of ice islands, such as Hobson's Choice ice island, that drift around 

the Arctic Ocean. Satellite images are used to characterize the types of ice shelves, ice plugs, 

and ice islands. Because of winter darkness and persistent summer cloud cover, satellite synthetic aperture radar is the preferred source of image data to identify the changes in, map the 

areal extent of, and establish a baseline for ice shelves. Ellesmere Island ice shelves have 

existed since the middle Holocene Epoch and were more extensive in the past. The warming 

interval during the 20th century has caused a marked reduction in their areal extent. Ice 

islands are another element of the cryosphere that can be monitored by the use of satellite 

imagery and can serve as an indicator of climatic amelioration.

Introduction

Ice shelf: "A sheet of very thick ice, with a level or gently undulating surface, which is attached to the land along one side but most of which is afloat 

and is bounded on the seaward side by a steep cliff ice front rising 2-50 m 

or more above sea level" (Jackson, 1997, p. 317).

Ice island: "A form of large tabular iceberg broken away from an ice shelf 

and found in the Arctic Ocean, having a thickness of 15-20 m and an area 

between a few thousand square meters and 500 sq km or even more. The 

surface of an ice island is usually marked by broad, shallow, regular undulations that give it a ribbed appearance from the air" (Jackson, 1997, p. 316).

The first ice island, named T-l 2 , was seen in 1946, when a U.S. Army Air 

Force (USAAF) reconnaissance mission over the Arctic Ocean reported a 

heart-shaped ice mass that had dimensions of 24x29 km and an area of 

about 500 km2 surrounded by sea ice (Koenig and others, 1952). Subsequently, ice islands T-2, T-3, T-4, and T-5 were observed from the air or 

identified on aerial photographs between 1946 and 1950 in the Arctic 

Ocean, and 59 unnamed ice islands were found in aerial photographs of the 

Canadian Arctic Archipelago taken in 1950 (Koenig and others, 1952).

Manuscript approved for publication 7 March 2002.

1 Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks, 903 Koyukuk Drive, P.O. Box 757320, Fairbanks, Alaska 99775-7320.

2 The names in this section conform to the usage authorized by the Secretariat of the Canadian Permanent Committee on Geographic Names (CPCGN); URL address: [http://GeoNames.NRCan.gc.ca/]. The 

Website is maintained by the Secretariat through Geomatics Canada, Natural Resources Canada, and combines the CPCGN server with the Canadian Geographical Names Data Base (CGNDB). Variant names and 

names not listed in the CPCGN/CGNDB are shown in italics.

GLACIERS OF CANADA J147
The undulating surface topography of ice islands is accentuated in summer when meltwater lakes form in the troughs (fig. 1). An ice shelf having a 

similar topography of ridges and water-filled troughs (fig. 2) was observed in 

1951 during U.S. Air Force (USAF) reconnaissance missions between 

Nansen Sound and Ward Hunt Island on the north coast of Ellesmere Island, 

Nunavut (fig. 3). Little doubt existed that the Ellesmere Ice Shelf, as it was 

initially called (Hattersley-Smith and others, 1955; Crary, 1958, 1960), was 

the source of the ice islands.

«i i l V- ' / -^ *, **7P^- "^. W^h£$C£~ <ii ' 2f,S^3,rVa T-*^P - ~V»- ^---^ ^^ W

^v- -,->?^:x-*N

Figure l. Subscene of a SPOT-1 image of 

Hobson's Choice ice island and 75 smaller 

ice islands on 25 July 1988. Hobson's 

Choice ice island calved from the east side 

of Ward Hunt Ice Shelf in 1982-83 (see fig. 

4). Image number HRV2 061-108 250788 is 

from SPOT Image Corporation.

Figure 2. Left-looking (high-angle oblique) trimetrogon aerial photograph of 

the Ward Hunt Ice Shelf acquired by the 

Royal Canadian Air Force in August 1950 

from 6,096 m. The ice shelf north (to the 

left) of the ice rise and Ward Hunt Island 

ceased to exist in 1961-62, when almost 

600 km2 of ice calved. Photograph number T404L-3 from the National Air Photo 

Library, Ottawa, Canada.

J148 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
80°W

Figure 3. Northern part of Ellesmere 

Island, Queen Elizabeth Islands, Nunavut, 

Canada, showing the location of the largest remaining ice shelves (Markham Ice 

Shelf, Ward Hunt Ice Shelf, Ayles Ice Shelf, 

Milne Ice Shelf, and Alfred Ernest Ice 

ShelfA as well as other locations mentioned in the text.

The first to describe the undulating surface of the ice along the north 

coast of Ellesmere Island was Lt. Pelham Aldrich (Royal Navy) in 1876. 

Man-hauling a sledge on what is now known as the Ward Hunt Ice Shelf and 

looking west across the mouth of Disraeli Fiord, Aldrich wrote: "Several low 

ridges from 30 to 40 feet high, and varying from a few hundred yards to 

about a mile in length, show up in front of the cliffs. Their general direction 

being SE to NW, hence on the east coast of the bay to the south-westward 

they are nearly parallel with it. I imagine these ridges are composed of hard 

ice under the snow..." (Parliamentary Paper, 1877, p. 201-202). As the 

party passed between Ward Hunt Island and the mainland (fig. 2), he 

wrote: "...we crossed a ridge about 30 feet high, and a half mile in width, 

which runs quite a mile from about the middle of the south shore...Similar 

looking ridges extended to the eastward and westward of the island" (Parliamentary Paper, 1877, p. 201-202).

Thirty years later, on what is now known as the Ward Hunt Ice Shelf, 

Peary (1907, p. 185) noted the difficulty of dog-sled travel, which "was 

accentuated in the series of rolling swells which are a feature of this icefoot? (sic) along here. These swells are on a large scale...if they are not 

huge drifts I do not know how to account for them. Off Ward Hunt Island 

and especially the western end, they are particularly marked, and here they 

blend into drifts formed in the lee of the island."

Elsewhere along the coast, Peary described the ice topography thus: 

"...what later became a constant and striking feature of the glacial fringe,

J149
the long, prairie-like swells of its surface..." (Peary, 1907, p. 181) and "...a 

gigantic potato field with a long blue lake or rushing stream in every furrow" (Peary, 1907, p. 220). Although Peary considered the ice surface to be 

a "watery hell" (Peary, 1907, p. 225), he also predicted that "the glacial 

fringe" "will form one of the most unique and interesting features of this 

region to the glacialist..." (Peary, 1907, p. 240).

The historical record suggests that the "glacial fringe" was a single ice 

shelf that extended from Point Moss to Nansen Sound (fig. 3), hence, the 

so-called Ellesmere Ice Shelf. At the beginning of the 20th century, it had 

an estimated area of 7,500 km2 (Jeffries, 1987). A single, continuous Ellesmere Ice Shelf no longer exists; its disintegration, which produced the ice 

islands, has left a number of smaller ice shelves isolated in fjords, inlets, 

and bays (fig. 3). These are the Ellesmere Island ice shelves, and they are 

unique in North America.

Peary showed remarkable foresight with respect to the interest of "the 

glacialist" in the "glacial fringe." In 1953 and 1954, the Defence Research 

Board of Canada and the Geological Survey of Canada conducted the first 

glaciological, geophysical, geological, and oceanographic surveys of the 

Ellesmere Ice Shelf (Hattersley-Smith and others, 1955; Crary, 1958, 

1960). Since then, numerous glaciological and related investigations have 

been made of the Ellesmere Island ice shelves, and a number of ice islands 

have been used as platforms for drifting scientific research stations in the 

Arctic Basin, for example, T-3, ARLIS-II, andHobson's Choice ice island 

(fig. 1). Most scientific investigations have been on-site programs. Remote 

sensing has not been widely used, although imagery has been available 

since the firsl aerial photography missions of the late 1940's. Available 

remote sensing data now include oblique and vertical aerial photographs, 

Satellite pour 1'Observation de la Terre (SPOT) and Landsat imagery, airborne real aperture radar (RAR), airborne and spaceborne synthetic aperture radar (SAR), and the like.

This paper describes the origin and age of the ice shelves, the different 

types of ice shelves (sea-ice, glacier-ice, and composite-ice shelves), the 

origin of the undulating surface topography, the impact of ice shelves on 

coastal oceanography, ice-shelf regrowth, ice islands, and ice plugs. European Remote Sensing Satellite (ERS-1) and RADARSAT SAR, Landsat, and 

SPOT images are used to illustrate a variety of physical characteristics and 

processes of the Ellesmere Island ice shelves and ice islands.

Origin and Age of the Ellesmere Ice Shelves

Most of the Earth's ice shelves are located in Antarctica, where they are 

almost all seaward extensions of the grounded Antarctic ice sheet. The glaciers and ice streams that flow into the large embayments of the Antarctic 

continent are further nourished at the surface by accumulating snow and, 

in places, by basal accretion of sea ice. Massive tabular icebergs calve from 

the Antarctic ice shelves. The largest ice shelf on Earth is the Ross Ice 

Shelf, West Antarctica (525,840 km2 : Swithinbank, 1988, p. B12). The calving of iceberg B-15 (37x295 km, 10,900 km2) and a number of smaller icebergs from the Ross Ice Shelf in March 2000 reduced its area by 3 percent 

or less (S.S. Jacobs, oral commun., August 20UO).

The Ellesmere Island ice shelves and ice islands are dwarfed by comparison with their Antarctic counterparts. T-2 (700 km2) was the largest 

reported ice island in this area (Koenig and others, 1952). The calving of 

almost 600 km2 of ice from the Ward Hunt Ice Shelf in 1961-62 reduced its 

area by more than 50 percent (Hattersley-Smith, 1963). In 1998, Ward 

Hunt Ice Shelf had an area of 490 km2 (Vincent and others, 2001). The

J150 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Ellesmere Island ice shelves have a total area of approximately 1,350 km2 

(Jeffries, 1987). Though they are much smaller, the Ellesmere Island ice 

shelves are no less scientifically significant than the Antarctic ice shelves.

Koenig and others (1952) recognized that some parts of the Ellesmere 

Ice Shelf were receiving inflow from grounded glaciers and other parts 

were not. Lemmen and others (1988a, 1988b) considered the Ellesmere 

Island ice shelves to be composed of genetically, dynamically, and geomorphologically distinct systems, and they proposed a simple genetic classification to differentiate among a sea-ice ice shelf, a glacial- [sic, glacier-] ice 

shelf, and a composite-ice shelf. Sea-ice ice shelf refers to an ice shelf that 

is primarily composed of multiyear landfast sea ice and has a freeboard of 

more than 2 m. Glacier input is either absent or negligible, although ice 

rises (where the ice shelf is grounded on the sea floor) may be found in and 

adjacent to sea-ice shelves. Glacial- [sic, Glacier-] ice shelf refers to an 

ice shelf that is, or has been, nourished directly from grounded (glacier) 

ice. Composite-ice shelf refers to an ice shelf that is composed of significant amounts of both glacier ice and sea ice. Surface accumulation and bottom freezing, as well as surface ablation and bottom melting, are known to 

take place or have taken place at the Ward Hunt Ice Shelf, a sea-ice ice 

shelf (see next section). It is reasonable to presume that the same processes are present at the other types of ice shelves.

Glaciological and geomorphological studies, along with radiocarbon dating of driftwood, marine mammals, and shells, indicate that the Ellesmere 

Island ice shelves are Holocene in age (Bradley, 1990; Evans and England, 

1992). The sea-ice ice shelves began to form at about 4.5 kilo-annum (ka, 

103 years) (before the present, present defined by geochronologists as A.D. 

1950) during a middle Holocene climatic deterioration. Prior to that, the 

Pleistocene glaciers had retreated to behind their present positions, the 

summer sea-ice cover was much less severe with predominantly open water 

compared with modern conditions, and no ice shelves were present (Evans 

and England, 1992). The timing of glacier readvance and formation of the 

glacial [sic, glacier] ice shelves and the glacier component of the composite ice shelves is more difficult to ascertain. Some large glaciers are still 

advancing in response to the middle Holocene climatic deterioration, and 

some glaciers display evidence of dual advances, which may reflect both the 

middle Holocene and "Little Ice Age" (400-100 years before present) accumulations (Evans and England, 1992).

Ice-Shelf Types

Sea Ice: Ward Hunt Ice Shelf

The Ward Hunt Ice Shelf lies across the mouth of Disraeli Fiord (figs. 2,3, 

and 4) and is the most studied of the Ellesmere Island ice shelves. The 

undulating surface topography is manifested as a faintly ribbed texture in 

the SAR image (fig. 4). The undulations are commonly called "rolls" 

(Hattersley-Smith, 1957). On the western part of the ice shelf (the area to 

the west of Ward Hunt Island), the rolls have a mean (±1 standard deviation) wavelength of 267±60 m, whereas those on the eastern ice shelf (the 

area to the east of Ward Hunt Island) have a mean wavelength of 212±42 m 

(Jeffries and others, 1990). Interest in the rolls has centered primarily on 

their origin (see "Surface Topography" section). More recently, it has been 

found that the meltwater lakes on the Ward Hunt Ice Shelf harbor complex 

and productive microbial ecosystems that offer the opportunity to understand the Proterozoic fossil record and life on "snowball Earth" (Vincent 

and others, 2001).

GLACIERS OF CANADA J151
Radiocarbon dates for basally accreted marine organic compounds collected at the ice-shelf surface range between 4.5 and 3.3 ka (Lyons and 

Mielke, 1973). The former is the best estimate for the onset of ice-shelf formation in the middle Holocene (Evans and England, 1992). The youngest 

driftwood (3+0.2 ka) found along the shores of Disraeli Fiord (Crary, 1960) 

provides a maximum date for the complete blockage of the coast by the ice 

shelf (Evans and England, 1992). The only known ice rises in all the Ellesmere ice shelves are those in the Ward Hunt Ice Shelf (fig. 4). Heat-flow calculations indicate that they began to ground on the sea floor beginning at 

about 1.6 ka, the greatest growth taking place in the interval 1,000 to 150 

years ago (Lyons and others, 1972).

Sea ice and brackish ice in ice cores reflect water salinity variability 

below the ice shelf (Lyons and others, 1971; Jeffries and Sackinger, 1989;

Figure 4. Subscene of a radiometrically 

calibrated RADARSAT Standard Beam 5 

(ST5) SAR image of the Ward Hunt Ice 

Shelf on 26 May 1998 that has a spatial 

resolution of 150 m and a pixel spacing of 

100 m. Image number R113353209 from 

the Alaska SAR Facility. Original image is 

© CSA (Canadian Space Agency).

J152 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Jeffries, 1991a). This saline ice, which still has a high liquid-brine content 

(Jeffries, 1991a), is exposed at the surface of the ice shelf, particularly to 

the south and west of Ward Hunt Island (fig. 4). The dark SAR signature 

can be attributed to attenuation of the radar signal by the brine. The 

brighter SAR signatures of other parts of the ice shelf are probably due to 

volume scattering and strong returns from bubble-rich iced firn ("A mixture of ice and firn; firn permeated with meltwater and then refrozen," 

Jackson, 1997, p. 316) that overlies the sea ice.

Airborne radio-echosounding indicates that the entire area of ice shelf to 

the west and south of Ward Hunt Island contains sea ice and brackish ice, 

which has frustrated efforts to make ice-thickness measurements by electromagnetic means in these areas because of signal attenuation (HattersleySmith and others, 1969; Narod and others, 1988). However, seismic sounding 

and ice-temperature profiles in the western ice shelf indicate that it is up to 

50 m thick (Crary, 1958; Lyons and others, 1972; Jeffries, 1991a).

Bottom reflections have been obtained by radio-echosounding over a 

large part of the eastern ice shelf. In 1966, the ice thickness was primarily 

in the range of 35-40 m, but some values were as high as 80 m (HattersleySmith and others, 1969). In 1981, the ice thickness was consistently 

45-50 m (Narod and others, 1988). The acquisition of bottom reflections 

implied that no saline ice was present in much of the eastern ice shelf. This 

was confirmed by the nonsaline composition of a 42-m ice core (Jeffries 

and others, 1988,1991) through Hobson 's Choice ice island (fig. 1), which 

calved from the eastern ice shelf (fig. 4) in 1982-83 (Jeffries and Serson, 

1983). The absence of sea ice in the eastern ice shelf has been attributed to 

bottom melting prior to 1952 (Jeffries and others, 1991).

The 42-m Hobson's Choice ice core was composed of 37 m of iced firn 

overlying a tritium-rich, 5-m-thick basal ice layer that had accreted since 

1952 from freshwater flowing out of Disraeli Fiord (Jeffries and others, 

1988, 1991). It has been estimated that the freshwater ice accreted at 

1.3-1.9 times the rate of surface ablation (Jeffries, 1991b; Jeffries and others, 1991). Although the eastern ice shelf might have thickened slightly 

between the 1950's and the 1980's, evidence exists that significant thinning 

has taken place since the 1980's (Vincent and others, in 2001). This is discussed in the "Ice-Shelf Dams and Coastal Oceanography" section.

Glacier: Milne Ice Shelf

Milne Ice Shelf is the second largest of the Ellesmere ice shelves. It is 

42-km long and extends from the mouth of Milne Fiord to the grounding line 

of Milne Glacier (figs. 5 and 6). The surface topography of the ice shelf is 

quite variable, as it has rolls that become shorter in wavelength as the distance from the ice-shelf front increases (fig. 5). The topographic variations 

are the basis for the division of the ice shelf into three units (outer, central, 

and inner) plus the floating part of the Milne Glacier (Jeffries, 1986),

Milne Glacier is 10-40 m thick seaward of the grounding line (Narod and 

others, 1988). In addition to an undulating surface, the floating ice is characterized by a number of moderately contorted medial moraines (fig. 5) 

that might be evidence that Milne Glacier is a surge-type glacier (Jeffries, 

1984). Between 1950 and 1959, the glacier advanced at about 10 m a"1 ; no 

advance took place between 1959 and 1966 (Hattersley-Smith and others, 

1969). A comparison of the 1959 aerial photography and the SPOT image 

(fig. 5) indicates that the glacier advanced 2.5 km between 1966 and 1988. 

A comparison of the SPOT image and the RADARSAT image (fig. 6) indicates that the glacier advanced 2 km at 165 m a"1 between 1988 and 2000. 

These speeds are not as high as those associated with true surge-type glaciers, but they are high for a polar glacier.

GLACIERS OF CANADA J153
"i OiSiSS*

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 "*" Milne Ice Shelf f ±JI^M«;P%

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No radio-echosounding bottom echoes were obtained from the inner unit 

(Narod and others, 1988), but ice-core drilling has shown the ice to be as little 

as 3 m thick (M.O. Jeffries, unpub. data, 1983). Short-wavelength (60-100 m, 

Jeffries, 1986), curvilinear rolls are evident in the SPOT image (fig. 5) but not 

in the SAR image (fig. 6). Also, the textureless SAR signature of the inner unit 

is brighter than that of the central and outer units (fig. 6). The bright signature might be due to surface scattering from rough ice deformed by the 

advance of Milne Glacier. This signature is also similar to that of Disraeli Fiord 

(fig. 4) where evidence exists that the cause is the same. This is discussed in 

the "Ice-Shelf Dams and Coastal Oceanography" section.

The central unit is 10-100 m thick (Narod and others, 1988) and is 

derived from tributary glaciers (figs. 5 and 6: numbers 1,2,3, and 6) flowing in from the east and west sides of Milne Fiord (Jeffries, 1986). The 

thickest ice is found in a tongue extending seaward of glacier 2 (Narod and 

others, 1988). The rolls (150-180 m wavelength, Jeffries, 1986) on the

Figure 5. SPOT-1 haute (high) resolution 

visible (HRV) [high-resolution visible spectrum] image of the Milne Ice Shelf on 8 

August 1988. The ice shelf is composed of 

the floating part of Milne Glacier north of 

the glacier grounding line, and the inner, 

central, and outer units. Abbreviation: 

MLSI, multiyear landfast sea ice. Image 

number HRV1 086-122080888 is from the 

SPOT Image Corporation.

J154 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Figure 6. Subscene of a radiometrically calibrated RADARSAT Standard Beam 1 (ST1) 

SAR image of the Milne Ice Shelf on 13 April 

2000 that has a spatial resolution of 150 m 

and a pixel spacing of 100 m. Tributary glaciers flowing into the central unit are identified by 1, 2, 3, and 6 (after Jeffries, 1986). DS 

identifies the location where density stratification was observed below the ice in 1983 and 

1984. Note multiyear landfast sea ice (MLSI). 

Image number R123185213 is from the Alaska 

SAR Facility. Original image is © CSA.

central unit might be aligned with former crevasses (Hattersley-Smith, 

1957), or they might reflect the flow lines of the glacier tongues derived 

from glaciers 1, 2, 3, and 6 (Jeffries, 1986). Extensive moraines composed 

of individual boulders many meters across and conical mounds of debris up 

to 10 m high attest to the glacial origin of the central unit (Jeffries, 1986). 

The debris-laden ice surface accounts for the dark tone in the SPOT image 

(fig. 5) and probably the dark signature of the SAR image (fig. 6).

The outer unit is 10-90 m thick, and the thickest ice is found in a tongue 

that extends west across the mouth of Milne Fiord from the ice field at 

Cape Egerton (Narod and others, 1988: fig. 6). If this thick tongue of ice is a 

glacier tongue, then it is likely a relict feature, as I have seen no evidence

GLACIERS OF CANADA J155
on the ground or from the air for glacier flow off the ice field today. The 

rolls on the outer unit have a mean wavelength of 330±62 m (Jeffries, 

1986), and those adjacent to Cape Egerton are the most linear of the entire 

ice shelf (fig. 5). Rather than precluding a glacier origin for the outer unit, 

the linearity of the rolls might be due to prolonged and intense modification 

of the surface topography since the glacier advance from Cape Egerton.

Other features on the outer unit include a fracture and a suture 

(rehealed fracture) (fig. 6) that are also evident in 1959 aerial photographs 

(Jeffries, 1986). The precise origin of these features is unknown, although 

airborne radio-echosounding suggests that they might be associated with 

bottom crevasses where brackish or sea ice is accreting (Narod and others, 

1988). Unlike the central unit, the outer unit is not debris-laden, and it has 

a bright SAR signature (fig. 6) probably due to volume scattering from the 

iced firn. Note the strong resemblance between the topography of the outer 

unit (fig. 5) and that ofHobson's Choice ice island (fig. 1).

Composite: Alfred Ernest Ice Shelf

The Alfred Ernest Ice Shelf occupies the bay between Alert Point and 

Cape Woods on Wootton Peninsula (figs. 3 and 7). Lemmen and others 

(1988b) described it as a composite-ice shelf that comprises an inner unit 

known to be glacial in origin, as it is derived from a valley glacier (A in fig. 7) 

and a trunk glacier (B), and an outer unit believed to have originated as sea 

ice. A radiocarbon date of 6.83±0.05 ka for a narwhal tusk at site N (fig. 7) 

suggests regionally abundant open water and locally no ice shelf at that 

time (Evans, 1989). A radiocarbon date of 4.31±0.07 ka for driftwood at site 

X (fig. 7) gives a maximum age for the sea-ice component (Lemmen and 

others, 1988b) that is consistent with the onset of formation of the Ward 

Hunt Ice Shelf. A radiocarbon date of 1.85±0.05 ka for marine shells from

Figure Z Subscene of a radiometrically 

calibrated RADARSAT SAR image of the 

Alfred Ernest Ice Shelf on 5 April 2000 that 

has a spatial resolution of 150 m and a 

pixel spacing of 100 m. A and B identify a 

valley glacier and trunk glacier, respectively, and Af and Bf are the floating 

tongues of those glaciers. DS is the location where density stratification was 

observed below the ice, and FW is the 

location where freshwater was found in a 

crack in the ice in May 1986. X and Y identify the locations of radiocarbon-dated 

driftwood and marine shells, respectively 

(Lemmen and others, 1988b). N identifies 

the location of a radiocarbon-dated narwhal tusk (Evans, 1989). Image number 

R123071212 is from the Alaska SAR Facility. Original image is © CSA.

J156 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
glacially thrust sediment at site Y (fig. 7) indicates that the glacier component of the ice shelf is quite young and postdates the sea-ice component.

Lemmen and others (1988b) note that the floating tongues of glaciers A 

and B have "surface patterns that are clearly related to transverse crevasse 

systems within the grounded ice." On these glacier tongues are also extensive moraines that have boulders and conical debris mounds similar to 

those on the Milne Ice Shelf (M.O. Jeffries, unpub. data, 1984, 1986). The 

sea-ice unit has some particularly dark SAR signatures that might denote 

sea ice exposed at the surface (fig. 7). The ribbed texture of the sea-ice 

unit is more pronounced than at Ward Hunt and Milne Ice Shelves (figs. 4 

and 6), perhaps because of differences in the SAR incidence angle or illumination direction. The rolls on the sea-ice unit have a mean wavelength of 

291±69 m (M.O. Jeffries, unpub. data, 1986).

Lemmen and others (1988b) describe a suture (fig. 7) along the east margin of the sea-ice unit and propose that it is a fracture caused by the advance 

of glacier B. They suggest that the suture has developed rolls since it 

opened. This might account for the ribbed texture of the suture (fig. 7), but 

given the present understanding of the processes governing the ice-surface 

topography (see next section), one would expect these rolls to be aligned 

parallel with rather than perpendicular to the rolls on the sea-ice unit.

In May 1986,1 traveled on the surface of the suture and observed a number of open fractures oriented parallel with the ribbed texture. The fractures contained freshwater, and freeboard values of 0.1-0.2 m indicated 

relatively thin ice. The bright linear feature running through the suture and 

oriented parallel with the ribbed texture (fig. 7) is probably a particularly 

large and recent fracture. A comparison of airborne 1988 SAR data (fig. 4 in 

Jeffries, 1992) and 1993 ERS-1 data indicates that it opened after 1988. I 

suggest that the ribbed texture of the suture is due to scattering from old, 

rehealed fractures that record a history of glacier advances. These 

advances have progressively widened the suture since its initial opening at 

approximately 1.85 ka and have displaced the sea-ice unit seaward. The 

new fracture suggests the presence of some recent glacier activity.

The area adjacent to Cape Alfred Ernest and along the shore of Wootton 

Peninsula has a bright, textureless SAR signature (fig. 7). It is quite unlike 

the suture and the glacier- and sea-ice units, but it is similar to Disraeli 

Fiord (fig. 4) and the inner unit of the Milne Ice Shelf (fig. 6). The cause 

and implications of these bright signatures are discussed in the "Ice-Shelf 

Dams and Coastal Oceanography" section.

Surface Topography

The ice shelves and ice islands have a rolling topography of strongly 

aligned, bifurcating ridges and troughs, that is, the rolls (figs. 1,2, and 5). 

Details of the numerous explanations for the origin of the rolls can be found 

elsewhere (Hattersley-Smith, 1957; Lister, 1962; Holdsworth, 1987). They 

are either genetic features that began to form at the time of ice-shelf formation or are superimposed features that developed after initial ice-shelf formation, or they are a combination of the two. On any given ice shelf or part 

of an ice shelf, the wavelength of the rolls is quite uniform and apparently 

increases as ice thickness increases (Hattersley-Smith, 1957). Jeffries and 

others (1990) found ice thickness (?/) and roll wavelength (x} to be related 

by a polynomial expression,

2/=0.1392a:+0.0002826:r2-2.085 m.

Of all the explanations for the rolls, the following meltwater-lake hypothesis has been given the most credence. In developing this hypothesis, Crary

GLACIERS OF CANADA J157
(1960) observed that the orientation of the rolls is, in many places, parallel 

with the direction of prevailing winds and the shore. He suggested that 

winds blowing parallel to the coastline over an initially randomly distributed array of melt pools would cause them to become elongated as a result 

of solar heating of the water and wind-accelerated convection currents. 

The greater the number of summers that this happens, the more developed 

the rolls become.

The rolls are superimposed features according to the meltwater-lakealignment hypothesis, but the hypothesis offers no explanation for the uniformity of their wavelength, the relationship between wavelength and ice 

thickness, and the bifurcations (Holdsworth, 1987). To account for these, 

Holdsworth hypothesized that the rolls form dynamically as an ice shelf is 

deformed. He showed analytically that (1) extreme pack-ice pressure 

against the edge of an ice shelf creates compressive strains that cause iceshelf creep buckling at a critical stress level; (2) the undulations bifurcate 

because the compressive strains are nonhomogeneous as the extreme 

pack-ice pressure events take place over limited sections of the ice-shelf 

edge for limited periods of time; and (3) as the ice thickens, buckling due to 

further extreme events creates longer wavelength undulations. The genetic 

waveforms caused by the creep-buckling instabilities are perpetuated by 

the meltwater lakes (Holdsworth, 1987).

The creep-buckling-instability hypothesis was developed to explain the 

rolls on the Ward Hunt Ice Shelf but would apply to the other ice shelves, 

except where it can be shown that other processes are acting that are 

capable of compressing and buckling floating ice (Holdsworth, 1987). This 

would include those parts of the Milne Ice Shelf and Alfred Ernest Ice 

Shelf that are derived from the seaward advance of grounded glaciers. 

Although the outer unit of the Milne Ice Shelf may be glacier ice in origin, 

any rolls that were originally oriented parallel to ice flow lines or crevasses 

may have been modified due to exposure to the prevailing winds' blowing 

along the coast.

Ice-Shelf Dams and Coastal Oceanography

The ice cover on Disraeli Fiord, which lies to the south of the Ward Hunt 

Ice Shelf, has a bright, textureless SAR signature that contrasts with the 

darker, more textured signature of the ice shelf (fig. 4). No ice shelf is 

present in Disraeli Fiord, but the water there is strongly density stratified 

and has a layer of freshwater at the surface overlying seawater at greater 

depth (Keys, 1978; Jeffries, 1991b; Jeffries and Krouse, 1984; Vincent and 

others, 2001). It is stratified because meltwater that flows in from its catchment area is impounded behind the Ward Hunt Ice Shelf, and the perennial 

ice cover prevents wind-mixing.

Disraeli Fiord is covered with perennial lake ice that grows from the 

freshwater layer (Keys, 1978; Jeffries, 1985). The ice surface forms candles 

[disintegrates into ice prisms oriented perpendicular to the ice surface 

(Jackson, 1997, p. 94)] because of melting along grain boundaries in summer (Keys, 1978), and also many internal melt features are present (Jeffries, 1985). Consequently, the bright SAR signature is probably due to a 

combination of surface and volume scattering, plus any reflections from the 

ice-water interface. An equally bright SAR signature is observed at Lakes A 

and B (fig. 4), which are both density stratified and have perennial ice covers (Hattersley-Smith and others, 1970; Jeffries and others, 1984; Jeffries 

and Krouse, 1985). The bright signature of the moat along the south shore 

of the western ice shelf near Lakes A and B (fig. 4) suggests that it too is 

density stratified and covered with lake ice.

J158 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
The freshwater ice found at the base ofHobson's Choice ice island was 

cited as evidence that some freshwater flows out of Disraeli Fiord below the 

ice-shelf dam, specifically below the eastern Ward Hunt Ice Shelf (Jeffries 

and others, 1988, 1991). In 1967, when the density stratification was discovered (Keys, 1978), the freshwater layer was 44.5 m thick; in 1983, it was 

41 m thick (Jeffries, 1991b), and in 1999, it was 32 m thick (Vincent and 

others, 2001). It has always been assumed that the freshwater-layer thickness is equivalent to the mean draft of the ice shelf; hence, a 32-m draft was 

equivalent to a thickness of 35 m in 1999, which was 22 percent thinner 

than in 1983 and 27 percent thinner than in 1967 (Vincent and others, 

2001). An increase in mean annual air temperature and melting degree 

days since 1967 suggests that the thinning of the freshwater layer is a genuine loss due to outflow beneath the ice shelf rather than a consequence of 

decreasing meltwater flow into Disraeli Fiord (Vincent and others, 2001).

Density stratification has also been observed at the Milne Ice Shelf and 

Alfred Ernest Ice Shelf. In May 1983 and 1984, a 17.5-m-thick freshwater 

layer was found below 3-m-thick lake ice in the inner unit of Milne Ice Shelf 

(M.O. Jeffries, unpub. data, 1983, 1984). With a bright SAR signature (fig.

6) similar to that on Disraeli Fiord (fig. 4), the inner unit is probably lake 

ice that has grown from freshwater impounded behind the central and 

outer units of Milne Ice Shelf. The inner unit of the Milne Ice Shelf, then, is 

not entirely glacier ice in origin, although it owes its unusual composition to 

the glacier-ice dam of the central and outer units. It is a hybrid that probably varies in composition according to the advance and retreat of Milne Glacier, as well as the hydrography of the fjord, as determined by the 

effectiveness of the ice-shelf dam.

In May 1986, a 7-m-thick layer of freshwater was found below 2-m-thick 

lake ice at the northern end of the Alfred Ernest Ice Shelf suture, and 

freshwater was observed in a seal hole in 2-m-thick ice at location FW (fig.

7) (M.O. Jeffries, unpub. data, 1986). The bright, textureless SAR signature 

of the ice adjacent to Cape Alfred Ernest and along the shore of Wootton 

Peninsula (fig. 7) suggests an extensive lake-ice cover that is growing from 

freshwater impounded behind the glacier- and sea-ice units of Alfred 

Ernest Ice Shelf.

Bright SAR signatures are found in other fjords and inlets of the north 

coast of Ellesmere Island: West Arm Yelverton Inlet, Ayles Fiord, Taconite 

Inlet, and M'Clintock Inlet (fig. 8). It is unlikely that the SAR signatures at 

these locations are due to surface and volume scattering from desalinated, 

near-surface layers of multiyear sea ice because the backscatter is significantly stronger than that from the multiyear ice on the nearby Arctic Ocean 

(fig. 8). It is more likely that the bright SAR signatures denote lake ice and 

that these fjords and inlets are also density stratified because of ice dams 

that impound freshwater. Density stratification is widespread at the 

moment, but significant hydrographic changes at these locations might be 

detected by changes in the backscatter from the ice. For example, if an ice 

dam failed and the stratification broke down or if the perennial ice 

melted, and the fjords and inlets were open each summer and subject to 

wind mixing the SAR signature of the ice would become darker as the ice 

began to grow from seawater or brackish water.

Ice Islands, Ice-Shelf Regrowth, and Ice Plugs

Koenig and others (1952) suggested that winds, tides, and pack-ice pressure cause cracks to develop in ice shelves and hasten ice-island calving. 

Cracks might also develop because of thermal stress (Legen'kov, 1974). Holdsworth (1971) suggested that the massive calving from the Ward Hunt Ice Shelf

GLACIERS OF CANADA J159
Shelf in 1961-62 might have been due to the coincidence of above-average 

tides and a seismic shock. Holdsworth and Glyn (1981) invoked a vibration 

mechanism, where ocean-wave energy intercepted by an ice shelf causes a resonant motion that raises stresses in the ice to the point that fracture results.

Ahlnas and Sackinger (1988) proposed that calvmgs are triggered by 

persistent offshore winds. Frequently, after a major calving event, the lost 

shelf ice is replaced by multiyear landfast sea ice (MLSI). In February 1988, 

only 7-10 days after an episode of offshore winds, a piece of MLSI was 

observed by airborne SAR as it calved from the Milne Ice Shelf (Jeffries and 

Sackinger, 1990). The SPOT image (fig. 5) shows that that particular piece 

of MLSI did not move far in the 6 months after calving. ERS-1 SAR data 

show that the MLSI subsequently broke away completely (M.O. Jeffries, 

unpub. data, 1991), and the RADARSAT SAR image (fig. 6) shows that it 

has since been replaced by more MLSI.

Extensive areas of MLSI are observed along the north coast of Ellesmere 

Island, and in many cases, MLSI is found in areas that are known to have 

once been occupied by an ice shelf. Yelverton Bay (figs. 3, 5, and 8), the 

likely source of ice island T-3 (Crary, 1960), is now covered with MLSI. 

Since the M'Clintock Ice Shelf disintegrated in the middle-1960's 

(Hattersley-Smith, 1967), MLSI containing ice-shelf fragments has covered 

the mouth of M'Clintock Inlet (fig. 8). The MLSI is a means by which the ice 

shelves regenerate after ice-island calvings, although the narrow strip of 

MLSI along the front of the Ward Hunt Ice Shelf (fig. 4), which has grown 

since the 1961-62 and 1982-83 calvings, is evidence that the replacement 

of lost ice shelf is often far from complete. The MLSI can be considered as 

incipient ice shelf and as analogous to the original sea-ice ice shelves.

The Nansen Ice Plug (fig. 9) is MLSI at the mouth of Nansen Sound 

(fig. 3) (Serson, 1972). The historical record (Peary, 1907, p. 203) suggests

Figure 8. Subscene of a radiometrically 

calibrated RADARSAT Wide Beam B ScanSAR image of northernmost Ellesmere 

Island on 8 April 2000 that has a spatial 

resolution of 150 m and a pixel spacing of 

WO m. The five largest remaining ice 

shelves are marked; the bright SAR signature indicates an area where density stratification probably occurs from an ice dam 

that impounds freshwater. Image number 

R123114210 is from the Alaska SAR Facility. Original image is © CSA.

J160 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Figure 9. Landsat multispectral scanner 

(MSS) images of the Nansen Ice Plug on 

A, 22 June 1990 and B, 24 August 1990. 

Landsat image 52304-20574, band 4; 22 

June 1990; Path 58, Row 247; and Landsat 

image 52367-20143, band 4; 24 August 

1990; Path 51, Row 248, respectively, were 

acquired by the now-defunct Quick-Look 

Project satellite receiver at the Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Alaska. Numbers 1 and 2 are 

reference points that identify the same 

locations in each image.

that an ice shelf was present in Nansen Sound at the beginning of the 20th 

century. The disintegration of that ice shelf or of a subsequent ice plug 

might have been the source of ice island NP-6 (Serson, 1972). Figure 9 

illustrates the effectiveness of the ice plug as a barrier to the movement of 

ice from the Arctic Ocean into Nansen Sound (fig. 3) and the Queen Elizabeth Islands (fig. 3 inset). A similar MLSI plug, the Sverdrup Ice Plug, is 

found in Sverdrup Channel between Axel Heiberg and Meighen Islands 

(fig. 3) (Serson, 1974). In Summer 1998, the warmest summer in the region 

since 1962, both the Nansen and Sverdrup Ice Plugs disintegrated for the 

first time since 1962 (Jeffers and others, 2001). The disintegration of these 

incipient ice shelves was not an isolated incident. Summer 1998 was a globally warm summer that saw a record reduction in the sea-ice cover of the 

Beaufort and Chukchi Seas (Maslanik and others, 1999) and the Queen 

Elizabeth Islands (Jeffers and others, 2001).

An abnormal reduction of the sea ice cover in the Queen Elizabeth 

Islands also took place in late summer and early autumn 1991 (Jeffries and 

Shaw, 1993). This allowed Hobson 's Choice ice island (fig. 1) to drift rapidly south through the interisland channels, where it disintegrated between 

13 October and 12 November 1991 (fig. 10) (Jeffries and Shaw, 1993). The 

demise of Hobson's Choice ice island was unfortunate as it forced the closure of the Canadian ice-island research station there. This station had 

promised to add significantly to geological, geophysical, meteorological, 

and oceanographic understanding of the Canadian Polar Margin (Hobson, 

1989).

Conclusion

Ice shelves have existed along the north coast of Ellesmere Island since 

the middle Holocene when sea-ice ice shelves began to form in response to 

a climatic deterioration. The ice shelves were once much more extensive 

than they are today, and their current extent reflects a 20th century disintegration. The 20th century was a period of exceptionally high temperatures and climatic amelioration in the Canadian High Arctic (Bradley, 1990;

GLACIERS OF CANADA J161
Evans and England, 1992), and it is reasonable to suppose that the disintegration of the Ellesmere Ice Shelf was a response to the pronounced warming during the last century (Jeffries, 1992). The apparent thinning of the 

Ward Hunt Ice Shelf in the 1980's-90's and the disintegration of the ice 

plugs in the late 1990's came about as significant changes were detected in 

the sea ice and hydrography of the Arctic Ocean (Dickson, 1999). It is difficult to ignore the connection between the state of the Ellesmere Island ice 

shelves, the state of the climate, and changes taking place elsewhere in the 

Arctic Basin. The ice shelves are bellwethers of climate change, which has 

the potential to cause further glaciological, hydrographic, and cryohabitat 

changes at these small but environmentally significant ice features (Vincent 

and others, 2000, 2001). Available ERS-1, ERS-2 and RADARSAT SAR data 

offer the opportunity to identify changes that may have taken place since 

1991, as well as (1) to map the current areal extent of the ice shelves and 

(2) to establish a baseline for future monitoring. SAR instruments such as 

RADARSAT-2, ENVISAT, PALSAR, Ice, Cloud, and Land Elevation Satellite 

(ICESat), and current Earth Observing System (EOS) (Terra) instruments, such as the Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS) 

and Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer 

(ASTER), offer unprecedented opportunities for the foreseeable future for 

change detection and impact assessment. These should increase the understanding of the Ellesmere Island ice shelves and ice islands and their relationship to climate variability.

Figure 10. Radiometrically calibrated 

ERS-1 SAR subscenes of Hobson's Choice 

ice island on A, 13 October 1991 and B, 12 

November 1991 as it drifted south through 

the channels of the Queen Elizabeth 

Islands and disintegrated into three large 

pieces and numerous smaller fragments. 

The spatial resolution is 30 m, and the 

pixel size is 12.5 m. Image numbers 

E101262195 (A) and E101692193 (B) are 

from the Alaska SAR Facility. Original 

images are © CSA.

J162
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and observations of very old sea ice and brackish ice, Ward 

Hunt Ice Shelf, N.W.T.: Atmosphere-Ocean, v. 27, no. 3, 

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 1990, Near-real-time, synthetic aperture radar detection 

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Sackinger, W.M., and Wadhams, P., eds., Ice technology for 

polar operations: Computational Mechanics Publications, 

p. 321-331.

Jeffries, M.O., and Serson, H.V., 1983, Recent changes at the 

front of Ward Hunt Ice Shelf: Arctic, v. 36, no. 3, p. 289-290.

Jeffries, M.O., and Shaw, M.A., 1993, The drift of ice islands from 

the Arctic Ocean into the channels of the Canadian Arctic 

Archipelago The history of Hobson's Choice Ice Island: 

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Canadian Arctic islands: Ottawa, Ontario, Canadian 

Museum of Nature, v. 1, p. 229-254.

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Jeffries, M.O., Krouse, H.R., Shakur, M.A., and Harris, S.A., 1984, 

Isotope geochemistry of stratified Lake "A", Ellesmere Island, 

N.W.T.: Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, v. 21, no. 9, 

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1988, Water circulation and ice accretion beneath Ward Hunt 

Ice Shelf (northern Ellesmere Island, Canada) deduced from 

salinity and isotope analysis of ice cores: Annals of Glaciology, v. 10, p. 68-72.

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1991, Ice physical properties, structural characteristics and 

stratigraphy in Hobson's Choice Ice Island and implications 

for the growth history of the East Ward Hunt Ice Shelf, Canadian High Arctic: Journal of Glaciology, v. 37, no. 126, 

p. 247-260.

Keys, J.E., 1978, Water regime of Disraeli Fiord, Ellesmere 

Island: Canada Department of National Defence, Research 

and Development Branch, Defence Research Establishment 

Ottawa (DREO) Report 792, 58 p.

Koenig, L.S., Greenaway, K.R., Dunbar, Moira, and HattersleySmith, Geoffrey, 1952, Arctic ice islands: Arctic, v. 5, no. 2, 

p. 67-103.

Legen'kov, A.P., 1974, Thermal stresses and deformation of the 

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p. 366-368.

 1988b, Ice shelves of northern Ellesmere Island, N.W.T. 

Canadian landform examples, 10: Canadian Geographer, 

v. 32, no. 4, p. 363-367.

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North America, Research Paper 19, Scientific Report 1, 54 p.

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of northernmost Ellesmere Island: Arctic, v. 26, no. 4, 

p. 314-323.

Lyons, J.B., Ragle, R.H., and Tamburi, A.J., 1972, Growth and 

grounding of the Ellesmere Island ice rises: Journal of Glaciology, v. 11, no. 61, p. 43-52.

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UHF radar sounding of glaciers and ice shelves, northern 

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Sciences, v. 25, no. 1, p. 95-105.

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of glaciers of the world: U.S. Geological Survey Professional 

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J164 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Glaciers of North America 

GLACIERS OF CANADA

GLACIERS OF THE ARCTIC ISLANDS

GLACIERS OF BAFFIN ISLAND 

By JOHN T. ANDREWS

With sections on BARNES ICE CAP: GEOMORPHOLOGY AND THERMODYNAMICS 

By GERALD HOLDSWORTH

LATE 20TH CENTURY CHANGE AT THE BARNES ICE CAP MARGIN 

5yJOHN D.JACOBS

SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD

Edited ty RICHARD S. WILLIAMS, Jr., and JANE G. FERRIGNO

U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 1386-J-l

The glaciers on Baffin Island are primarily ice caps or icefields and associated valley 

outlet glaciers and include numerous small glaciers as well. The two largest ice caps, the 

Barnes Ice Cap (5,935 km2) and the Penny Ice Cap (5,960 km2) are thought to be the last 

remnants of the Laurentide Ice Sheet. Approximately 8 percent of Baffin Island is 

covered by glaciers (36,839 km2). Nearby By lot Island is heavily glacierized; it has 

4,859 km2 of its area covered by glaciers, about 45 percent of the island. The Barnes Ice 

Cap has been slowly shrinking; the recession could accelerate if significant regional 

warming were to take place
CONTENTS

Page

Abstract -------------------------------------------------------------------- J165

Introduction 165

FIGURE 1. Sketch map of Baffin Island and adjacent regions 166 

TABLE 1. Selected climatic data for climatic regions on Baffin Island

and environs 167

Distribution of Glaciers 167

FIGURE 2. Sketch map showing glaciation level (limit or threshold) on

Baffin Island and West Greenland 168 

TABLE 2. Areas of glaciers on Baffin Island and Bylot Island 169

Glaciological Studies 169

Maps, Aerial Photographs, and Satellite Images of Glaciers 170

Glacier Maps 170

Aerial Photographic Coverage of Glacierized Areas 171

Landsat Coverage 171

TABLE 3. Landsat images used in figures 3-6, 8, and 15-19 and

National Topographic Series (NTS) map sheets 172

Glaciological Phenomena Observed on Landsat Images 172 

Navy Board Inlet and Bylot Island 173

FIGURE 3. Annotated Landsat 2 MSS false-color composite image of

the Navy Board Inlet and Bylot Island glaciers 173

Pond Inlet, Oliver Sound, and North Arm 174

FIGURE 4. Annotated Landsat 1 MSS false-color composite image of the

area around Pond Inlet, Oliver Sound, and North Arm 175

Barnes Ice Cap and Environs 175

FIGURE 5. Landsat 1 MSS black-and-white image of the Barnes Ice Cap

and environs 176 

6. Landsat 1 MSS false-color composite image of Barnes

Ice Cap - -- 177

Barnes Ice Cap: Geomorphology and Thermodynamics, 

by Gerald Holdsworth 178

Introduction 178 

Analysis of Landsat Imagery 179

FIGURE 7. Vertical aerial photograph of the north margin of the

Barnes Ice Cap showing darker ice entering Conn Lake 180

8. Landsat MSS false-color composite images of Barnes

Ice Cap 181

9. Vertical aerial photograph of Barnes Ice Cap showing part of

slump margin 1 183

10. Photographs of the margin of Barnes Ice Cap at

Generator Lake 184

11. Photograph of ice cliffs at the edge of the Barnes Ice Cap

where it calves into Generator Lake 184

Late 20th Century Change at the Barnes Ice Cap Margin, 

by John D. Jacobs 185 

Introduction 185 

Studies of the Margin Using Landsat Imagery 185

FIGURE 12. Low-angle oblique aerial photograph of the Lewis Glacier,

northwest margin of the Barnes Ice Cap 185

Change Detection Using RADARSAT SAR - 186

FIGURE 13. Low-angle oblique aerial photograph of the north side of the

south dome of the Barnes Ice Cap at Gee Lake 186 

14. Part of a RADAESAT SAR image centered on Gee Lake,

Barnes Ice Cap 187

CONTENTS III
Page

Alpine Area (Lat 69°N., Long 69°W.): Home Bay 188

FIGURE 15. Landsat 3 RBV image highlighting the alpine terrain northwest

of Home Bay 188

Penny Ice Cap and the Cumberland Peninsula 189

FIGURE 16. Landsat 2 MSS false-color composite image of part of the 

Penny Ice Cap and the glacierized alpine terrain of the 

central Cumberland Peninsula 189

Cape Dyer, Cumberland Peninsula 190

FIGURE 17. Annotated Landsat 2 MSS false-color composite image of

local alpine glaciers on the eastern part of the Cumberland 

Peninsula 191

Hall Peninsula 192

FIGURE 18. Annotated Landsat 1 MSS black-and-white image of an ice

cap on the northeast coast of Hall Peninsula 192

Meta Incognita Peninsula 193

FIGURE 19. Annotated Landsat 1 MSS black-and-white image of Terra 

Nivea and Grinnell Ice Caps on the Meta Incognita 

Peninsula, southern Baffin Island 193

References Cited 195

IV CONTENTS
SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD

GLACIERS OF NORTH AMERICAGLACIERS OF CANADA

GLACIERS OF THE ARCTIC ISLANDS 

GLACIERS OF BAFFIN ISLAND 

By JOHN T. ANDREWS1

With sections on

BARNES ICE CAP: GEOMORPHOLOGY AND THERMODYNAMICS 

By GERALD HOLDSWORTH2

LATE 20TH CENTURY CHANGE AT THE BARNES ICE

CAP MARGIN

By JOHN D.JACOBS3

Abstract

Glaciers on Baffin Island are strongly influenced by topography and climate. The major 

glaciers are either ice caps that occupy inland highland areas or ice fields and associated valley outlet glaciers, or they are combinations of both. Other significant glaciers are found on 

Cumberland Peninsula, on Hall Peninsula, and along the east fjord coast of the island. Baffin 

Island glaciers are covered by l:l,000,000-scale, l:250,000-scale, and some l:500,000-scale 

and l:50,000-scale maps, aerial photographs at 1:50,000 scale, Landsat imagery, and other satellite imagery (e.g., RADARSAT). Landsat images are used to describe individually the separate glacierized areas of the island, especially the areas of Barnes and Penny Ice Caps, which 

are thought to be the last remnants of the Laurentide Ice Sheet.

Introduction

Baffin Island, Nunavut, Canada4, extends between lat 62° and 74°N. and 

long 62° and 90°W. (fig. 1). The island has an area of about 500,000 km2 , which 

makes it one of the five largest islands in the world. Most of the island is composed of Precambrian granites, granite gneisses, and other metamorphic 

rocks; therefore, most of the glaciers on the island overlie these hard and 

resistant lithologies. However, younger sedimentary rocks of Paleozoic to Cenozoic age (Kerr, 1980) crop out at the surface along the west coast of the

Manuscript approved for publication 7 March 2002.

1 Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, University of Colorado, Box 450, Boulder, CO 80309.

2 Arctic Institute of North America, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive, NW., Calgary, Alberta 

T2N 1N4, Canada; Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans, and Space, Morse Hall, University of New 

Hampshire, Durham, NH 03824-3525; and the National Hydrology Research Centre, 11 Innovation Boulevard, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 3H5, Canada; e-mail address: [gholdswo@acs.ucalgary.ca].

3 Department of Geography, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, Newfoundland A1B 

3X1, Canada; e-mail address: [jjacobs@plato.ucs.mun.ca].

4 The geographic place-names used in this section follow the usage approved by the Geographic Names 

Board of Canada Names in common usage that are not recognized by the Board are shown in italics.

GLACIERS OF CANADA J165
B5°W 74°M 80' 60° 74°M

73°N

On the same scale v ? 

68°W 67° 66° 66'

Figure 1. Baffin Island and adjacent regions, Nunavut, Canada, showing the 

location of major glaciers and other features. Also shown are the outlines for 

figures 3-19, including the approximate outlines of Landsat images discussed 

in the text and used for figures 3-6, 8, and 15-19 (see also table 3). Abbreviation: Pen., Peninsula.

J166 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
island (Paleozoic formations) and extend northward to form major uplands in 

the northern part of Baffin Island. Mesozoic and Cenozoic (Tertiary) rocks are 

found on Bylot Island, one of the most heavily glacierized tracts in the region.

The pattern of the present glacierization on Baffin Island is influenced 

strongly by topography and climate. Baffin Island can be represented simply 

in cross section (east to west) as a wedged-shaped prism that has the highest 

land lying within 10 to 100 km of the outer fault-bounded east coast (Ives and 

Andrews, 1963; Kerr, 1970). Fjords of various sizes cut through the uplifted 

rim (Dowdeswell and Andrews, 1985) and head toward the broad, rolling 

interior plateau of the island, where elevations range between 600 and 700 m 

and decline gradually westward toward the shores of Foxe Basin (see Bird, 

1967). The maximum elevations shown on the U.S. Defense Mapping 

Agency's Operational Navigational Charts (ONC C-12 and B-8) are 2,057 m 

near the center of the Penny Ice Cap and 1,905 m on Bylot Island (fig. 1). Elevations in excess of 800 m are restricted to the areas between the heads of 

the fjords and the outer east coast and along the fault-bounded south side of 

Frobisher Bay (inset map in fig. 1).

Climatic data from Baffin Island are sparse and are biased toward meteorological data recorded at coastal stations. Selected data are shown in table 

1. At the Dewar Lakes Distant Early Warning (DEW) Line Station in central 

Baffin Island (fig. 1), the mean annual temperature is -13°C, with a July 

mean temperature of 6.0°C (Maxwell, 1980, 1982). Precipitation is notoriously difficult to measure in Arctic areas and is most probably underestimated (Hare and Hay, 1971). Nevertheless, the snowfall records from the 

stations, combined with snowpit work on the glaciers (for example, Baird, 

1951; Ward and Baird, 1954; Sagar, 1966; Weaver, 1975; Hooke and others, 

1987), indicate that winter accumulation on most glaciers probably varies 

between 30 and 60 cm water equivalent.

Distribution of Glaciers

The interaction between topographic and climatic gradients results in a 

particular geographic distribution of glaciers (see Andrews and others, 

1970; Andrews and Barry, 1972). A regional picture of the interaction can be 

obtained by mapping the glaciation level (also called glaciation limit or glaciation threshold) by the "summit method" of 0strem (1966). The glaciation 

level for the region of Baffin Bay is drawn from maps in Andrews and Miller 

(1972) and Weidick (1975) and is shown in figure 2. The glaciation level is 

the elevation at which, in a regional sense, the long-term net mass balance 

equals zero (bn=0). Areas above this level will generally support an ice mass, 

whereas mountains or hills whose summits lie below this limit will be ice free 

under the present climate. The glaciation level on Baffin Island dips toward 

Baffin Bay at about 4 m km"1 from a maximum elevation of about 1,200 m to 

a minimum of 600 m (fig. 2). The proximity of the glaciation level to the 

broad plateau of the interior of Baffin Island and the evidence there for

TABLE 1. Selected climatic data showing temperature in degrees Celsius for climatic

regions on Baffin Island and environs

[Modified from Maxwell, 1982. The averages noted here are from available sources; the length of record is not uniform. 

For a more complete description of the climatic regions of Baffin Island, see Maxwell (1982).]

Climatic region

Southeastern Baffin Island.............

January

........ -20 to -33

........ -28 to -32

........ -28 to -32

........ -25

July Total precipitation (mm)

+3 to +5 150 to 300

+5 to +8 175 to 250

+4 to +5 300 to 600

+5 to +8 400 to 500

GLACIERS OF CANADA J167
extensive neoglacial snow cover (Ives, 1962; Andrews and others, 1976; Locke 

and Locke, 1977; Williams, 1978) are reasons why Baffin Island is frequently 

considered to be a major area for the initial growth of the Laurentide Ice 

Sheet (Ives and others, 1975; Andrews and others, 1972).

On Baffin Island, the major glaciers, such as the Barnes Ice Cap, either 

occupy inland highland areas or are ice fields and associated valley outlet 

glaciers (Bylot Island) (Sugden and John, 1976), or they are combinations 

of both (Penny Ice Cap) (fig. 1, table 2). In the southern part of the island, 

two significant ice caps located along the south rim of Frobisher Bay are 

called the Grinnell and Terra Nivea Ice Caps (Mercer, 1956). Other significant glaciers are found on Hall Peninsula in the south, Cumberland Peninsula to the north, and as a broad band of glacierized terrain extending along 

the east coast (fjord) part of the island between the northern Cumberland 

Peninsula and Bylot Island (fig. 1). Small, largely decaying ice caps and ice 

patches are present on the upland surfaces in northern Baffin Island and to 

some extent north and west of the Barnes Ice Cap (Falconer, 1962, 1966; 

Andrews and others, 1976). The major glaciers were discussed by Mercer 

(1975), and his work is still a basic reference on Baffin Island glaciers.

EXPLANATION 

Glaciation level in meters:

 400

 600

 800

 1000

 1200

 1400

Dashed line indicates 

probable glaciation level

GREENLAND

Labrador Sea

Figure 2. Glaciation level (limit or 

threshold) on Baffin Island and West 

Greenland (modified from Andrews and 

Miller, 1972, and Weidick, 1975).

J168 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
TABLE 2. Areas of glaciers on Baffin Island and Bylot Island

[Modified from Mercer, 1975; Bird, 1967] 

Name Area (square kilometers) Figure number (this section)

Baffin Island

Penny Ice Cap................................... 5,960 1,16

Barnes Ice Cap.................................. 5,935 1, 5, 6, 7, 8A, 8B, 9, 1QA, lOfi, 11,

12, 13, and 14

"Hall" Ice Cap.................................... 490 1,18

TerraNivea/ce Cap..... ..................... 165 1,19

Grinnell/ce Cap......................... ....... 139 1,19

Other glaciers.................................... 24,150 1, 3, 4, 15, and 17

Total.............................................. 36,839

Bylot Island............................................. 4,859 1,3

The ice caps, ice fields, outlet glaciers, and smaller glaciers of Baffin Island 

have been mapped and included in the Canadian National Inventory of Glaciers 

(Ommanney, 1980); each has a unique glacier inventory code. The area is covered by National Topographic Series (NTS) map sheets 16/26, 25, 27/37, and 

48/58, all at a scale of 1:1,000,000. Specific glacier identification is available on 

a series of l:500,000-scale maps (for example, the Grinnell and Terra Nivea/ce 

Caps on the Meta Incognita Peninsula, Glacier Inventory, area 46205; Glacier 

Atlas of Canada, plate no. 5-24; Canada Department of Energy, Mines and 

Resources, Inland Waters Branch, IWB 1124,1969). The entire area is covered 

by l:250,000-scale topographic maps. For Bylot Island, the glacierized parts of 

the northern Brodeur Peninsula, Borden Peninsula, and the nearby area 

southwest of Pond Met are covered by l;50,000-scale topographic maps. 

Topographic maps at a scale of 1:50,000 cover a number of small decaying glaciers south of Eclipse Sound between lat 71° and lat 72°N.

Glaciological Studies

Falconer (1962) initiated an inventory of glaciers of Baffin and Bylot 

Islands from aerial photographs. Following this work, done for the former 

Geographical Branch of the Canadian Department of Mines and Technical 

Surveys (later Energy, Mines and Resources, presently Natural Resources 

Canada), the task of collecting historical records on glacier positions was 

inherited by the Glaciology Subdivision of Environment Canada. To my 

knowledge, a systematic survey of historical accounts has not been done. 

The earliest observations known are the observations of John Ross (1819) 

on glaciers of the Erik Harbour area, the description of glaciers of Bylot 

Island by P.G. Sutherland (1852), the work of Leopold M'Clintock (1860) on 

glaciers of the Bylot Island area, and observations of C.F. Hall, an American 

explorer. Hall sailed along the south coast of Frobisher Bay in 1860-62 

(Hall, 1865) and noted (p. 520), "...From the information I had previously 

gained, and the data furnished by my Innuit companion, I estimated the 

Grinnell Glacier to be fully 100 miles long." This account may suggest that 

heavy snows mantled the high ground on Meta Incognita Peninsula, where 

Grinnell Ice Cap is located (fig. 1), to a greater extent than they do today. 

Another possible source of information is the logs of whalers who sailed 

into Baffin Bay from the 17th century onward. It would seem likely that 

some observations of glacier extent would appear in the ship logs.

The scientific observation of glaciers on Baffin Island was initiated in 

1950, when the Arctic Institute of North America (AINA) sponsored an

GLACIERS OF CANADA J169
experienced expedition to study the Barnes Ice Cap (Baird, 1951). This 

was followed in 1953 by a smaller venture that focused on glaciological and 

glacioclimatic measurements of the Penny Ice Cap (Baird, 1953; Baird and 

others, 1953; Orvig, 1954; Ward and Baird, 1954). Some earlier photographic records and sketches of glaciers in Pangnirtung Pass, Cumberland 

Peninsula, were obtained by the naturalist Dr. J. Dewey Soper in the course 

of his sledge travels from 1924 to 1926 (Soper, 1981).

The next major glaciological research program on Baffin Island was promoted by the former Geographical Branch of the Canadian Department of 

Mines and Technical Surveys. Studies were undertaken on the Barnes Ice Cap 

(Sagar, 1966; L0ken and Andrews, 1966; Anonymous, 1967; Church, 1972) 

and on the Decade Glacier to the east (0strem and others, 1967). The Barnes 

Ice Cap program was continued by the Glaciology Subdivision of Environment 

Canada (Holdsworth, 1973b, 1977) and by R. LeB. Hooke and colleagues from 

the University of Minnesota (Hooke, 1973, 1976; Hooke and others, 1980, 

1982, 1987; Hudleston, 1976).

In 1969, a small research program in glaciology, specifically on mass and 

energy balance, was started by the University of Colorado. The focus of the 

research was the Boas Glacier, a small glacier northeast of Penny Ice Cap 

(fig. 1) (Andrews and Barry, 1972; Jacobs and others, 1974; Weaver, 1975). 

This work was discontinued in 1976. Plans to extract an ice core from the 

Penny Ice Cap commenced in the 1980's with a survey of recent snow accumulation (Holdsworth, 1984; Short and Holdsworth, 1985). A combined 

Canadian, Japanese, and U.S.A. research effort extracted cores to bedrock 

during the middle 1990's; these cores have been examined in detail for paleoenvironmental data (Fisher and others, 1998).

Other glaciological papers dealing with Baffin Island are listed in an annotated bibliography prepared by Andrews and Andrews (1980). Given the 

large area covered by various glaciers (36,839 km2), approximately 8 percent 

of the island, (Bird, 1967; Mercer, 1975) (table 2), glaciological research on 

Baffin Island is generally lacking. Virtually nothing is known of the mass balance or dynamics, for example, of the two southern ice caps situated on Meta 

Incognita Peninsula (Blake, 1953; Mercer, 1956), although research on 

neoglacial events and on glacial processes has been reported and is part of a 

program supported from the University of Colorado (Muller, 1980; 

Dowdeswell, 1982, 1984). Jacobs and others (1997) used Landsat images to 

evaluate the recent history of the south margin of the Barnes Ice Cap.

Maps, Aerial Photographs, and Satellite Images 

of Glaciers

Glacier Maps

The Canadian government flew a special series of survey flights in 1961 

over north-central Baffin Island in order to provide l:50,000-scale vertical 

aerial photographic coverage of Barnes Ice Cap. The photographs were 

subsequently used to compile, along with aerial photogrammetric methods, 

a special l:50,000-scale map series of Barnes Ice Cap and environs. The 

area is covered by seven map sheets (37E/1W, 37E/2W, 37E/2E, 37E/3W, 

37E/6W, 37E/7E, and 37E/7W). A digital elevation model of the Barnes Ice 

Cap, based on Landsat MSS data was prepared by Lodwick and Paine 

(1985). Elsewhere on the island, some good quality orthophotomaps exist 

of the glacierized terrain in the vicinity of Pangnirtung Pass, Cumberland 

Peninsula (fig.l). These maps were produced at a scale of 1:50,000 for a 

project associated with the establishment of a new national park (Auyuittuq National Park) that includes most of Penny Ice Cap and large areas of 

glacierized alpine terrain (fig. 1).

J170 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Baffin and Bylot Islands are covered by specially prepared maps produced by the former Glaciology Division, Environment Canada. These maps 

are at a scale of 1:1,000,000 and show the major and minor glaciers. The 

map identification numbers for the series are 1WB 1005 (northern Baffin 

Island) and 1WB 1006 (southern Baffin Island). Information about maps 

can be obtained by contacting Geomatics Canada, Natural Resources 

Canada, 130 Bentley Avenue, Ottawa, Ontario K1A OE9, Canada 

(tel: 613-952-7000 [1-800-465-6277]; fax: 1-800-661-6277; World Wide 

Web site: [http://www.geocan.nrcan.gc.ca]).

In addition, the glaciers of the area have been inventoried by the Glaciology Division. Each ice mass has a unique identification code. The individual 

glaciers that have been inventoried are mapped and identified on a series of 

color maps at a scale of 1:500,000. Baffin Island and Bylot Island are covered by plate numbers 5-0 to 5-24. Part of Grinnell Glacier, Baffin Island, 

Northwest Territories [now Nunavut], was mapped by the Norwegian Water 

Resources and Energy Administration, and a map was published in 1991; 

the scale of the map is 1:20,000.

Aerial Photographic Coverage of Glacierized Areas

The National Air Photo Library (NAPL) is located in Ottawa, Ontario, and 

is part of the Department of Natural Resources. All government-sponsored 

aerial photography is kept in the library, together with index sheets showing 

flightlines and center points of each photograph. The index maps are normally at a scale of 1:250,000 or 1:500,000.

Much of the glacierized part of Baffin Island was flown in 1948 by using 

trimetrogon aerial photography. The central image (vertical aerial photograph) of the trio is at a scale of about 1:20,000. Conventional vertical aerial 

photographs were taken during the 1950's and into the 1970's. The flying 

height for these photographs appears to have been normally about 9,146 m, 

and a 15-cm lens was used, which gives a nominal ground scale of about 

1:50,000 (assuming a terrain elevation of 1,524 m). Virtually all the glacierized terrain on Baffin and Bylot Islands is covered by this vertical aerial 

photography. The quality of coverage varies but is most often excellent to 

good. Many areas have coverage in two or more years.

Color aerial photography is rare; however, some of this coverage exists 

for parts of Barnes Ice Cap and the mountains between there and Clyde 

River on the coast (fig.l). In addition, color aerial photography at small 

scale was taken for part of the Auyuittuq National Park.

Information on coverage can be obtained by contacting the NAPL, 

Geomatics Canada, Natural Resources Canada, 615 Booth St., Ottawa, 

Ontario K1A OE9, Canada (tel: 613-995-4560 [1-800-230-6275]; fax: 

613-995-4568; World Wide Web site: [http://airphotos.nrcan.gc.ca]).

Landsat Coverage

Landsat images are available for Baffin Island either through the U.S. 

Geological Survey's EROS Data Center or through the Canada Centre for 

Remote Sensing5 (see table 3 and figure 1). One particularly important 

product is a series of black-and-white Landsat mosaics that can be bought 

directly from the NAPL, Geomatics Canada (see above).

The mosaics are at a scale of 1:1,000,000, and coverage is as follows:

NTS 25 Coverage of Terra Nivea and Grinnell Ice Caps and parts of 

Hall Peninsula

5 U.S. Geological Survey, EROS Data Center, Sioux Falls, S. Dak. 57198 (tel: 605-594-6151 

[1-800-252^547]; fax: 605-594-6589; World Wide Web: http://edc.usgs.gov/). Canada Centre for Remote 

Sensing, Geomatics Canada, Natural Resources Canada, 588 Booth Street, Ottawa, Ontario K1A OY7, Canada (tel: 613-995^057; fax: 613-992-0285; World Wide Web: [http://www.ccrs.nrcan.gc.ca]).

GLACIERS OF CANADA J171
NTS 16-26 Coverage of the Cumberland Peninsula (Penny Ice Cap) and

northern Hall Peninsula

NTS 26-36 Koukdjuak River, includes Penny Ice Cap 

NTS 27-37 Coverage of north-central Baffin Island including the Barnes

Ice Cap and mountain glaciers

NTS 48-58 Coverage of most of Bylot Island, all of Devon Island, and the 

small ice caps on Borden Peninsula and Brodeur Peninsula 

(figs. 1 and 2)

The quality of the mosaics is normally excellent, and they are at the 

same scale and cover the same areas as the l:l,000,000-scale topographic 

map series produced by the Government of Canada. The Landsat mosaics 

and topographic maps are an excellent combination for laboratory exercises in aspects of both glacial geology and glaciology.

Glaciological Phenomena Observed on Landsat 

Images

Several Landsat images have been selected for inclusion in this section. 

They are mostly high quality false-color composite images that reveal several 

important glaciological features. Their coverage area is shown in figure 1, and 

details of each Landsat image are tabulated in table 3. For ease of reference, 

they will be discussed in a north-to-south sequence.

TABLE 3. Landsat images used in figures 3-6, 8, and 15-19 and National Topographic Series (NTS) map sheets

[Code symbols: 9, Excellent image (0 to s5 percent cloud cover), 9, Good image (>5 to <dO percent cloud cover), C), Fair to poor image (>10to slOO percent cloud cover)]

Path-Row

017-013

017-015

017-016

019-013

026-01 IB

028-010

028-010

028-010

028-010

033-009

037-008

Scene center 

(lat-long)

66°29'N. 

62°07'W.

64°08'N. 

64°56'W.

62°46'N. 

66°10'W.

66°35'N. 

64°37'W.

69°31'N. 

69°58'W.

70°25'N. 

72°55'W.

70°25'N. 

72°31'W.

70°33'N. 

72°23'W.

70°16'N. 

73°13'W.

71°51'N. 

77°08'W.

73°01'N. 

80°47'W.

Landsat 

identification 

number

20185-15051

1747-15083

1747-15090

21663-15103

30721-15514 

subscene B

10380-16182

22050-16064

30525-16065

10740-16100

1403-16461

20943-16335

Date

26 Jul 75

9 Aug 74

9 Aug 74

12 Aug 79

24 Feb 80

7 Aug 73

2 Sep 80

12 Aug 79

2 Aug 74

30 Aug 73

22 Aug 77

Solar 

elevation 

angle 

(degrees)

42

40

41

35

10

36

25

32

37

27

-

Cloud 

Code cover 

(percent)

 °

C

A 0

A 0

A 0

A 0

A 0

^ 10

A 0

A 5

Figure

17

18

19

16

15

5

8B

8A

6

4

3

Glacier area 

(NTS map sheet)

(16L)

"Hall" Ice Cap

Terra Nivea and Grinnell Ice Caps

Penny Ice Cap

(261)

(27C)

Barnes Ice Cap (37E)

Barnes Ice Cap (37E)

Barnes Ice Cap

(37E)

Barnes Ice Cap (37E)

Bylot Island 

(48D)

J172 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
80°W

82 W

74°N

84°W

73° N

Figure 3. Annotated Landsat 2 MSS 

false-color composite image of the Navy 

Board Inlet and Bylot Island glaciers. 

Landsat image (20943-16335, bands 4, 5, 

and 7; 22 August 1977; Path 37, Row 8) is 

from the Canada Centre for Remote Sensing, Ottawa, Ontario.

Navy Board Inlet and Bylot Island

Figure 3 shows a false-color composite Landsat image of northern Baffin 

Island acquired on 22 August 1977. Variations in bedrock geology are clearly 

apparent. On the west side of Navy Board Inlet, several small plateau glaciers 

(ice caps) are visible. The general elevation of the upland surface is about 700 

m, and the ice caps rise to more than 1,000 m, which suggests a possible 

thickness of ice of 100-200 m. The ice caps are located on high ground close 

to the coast, and this indicates that local orographic effects may be important 

in their mass balance. Although some "blue" ice can be seen, the high reflectivity of the snow strongly implies that a late summer snowstorm had come 

through prior to the orbital overpass. The margins of the ice caps are generally smooth on the south side, but small outlet glaciers can be seen pushing 

downvalley, particularly on the north margin of the ice cap that lies closest to 

Navy Board Inlet. The decrease in glacierization to the south, even though

GLACIERS OF CANADA J173
the topography remains relatively constant, indicates a steep gradient of the 

glaciation level (fig. 2; Andrews and Miller, 1972).

Bylot Island is heavily glacierized (fig- 3, cover), as it has 4,859 km2 of its 

area covered by glaciers, about 45 percent of the island. The image shows 

that this highland ice field has a "spine" of cirque basins from which ice 

flows. The ice merges into a series of spectacular outlet glaciers. Sixteen 

major outlet glaciers can be identified on the image. The lower parts of 

these glaciers are clearly within the ablation zone, and the transient snowline appears to lie about 1,000 m above sea level (asl). Poorly defined 

medial moraines can be traced on most outlet glaciers, but no indications 

exist of contorted medial moraines; hence, the evidence indicates that none 

of these outlet glaciers exhibit surge behavior.

Small sediment plumes can be seen in the ocean waters adjacent to 

streams draining from these glaciers, but they are not very distinct. This 

may reflect the lateness of the season, because meltwater volumes 

dwindle rapidly after the main melting period in late June to middle July 

on Baffin Island (Church, 1972). The glacial geology and chronology of 

Bylot Island is discussed by Klassen (1981, 1982, 1985).

Pond Inlet, Oliver Sound, and North Arm

The area southeast of Bylot Island can be seen on the Landsat 1 multispectral scanner (MSS) false-color composite image taken 30 August 1973 

and used for figure 4. The settlement of Pond Inlet is located in this image but 

is not easily visible. The bedrock geology varies from Precambrian granites 

and gneisses around Pond Inlet to Paleozoic limestones in the lower half of 

the image. Figure 4 shows an inland transition from a heavily glacierized 

coastal zone to scattered small ice masses on the higher ground to the southwest. The style of glacierization is different from that, on Bylot Island even 

near the coast (compare with fig. 3). Particularly in the heavily ice-covered 

areas on either side of Oliver Sound and North Arm, the lack of surface relief 

indicates that the ice covers a broad, undissected (interfjord) upland (Ives 

and Andrews, 1963). Elevations are between 1,000 and 1,500 m asl. Only easl 

of Pond Inlet is the style of glacierization reminiscent of alpine glacierization. 

From the upland ice caps, large outlet glaciers are channeled in major valleys 

and, in places, extend at, right angles across major fjords such as in Erik 

Harbour and toward the head of North Arm. East of Erik Harbour and west of 

Cape Macculloch (fig. 1), a large (20-km by 15-km) piedmont lobe covers 

much of a coastal foreland at only 200 m asl.

The large outlet glaciers on Bylot Island (fig. 3) are distinctive; many on 

this image are remarkable in that no large terminal moraines are associated 

with them. However, in figure 4, several outlet glaciers do have visible terminal moraines. Examples are the large outlet glaciers that flow eastward 

to Buchan Gulf. A large lake is dammed between one of the large neoglacial 

moraines and the coast. Radiocarbon dates from Pond Inlet and near outer 

Buchan Gulf (Hodgson and Haselton, 1974) indicate that the outer coast of 

this section of Baffin Island has not been glacierized for at least 30 kiloannum (ka, 103 years). In a similar manner, the evidence of Klassen (1981, 

1982, 1985) indicates that regional glaciation of Bylot Island took place 

prior to 30 ka.

Figure 4 shows good separation between "blue" ice on the lower parts of 

the smaller glaciers and ice caps and the "white" snow and firn of the accumulation zones. The transient snowline lies at about 700 m, and even the 

small ice patches on the southern part of the image show only small areas 

of ice. It is possible that some of the effects of the summer melt season are 

masked by a late summer or early fall snowstorm.

Notable features in the lower left corner of figure 4, which will be 

described more fully when figures 5 and 6 are discussed, are the light-toned

J174 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Figure 4. Annotated Landsat 1 MSS 

false-color composite image of the area 

around Pond Inlet, Oliver Sound, and 

North Arm. Landsat image (1403-16461, 

bands 4, 5, and 7; 30 August 1973; Path 33, 

Row 9) is from the Canada Centre for 

Remote Sensing, Ottawa, Ontario.

78°W

areas that are found south of Tay Sound. A detailed examination of the margins of these areas indicates that they cannot be explained by changes in the 

bedrock geology; rather these are the "lichen-free" areas of eastern and 

northern Baffin Island that have been documented, mapped, and studied as 

possible analogs for the development of the Laurentide Ice Sheet (see Ives, 

1962; Andrews and others, 1976; Locke and Locke, 1977). Williams (1978) 

used these areas to suggest changes in climate during the last several hundred years, the time of the "Little Ice Age" (Grove, 1988).

Barnes Ice Cap and Environs

Barnes Ice Cap (5,935 km2) is the most studied glacier on Baffin Island 

(see bibliography in Andrews and Andrews, 1980). For this reason, and 

because of the information content of different images on different dates,

80°W

72u i\l

BAFFIN ISLAND

&-.. -. , *,, " APPROXIMATE S^ALE

10' 0\ W 20 3&K1LOMETERS

I , . . , I '* . I

\

71°N

GLACIERS OF CANADA J175
74°W

71°N

70°N

several Landsat images and terrestrial (ground) and aerial photographs have 

been chosen for presentation in this section. Figure 5 is a Landsat 1 image 

that shows interesting glaciological and glacial geologic features on the Barnes Ice Cap and in the surrounding area. The crest of the ice cap appears as 

an intense white area from which surface and subsurface drainage lines 

diverge. The image also strikingly illustrates a series of snow-and-ice facies 

(see further discussion in the following section by Gerald Holdsworth on the 

geomorphology and thermodynamics of the Barnes Ice Cap; and in Williams 

and others, 1991).

Large calving bays having steep ice cliffs are presenl on the northeast 

side of the Barnes Ice Cap, where it flows into Conn and Bieler Lakes, and 

in the southeast, where it flows into Generator Lake (fig. 6). Icebergs are 

found in these lakes, but none are visible in figure 5.

North and northeast of the Barnes Ice Cap are light-toned areas that are 

"type-locations" for lichen-free areas (Ives, 1962; see also fig. 6). Rimrock 

Lake is in this area (fig. 6), and it is around that lake that Ives (1962) first 

studied and speculated on the significance of the lichen-free phenomenon. 

This area was first noted on l:50,000-scale aerial photographs and was then 

studied in the field (Ives, 1962; Andrews and others, 1976).

Sugden (1978) and Andrews and others (1985) used black-and-white 

Landsat images to map areas of heavy, moderate, and light glacial scour. An 

area of heavy glacial scour is shown in the bottom left of figure 5 and is 

indicated by a high percentage of small lakes and obvious evidence for

Figure 5. Landsat 1 MSS black-and-white 

image of the Barnes Ice Cap and environs. 

Landsat image (10380-16182, band 7; 7 

August 1973; Path 28, Row 10) is from the 

Canada Centre for Remote Sensing, 

Ottawa, Ontario.

J176 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
74°W

76°W

70°N

Figure 6. Landsat 1 MSS false-color composite image of Barnes Ice Cap. The numbers 1 to 5 locate regions on the adjacent 

ice cap that have undergone anomalous 

advances and slumping. Landsat image 

(10740-16100, bands 4, 5, and 7; 2 August 

1974; Path 28, Row 10) is from the Canada 

Centre for Remote Sensing, Ottawa, 

Ontario.

structure in the Precambrian bedrock. This zone contrasts with the area 

northwest of the Barnes Ice Cap, where lakes are scarce and little structural detail is evident,

Not as obvious, but also present in figure 5, are moraines around the southwest margin of the Barnes Ice Cap and other major neoglacial moraines along 

the west margin (Davis, 1985). On the east, areas of glacial scour can be seen 

to occupy lowlands, whereas the major interfluves show little evidence of glacial erosion. A series of moraines can also be observed near the fjord heads 

that are part of the moraine system deposited during Cockburn time (Falconer and others, 1965; Andrews and Ives, 1978) between 9 and 8 ka B.P.

The southern lobe of the Barnes Ice Cap was the location of intensive 

research by Holdsworth (1973a, b, 1977) [see following section] and Hooke 

(1973, 1976). The southern lobe exhibits two major features of interest:

GLACIERS OF CANADA J177
(1) a zone of neoglacial moraines that have been dated by lichenometry as 

having formed between 1.5 ka and 60 years ago (L0ken and Andrews, 1966; 

Andrews and Webber, 1969; Andrews and Barnett, 1979); and (2) a series 

of moraines that are crosscut by a distinctive rectangular lobe of the Barnes 

Ice Cap (southwest margin), which is interpreted as being associated with 

a recent rapid advance (L0ken and Andrews, 1966; L0ken, 1969; 

Holdsworth, 1973b; Jacobs and others, 1997).

Barnes Ice Cap: Geomorphology and Thermodynamics

By Gerald Holdsworth

Introduction

Barnes Ice Cap (lat 70°N., long 73°W.) (fig. 1) is situated in the center of 

Baffin Island. Both the Barnes Ice Cap and the Penny Ice Cap (300 km to 

the southeast) are probably the last remnants of the Laurentide Ice Sheet, 

the northeastern part of which covered most of the island as recently as at 

10 ka (Dyke and Prest, 1987; Prest, 1969). Prior to that time and up to 

about the beginning of the Holocene Epoch, mountains along the northeastern coastal strip were more heavily glacierized than now, and outlet glaciers from the ice sheet and from highland glaciers would have rilled the 

deep fjords that run in a northeasterly direction into Baffin Bay.

Having maximum (orthogonal) dimensions of about 150 km by 60 km, 

the Barnes Ice Cap covers an area of about 5,935 kin2 . It has three main 

"domes" that have a maximum elevation on the northwestern one of about 

1,124 m asl (fig. 6). The thickest ice, measured in 1967 (Clough and L0ken, 

1968), is about 550 m near the central dome (surface elevation 1,116 m). 

The south dome (surface elevation 958 m) was more than 460 m thick in 

1970 (Jones, 1972). The ice cap is known to be shrinking in areal extent 

from glacial geologic evidence seen around the margin and from direct 

observations made since 1950.

On the basis of its thermal regime (Holdsworth, 1977; Classen, 1977; 

Hooke and others, 1980), the glacier is classified as subpolar or polythermal, as parts of the base in the region of the south dome are at the pressure 

melting point. Except where they are in contact with large proglacial lakes 

(for example, Conn, Bieler, and Generator Lakes; figs. 1, 5, 6), the margins 

of the ice cap are frozen to the base, where the temperature is typically 

about -7°C. The higher interior ice is several degrees (Celsius) warmer 

than the marginal ice (Holdsworth, 1977; Hooke and others, 1983). Near 

the top of the south dome, the mean annual air temperature is estimated to 

be about -15°C, whereas the mean annual ice temperature is about -8°C. 

This is a result of the release of latent heat associated with the formation of 

superimposed ice under the insulating snow cover in the upper parts of the 

ice cap each spring. This thermal structure is indirectly responsible for certain features seen on the satellite images.

A net accumulation of iced firn and superimposed ice (refrozen meltwater) is found on the higher parts of the glacier (Hooke and others, 1987). 

Elsewhere, blue, white, intermediate, or debris-laden ice is exposed in the 

outer parts of the ice cap later in the ablation season. In many parts of the 

ablation zone, meltwater lakes form in depressions on the ice surface. The 

depressions are believed to be troughs in a series of waves or irregular 

undulations that formed after a section of the ice cap underwent what was 

described previously as a surge (Holdsworth, 1977). The sections are usually well defined by an anomalously advanced margin and by a typically 

"slumped" and low-gradient vertical profile extending from the divide to 

the margin. In at least two cases, local divides show displacement, evidently 

as a result of the nonsteady ice flow that involves rapid mass transfer. Such

J178 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
profiles are easily obtained from the special series of l:50,000-scale topographic maps that cover the ice cap.

Although the term "surge" has been applied to specific sections of the ice 

cap (L0ken, 1969; Holdsworth, 1973b, 1977), a more appropriate term would 

be "local creep slump" (Shoemaker, 1981). The latter process involves 

enhanced ice creep and basal sliding induced by a bottom layer of meltwater 

that has slowly accumulated in the warmer central parts of the ice cap.

The main features that distinguish these sections from other parts of 

the ice cap can be seen on satellite images. These features, which all are 

located on the southwest side of the ice cap, are (1) the existence of 

more dendritic (higher-order) meltwater stream channels compared with 

channels elsewhere (in particular, sections on the northeast side of the 

ice cap do not divide close to proglacial lakes); (2) irregular folds or offset foliation defined by light- and dark-blue colored, banded ice; (3) the 

existence of moraine fields that indicate that only a discrete section of 

the ice margin was involved in an advance or a series of advances (L0ken 

and Andrews, 1966).

Other information that is relevant to interpreting satellite images is as 

follows:

(1) A marginal or nearly marginal strip of whitish, bubbly, basal ice 

crops out along the edge of the ice cap. This ice has a density of 

0.87 Mg m"3 . This is much less dense than most of the ice above, 

which has a density approaching 0.91 Mg rrf3 (Hooke, 1976). In 

addition, the whitish ice has an oxygen isotope 5180) value that indicates a Wisconsinan (late Pleistocene) age (Hooke and Clausen, 

1982). That such a layer can have persisted since the Pleistocene is 

supported by simple two-dimensional steady-state dynamic modeling of the ice mass along flow lines through the south dome (Gerald 

Holdsworth and G.E. Glynn, unpub. data, 1975; Hooke, 1976).

Hooke (1976) found that the whitish Pleistocene ice layer was 

13-m thick in one marginal section of the south dome region. Its surface exposure on a slope averaging about 10° to 15° is on the order 

of 40-70 m, so on satellite images, the exposure is at least 1-2 pixels 

wide. Also, it normally does not crop out exactly at the margin but is 

commonly underlain by younger ice that it has overridden. Elsewhere, the whitish ice could be much thicker than it is at the south 

dome location. Sometimes wind-drift wedges of snow may form in 

the depression between the ice cap proper and a marginal ice-cored 

moraine. When looking for the Pleistocene ice in photographs and 

images, these considerations have to be taken into account. Thus, 

not all the marginal "whitish" ice seen in the following images is necessarily Pleistocene ice.

(2) Proglacial lakes affect the flow of ice in their vicinity. Two large icemarginal lakes are located on the north side of the ice cap, Conn and 

Bieler Lakes (fig. 6). Both these lakes are deep where they are 

dammed against the ice because the slope of the land is toward the 

ice cap. As a consequence, ice flow is locally focused toward the 

lakes, and "draw-down" of the ice has produced some of the effects 

also seen in the "slumped" areas. In contrast, the smaller Generator 

Lake on the east end of the ice cap has evidently been dammed by 

the local advance that resulted from "creep slump" in part of the 

south dome within the last century (Holdsworth, 1973b).

Analysis of Landsat Imagery

Figure 6 is a Landsat 1 MSS false-color composite image of the Barnes 

Ice Cap acquired 2 August 1974 and processed for standard earth-science 

analysis. Part of the southeast end of the glacier is obscured by clouds. 

However, snow, ice, and some structural detail can be seen over most of the

GLACIERS OF CANADA J179
rest of the ice cap. The sections that show evidence for local advance are 

the lobes numbered 1 through 5, all situated on the southwest side of the 

ice cap. The main observations that define the slump areas are

(1) The irregular or lobate form of the margins.

(2) The arcuate moraine loop associated with slump margin 2. Although 

most of the advanced lobes have enhanced moraine forms associated with them, the most obvious is this one, which is about 20 km 

long. These moraines can be easily seen on the NTS map sheet 37D/ 

9 (scale 1:50,000). A detailed structural map and cross section of 

this moraine system is also shown in L0ken and Andrews (1966). 

They show that, in this system of moraines, the outer one represents 

a major advance of a section of the ice cap about 700 years ago. 

Other readvances took place 400 to 500 years ago and about 300 

years ago. On the other hand, slump margin 1 is probably the youngest, and its prominent ice-cored moraine ridges are still very close to 

the edge of the ice cap.

(3) Large supraglacial lakes can still be seen in the slump area marked 5, 

even in early winter images. The largest lake is about a kilometer 

long.

Also seen in figure 6 are the ice drawdowns associated with Conn and 

Bieler Lakes. Note the zone of darker blue ice entering Conn Lake. Figure 7 

is part of an aerial photograph that shows this darker ice. The ice here 

appears darker because it is crevassed and also probably because the 

banded foliation seen elsewhere is destroyed by compression transverse to 

the extending flow direction, which is toward the lake.

Finally, notice a discontinuous strip of marginal "whitish" ice that 

appears much lighter than the blue ice higher on the ice cap. This is probaFigure 2 Vertical aerial photograph of 

the north margin of the Barnes Ice Cap 

showing darker ice entering Conn Lake 

(see fig. 6). Note crevasse traces in the 

ice. The Pleistocene ice is probably the 

50- to 200-m-wide white band that is truncated by Conn Lake and the smaller Nivalis Lake to the northwest. See Hooke 

(1976) for an explanation of why this ice 

is often underlain by younger ice. Photograph NAPL No. A-17047-108 courtesy of 

the National Air Photo Library, Ottawa, 

Ontario, Canada. Used with permission.

J180 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Figure 8. Landsat MSS false-color composite images of Barnes Ice Cap. A, Landsat 3 image showing development of 

meltwater streams, lakes, and exposed 

underlying ice (darker blue). See text for 

further description. Landsat image 

(30525-16065, bands 4, 5, and 7; 12 

August 1979; Path 28, Row 10) is from 

Canada Centre for Remote Sensing, 

Ottawa, Ontario. B, See following page.

bly a combination of the Pleistocene ice and marginal wind-drift and 

wedges of snow, as mentioned earlier. The white strip is particularly visible 

in the black-and-white satellite image of figure 5. Note that it is continuous 

between slump margins 2 and 3, but it is absent along the slump margins 

where it has probably been overridden by younger (Holocene) ice. A short 

white strip is visible between margins 3 and 4. Also clearly seen in figure 6 

are the ice-surface outlines of slump margins 1, 2, and 3. Outlines of slump 

margins 4 and 5 are less pronounced but are still evident. Slump margin 5 

may not have experienced much advance but may be instead a mass transfer from the reservoir regions to the margin in the form of a persistent 

bulge, such as has been observed on the Trapridge Glacier in Yukon Territory (Clarke and others, 1984). On the other hand, drainage patterns in the 

moraine fields suggest that the margin may have previously advanced several kilometers more than the adjacent margin. The strip of white ice at the 

margin of lobe 5 is thought to be (or at least to contain) the Pleistocene ice. 

Even with marginal ice slopes in the northwest sector at under 3°, a 

10-20 m thick Pleistocene ice layer would only cover a horizontal distance 

of 200-400m.

To see more of the features mentioned above, it is necessary to examine 

two more satellite images. Figure 8A is a Landsat 3 MSS false-color composite image acquired 12 August 1979 showing a considerably greater central 

area of snow cover than that found in figure 5. Of particular interest are

74°W

71°N

GLACIERS OF CANADA J181
74°W 72°

71°N

70°N

(1) the presence of meltwater lakes appearing as dark-blue marks in the 

zone of sporadic, saturated snow between the central snow cover and the 

blue ice; (2) the development of meltwater streams appearing as linear blue 

streaks in areas of smooth contours (seen in the l:50,000-scale topographic 

map sheets) or as dendritic networks in areas of irregular contours (typical 

of the slumped areas); and (3) the existence of the discontinuous narrow 

strip of white ice close to the edge of the ice cap.

Figure 8B is a Landsat 2 MSS false-color composite image taken 2 September 1980 that shows the glacier near the end of the ablation season. The 

prominent streak running diagonally across the image is a shadow cast by 

an aircraft "contrail," which is barely visible just below and to the right of it. 

The central divide area is still covered by residual snow; this area is the 

1980-81 firn accumulation zone (Hooke and others, 1987). The shorter 

blue streaks at the edge of the snow mark the slush zone. Where local 

topography is favorable, slush avalanches are common in late summer. 

They drain the saturated snow facies. The prominent, arcuate indentations 

and converging meltwater streams help define the upper limit of the slump 

regions. The light-blue zone fringed by the upper and lower dark-blue (ice) 

probably represents areas of thin slush covering underlying blue ice. The 

dark-blue zone surrounding it is the outcrop of dense, bubble-poor 

Holocene ice. Again, the marginal strips of white ice are provisionally interpreted to be Pleistocene ice. The strip is widest in the northwestern part of 

the ice cap. Elsewhere, the marginal ice is commonly very complex and 

contains flow folds that have nearly horizontal axial planes.

Figure 8B, Landsat 2 image showing glacier-surface details near the end of the 

ablation season. Landsat image 

(22050-16064, bands 4, 5, and 7; 2 September 1980; Path 28, Row 10) is from 

Canada Centre for Remote Sensing, 

Ottawa, Ontario.

J182 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Features seen in the image in figure 8A but not in figure 8B are darker 

areas (>1 km2) in the blue-ice zone where a slight green hue is also apparent. The origin of these features has not been verified, but they could represent temporary or residual areas of superimposed ice associated with dirt. 

Such dirt, in the form of scattered small cones, is often visible to an 

observer traveling over lower parts of slump margin 1 (fig. 6). The dirt 

would have become concentrated in the bottom of supraglacier lakes. At a 

later time, a stream may reroute and wash the sediment away. The transient nature of these features is demonstrated by their absence from the 

image in figure 8£>.

Figure 9 is a vertical aerial photograph showing slump margin 1. The 

banded foliation patterns are particularly striking. At Generator Lake (east 

edge of photograph), the margin shows finer scale foliation in a 10-m-high ice 

cliff, above which is a heavy moraine cover (upper right part of image). Note 

the supraglacial channel on the ice cap in figure 10A This channel separates 

slump margin 1 ice on the left from essentially unslumped ice on the right. A 

recumbent flow fold is visible in a closer view of this exposure (fig. 105). 

Hudleston (1976) analyzed the flow field required to produce such folds. He 

suggested that they can result from changes in the flow field as the shape or 

profile of the ice cap changes due to climatic factors. Details of the debris 

content in this ice may be found in Holdsworth (1973a). A 12-15-m-high ice 

cliff in 30-m deep water is seen in figure 11. These cliffs all show up as sharp 

edges on the vertical aerial photographs and satellite images.

Figure 9. Vertical aerial photograph of Barnes Ice Cap showing part of slump margin 1 (see fig. 6 for location). Note the extremely crenulated foliation, which is typical of slumped margins. Generator Lake is on the right. At the contact between the 

lake and the ice cap margin is an area of heavy moraine cover (see fig. 70AJ. Some of 

the bright (white) areas seen in this location are possibly the remains of late season 

snow drifts. The Pleistocene ice layer is present in the bight on the northeast margin, 

north of the heavy moraine cover, and possibly on the southwest margin on the west 

edge of the photograph, according to R.L. Hooke (written commun., 22 July 1999). 

Elsewhere in the image, the layer would be unrecognizable because of the slump. 

Photograph NAPL No. A-17042-127 courtesy of the National Air Photo Library, 

Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Used with permission.

GLACIERS OF CANADA J183
Figure 10. Margin of Barnes Ice Cap at 

Generator Lake. A, Oblique aerial photograph showing the heavy moraine cover 

on the ice seen in the previous air photograph. Also visible are remnant snow 

patches and an ice cliff, which has a flow 

fold (fig. WB). Photograph by Gerald 

Holdsworth taken in July 1970. B, Tenmeter-high ice cliff in which can be seen a 

recumbent flow fold defined by submeterscale layering in the ice. This is about two 

orders of magnitude smaller than the 

smallest banded foliation seen in the 

satellite images. Photograph by Gerald 

Holdsworth.

B

Figure 11. Ice cliffs 12-15-m high at the 

edge of the Barnes Ice Cap where it calves 

into Generator Lake in 30 m of water. Photograph by Gerald Holdsworth taken in 

August 1971.

J184 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Figure 12. Lewis Glacier, an outlet glacier 

at the northwest margin of the Barnes Ice 

Cap (fig. 6). Low-angle oblique aerial photograph taken in July 1993 from the south. 

The width of the glacier front is approximately 500 m. Recession of the Lewis Glacier terminus averaged 25 m a" 1 between 

1961 and 1991. Photograph byJ.D. Jacobs.

Late 20th Century Change at the Barnes Ice Cap Margin

By John D. Jacobs

Introduction

As described in the preceding text, glaciological studies have been carried 

out on the Barnes Ice Cap since 1950, including several periods of intense 

investigation in the 1960's and 1970's. Early work recognized that recession had 

been taking place along the ice-cap margin for centuries, particularly in the 

south and west, but that the recession had not been uniform along the entire 

margin. Holdsworth (preceding section) interpreted forms along the west and 

south margins as advancing lobes associated with slump areas. In these areas 

and elsewhere, the ice front had receded from well-defined moraine ridges. 

Along the northeast and east margins, much less change was noted. L0ken and 

Andrews (1966) concluded from lichenometric studies of moraines around the 

south dome of the ice cap that its northeast margin was either stationary or 

advancing northeastward as the ice divide migrated in that direction.

Between 1970 and 1984, repeated surveys were conducted by 

Holdsworth and Hooke along a 10-km-long stakeline running northeast 

from the summit of the south dome (Holdsworth, 1975; Hooke and others, 

1987) (958-m dome in fig. 6). Although large interannual differences were 

found in mass balance, the net balance averaged over the transect was negative for the 14-year period. It was estimated that the ice cap in this sector 

had thinned by about 2 m in that time (Hooke and others, 1987). In the 

absence of continued surveys, subsequent changes there and over the ice 

cap as a whole remain unknown.

Studies of the Margin Using Landsat Imagery

From 1989 to 1991, an area of the northwest margin of the Barnes Ice 

Cap including the Lewis Glacier (figs. 6 and 12) was investigated by Jacobs 

and others (1993), with reference to surveys done in the 1960's (Andrews 

and Webber, 1964; Andrews and Barnett, 1979). The position of the glacier 

terminus was surveyed, and a section of the ice cap margin south of the 

Lewis Glacier was staked for monitoring. Control points were established 

for registration and classification of satellite imagery.

A Landsat MSS image dated 19 August 1988 was obtained that covered 

40 km of the ice cap margin centered on the Lewis Glacier. The 1961 position of the glacier margin was digitized from the l:50,000-scale map sheet 

for the area (NTS map sheet 37E/6W, which is based on 1961 aerial photogrammetry) and then was superimposed on the georeferenced Landsat 

image. The righl (south) margin and central terminus of the Lewis Glacier

GLACIERS OF CANADA J185
were found to be well denned, but it was not possible to differentiate 

between debris-covered ice and the surrounding terrain in other sectors. 

Estimates of retreat were, therefore, most accurate in the former areas. 

The Lewis Glacier terminus had retreated 680 m between 1961 and 1988, 

or about 25 m a"1 , compared with an estimate of 20 m a" 1 obtained by earlier workers from detailed surveys of the terminus in 1963 and 1965 (Anonymous, 1967). Recession along the ice cap margin south of the Lewis 

Glacier was 9 m a"1 for the same period. Recession in varying amounts was 

determined over the entire 40-km segment of the northwest margin contained in the 1988 Landsat MSS subscene (Jacobs and others, 1993).

Additional mapping of the Barnes Ice Cap margin in its southern sector 

was undertaken by using a Landsat 5 Thematic Mapper (TM) scene 

(3 August 1993) covering the southern one-third of the ice cap (Jacobs and 

others, 1997). Low-angle oblique aerial photography was obtained in August 

1994 along parts of the margin as a basis for controlling the classification of 

the TM image. Classification of the glacier facies was based on the TM band 4 

to band 5 image ratio, which is effective at identifying ice, open water, and 

exposed bedrock (Williams and others, 1991). The existing (1961 aerial photogrammetry) l:50,000-scale NTS map sheet for the ice cap was digitized for 

digital elevation model (DEM) construction, and the georeferenced, classified image was registered to the DEM by using 47 ground-control points. The 

combined root-mean square (rms) error of the georeferenced image and the 

digitized base map was estimated to be 33 m. It was difficult to determine the 

position of the ice margin in the presence of debris-covered ice and where 

perennial snowbanks lay on the distal side of ice-cored moraines. Taking this 

uncertainty into account, the average recession over the 183-km length of 

the south and east margins between 1961 and 1993 was estimated to be at 

least 137 m, or about 4 m a"1 (Jacobs and others, 1997).

Change Detection Using RADARSAT SAR

Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) offers the advantage for glaciological 

investigations of coverage in any season or in any cloud conditions, 

although challenges arise in the interpretation (Bindschadler and Vornberger, 1992). Short (1998; Short and others, 2000) studied the feasibility 

of ice-margin mapping on the Barnes Ice Cap using SAR imagery from 

RADARSAT. The field area was the north margin of the south dome, an area 

of debris-covered ice, massive ice-cored moraines, and distal snowbank features (fig. 13). It was in this sector that L0ken and Andrews (1966) suggested the ice cap was stationary or possibly advancing. Ambiguities in

Figure 13. North side of the south dome 

of the Barnes Ice Cap at Gee Lake, view 

looking southward. Low-angle oblique 

aerial photograph by J.D. Jacobs taken in 

July 1997.

J186 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
1997 LOAI-RADARSAT SAR 

1961 LOAI-AIR PHOTO

F/gure 14.-Part of a RADARSAT SAR 

image centered on Gee Lake (lat 60°57'N., 

long 72°29'W.)f Barnes Ice Cap, showing 

mapped 1997 limit of active ice (LOAI) and 

1961 LOAI from air-photograph interpretation. RADARSAT image (S4 ASC, ID 

M0122606, 26 July 1997) from RADARSAT 

International, Richmond, British Columbia.

what was meant by the glacier "edge" or "margin" in such a complex terrain 

led Short (1998) to focus on the concept limit of active ice, denned as the 

extent of ice that is still fed from the accumulation zone of the glacier.

Three RADARSAT SAR images were obtained for the summers of 1996 

and 1997, including descending (view up-glacier) and ascending (view 

down-glacier) standard modes (picture element (pixel) resolution of 25 m) 

and an ascending fine-mode image (pixel resolution of 8 m). Field studies 

were carried out during the summer of 1997 along the 27-km stretch of the 

moraine selected as a test area (figs. 13 and 14). Image analysis involved 

image speckle filtering, texture analysis, supervised classification, image 

segmentation, and edge detection, in that order, and the ascending standard mode provided the best results. The approach was successful in mapping the limit of active ice with an accuracy of 49 m (Short and others, 

2000). The resulting map has been used to assess the amount of change 

along this section of the margin (Jacobs and others, 1999). Interpretation 

of 1961 aerial photography and the corresponding topographic map permitted delineation of the limit of active ice in this area for 1961, which was 

transferred to the 1997 SAR image (fig. 14). Recession is evident in some 

areas, such as the ice front calving into Gee Lake, and slight advance in others; overall, however, the average change in the position of the margin during the 36 years between observations has been slight.

Conclusion

Multispectral satellite imagery has been demonstrated to provide a basis 

for first estimates of changes in the position of the Barnes Ice Cap margin. 

Sustained overall recession is evident around the margin. Recession was 

clearly documented at the two study sites (Lewis Glacier and Gee Lake, 

fig. 6). RADARSAT SAR was found to be a more sensitive tool for detecting 

change in the areas of complex morphology in the north part of the south 

dome. Results from that analysis support the conclusion that the Barnes Ice 

Cap is experiencing overall attrition. It should be noted that for most of the 

latter half of the 20th century, ablation-season temperatures in the Baffin 

Island region did not change significantly, in contrast to the pronounced 

summer warming that was recorded in the western Arctic (Chapman and 

Walsh, 1993). Should a regional warming take place, it is to be expected 

that shrinking of the Barnes Ice Cap will accelerate.

GLACIERS OF CANADA J187
69°30'N

Alpine Area (Lat 69°N., Long 69°W.): Home Bay

Farther to the southeast of the Barnes Ice Cap, the transition between the 

alpine-sculptured area of the fjord and the more massive, rolling terrain of 

the interior can be seen on a Landsat 3 return beam vidicon (RBV) image 

taken 24 February 1980 (figs. 1 and 15). The low solar-elevation angle 

accentuates the position of individual cirque basins, many of which merge 

into mountain ice fields and are drained by large outlet glaciers. Large 

neoglacial moraines can be distinguished in the center bottom of the scene. 

To the east, the alpine terrain gives way abruptly to the low foreland of the

Figure 15. Landsat 3 RBV image with low 

Sun angle (elevation 10°) highlighting the 

alpine terrain northwest of Home Bay (see 

fig. 1 for location and text for more 

details). Landsat image (30721-15514 B; 

24 February 1980; Path 26, Row 11) is from 

the Canada Centre for Remote Sensing, 

Ottawa, Ontario.

J188 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
64°W

66°W

67°N

66°N

Figure 16. Landsat 2 MSS false-color 

composite image of part of the Penny Ice 

Cap and the glacierized alpine terrain of 

the central Cumberland Peninsula (see fig. 

1). Abbreviation: N., North. Landsat image 

(21663-15103, bands 4, 5, and 7; 12 August 

1979, Path 19, Row 13) is from the Canada 

Centre for Remote Sensing, Ottawa, 

Ontario.

Cape Henry Kater area (fig. 1) (King, 1969a and b), which contains a long 

and complex Quaternary glacial and marine record (King, 1969b; Miller, 

1985a, b). Controls on the glacierization of this area are discussed in 

Andrews and others (1970), and mass-balance estimates are contained in 

Weaver (1975).

Penny Ice Cap and the Cumberland Peninsula

One of the most spectacular regions in Baffin Island is illustrated in figure 16, a Landsat 2 MSS false-color composite image taken 12 August 1979. 

Most of the area in the right one-half of the image lies within the Auyuittuq 

National Park (fig. 1). The settlement of Pangnirtung lies within the center 

bottom of the image but cannol be detected.

The pattern of glacierization readily enhances major rectilinear structural details in the bedrock. Cumberland Peninsula is crossed by two major 

fjord-valley systems (fig. 1). To the east, Kingnait Fiord leads northward 

through Circle and Tundra Lakes toward Padle Fiord; farther west, Pangnirtung Fiord heads northward to Pangnirtung Pass and hence into North

GLACIERS OF CANADA J189
Pangnirtung Fiord. Elevations along Pangnirtung Pass vary between 1,500 

and 2,000 m asl. Penny Ice Cap lies northwest of Pangnirtung Pass. Near 

Pangnirtung Pass, the ice cap consists of interlocking cirque glaciers and 

outlet glaciers forming a highland ice field, but farther west, the relative 

relief decreases, and an ice cap covers most of the terrain. Large outlet glaciers descend from the ice cap to the north, east, and south. Coronation 

Glacier ends in a calving margin in Coronation Fiord (Gilbert, 1982) (figs. 1, 

16). Figure 16 does not showT the extent of the ablation zone, although careful examination indicates that many of the large outlet glaciers are snowTfree. The snowTline at this time is estimated to lie at about 750 m asl.

In the southwest corner of the image (fig. 16) is a good illustration of the 

character of wThat Sugden (1978) called "ice-scoured terrain." Little evidence exists for a thick till cover, and instead, the details of the bedrock 

structure are visible and are enhanced by small lakes. This area contrasts 

with the terrain along the north edge of Penny Ice Cap, (5,960 km2) where 

outlet glaciers have been topographically steered, and complete glacial 

inundation, if it wTere present, may have happened at 1 Mega-annum (Ma, 

106 years) to 100 ka B.P. (Boyer and Pheasant, 1974).

Cape Dyer, Cumberland Peninsula

Figure 17, a Landsat 2 MSS false-color composite image, partly overlaps figure 16, which lies to the wTest. HowTever, this Landsat image was acquired on 

26 July 1975 during one of the warmest summers on record. The area is 

heavily glacierized by individual cirque glaciers, valley glaciers, and highland 

ice caps. Large outlet glaciers flowT from the latter and descend to 0 to 200 m 

asl in most localities. The glaciation level rises steeply from the outer coast 

(fig. 2). Because of extensive open water off Cape Dyer during a good part of 

the year, the snowfall around Cape Dyer is the heaviest on record for the eastern Canadian Arctic (Andrews and others, 1970). The average annual snowfall 

at Cape Dyer, about 5.0 m, declines rapidly to the north and west, so that at 

Broughton Island (just off the top left comer of figure 17 (see fig. 1)) the average recorded annual snowfall is only about 2.5 m. The transient snowTline seen 

on the image is quite high and is estimated to lie at about 1,000 m asl.

The glacial history of the Cape Dyer area and that of Merchants Bay to 

the northwest (fig. 17) wTere studied by Locke (1980) and Hawidns (1980). 

They showed that neoglaciation affected both areas, but near Cape Dyer, 

the neoglacial moraines of the large outlet glaciers overran weathered tills 

that date from the earlier Sunneshine stade, dated at approximately 100 ka 

B.P. In contrast, Hawidns (1980) and Miller (1975), working in the fjords of 

Merchants Bay, wTere able to map extensive late Foxe (=late Wisconsinan) 

moraines that terminated at sea level and wTere associated with large deltas, 

the tops of wThich are now about 35 m belowT sea level. Arnino-acid age estimates and uranium-series radiometric dating indicate thai the outer coast 

in this area wTas deglaciated at more than 75 ka B.P. (Szabo and others, 

1981). More recent research has used a combination of cosmogenic dating 

(=exposure age dating) of boulders and radiocarbon dating of lake sediments to provide a more detailed account of the glacial history of this 

region (Steig and others, 1998).

The heaviest area of sea-ice cover around Baffin Island is located 

between Cape Dyer and Home Bay to the northwest (fig. 1). In most years, 

sea ice is very close to the coast until wTell into late August or even early 

September, but in 1975, the sea ice broke up early, and most sea ice cleared 

the coast by the first week in August.

J190 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
62°W 67°N

66°N

Figure 12 Annotated Landsat 2 MSS false-color composite image of local 

alpine glaciers on the eastern part of the Cumberland Peninsula (see fig. 1). 

Landsat image (20185-15051, bands 4, 5, and 7; 26 July 1975; Path 17, Row 

13) is from the Canada Centre for Remote Sensing, Ottawa, Ontario.

GLACIERS OF CANADA J191
Hall Peninsula

Small ice caps and small glaciers lie in a restricted zone along the northeast 

and east flank of the Hall Peninsula (fig. 1). The Landsat image taken 9 

August 1974 (fig. 18) illustrates the major geographic features of the glacierization. The margins of the ice caps are simple along the southwest where 

they terminate on uplands of Hall Peninsula, but on the seaward side, small 

outlet glaciers are topographically channeled, although none descend to sea 

level. The glaciation level for the region is shown in figure 2. No glaciological 

research has been undertaken on any of the glaciers on the Hall Peninsula, 

and few glacial geological investigations have been carried out (Miller, 

1985b). Data on late Foxe deglaciation have come from marine shells in glacial marine deltas, and ages fall between 9.5 and 8.5 ka B.P (Miller, 1979, 

1980). However, ammo-acid studies suggest that parts of Alien Island were 

deglaciated at more than 80 ka years ago. (Andrews and others, 1981).

Figure 18. Annotated Landsat 1 MSS 

black-and-white image of an ice cap on the 

northeast coast of Hall Peninsula (fig. 1). 

Landsat image (1747-15083, band 7; 9 

August 1974; Path 17, Row 15) is from the 

EROS Data Center, Sioux Falls, S. Dak.

J192 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
66°W

63°N

68°W

Figure 19. Annotated Landsat 1 MSS 

black-and-white image of Terra Nivea and 

Grinnell Ice Caps on the Meta Incognita 

Peninsula, southern Baffin Island (fig. 1). 

Landsat image (1747-15090, band 7; 9 

August 1974; Path 17, Row 16) is from the 

EROS Data Center, Sioux Falls, S. Dak.

62°N

Meta Incognita Peninsula

Figure 19 is a Landsat 1 MSS image taken 9 August 1974 that covers the 

small Terra Nivea and Grinnell Ice Caps on the uplifted rim of the Frobisher 

Bay half-graben. The image does not reveal much detail because of extensive snow cover on the ice caps. These two small ice caps have been studied 

relatively little (Dowdeswell, 1982, 1984), and no reports exist on the 

amount of winter accumulation, although studies have been made of the 

neoglacial and Holocene glacial histories (Blake, 1953; Mercer, 1956; 

MuUer, 1980; Lind, 1983; Stravers, 1986; Duvall, 1993).

Dowdeswell (1982) studied the tidal outlet glacier from the Grinnell Ice Cap that ends in Watts Bay (fig. 19). This glacier is moving at 

about 20 m a"1 at its terminus, and 100 to 200 years ago, it extended

GLACIERS OF CANADA J193
much farther out into Watts Bay. The description of the two ice caps 

by Hall (1865) during the middle of the 19th century suggests that a 

significantly thicker snow (if not ice) cover may have been present, so 

that the appearance from Frobisher Bay was of a continuous ice body. 

Studies of moraines fronting glaciers around the Terra Nivea and Grinnell Ice Caps (Muller, 1980; Dowdeswell, 1982, 1984) indicate that the 

major glacier recession dates from the last 100 years, in addition to the 

two small ice caps, a number of small cirque glaciers face Frobisher 

Bay. These are not well shown on this Landsat image, although the 

image does indicate the presence of cirques, many of which are 

drowned or partly drowned, along the steep fault-bound escarpment. 

The escarpment is strikingly illustrated in the coastline of Frobisher 

Bay immediately northwest of the Grinnell Ice Cap.

J194 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
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J198 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Glaciers of North America 

GLACIERS OF CANADA

GLACIERS OF THE CANADIAN ROCKIES

By C. SIMON L. OMMANNEY

SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD

Edited by RICHARD S. WILLIAMS, Jr., and JANE G. FERRIGNO

U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 1386-J-l

The Rocky Mountains of Canada include four distinct ranges from the U.S. border to 

northern British Columbia: Border, Continental, Hart, and Muskwa Ranges. They 

cover about 170,000 km2, are about 150 km wide, and have an estimated glacierized 

area of 38,613 km2 . Mount Robson, at 3,954 m, is the highest peak. Glaciers range in 

size from icefields, with major outlet glaciers, to glacierets. Small mountain-type glaciers 

in cirques, niches, and ice aprons are scattered throughout the ranges. Ice-cored moraines 

and rock glaciers are also common
CONTENTS

Abstract -------------------------------------------------------------------------- J199

Introduction 199

FIGURE 1. Mountain ranges of the southern Rocky Mountains 201

2. Mountain ranges of the northern Rocky Mountains 202

3. Oblique aerial photograph of Mount Assiniboine, Banff

National Park, Rocky Mountains- 203

4. Sketch map showing glaciers of the Canadian

Rocky Mountains - 204

5. Photograph of the Victoria Glacier, Rocky Mountains,

Alberta, in August 1973 209

TABLE 1. Named glaciers of the Rocky Mountains cited in the chapter ~ 205

2. Estimate of glacierized area of the Rocky Mountains of

Canada 209

3. Number and types of glaciers within the Nelson River basin ~ 210

Border Ranges (B)- - ..- - 210

Clark Range (Wilson and Lewis Ranges) (Bl) 210

Macdonald Range (B2) 211

Galton Range (B3) 211

Continental Ranges (South Border Ranges to Kicking Horse Pass) 211

Front Ranges (South) (FS) 211

Lizard Range (FS1) 212

Taylor Range (FS2) 212

Flathead Range (FS3) 212

Blairmore Range (FS4) 212

Livingstone Range (FS5) 212

High Rock Range (Tornado Group) (FS6) 212

Wisukitsat and Greenhills Ranges (FS7) 213

Harri.son Group East (FS8) - 213

Highwood Range (FS9) 213

Misty Range (FS10) 213

FIGURE 6. August 1985 photograph and sketch map, showing

historical positions of the Rae Glacier, Misty Range,

Rocky Mountains 214

Elk Range (FS 11) 213

Italian Group (FS12) 213

Joffre Group (French Military Group) (FS13) ~ 215

Opal Range (FS14) 215

Fisher Range (FS15) 215

Kananaskis Range (FS16) 215

Spray Mountains (British Military Group) (FS17) 215

Rundle Peaks (FS18) 216

Goat Range (FS19) 216

Sundance Range (FS20) 216

Park Ranges (South) (PS) --- 216

Quinn Range (PS 1) ------. 216

Harrison Group West (PS2) 217

The Royal Group (PS3) 217

Blue Range (PS4) 217

Assiniboine Park Group (PS5) 217

Mitchell Range (PS6) 217

Ball Range (PS7) - 218

Vermilion Range (PS8) . 218

Bow Range (PS9) 218

Horseshoe Glacier 218

Wenkchemna Glacier 219

CONTENTS III
Page

Victoria Glacier 219

TABLE 4. Average annual surface movement of Victoria Glacier 220

Cathedral Glacier 220

Ottertail Range (PS10) 220

Kootenay Ranges (K)-» ------ 220

Continental Ranges (Central Kicking Horse Pass to Yellowhead 

Pass) -- -- - -- 221

FIGURE 7. Annotated Landsat 2 MSS image of several ice fields and 

outlet glaciers in the Rocky Mountains, including the 

Columbia, Wapta, and Waputik Icefields 222 

8. Reduced segment of the l:250,000-scale topographic map

(Golden, 82N) of part of the Rocky Mountains from Waputik 

Icefield to Lyell Icefield 223

Front Ranges (Central) (FC) 223

Fairholme Range (FC1) 224

Ghost River Area (FC2) 224

Clearwater Groups (FC3) 224

Drummond Glacier 224

FIGURE 9. Variations of glaciers in the Rocky Mountains 225

Ram River Glacier 226

FIGURE 10. Photograph of the Ram River Glacier, Rocky Mountains,

Alberta 226

11. Mass-balance measurements of the Ram River Glacier, Rocky

Mountains, Alberta: 1965-1975 226

Palliser Range (FC4) - 226

Bare Range (FC5) 227

Vermilion Range (FC6) 227

Sawback Range (FC7) 227

Slate Range (FC8) 227

Murchison Group (FC9) 227

Hector Glacier ------ 227

Ram Range (FC10) 228

Cline Range (FC11) 228

Bighorn Range (FC12) 228

First Range (FC13)- 228

Cataract Group (FC14) 228

Le Grand Brazeau (FC15) 229

Southesk Group (FC16) ----- 229

Queen Elizabeth Ranges (FC17) 229

Maligne Range (FC18) -- 229

Nikanassin Range (FC19) 230

Fiddle Range (FC20) 230

Miette Range (FC21) - 230

Jacques Range (FC22)~ 230

Colin Range (FC23) - 230

Park Ranges (Central) (PC) 230

Waputik Mountains (PCI) - - 231

Waputik Icefield 231

FIGURE 12. High-angle oblique aerial photograph of the Waputik Icefield

looking to the northwest 232

Balfour Glacier 231

FIGURE 13. High-angle oblique aerial photograph of the Balfour Glacier,

an outlet glacier of the Waputik Icefield 233

IV CONTENTS
Wapta Icefield 234

Bow Glacier 234

FIGURE 14. Photograph of the terminus of the Bow Glacier, Rocky

Mountains, Alberta, in September 1973 234

Peyto Glacier - -.. 235

FIGURE 15. Photograph of the Peyto Glacier, Rocky Mountains, Alberta,

in July 1967 -- - 235

16. Mass-balance measurements of the Peyto Glacier, Rocky

Mountains, Alberta 237

Yoho Glacier 240

Van Home Range (PC2) - 240

Conway Group (PC3) 240

Mummery Group (PC4) 240

Barnard Dent Group (PC5) 241

Freshfield Glacier 241

FIGURE 17. High-angle oblique aerial photograph of Freshfield Glacier 241

Waitabit Ridge (PC6) .. 242

Blackwater Range (PC7) 242

Forbes Group (PCS) 242

Lyell Group (PC9) 243

Southeast Lyell Glacier 243

FIGURE 18. Terrestrial photograph of Southeast Lyell Glacier 243 

19. High-angle oblique aerial photograph of West Alexandra

Glacier and South Alexandra Glacier 245

Unnamed Range ( ) - 244

Vertebrate Ridge (PC10) 244

Kitchen Range (PC11) 244

Columbia Icefield Group (PC12) 245

FIGURE 20. Reduced segments of two l:250,00()-scale topographic maps 

(Brazeau Lake, 83C; Canoe River, 83D) of part of the Rocky 

Mountains in the area around the Columbia and 

Clemenceau Icefields 246 

21. High-angle oblique aerial photographs of the Columbia

Icefield, the largest ice field in the Rocky Mountains 247 

TABLE 5. Characteristics of glaciers in the vicinity of Athabasca

Glacier 248

Castleguard Glaciers 248

FIGURE 22. High-angle oblique aerial photograph of Castleguard

Glacier IV, the principal southern outlet glacier of the

Columbia Icefield 249

Saskatchewan Glacier 248

FIGURE 23. High-angle oblique aerial photograph of Saskatchewan

Glacier, a major eastward-flowing outlet glacier from the 

Columbia Icefield 250

TABLE 6. Changes in the area and volume of the snout of Saskatchewan

Glacier, 1965-1979 251

Columbia Glacier 251

FIGURE 24. High-angle oblique aerial photograph of Columbia Glacier,

a major outlet glacier draining the northwest section of the 

Columbia Icefield 252

Athabasca Glacier 252

FIGURE 25. High-angle oblique aerial photograph of Athabasca Glacier, an

outlet glacier of the Columbia Icefield 253

CONTENTS
FIGURE 26. Photographs of the receding terminus of the Athabaska

Glacier, Jasper National Park, Alberta 254 

TABLE 7. Recession and volume changes of Athabasca Glacier,

1870-1970 255

8. Changes in the area and volume of the snout of Athabasca

Glacier, 1959-1979 255

9. Depth measurements of Athabasca Glacier 256

Dome Glacier 259

Boundary Glacier 259

Hilda Glacier 259

Winston Churchill Range (PC 13) -- 260

Chaba Group (PC 14)------ 260

Clemenceau Icefield Group (PC 15) 260

Fryatt Group (PC16) 261

Whirlpool Group (PC 17) 261

Unnamed Ranges ( ) 261

Cavell Group (PC 18) 262

Angel Glacier 262

FIGURE 27. Terrestrial photograph of Angel Glacier, Cavell Group,

Alberta, in August 1953 263

Cavell Glacier 262

Portal-MacCarib Group (PC 19) 263

Trident Range (PC20) - - 263

Fraser-Rampart, Group (PC21) 264

Bennington Glacier 264

Para Glacier 264

Meadow-Clairvaux Group (PC22) ------ 264

Selwyn Range (PC23) 264

Continental Ranges [North Yellowhead Pass to Muskwa

Ranges (M)] 265

FIGURE 28. Segment of the l:250,000-scale topographic map (Mount

Robson, 83E) of Mount Robson and environs 266 

29. Annotated Landsat 1 MSS image showing several icefields and

outlet glaciers in the Mount Robson are and environs 267

Front Ranges (North) (FN) 265

Boule Range (FN1) 265

Bosche Range (FN2)- ~ - - 265

De Smet Range (FN3) 265

Hoff Range (FN4) 268

Berland Range (FN5) - 268

Persimmon Range (FN6) 268

Starlight Range (FN7) 268

The Ancient Wall (FN8) 268

Unnamed Ranges ( ) 268

Park Ranges (North) (PN) ------------------ 268

Victoria Cross Ranges (PN1) 269

Unnamed Ranges ( ) 269

Treadmill Ridge (PN2) 269

Robson Group (PN3) 269

Rainbow Range (PN4) - 270

Robson Glacier 270

FIGURE 30. High-angle oblique aerial photograph of Mount Robson and

Mount Robson Glacier on 22 August 1964 271

Whitehom Group (PN5) 270

VI CONTENTS
Page

Unnamed Ranges ( ) 270

Resthaven Group (PNG) -. - 271

FIGURE 31. High-angle oblique aerial photograph of an outlet glacier from

Resthaven Icefield on 8 August 1961 272

Unnamed Ranges ( ) - 271

Other Unnamed Ranges ( ) - - ------- 272

Sir Alexander Peaks (PN7) - . - - - - 272

Hart Ranges (H) . ..- - 273

Dezaiko Range (HI) - -. - - 274

Misinchinka Ranges (H2) - .- 2 74

Pioneer Range (H3) . -- 274

FIGURE 32. Photograph of Parsnip Glacier, Halt Ranges, northern Rocky

Mountains, British Columbia . 274

Murray Range (H4)- - 274

Muskwa Ranges (M) ---- -- - -- -- ~ --- -- 275

FIGURE 33. Annotated Landsat 1 MSS image mosaic showing part of the 

glacierized northern Rocky Mountains from Mount Lloyd 

George to Mount Roosevelt 275 

34. Terrestrial photograph of an unnamed glacier in the Muskwa

Ranges, northern Rocky Mountains 276

Great Snow Mountain Area (M4) 2 76

Odyssey Icefield 277

Great Snow Icefield 277

Lloyd George Group (M6) 277

Lloyd George Icefield 277

FIGURE 35. Segment of l:250,000-scale topographic map (Ware, 94F), 

showing the glacierized area around Mount Lloyd 

George, Muskwa Ranges, northern Rocky Mountains 278

Allies Group (M7) 278

Battle of Britain Range 279

Tower of London Range - 279

Italy Range 279

Allied Leaders Range - 279

North and West of Allies Group -- 279

References Cited -- 280

CONTENTS VII
SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD

GLACIERS OF NORTH AMERICAGLACIERS OF CANADA

GLACIERS OF THE CANADIAN ROCKIES 

By C. Simon L. Ommanney1

Abstract

The Rocky Mountains of Canada include four distinct mountain ranges (Border, Continental, Hart, and Muskwa Ranges) extending from the U.S. border to northern British Columbia, a distance of 1,350 kilometers. The Rocky Mountains encompasses about 170,000 square 

kilometers, are about 150 kilometers wide, and have an estimated glacierized area of 38,613 

square kilometers. Mount Robson, at 3,954 meters above sea level, is the highest peak. Within 

the Continental Ranges are the' Front, Park, and Kootenay Ranges; these include some of the 

most spectacular and heavily glacierized mountains in North America. Major glaciers, such as 

the Waputik, Wapta, Freshfield, Mons, Lyell, and Columbia Icefields are located in these 

mountains. The Columbia Icefield (325 square kilometers) is the largest ice field in the Rocky 

Mountains; its three largest outlet glaciers are the Columbia, Athabasca, and Saskatchewan 

Glaciers. Glaciers range in size from ice fields, with major outlet glaciers, to glacierets. Small 

mountain-type glaciers in cirques, niches, and ice aprons are scattered throughout the 

ranges. Ice-cored moraines and rock glaciers are also common.

Introduction

To the early explorers, the Rocky Mountains were a seemingly impenetrable 

barrier blocking access to the Pacific and inhibiting the coastal inhabitants in 

their movements to the east. The chain covers about 170,000 km2 and 

stretches in a continuous series of parallel ranges 150-km wide, from the British Columbia/Alberta/United States border some 1,350 km to northern British 

Columbia, where the Liard River, in cutting through the chain, acts as a convenient boundary. The same mountain mass continues into the Yukon Territory, 

but the rocks of the mountains, named here the Mackenzie Mountains, are 

younger geologically. To the east, the limits of the Rocky Mountains are not 

sharp. From the heights of the Front Ranges, one passes through the Foothills 

and out into the Interior Plains. To the west, the boundary is marked by one of 

the world's greatest physiographic features, which can even be seen from the 

Moon the Rocky Mountain Trench. The trench continues through the Yukon 

Territory and Alaska as the Tintina Trench. The highest elevation in the Rocky 

Mountains is Mount Robson, at 3,954 m above sea level (asl). The lowest elevation, 305 m, is in the north at the junction of the Liard and Toad Rivers.

Gadd (1986) gives an excellent account of the geology of the Rocky Mountains. The mountains were formed by strong compressive forces generated to 

the west of the Rocky Mountain Trench. During a 75-million-year period that 

began about 120 million years ago, a series of thrust faults forced the Precambrian, Paleozoic, and Mesozoic sedimentary rocks eastward along a fault

Manuscript approved for publication 7 March 2002.

1 International Glaciological Society, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1ER, England, U.K. (formerly 

with the National Hydrology Research Institute [now part of the National Water Research Institute], Environment Canada, 11 Innovation Boulevard, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 3H5, Canada).

GLACIERS OF CANADA J199
plane over the soft Cretaceous shales of the Great Plains. The compressive 

forces produced a series of folds, which give the Rocky Mountains their characteristic parallel ranges. During the last 2 million years, intense glaciation in 

the region has eroded the mountains into big, rugged peaks separated by 

deep, wide valleys, creating a striking east-facing scarp.

There are four distinct ranges within the Rocky Mountains region, known 

as the Border, Continental, Hart, and Muskwa Ranges (figs. 1 and2).2 

Included in the Continental Ranges are the Front, Park, and Kootenay 

Ranges. The distinctions between the ranges are based largely on geologic 

structure and physiography. The entire region is characterized by limestones, 

quartzites, and argillites, which form massively bold peaks, best expressed in 

the Park Ranges of the Continental Ranges. The Park Ranges contain some 

of the most spectacular and heavily glacierized mountains in North America 

(fig. 3). Flat to gently dipping beds of quartzite or limestone have produced 

castellated peaks, subsequently modified by glacial oversteepening; large 

talus cones have developed postglacialry. Summit elevations decline northward and southward from the Park Ranges; in particular, the Hart Ranges 

are considerably lower than the other three ranges. Elevations increase farther north in the Muskwa Ranges, and the castellated limestone and quartzite 

peaks reappear around Churchill Peak (3,200 m) and Mount Lloyd George 

(3,000m) (Slaymaker, 1972).

Glaciers in the Rocky Mountains (fig. 4, table 1) are typically of the small 

mountain type, lying in cirques, niches, or along some of the upturned strata 

as ice aprons. Scattered at intervals along the range are larger ice fields,3 

with major outlet and valley glaciers. Glacierets, ice-cored moraines, and 

rock glaciers occur at the limits of contemporary glacierization. In some situations, the avalanching of hanging glaciers has created regenerated glaciers 

lower on the mountain; part of the nourishment of the well-known Victoria 

Glacier is of this form (fig. 5).

Unfortunately, the precise area of permanent snow and ice in the Rockies 

is not known. Henoch (1967) made a determination for the major Canadian 

drainage areas, but because the Columbia Icefield drains to the Pacific Ocean, 

to Great Slave Lake, and into the Nelson River system that empties into Hudson Bay, it is hard to determine what proportion of the total area should be 

attributed to the Rocky Mountains alone (table 2).

The nature of the ice cover within part of the Rocky Mountains is 

indicated in table 3 (Ommanney, 1972a), which shows the distribution 

of various glacier types within the Nelson River drainage basin, stretching from Waterton Lakes National Park to the southern part of the 

Columbia Icefield. Major ice fields,3 such as the Waputik, Wapta, Freshfield, 

Mons, Lyell, and Columbia Icefields,3 are not adequately reflected in table 3. 

Because of the nature of their subglacial topography and ice cover, all of the 

constituent glaciers can be identified individually.

Hydrometric stations in the Park Ranges and Muskwa Ranges typically 

show two prominent stream-discharge peaks that correspond to snowmelt 

(June) and glacier melt (July-August), in addition to a minor peak in the fall. 

In the Hart Ranges, the glacier-melt peak is generally absent, whereas there 

is neither a fall-rain peak nor a glacier-melt peak (Slaymaker, 1972) in the 

Border Ranges farther south.

2 The names in this section conform to the usage authorized by the Secretariat of the Canadian Permanent Committee on Geographic Names (CPCGN); URL address: [http:// geonames.nrcan.gc.ca/english]. 

The Website is maintained by the Secretariat through Geomatics Canada, Natural Resources Canada, and 

combines the GPCGN server with the Canadian Geographical Names Data Base (CGNDB). Variant names 

and names not listed hi the GPCGN/CGNDB are shown in italics. See also Canadian gazetteers for British 

Columbia (CPCGN, 1985) and for Alberta (CPCGN, 1988).

3 Ice field is used in glaciological terminology to refer to "an extensive mass of land ice covering a 

mountain region consisting of many interconnected alpine and other types of glaciers, covering all but the 

highest peaks and ridges" (Jackson, 1997, p. 316). The UNESCO (1970) definition is slightly different. "Ice 

masses of sheet or blanket type of a thickness not sufficient to obscure the subsurface topography." hi 

Canada, icefield is used as a synonym for glacier in many glacier place-names and in the text to refer to 

such place-names, but is not necessarily used in the formal glaciological sense.

J200 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
FRONT RANGES - NORTH (FN) 

1. Boule Range

Bosche Range

De Smet Range

Hoff Range

Berland Range

Persimmon Range

Starlight Range

The Ancient Wall

FRONT RANGES - CENTRAL (FC)

1. Fairholme Range 

Ghost River Area 

Clearwater Croups 

Palliser Range 

Bare Range 

Vermilion Range 

Sawback Range 

Slate Range 

Murchison Group

10. Ram Range

11. Cline Range

12. Bighorn Range

13. First Range

14. Cataract Croup

15. Le Grand Brazeau

16. Southesk Croup

17. Queen Elizabeth Ranges

18. Maligne Range

19. Nikanassin Range

20. Fiddle Range

21. Miette Range

22. Jacques Range

23. Colin Range

13. J off re Group

14. Opal Range

15. Fisher Range

16. Kananaskis Range

17. Spray Mountains

18. Rundle Peaks

19. Goat Range

20. Sundance Range

PARK RANGES - CENTRAL (PC)

1. Waputik Mountains 

Van Home Range 

Conway Group 

Mummery Group 

Barnard Dent Group 

Waitabit Ridge 

Blackwater Range 

Forbes Croup 

Lyell Croup

10. Vertebrate Ridge

11. Kitchen Range

12. Columbia Icefield Croup

13. Winston Churchill Range

14. Chaba Croup

15. Clemenceau Icefield Croup

16. Fryatt Group

17. Whirlpool Group

18. Cavell Croup

19. Portal-MacCarib Croup

20. Trident Range

21. Fraser-Rampart Croup

22. Meadow-Ctairvaux Group 

23 Selwyn Range

BORDER RANGES (B)

1. Clark Range

2. Macdonald Range

3. Gallon Range

__.._. Provincial border

PARK RANGES - SOUTH (PS)

1. Quinn Range

Harrison Croup West 

The Royal Group 

Blue Range

Assiniboine Park Group 

Mitchell Range 

Ball Range 

Vermilion Range 

Bow Range

0 50 KILOMETERS

l l l l

10. Ottertail Range

Figure 1. Mountain ranges of the southern Rocky Mountains. Landsat image mosaic used as map base.

GLACIERS OF CANADA J201
MUSKWA RANGE (M)

1. Deserters Range

2. Akie Range

3. Truncate Range

4. Great Snow Mountain Area

5. Tochieka Range

6. Lloyd George Group

7. Allies Croup

8. Stone Range

9. Sentinel Range

10. Terminal Range

11. Rabbit Plateau

HART RANGES (H)

1. Dezaiko Range

2. Misinchinka Ranges

3. Pioneer Range

4. Murray Range

PARK RANGES - NORTH (PN) 

7. Sir Alexander Peaks

Figure 2. Mountain ranges of the northern Rocky Mountains. Landsat image mosaic used as map base.

J202 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Figure 3. High-angle oblique aerial photograph of Mount Assiniboine and environs, Banff National Park, Rocky 

Mountains, Canada, an area of spectacular 

relief and glacierized peaks. U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) photograph 69L2117, 

taken 8 September 1969 by Austin Post, is 

courtesy of Robert M. Krimmel, USGS.

The glaciers and terrain of the major mountain ranges and their subsidiary mountain ranges, mountains, mountain groups, mountains peaks, and 

mountain ridges will be discussed here in turn, beginning with the Border 

Ranges at the southern end of the Rocky Mountains. All major ranges are 

identified by an alphanumeric code in figures 1 and 2.4 The Continental 

Ranges, the largest mountain mass, are subdivided into a southern, central, 

and northern part because they cover such a large area. Within each subdivision, the mountains of the Front and Kootenay Ranges and Park Ranges are 

considered in turn. The terminology has been drawn from maps and alpine 

guides (Putnam and others, 1974; Boles and others, 1979); however, some 

of the names are not endorsed by the Canadian Permanent Committee on 

Geographical Names (CPCGN).2 Those place-names not yet approved by 

the CPCGN are shown in italics.

1 The major mountain ranges are coded with letters; subsidiary mountain ranges, mountains, mountain 

groups, mountain peaks, and mountain ridges are coded with numbers. It is noteworthy that many of the 

subsidiary mountain ranges have never been given formal names; in the subheadings in the text, they are 

simply referred to as "unnamed range." On figures 1 and 2 they are unnumbered. Glaciers and ice fields are 

described within the subsidiary mountain ranges, etc. The letters and numbers are keyed to figures 1 and 2, 

which delineate each major and subsidiary mountain ridge on a Landsat image mosaic base map.

GLACIERS OF CANADA J203
BRITISH^

ALBERTA

.WILDERNESS^

^'^Resthaven P&QVTNCIAL 

Icefield

f *' \ ] * NATIONA 

> \Z^,» \A \ ) 

2 !» C Hooker \ 

R FS- .'.' Icefield. . i

Icefe4d BANFF 

' ,Lake Louise Bonnet

Figure 4. Sketch map showing glaciers of 

the Southern Canadian Rocky Mountains. 

Modified from the Canadian Geographic 

(Shilts and others, 1998). Used with permission.

J204 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
TABLE 1. Named glaciers of the Rocky Mountains cited in the chapter

[The geographic coordinates for glaciers whose names have not been formally approved (shown in italics) may not be accurate. N.P. = National Park; BC = British Columbia; AB = Alberta; not shown in geonames database or glacier name is informal (italics); glacier name, map sheet, location of glacier, and province 

checked against the archives of the Geographical Names of Canada, Geomatics Canada, Natural Resources Canada [http://geonames.nrcan.gc.ca]]

Glacier Name

Abruzzi Glacier.... ..................

Achaean Glacier .....................

Albert Glacier..........................

Alexandra Glaciers.......... .......

Alexandra Icefield ..................

Angel Glacier ..........................

Apex Glacier ...........................

Athabasca Glacier ..................

Ayesha Glacier. .......................

Balfour Glacier .......................

Barbette Glacier .....................

Bath Glacier ............................

Beatty Glacier.........................

Bennington Glacier ................

Bennington Icefield................

Berg Glacier ............................

Bonnet Glacier........................

Boundary Glacier1 .................,

Bow Glacier ............................

Brazeau Icefield...... ................

Cairnes Glacier.......................

Campbell Glacier....................

Campbell Icefield....................

Castelnau Glacier...................

Castle Glacier..........................

Castleguard Glacier I2 ..........

Castleguard Glacier II2 .........

Castleguard Glacier III2 .......

Castleguard Glacier TV2 ........

Cathedral Glacier3 ..................

Cavell Glacier......... .................

Center Glacier.........................

Chaba Glacier .........................

Chaba Icefield .........................

Chown Glacier........................

Clairvaux Glacier....................

Clemenceau Glacier...............

Clemenceau Icefield ...............

Coleman Glacier.....................

Columbia Glacier......... ...........

Columbia Icefield4 ..................

Columbia Icefield4 ... ...............

Conway Glacier ......................

Cornucopia Glacier...............

Coronet Glacier ......................

Crowfoot Glacier....................

Daly Glacier.............................

Delta Glacier5 .........................

Map sheet 

(l:250,000-scale)

082J06

094F08

082N04

082N14

082N14

083D09

083C04

083C03

082N10

082N09

082N10

082N09

082J11

083D09

083D09

083E03

082O05

083C03

082N10

083C11

082N10

082N10

082N10

082J11

093H16

083C03

083C03

083C03

083C03

082N08

083D09

083C13

083C04

083C05

083E06

083D16

083C04

083C04

083E03

083C03

083C03

083C03

082N15

083C11

083C11

082N09

082N09

082N10

Latitude North

50°25.0'

57°22.0'

51°02.5'

51°59.0'

51°59.5'

52°41.0'

52°08.2'

52°11.0'

51°38.8'

51°34.0'

51°44.0'

51°31.0'

50°40.5'

52°40.5'

52°39.3'

53°07.0'

51°27.0'

52°11.5'

51°38.9'

52°32.2'

51°42.8'

51°44.0'

51°43.2'

50°31.5'

53°59.6'

52°06.7'

52°06.2'

52°05.9'

52°04.9'

51°24.3'

52°40.9'

52°50.0'

52°14.0'

52°17.0'

53°23.0'

52°46.4'

52° 14.0'

52°11.0'

53°10.0'

52°09.6'

52°09.5'

52°09.5'

51°46.1'

52°33.5'

52°31.0'

51°38.3'

51°31.0'

51°43.3'

Longitude West

115°07.0'

124°04.0'

117°50.5'

117°09.0'

117°12.0'

118°04.0'

117°44.0'

117°15.7'

116°35.6'

116°26.0'

116°36.0'

116°23.0'

115°17.0'

118°19.0'

118°17.9'

119°08.0'

115°55.0'

117°11.4'

116°30.4'

117°18.3'

116°46.3'

116°59.0'

116°58.0'

115°09.4'

120°23.8'

117°13.7'

117°14.5'

117°15.2'

117°16.3'

116°23.4'

118°03.0'

117°55.0'

117°41.0'

117°51.0'

119°23.0'

118°23.8'

117°54.0'

117°48.0'

119°02.7'

117°22.8'

117° 19.0'

117°18.0'

116°49.r

117°14.8'

117°21.0'

116°25.2'

116°26.5'

116°35.0'

Location

Kootenay

Peace River

Kootenay

Banff N.P.

Banff N.P/ Kootenay

Jasper N.P.

Kootenay

Jasper N.P.

Kootenay

Banff N.P.

Banff N.P

Banff N.P.

-

Cariboo

-

Cariboo

Banff N.P.

-

Banff N.P.

-

Kootenay

Kootenay

Kootenay

Kootenay

-

Banff N.P.

Banff N.P.

Banff N.P.

Banff N.P.

-

-

-

Jasper N.P.

Kootenay

Jasper N.P.

Jasper N.P.

Kootenay

Kootenay

Jasper N.P.

Jasper N.P.

Kootenay

Jasper N.P.

Banff N.P.

-

Jasper N.P.

Banff N.P.

Yoho N.P.

Banff N.P.

Province

BC

BC

BC

AB

AB/BC

AB

BC

AB

BC

AB

AB

AB

AB

BC

AB

BC

AB

AB

AB

AB

BC

BC

BC

BC

BC

AB

AB

AB

AB

BC

AB

AB

AB

BC

AB

AB

BC

BC

AB

AB

BC

AB

AB

AB

AB

AB

BC

AB

GLACIERS OF CANADA J205
TABLE 1. Named glaciers of the Rocky Mountains cited in the chapter Continued

Glacier Name

Diadem Icefield....................

Dome Glacier6 .....................

Drummond Glacier.............

Duplicate Glacier ................

East Glacier..........................

East Goodsir Glacier...........

East Lyell Glacier ................

Elk Glacier ...........................

Emerald Glacier ..................

Eremite Glacier ...................

Foch Glacier ........................

Eraser Glacier......................

Freshfield Glacier................

Freshfield Icefield................

Fusilier Glacier....................

Ghost Glacier.......................

Glacier des Poilus ...............

Gong Glacier........................

Goodsir Glacier ...................

Great Snow Icefield.............

Haig Glacier4........................

Haig Glacier4 ................. .......

Hanbury Glacier..................

Hector Glacier .....................

Hilda Glacier ........................

Hooker Glacier ....................

Hooker Icefield 4 ..................

Hooker Icefield4 ..................

Horseshoe Glacier 7 ............,

Huntington Glacier .............

Ithaca Glacier .....................

Kane Glacier4 ......................

Kane Glacier4 ......................

King George Glacier...........

Kitchi Glacier......................

Kwadacha Glacier..............

Lambe Glacier....... ..............

Lefroy Glacier.....................

Llanberis Glacier................

Lloyd George Glacier.........

Lloyd George Icefield.........

Lyautey Glacier...................

Lyell Icefield4 ......................

Lyell Icefield 4 ............ ..........

Mangin Glacier ...................

Mary Vaux Glacier..............

Mastodon Glacier...............

McConnell Glacier .............

Meadow Glacier .................

Map sheet 

(l:250,000-scale)

083C06

083C03

082N09

083C04

082N15

082N01

082N14

082J11

082N07

083D09

082 Jll

083D09

082N15

082N10

094K07

083C05

082N10

083C06

082N01

094F08

082J11

082J11

082N01

082N09

083C03

083D08

083D08

083D08

082N08

083C02

094F08

083D08

083D08

082J11

093H16

094F15

082N10

082N08

094F14

094F15

094F15

082J11

082N14

082N14

082J11

083C11

083D09

094F14

083D16

Latitude North

52°19.6'

52°12.1'

51°36.0'

52°12.8'

51°52.2'

51°12.4'

51°57.5'

50°31.0'

51°30.0'

52°38.0'

50°34.5'

52°38.2'

51°47.0'

5F45.0'

58°22.0'

52°19.6'

51°34.0'

52°22.0'

51°12.2'

57°27.0'

50°43.0'

50°43.0'

51°15.0'

51°35.7'

52°11.0'

52°23.4'

52°25.0'

52°25.0'

51°20.5'

52°09.8'

57°23.0'

52°24.0'

52°24.6'

50°35.8'

53°54.3'

57°49.0'

51°44.5'

5F22.5'

57°51.0'

57°55.0'

57°52.0'

50°37.0'

51°55.8'

51°56.0'

50°33.0'

52°34.0'

52°37.0'

57°57.8'

52°45.6'

Longitude West

117°25.0'

117°18.1'

116°03.0'

117°54.8'

116°55.2'

116°21.5

117°04.5'

115°09.0'

116°32.0'

118°14.0'

115°10.3'

118°16.7'

116°53.0'

116°54.0'

124°52.0'

117°53.6'

116°35.0'

117°28.8'

116°22.6'

124°06.0'

115°17.0'

115°19.0'

116°30.0'

116°15.5'

117°10.0'

118°05.0'

118°05.0'

118°05.5

116°16.0'

116°57.6'

124°08.0'

118°10.r

118°09.5'

115°23.6'

120°24.5'

124°55.0'

116°46.7'

116°16.1'

125°00.0'

124°55.0'

124°58.0'

115°13.0'

117°04.7'

117°05.0'

115°13.0'

117°27.5'

118°16.7'

125°14.0'

118°23.3'

Location

-

Jasper N.P.

Banff N.P.

Kootenay

Banff N.P.

Yoho N.P.

Banff N.P.

Kootenay

Yoho N.P.

Jasper N.P.

-

Jasper N.P.

Banff N.P.

Banff N.P.

Peace River

Kootenay

Yoho N.P.

Jasper N.P.

Yoho N.P.

-

-

Kootenay

Yoho N.P.

Banff N.P.

-

Kootenay

Jasper N.P.

Kootenay

Banff N.P.

-

Peace River

Jasper N.P.

Kootenay

-

-

Cassiar

Kootenay

Banff N.P.

Cassiar

Peace River

Peace River

-

Kootenay

Banff N.P.

-

-

Jasper N.P.

Cassiar

Jasper N.P.

Province

AB

AB

AB

BC

AB

BC

AB

BC

BC

AB

AB

AB

AB

AB

BC

BC

BC

AB

BC

BC

AB

BC

BC

AB

AB

BC

AB

BC

AB

AB

BC

AB

BC

BC

BC

BC

BC

AB

BC

BC

BC

AB

BC

AB

AB

AB

AB

BC

AB

J206 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
TABLE 1. Named glaciers of the Rocky Mountains cited in the chapter Continued

Glacier Name

Menagerie Glacier ..................

Mist Glacier 8 ...........................

Misty Glacier...........................

Molar Glacier ..........................

Monkman Glacier...................

Mons Glacier...........................

Mons Icefield4 ....... ..................

Mons Icefield4 ............ .............

Mount Brown Icefield ............

Mount Brown Icefield ............

Mummery Glacier...................

Mural Glacier ..........................

Murchison Icefield..................

Nivelle Glacier ........................

Niverville Glacier....................

North Alnus Glacier ...............

North Glacier ..........................

Odyssey Icefield......................

Pangman Glacier ....................

Para Glacier.............................

Paragon Glacier......................

Parapet Glacier4' 9 ...................

Parapet Glacier4 .....................

Parsnip Glacier.......................

Peyto Glacier...........................

President Glacier....................

Prince Albert Glacier .............

Princess Mary Glacier............

Petain Glacier .........................

Quentin Glacier ......................

Rae Glacier..............................

Ram River Glacier ..................

Reef Glaciers...........................

Reeflcefield4...........................

Reef Icefield4 ............ ...............

Resthaven Icefield..................

Rice Glaciers...........................

Robson Glacier.......................

Saskatchewan Glacier ...........

Scarp Glacier ..........................

Scott Glacier ...........................

Serenity Glacier......................

Sharp Glacier ..........................

Simon Glacier .........................

Sir Alexander Icefield ............

Sir James Glacier....................

South Alnus Glacier...............

Southeast Lyell Glacier..........

Southwest Lyell Glaciers .......

Map sheet 

(l:250,000-scale)

093H16

083E03

083C05

082N09

093111

082N15

082N14

082N14

083D08

083D08

082N10

083E03

082N15

082J11

082N15

083D08

082N15

094F08

082N15

083D09

083D09

082N10

082N10

093111

082N10

082N07

082J11

082J11

082J11

094F15

082J10

082N16

083E03

083E02

083E02

083E06

083C03

083E03

083C03

083D09

083D08

083C05

082N01

083D09

093H16

082N15

083D08

082N14

082N14

Latitude North

53°55.0'

53°07.7'

52°17.6'

51°37.1'

54°34.0'

51°52.5'

51°51.5'

51°52.0'

52°22.1'

52°22.0'

51°40.5'

53°12.0'

51°55.0'

50°31.0'

51°47.2'

52°26.6'

51°52.3'

57°20.0'

51°46.0

52°39.7'

52°41.0'

51°44.5'

51°44.5'

54°32.0'

51°40.6'

51°30.2'

50°36.2'

50°35.0'

50°32.0'

57°55.0'

50°37.4'

51°51.0'

53°07.0'

53°08.5'

53°08.5'

53°26.0'

52°00.0'

53°08.0'

52°08.3'

52°38.9'

52°26.0'

52°23.0'

51°12.2'

52°38.2'

53°56.0'

51°52.1'

52°24.7'

51°54.5'

51°54.7'

Longitude West

120°23.5'

119°10.0'

117°51.2'

116°16.0'

121°22.0'

116°59.3'

117°00.7'

117°00.0'

118°136'

118°13.0'

116°49.0'

119°11.0'

116°38.0'

115°11.0'

116°57.5'

118°01.6'

116°57.3'

124°05.0'

116°57.0'

118°16.8'

118°18.0'

116°38.3'

116°38.3'

121°27.0'

116°32.8'

116°34.3'

115°24.7'

115°24.2'

115°10.0'

124°58.0'

114°59.r

1160 11.0'

119°00.5'

119°00.6'

119°00.6'

119°28.0'

117°15.0'

119°06.0'

117°12.r

118°21.4'

118°05.0'

117°59.0'

116°20.r

118°18.8'

120°23.0'

116°52.8'

118°00.4'

117°01.6'

117°05.4'

Location

-

Cariboo

Kootenay

Banff N.P.

Peace River

Banff N.P.

Banff N.P.

Kootenay

Cariboo; Kootenay

-

Kootenay

Jasper N.P.

Banff N.P.

Kootenay

Banff N.P.

Kootenay

Banff N.P.

-

Banff N.P.

-

-

-

Kootenay

Peace River

Banff N.P.

-

-

-

Kootenay

Cassiar

-

-

Cariboo

Jasper N.P.

Cariboo

Jasper N.P.

-

Cariboo

Banff N.P.

Cariboo

Jasper N.P.

Kootenay

Kootenay N.P.

Jasper N.P.

Cariboo

Banff N.P.

Kootenay

Banff N.P.

Kootenay

Province

BC

BC

BC

AB

BC

AB

AB

BC

BC

AB

BC

AB

AB

BC

AB

BC

AB

BC

AB

AB

BC

AB

BC

BC

AB

BC

BC

BC

BC

BC

AB

AB

BC

AB

BC

AB

BC

BC

AB

BC

AB

BC

BC

AB

BC

AB

BC

AB

BC

GLACIERS OF CANADA J207
TABLE 1. Named glaciers of the Rocky Mountains cited in the chapter Continued

Glacier Name

Stagnant Glacier.....................

Stanley Glacier .......................

Steppe Glacier4 .......................

Steppe Glacier4 .......................

Stutfield Glacier....... ...............

Swiftcurrent Glacier ..............

Swiftcurrent Icefield ..............

Tipperary Glacier ...................

Tumbling Glacier 10 .................

Tusk Glacier............................

Victoria Glacier.......................

Vista Glacier................. ...........

Vreeland Glacier..... ................

Vulture Glacier4 .. ....................

Vulture Glacier4 ......................

Waitabit Glacier......................

Wales Glacier4 ........................

Wales Glacier4 ........................

Wapta Icefield4 .......................

Wapta Icefield4 .......................

Waputik Glacier......................

Waputik Icefield4 ...... ..............

Waputik Icefield4 ......... ...........

Washmawapta Icefield ...........

Wenkchemna Glacier. . ...........

West Alexandra Glacier .........

West Chaba Glacier................

West Glacier............................

West Washmawapta Glacier..

Wilson Icefield ........................

Wishaw Glacier.......................

Wokkpash Glacier ..................

Yoho Glacier............................

Map sheet 

(l:250,000-scalej

094F14

083C04

083E03

083E03

083C03

083E03

083E03

082J11

082N01

083C04

082N08

083D16

093111

082N09

082N09

082N10

083C04

083C04

082N09

082N09

082N09

082N09

082N09

082N01

082N08

082N14

083C04

082N15

082N01

083C02

093H16

094K07

082N10

Latitude North

57°52.0'

52°08.1'

53°09.5'

53°09.0'

52°14.0'

53°09.8'

53°11.0'

50°41.0'

51°07.5'

52°14.0'

51°23.0'

52°46.3'

54°34.0'

51°35.9'

51°35.9'

51°42.0'

52°10.0'

52°09.2'

51°38.0'

51°38.0'

51°32.3'

51°34.5'

51°34.0'

51°10.0'

51°18.7'

51°59.0'

52°15.0'

51°51.6'

51°11.0'

52°01.1'

53°57.0'

58°16.0'

51°36.0'

Longitude West

125°03.0'

117°56.6'

119°00.6'

119°01.0'

117°21.5'

119°17.8'

119°15.0'

1150 24.0'

116°14.2'

117°56.0'

116°16.0'

118°26.5'

121°27.0C

116°27.5'

116°27.5'

116°54.7'

117°37.5

117°39.6'

116°30.0'

116°30.0'

116°22.8'

116°27.2'

116°27.0'

116°18.0'

116°14.2'

117°13.0'

117°46.r

116°59.3'

116°19.0'

116°48.0'

120°12.0'

124°43.0'

116°33.0'

Location

Cassiar

Kootenay

Cariboo

Jasper N.P.

Jasper N.P.

Cariboo

-

--

Kootenay N.P.

Kootenay

Banff N.P.

Cariboo

Peace River

Banff N.P.

Kootenay

Kootenay

Jasper N.P.

Kootenay

Banff N.P.

Kootenay

Banff N.P.

Banff N.P

Yoho N.P.

Kootenay

Banff N.P.

Kootenay

-

Banff N.P.

Kootenay

Banff N.P.

Peace River

Peace River

Yoho N.P.

Province

BC

BC

BC

AB

AB

AB

AB/BC

BC

BC

BC

AB

BC

BC

AB

BC

BC

AB

BC

AB

BC

AB

AB

BC

BC

AB

BC

AB

AB

BC

AB

BC

BC

BC

1 Two other Boundary Glaciers, in Cassiar, BC, are listed in the geonames database.

2 Castleguard Glacier, without roman numeral subdivisions, in Banff N.P, AB, is listed in the geonames database.

3 Two other Cathedral Glaciers, in Cassiar, BC, and in Yukon Territory, are listed in the geonames database.

4 Some glaciers and icefields straddle the border between the Provinces of Alberta (AB) and British Columbia; 

hence, they are listed twice although the ice is contiguous.

5 There is another Delta Glacier, in Cassiar, BC, listed in the geonames database.

6 Another Dome Glacier, in Nunavut, is listed in the geonames database.

7 Another Horseshoe Glacier, in Kootenay, BC, is listed in the geonames database.

8 Another Mist Glacier, in Kootenay, BC, is listed in the geonames database.

9 In addition to the Parapet Glacier in the Rocky Mountains, there is a Parapet Glacier in Nunavut listed in the 

geonames database. 

10Another Tumbling Glacier, in Nunavut, is listed in the geonames database.

J208 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Figure 5. Photograph of the Victoria Glacier, Rocky Mountains, Alberta, Canada, in 

August 1973, showing its morainic-debriscovered terminus and glacierets on the 

steep valley wall. Photograph by C. Simon 

L Ommanney, National Hydrology Research Institute [NTS Map: 082N08]. Glacier 

4*5BAA-37, Glacier Atlas of Canada, Plate 

7.3, Red Deer River, Glacier Inventory, Area 

4*5, Inland Waters Branch, Department of 

Energy, Mines and Resources, 1970, scale 

1:500,000.

TABLE 2. Estimate of glacierized area of the 

Rocky Mountains of Canada (from Henoch, 1967)

Drainage Areas Area 

(square kilometers)

Pacific Ocean......

Nelson River........

Great Slave Lake.

.......... 37,659

.......... 328

.......... 626

Total 38,613

J209
TABLE 3. Number and types of glaciers ivithin the Nelson River basin (from Ommanney, 1972a)

Drainage Area Ice

Field

Oldman River..................................

Waterton River................................

Bow River to Lake Louise ............. 2

Pipestone River ..............................

Baker Creek....................................

Bow River and Brewster Creek....

Spray River...................................... L

Lake Minnewanka.. ........................ 1

Kananaskis Lake.............................

Ghost River.....................................

Elbow River....................................

Highwood River.. ............................

Red Deer River ...............................

Siffleur River...................................

Mistaya River ..................................

Howse River.................................... 1

Arctomys Creek..............................

Alexander River..............................

North Saskatchewan River ...........

Cline River.......................................

Clearwater River ............................

North Saskatchewan (middle)......

Blackstone River.. ..........................

Opabin Creek..................................

Job Creek ........................................

Brazeau River ................................. 3

Brazeau Lake .................................. 2

Isaac Creek .....................................

Southesk River ...............................

Thistle Creek.. .................................

Cardinal River.. ...............................

Total 9

Outlet Valley Mountain

Glacier Glacier Glacier

2

1 92

2 34

12

36

75

23

69

3

5

15

58

97

66

1 79

23

57

1 59

1 87

1 49

29

3

4

27

33

47

20

51

3

5

5 2 1,163

Glacierel

33

4

1

2

3

1

1

6

6

3

1

1

4

5

1

3

2

1

1

79

Rock Glacier,

Ice-Cored

Moraine

18

8

12

6

12

13

8

7

3

4

20

8

16

6

7

4

9

12

15

13

6

4

9

6

15

5

17

2

1

266

Total

53

4

103

49

18

48

91

'32

79

6

9

36

67

119

78

91

28

67

76

108

64

35

7

4

39

44

65

25

69

5

6

1,524

Border Ranges

The Border Ranges (fig. 1, B) mark the southern limit of the Rocky 

Mountains in Canada. They include the Galton, Macdonald, Clark, Wilson, 

and Lewis Ranges. No substantial ice bodies exist here. The glacierets that 

are located in the Border Ranges are of little significance for water supply 

but may be important for some plant and animal life. Abandoned cirques, 

tarns, horns, and other remnants of mountain glaciation testify to the previous presence and areal extent of extensive glaciers.

Clark Range (Wilson and Lewis Ranges) (Bl)4

The Clark Range (fig. 1, Bl) lies along the Continental Divide that forms 

the border between the provinces of British Columbia and Alberta in the

J210 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
southern Rocky Mountains. The range rises to an elevation of almost 3,000 

m asl in Mount Blakiston (2,919 m) and has a mean peak elevation of about 

2,500 m asl. The Wilson and Lewis Ranges are outliers within Waterton 

Lakes National Park.

Although no glaciers are shown on the National Topographic System 

(NTS) maps" for this area nor are any observable on the satellite images, 

interpretation of aerial photographs for the Canadian Glacier Inventory has 

revealed some permanent snow and ice, or glacierets, in sheltered areas of 

the park and farther north in the range around Mount Haig (2,611 m).

Macdonald Range (B2)

The Macdonald Range (fig. 1, B2), lies west of the Clark Range and is 

separated from it by the Flathead Basin; it also has no glaciers, according 

to current maps. No inventory has been completed for this area, so it is not 

known whether glacierets exist. Any accumulation of perennial ice is 

unlikely, because the mean elevation of the range is lower than that of the 

Clark Range and, at this latitude in the Rocky Mountains, permanent snow 

and ice tend to remain only on the sheltered eastern and northern slopes 

rather than on the more exposed western flanks.

Galton Range (B3)

At an even lower mean elevation, the Galton Range (fig. 1, B3) forms the 

western flank of the Border Ranges. The range abuts the Rocky Mountain 

Trench, which in this area includes the Kootenay River and Lake Koocanusa. Because the maximum height is 2,230 m asl and the mean height is 

just over 2,000 m, it is reasonably certain that not even permanent snow 

patches exist here.

Continental Ranges (South Border Ranges to 

Kicking Horse Pass)

Because the Continental Ranges extend more than 725 km and contain 

thousands of glaciers, several of which have been studied and are quite well 

known, they have been divided into three sections south, central, and 

north.

The northern boundary of the southern area is marked by the TransCanada Highway and the main line of the Canadian Pacific Railroad (CPR), 

both of which follow the Bow River from the Foothills, through Banff to the 

Kicking Horse Pass and its famous spiral tunnel, and then along the Yoho 

River to the west. This coincides with the northern limit of the Kootenay 

Ranges. The southern limit has been taken as the beginning of the Border 

Ranges, which were discussed previously. The slightly warmer climate 

south of Kicking Horse Pass means that generally this group of mountain 

ranges contains fewer and smaller ice fields and glaciers than those to the 

north, but there is ample evidence of previous glacierization.

The series of parallel ranges running from east to west have been 

grouped and are discussed according to the area within which they fall 

the Front, Park, and Kootenay Ranges.

Front Ranges (South) (FS)

The Front Ranges (fig. 1, FS) constitute a series of parallel mountain 

ranges rising from the Foothills up to and beyond the Continental Divide 

that marks the provincial boundary. The outer, or eastern, group of ranges

GLACIERS OF CANADA J211
consists of the Blairmore, LMngstone, Highwood, Misty, Opal, and Fisher 

Ranges and ends in the north at theRundle Peaks. The next parallel group 

of ranges is made up of the Flathead, Taylor, High Rock, Wisukitsat, Greenhills, Elk, and Kananaskis Ranges. The final section of the Front Ranges is 

made up of the Lizard Range, the Harrison, Italian and Joffre Groups, 

Spray Mountains, and the Sundance Range. It is this inner and higher set of 

ranges in which several glaciers are found, particularly in the Spray Mountains and in the Italian and Joffre Groups. The divide follows the central 

range as far as the Elk Range then swings over and passes out into the Park 

Ranges.

Lizard Range (FS1)

The Lizard Range (fig. 1, FS1) is the southernmost element of the Front 

Ranges and is situated on the western flank of the Rocky Mountains, south 

of the Kootenay Ranges. Elevations here are <2,300 m, and there are no 

glaciers.

Taylor Range (FS2)

Just to the west of the Continental Divide, the mountains in the Taylor 

Range (fig. 1, FS2) are somewhat higher in elevation, up to 2,445 m, but the 

orographic-precipitation regime is insufficient to sustain any permanent ice 

masses.

Flathead Range (FS3)

The elevation of the mountains increases within the Flathead Range 

(fig. 1, FS3), averaging about 2,500 m asl, but with higher peaks such as 

Mount Ptolemy (2,815 m) and Mount Darrah (2,745 m). Mount Ptolemy has 

a few rock glaciers in its vicinity (for example, Canadian glacier inventory 

glacier No.*4*5AA16 and 17), and there are some glacierets farther south 

in the headwaters of the Carbondale River. None, however, is shown on the 

published topographic maps.

Blairmore Range (FS4)

Moving toward the prairies and almost in the Foothills, elevations drop 

to close to 2,000 m in the Blairmore Range (fig. 1, FS4), and no glaciers of 

any size exist.

Livingstone Range (FS5)

Just to the north of the Blairmore Range, the Livingstone Range (fig. 1, 

FS5), a long, sinuous, limestone range, almost 100-km long, is the first of 

five major ranges that constitute the next group in the Continental Ranges. 

Some peaks, such as Centre Peak and Mount Burke, rise to about 2,500 m. 

Although no glaciers are visible on the Landsat images or any NTS maps, a 

group of four rock glaciers has been identified at the southern end of the 

range near the Blairmore Range.

High Rock Range (Tornado Group^ (FS6)

Situated parallel to the Livingstone Range and to its west, the High Rock 

Range (fig. 1, FS6), also known as the Tornado Group, rises from 2,550 m 

in Crowsnest Mountain in the southern part of the range and extends past 

Tornado Mountain (3,100 m) to several 3,000-m peaks in the northern part. 

A small ice apron and rock glacier (*4*5BL5 and 6; Ommanney, 1989) occur 

at the foot of Mount Cornwell; they are remnants of the glaciers observed 

there during the 1916 survey (Interprovincial Boundary Commission, 

1924). Small glaciers, glacierets, ice-cored moraines, and rock glaciers are

J212 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
mostly found at the foot of the higher peaks on the north- and east-facing 

slopes, though none are shown on NTS maps. This may explain Denton's 

(1975) conclusion that there was no glacier on Tornado Mountain.

Wisukitsat and Greenhills Ranges (FS7)

Two small ice-free ranges, the Wisukitsat and Greenhills Ranges (fig. 1, 

FS7), lie between the High Rock Range and the next major parallel feature 

of the Continental Ranges, to the west, the Harrison Group East. Both are 

fairly low, with peaks less than 2,700 m and 2,400 m in elevation, respectively, and are not known to be glacierized.

Harrison Group East (FS8)

The last major mountain block in this discussion of the Front Ranges 

(South) is the Harrison Group East (fig. 1, FS8), which is almost 100 km 

long and about 15 km wide. It is bounded to the east by Elk River and to the 

west by Bull River. Summit elevations are lowest in the southern part 

(<2,500 m) and rise to just over 3,000 m northward. No detailed studies 

have been made of the ice cover in this range, so it is not known whether 

glacierets and rock glaciers can be found here. It would seem likely, as welldeveloped glaciers are found just to the north around Mount Abruzzi in the 

Italian Group.

Highwood Range (FS9)

Moving farther north again, the next major eastern outlier of the Rockies 

is the Highwood Range (fig. 1, FS9). It has elevations varying from 2,782 m 

(Mount Head) to more than 2,800 m in the northern part of the range. 

Small glaciers are found at the headwaters of tributaries of Sheep River.

Misty Range (FS10)

Lying at the headwaters of Sheep River and cut off to the west by Highwood River, the Misty Range (fig. 1, FS10) rises to more than 3,000 m asl in 

Mist Mountain (3,138 m) and Mount Rae (3,219 m). The latter is the location of Roe Glacier [*4*5BJ-4] (fig. 6) (Gardner, 1983), which was studied 

briefly by a group from the University of Saskatchewan (Lawby and others, 

1994). There are three other glaciers near Rae Glacier, as well as many 

other small ones at the head of Mist Creek. Gardner (1983) refers to several 

small cirque and niche glaciers above 2,900 m in elevation on shaded and 

leeward slopes.

Elk Range (FS 11)

The Elk Range (fig. 1, FS11) is a northerly extension of the High Rock 

Range. Mean maximum elevations vary from 2,600 to more than 2,800 m. 

Again, small glaciers are scattered along the base of the range in sheltered 

north- and east-facing basins.

Italian Group (FS12)

The Italian Group (fig. 1, FS12) is really a continuation of the Harrison 

Group It is centered on Mount Abruzzi, a major peak rising to 3,265 m asl, 

with other peaks exceeding 3,000 m in its vicinity. Many small glaciers are 

located here in sheltered north- and east-facing cirques. Most are about 

1 km long, with snouts terminating around 2,450 m. Abruzzi Glacier 

(4 km2), which is the largest, is some 2 km wide, 2.5 km long, and descends 

to 2,500 m. This is the southernmost group of glaciers in the Canadian 

Rocky Mountains, if one relies solely on the existing topographic maps. 

However, glacier inventory studies have revealed small permanent ice

GLACIERS OF CANADA J213
114°59'

Figure 6. Rae Glacier, Misty Range, Rocky Mountains, 

A, Photograph taken August 1985. Glacier 4*5BJ-4, Glacier Atlas of Canada, Plate 7.2, Bow River Glacier Inventory, Area 4*5B, Inland Waters Branch, Department of 

Energy, Mines and Resources, 1970, scale 1:500,000. 

B, Modification of sketch map showing historical terminus survey and stake positions for 1990 as determined 

by a group from the University of Saskatachewan 

(Lawby and others, 1994).

114°59'30" 115°W

Bench mark 

 Ice front position 

1 ~ Terminal moraine ca. 1881 

0 200 METERS

QQ BRITISH / ALBERTA 

\

J214 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
masses all the way south to the U.S./Canada border. Just over the border in 

Glacier National Park, Montana, 37 named, small mountain glaciers have 

been documented within the park, and two outside. [See section "Glacier 

Retreat in Glacier National Park, Montana," in the Glaciers of the Western 

United States (J-2) part of this volume.] Glacier National Park, not to be 

confused with the Canadian Glacier National Park in the Selkirk Mountains 

of central British Columbia, near Revelstoke, is one of two contiguous 

national parks, north and south of the border; the other is Waterton Lakes 

National Park, Alberta.

Joffre Group (French Military Group) (FS13)

Bounded to the east by Elk River and to the west by the Palliser River, 

the Joffre, or French Military Group (fig. 1, FS13), is a northwesterly 

extension of the Italian Group and has peaks rising to a maximum in 

Mount Joffre (3,449 m) and more and larger glaciers than in the previously 

discussed mountain ranges. The Mangin and Petain Glaciers are about 

5 km2 in area and 4.5 and 3.5 km in length, respectively. The Foch Glacier, 

Elk, Castelnau, Lyautey and Nivelle Glaciers are 1.5 to 2 km in length, and 

there are several other unnamed glaciers nearby of comparable size. Only 

the Nivelle Glacier is located on the western side of the main range. The 

average lowest elevation of the ice varies from 2,400-2,600 m. The equilibrium line altitude (ELA) likely lies between 2,600 and 2,700 m.

Opal Range (FS14)

The toe of an L-shaped range, the Opal Range (fig. 1, FS14), provides 

part of the initial buttress of the Rocky Mountains, which face the Foothills 

to the east, and has the upper part of the "L" tucked in behind the more 

northerly Fisher Range. Along with the following two ranges, it forms part 

of what has been called the Kananaskis Range. The western limits are 

marked by the broad valley of the Kananaskis River. There is a slight eastto-west gradient in maximum peak elevations from 2,900 m to slightly more 

than 3,000 m. The peaks to the west resemble the Sawback Range. The 

sharp and jagged peaks were created by erosion of the nearly vertical, 

steeply dipping beds of the Rundle Limestone. No glaciers are shown on the 

published maps, but the glacier inventory identified some small ice aprons, 

glacierets, and rock glaciers in parts of the range.

Fisher Range (FS15)

Fisher Range (fig. 1, FS15) marks the northern limit of the easternmost 

ranges of the Rocky Mountains considered in this part of the Continental 

Ranges. Elevations are similar to those in the Opal Range, rising to a maximum of just over 3,000 m asl at Mount Fisher, where the glacier inventory 

identified two small cirque glaciers, the only permanent ice here.

Kananaskis Range (FS16)

Although there are no glaciers large enough for skiing, this is the area of 

Mount Allan in the Kananaskis Range (fig. 1, FS16), which includes the 

area chosen for Canada's winter Olympic downhill skiing events in 1988. 

The range lies across the Kananaskis River valley and is bounded on the 

west by Smith-Dorrien Creek with mountains rising slightly to just over 

3,100 m asl. Numerous small ice aprons and cirque glaciers have been identified here, as well as several small rock glaciers.

Spray Mountains (British Military Group) (FS17)

Otherwise known as the British Military Group, after the association of 

peak and glacier names, the Spray Mountains (fig. 1, FS17) contain several

GLACIERS OF CANADA J215
glaciers along the divide a continuation of those found farther south in 

the Joffre Group. The largest, about 4 km2 , 3 km long, and descending to 

2,225 m, is the Haig Glacier. Realty Glacier, just to the south of the Haig 

Glacier, is only about 1.5 km long and terminates a little higher at 2,380 m. 

Other glaciers vary in length from 0.5 to 3 km and have average snout elevations of about 2,500 m asl. The ELA in this range is estimated to be about 

2,650 m on the east side and 2,670 m on the west side.

Bundle Peaks (FS18)

Paralleling the Trans-Canada Highway on its southern margin, as the 

highway enters the Rocky Mountains and curves northward toward Banff 

and Banff National Park, are the Rundle Peaks (fig. 1, FS18). Peak elevations are less than 3,000 m and include the Three Sisters above the town of 

Canmore, Alberta, and Mount Rundle, all of which afford the scenic backdrop to the Banff townsite from Mount Norquay. There are no glaciers in 

this range.

Goat Range (FS19)

West of the Rundle Peaks is the small Goat Range (fig. 1, FS19), 

stretching from the Spray Lakes Reservoir, which can be seen clearly on 

Landsat images, to the southern end of Sulphur Mountain in Banff. The 

lower part of the range has elevations comparable to those of the Rundle 

Peaks, approximately 2,900 m, but, unlike the latter, it does have several 

small cirque glaciers and ice aprons around Mount Nestor (2,960 m).

Sundance Range (FS20)

As viewed from space, the Sundance Range (fig. 1, FS20) looks like a 

giant tuning fork; it extends south-southeast from the Banff area before 

splitting into the two tines that reach to the head of the Spray Lakes Reservoir. Mean peak elevations vary from 2,800-2,950 m asl. Although not 

shown on NTS maps, the southern part, from Cone Mountain to Fatigue 

Mountain (2,959 m), contains numerous small glaciers (*4*5BC61-78, 

84-91; Ommanney, 1989) that lie along benches and terraces eroded in the 

tilted strata. Some climbers include this range with the Assiniboine Park 

Group [and the Blue and Mitchell Ranges, as part of the Assiniboine Park 

Group] in the Park Ranges. Such trans-range mountain groups make the 

delineation of meaningful groups of mountain ranges extremely difficult, 

because differentiation may be based on physiographic, geologic, or other 

considerations.

Park Ranges (South) (PS)

The Park Ranges (fig. 1, PS) lie between the Kootenay and Front 

Ranges. They are generally higher and more heavily glacierized than the 

Front Ranges (South). The northern limit of this area is composed of the 

Ball, Vermilion, Bow, and Ottertail Ranges; the latter includes the Washmawapta Icefield. In the vicinity of Mount Assiniboine the "Matterhorn" of 

the Rocky Mountains are found the Assiniboine Park Group and Royal 

Group, as well as the Blue and Mitchell Ranges. In the southern part, the 

ranges narrow into the western part of the Harrison Group and terminate 

in the Quinn Range. Glaciers are concentrated in the northern part of the 

Park Ranges (South) and also around Mount Assiniboine.

Quinn Range (PS1)

The Quinn Range (fig. 1, PS1) is about 50 km long; it is nestled between 

the Harrison Group East of the Front Ranges and the Van Nostrand

J216 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Range of the Kootenay Ranges. The range rises to a maximum height of 

3,300 m asl at Mount Mike, and maximum elevations are generally close to 

3,000 m, yet no glaciers are shown on the maps.

Harrison Group West (PS2)

The Bull and White Rivers separate the western and eastern sections of 

the Harrison Group, the Harrison Group East (fig. 1, FS8), and the Harrison Group West (fig. 1, PS2). The western part of the Harrison Group 

West is somewhat higher than the eastern part, having several peaks >3,000 

m asl; Mount Harrison rises to 3,359 m. Despite the fact that Mount Harrison is higher than Mount Abruzzi and about 40 km farther north, there are 

apparently no glaciers in the vicinity.

The Royal Group (PS3)

The centerpiece of the Royal Group (fig. 1, PS3) is Mount King George 

(3,422 m), an impressive landform of towers and massive walls, but there 

are several other peaks that also rise above 3,000 m. The Princess Mary, 

King George, and Prince Albert Glaciers are located on the flanks of 

Mount King George. They vary in area from 0.5 to 1.5 km2 and have termini 

at about 2,450 m asl. More than 2 km long, the Tipperary Glacier is 

located on Mount Cradock; another small glacier (Albert Glacier) fills a cirque north of Mounts Queen Elizabeth and King Albert. Part of The Royal 

Group, with elevations ranging up to 2,950 m asl, lies to the west, separated 

from the rest of the group by the Albert and Cross Rivers.

Blue Range (PS4)

The small mountain block of the Blue Range (fig. 1, PS4) straddles the 

Continental Divide south of Mount Assiniboine, from which it is separated 

by Aurora and Owl Creeks. Elevations do not reach 2,900 m even along the 

border, and no glaciers are shown on current maps, even though glacier 

inventory work on the eastern end of the range revealed numerous cirques 

having small ice bodies and large moraines.

Assiniboine Park Group (PS5)

The dominant peak in the southern Rockies and the highest in the southern Continental Ranges, Mount Assiniboine (3,618 m) (fig. 3) rises as a 

majestic horn above its surrounding glaciers, which lie on shelves around 

the main mountain core, the Assiniboine Park Group (fig. 1, PS5). The 

Indian name means "stone-boiler," after the practice of using hot stones for 

cooking. Of the dozen glaciers on Mount Assiniboine, the largest is about 

2.5 km2 in area. The average elevation of the glacier tongues ranges from 

2,450 to 2,550 m. On the east side of the group, the equilibrium line probably lies at about 2,650 m. Rock-glacier forms in the area have been studied 

by Yarnal (1979). Although a popular stop for tourists and climbers, no scientific studies have been done on the glaciers in this area. The Assinboine 

Park Group is well-defined on all sides, limited by the Mitchell River and 

the Aurora, Bryant, and Owl Creeks.

MitcheU Range (PS6)

The main part of the Mitchell Range (fig. 1, PS6) lies along the east side 

of the Kootenay River south of the Simpson River. This part has peaks rising 

to >2,900 m. The western slopes of the Mitchell Range are deeply incised 

with well-developed cirque basins that probably show evidence of recent 

glaciation, if not some permanent ice. The range spreads out eastward in a 

series of four connected blocks ending at Simpson Ridge, where a small glacier (0.5 km2) is located beneath Nestor Peak; its snout is at 2,485 m.

GLACIERS OF CANADA J217
Ball Range (PS7)

As one drives from Banff northward to the Kicking Horse Pass, the Ball 

Range (fig. 1, PS7) can be seen where it forms part of the eastern section of 

the Park Ranges. Limited on three sides by the broad valleys of the Vermilion and Bow Rivers, the Ball Range has peaks varying from 2,800 to 3,100 m 

that reach a maximum elevation at Mount Ball (3,312 m). The six glaciers 

plotted on the NTS maps are all located on this mountain. They are less 

than 1 km long and have lower elevations differing by as much as 1,000 m 

(2,057-3,050 m). The largest has an area of about 0.75 km2 . Stanley Glacier 

(0.6 km2 in area) is the only one lying on the western side of the range.

Vermilion Range (PS8)

Not to be confused with the Vermilion Range of the Front Ranges, 45 km 

to the northeast, this Vermilion Range (fig. 1, PS8) forms a major ridge to 

the west of the Continental Divide between the Vermilion and Beaverfoot 

Rivers, rising to maximum elevations of >3,000 m. Although maps include 

the Washmawapta Icefield in the Ottertail Range, the Vermilion Range 

should probably be considered as ending at Wolverine Pass. Six glaciers lie 

in cirques along the eastern slope of the range, the largest being Tumbling 

Glacier about 1 km2 in area. Average snout elevations are at about 2,100 m 

asl and lengths vary from 0.2 to 1.5 km.

Bow Range (PS9)

The Bow Range (fig. 1, PS9) is the focal point of the visit of most tourists to Banff National Park. The range marks the northern limit of the area 

considered as the southern Continental Ranges. It is some 21 km long, 

19 km wide, and has peaks that are amongst the highest of the mountain 

ranges discussed so far Mounts Alien (3,301 m), Lefroy (3,423 m) and 

Victoria (3,646 m), and Deltaform (3,424 m) and Hungabee Mountains 

(3,492 m). Glaciers occur on both sides of the main range and include several debris-covered and rock-glacier forms. Many glaciers exceed 1 km in 

length. On the western side, the lowest elevation of glaciers is about 

2,600 m asl, but several termini end at lower elevations; on the east, the 

glaciers tend to be at even lower elevations. The popular Lake Louise is 

dammed by an early Holocene moraine formed by the Victoria Glacier; it 

probably formed during the Elsenhower Junction glaciation, some 10,000 

years before present (B.P) (Kucera, 1976). Ironically, Moraine Lake is 

dammed by a rock slide from the Tower of Babel (Kucera, 1976) rather 

than by a moraine. Kucera (1976) and Gardner (1978b) provide popular 

accounts of the glaciers and landforms in this area. Several glaciers that 

have been the subject of specific studies and comments are discussed 

below.

Horseshoe Glacier

Horseshoe Glacier, with an area of 4.3 km2 , is about the same size as 

Victoria Glacier (3.5 km2 in area) but has not been studied in detail. It is 

fed by snow avalanches from Ringrose Peak, Mount Lefroy, Hungabee 

Mountain, and The Mitre at the head of Paradise Valley. It extends some 

1.3 km from 2,800 m to 2,220 m asl, through a heavily debris-covered ablation zone that makes up over half its area and retards its rate of retreat. 

The glacier was described by the Vauxes and Sherzer in the early part of 

the century (Sherzer, 1907, 1908; G. and W.S. Vaux, 1907b). The snout, 

which is an ice cliff, calves directly into a proglacial lake dammed by 

deposits left by the retreating glacier. The lake is fed by glacier meltwater 

from a terminus that has receded 945 m from its "Little Ice Age" maximum (Gardner, 1978b).

J218 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Wenkchemna Glacier

Wenkchemna Glacier, located in the Valley of the Ten Peaks at the head 

of Moraine Lake, is 3.7 km2 in surface area, of which two-thirds is covered in 

moraine. Wenkchemna Glacier extends more than 4 km, from a number of 

independent ice streams that flow from the mountain wall below the Wenkchemna Peaks at about 2,700 m to a tongue at 1,900 m asl. These streams 

turn down valley to create the 1-km-wide ice-and-debris tongue that is estimated to be from 30 to 100 m thick. The glacier surface is irregular and 

hummocky, and thaw pits have formed where surface lakes have penetrated 

the underlying ice and drained. The comparative inactivity of the glacier, 

and the effectiveness of the debris as a sediment trap, means that the meltwater stream is clear, and a delta is not forming at the head of Moraine 

Lake. Around the margin and terminus are arcuate ridges up to 3 m high 

that are characteristic of rock glaciers. The early observations made here by 

Sherzer (1907, 1908), by the Vaux family (G. and WS. Vaux, 1907b; by G. 

Vaux, 1910; M.M. and G. Vaux, 1911), by Field and Heusser (1954), along 

with more recent observations by Gardner (1977, 1978a), all show very little change in the glacier limits since 1903. Gardner reported the glacier had 

thinned by up to 50 m. Although several people have observed the debriscovered ice terminus encroaching on the surrounding forest, Kucera (1976) 

is of the opinion that Wenkchemna Glacier is shrinking.

Victoria Glacier

Victoria Glacier (fig. 5), lying at the head of Lake Louise, is probably one 

of the most frequently photographed glaciers in the Rocky Mountains, 

although some visitors may not recognize the debris-covered tongue for 

what it is. The glacier is visible and easily accessible from Chateau Lake 

Louise by a good trail that passes beside the lake.

The continuous ice stream flows northward from Abbot Pass (2,923 m) 

for about 2 km before turning sharply to the northeast, where it degenerates into an indistinct debris-covered ice tongue after another 2 km. The 

Abbot Pass basin contains less than 20 percent of the accumulation area. 

The rest, some 1.8 km2 in area, lies in a broad apron that stretches from 

Popes Peak past Mount Victoria toward Abbot Pass and avalanches 300 m 

or more to form a reconstituted ice mass where the Abbot Pass ice stream 

changes direction. It is mainly an interrupted valley glacier; of its 3.5 km2 

area, 24 percent is debris-covered. Lefroy Glacier (1.3 km2) flows from the 

basin between Mount Lefroy and The Mitre and is separated from Victoria 

Glacier by a band of moraine.

The earliest known record is a 1897 photo by William Hittel Sherzer (Collie, 1899). The following year, long-term studies were initiated by the Vaux 

family of Philadelphia George Jr., William, and Mary who carried out 

observations in 1898, 1899, 1900, 1903, 1907, 1909, 1910, and 1912 (G. and 

WS. Vaux, 1901, 1907a, b, 1908; G. Vaux, 1910; M.M. and G. Vaux, 1911; 

M.M. Vaux, 1911,1913; Cavell, 1983). These observations were interspersed 

with those of Sherzer, who returned to the area in 1904 and 1905 on behalf 

of the Smithsonian Institution (Sherzer, 1905, 1907, 1908). Studies in the 

inter-war years were sparse, apparently limited to surveys in 1931 and 1933 

by the Alpine Club of Canada (Wheeler, 1932, 1934). The reasonably good 

historical record led to the selection of this glacier by the Calgary office of 

the Dominion Water and Power Bureau (DWPB) in 1945 for its network of 

glaciers being assessed for their contribution to runoff. The position of the 

terminus and changes in its areal extent were measured, and a set of 

plaques were placed on the ice surface to measure velocity (McFarlane, 

1945, 1946a, 1947; McFarlane and May, 1948; Meek, 1948a, b; McFarlane 

and others, 1949, 1950; May and others, 1950; Carter, 1954). The surveys 

continued every year until 1950, then biennially until 1954, when the snout 

was so covered in debris that it was almost impossible to identify the toe

GLACIERS OF CANADA J219
(Ommanney, 1971). Recession from various surveys 

the average value is about 13.5 m a"1 . Average 

upstream of the junction with the Lefroy Glacier, are g 

Osborn (1975) reported on the penetration of 

moraines by advancing rock glaciers. Luckman 

extended their studies of the Holocene to this area, 

tions have been initiated on sedimentation in Lake 

Smith, 1983).

is shown in figure 9;

velocities, measured

;iven in table 4.

the "Little Ice Age" 

and others (1984) 

and some investigaLouise (Hamper and

TABLE 4. Average annual surface movement 

of Victoria Glacier (m a'1)

Cathedral Glacier

The Cathedral Glacier (0.84 km2 in area) is poised like a Sword of 

Damocles above one of Canada's main transportation routes through the 

Rocky Mountains. Situated on Cathedral Mountain on the south side of 

Kicking Horse Valley, between approximately 2,410 m and almost 3,000 m 

elevation, Cathedral Glacier has, at least five times in 1925, 1946, 1962, 

1978, and 1982, generated mudflows that blocked the Canadian Pacific 

Railroad (CPR) line and even buried the Trans-Canada Highway. Both Jackson (1979a, b, 1980) and Holdsworth (1984) speculated on the possible 

cause of these jokulhlaups. It is thought that the surface topography of the 

glacier, particularly a giant snowdrift ridge, permits development of a surface lake at 2,960 m asl, which is recharged by normal snowmelt and rain. A 

pulse discharge through the glacier and down a narrow ravine picks up 

speed and unconsolidated till to create a mudflow that heads towards the 

CPR tracks in the spiral tunnel section and the Trans-Canada Highway. The 

regional firn line at 2,890 m asl is situated below the lake level. This is one 

of two major glacier hazards identified in the Rockies, the other being associated with Hector Glacier and Peyto Glacier.

Ottertail Range (PS10)

The Ottertail Range is a northwesterly extension of the Vermilion Range 

and is similar to it in many respects. The highest peak is Mount Goodsir at 

3,562 m. Glaciers in the northern part of the range, including the Hanbury 

Glacier, Goodsir Glacier, East Goodsir Glacier, and Sharp Glacier, also lie 

in east- and north-facing basins, except for the West Washmawapta Glacier 

and Washmawapta Icefield, which fills a large basin below Limestone Peak. 

The Washmawapta Icefield is only about 4 km2 in area and hardly warrants 

its name. Glaciers terminate at about 2,500 m asl on this side of the range 

but are generally lower (some 2,300 m) on the eastern side. Hanbury Glacier is about the same size as the Washmawapta Icefield.

Kootenay Ranges (K)

South of Kicking Horse Pass, the Kootenay Ranges (fig. 1) form the 

western limit of the Rocky Mountains. The physiographic transition farther 

westward is very sharp, because the mountains drop down steeply into the 

Rocky Mountain Trench and the Kootenay and Columbia River systems. 

The range is narrow in the north, where it consists of the Beaverfoot (fig. 1, 

K5), Brisco (fig. 1, K4), and Stanford Ranges (fig. 1, K3), having peak 

heights varying from 2,500-2,700 m. Farther south it broadens into the 90- 

km-long Hughes Range (fig. 1, Kl), which joins Lizard Range to form the 

southwestern limit of the Continental Ranges. The mountains here are 

slightly higher, up to 2,800 m, and are higher still in the eastern, parallel 

Van Nostrand Range (2,905 m) (fig. 1, K2). However, none of the topographic maps show any evidence of perennial ice features in the Kootenay 

Ranges.

1899-1900 44.8

1899-1905 34.4

1906-1918 31.7

1945-1946 20.7

1946-1947 39.6

1947-1948 23.8

1948-1949 32.0

1949-1950 25.6

1950-1952 25.3

1952-1954 31.4

J220 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Continental Ranges (Central Kicking Horse 

Pass to Yellowhead Pass)

This central region, extending 300 km between Lake Louise and Mount 

Robson, is the most heavily glacierized part of the Continental Ranges. The 

mountains in this region trend northwest to southeast and are divided into 

the Front Ranges and the Park (or Main) Ranges (fig. 1). The former consist of Devonian and younger limestones, dolomites, and shales, all of which 

dip steeply to the west, whereas the latter are made up of nearly horizontal 

beds of Cambrian and older quartzitic sandstones, limestones, dolomites, 

and shales (Gardner, 1972). At the northern end is Mount Robson 

(3,954 m), the highest mountain in the Rockies. Most peaks in the Front 

Ranges have elevations between 2,800 m and 3,280 m asl, whereas those in 

the Park Ranges vary in elevation between 3,125 m and 3,600 m. Local 

relief is generally on the order of 1,400 m to 1,900 m.

The ranges become progressively drier from west to east toward the 

prairies. Hence the eastern ranges do not contain many glaciers or ice 

fields. Westward, the first large glacier is the Bonnet Glacier, on the east 

side of Castle Mountain and hidden from the view of the average tourist by 

the 18-km-long bulk of that impressive mountain. The glaciers take a variety of forms, including ice fields such as the Columbia Icefield, outlet glaciers such as the Athabasca and Saskatchewan Glaciers, valley glaciers 

such as Robson Glacier, and mountain glaciers of the cirque, niche, and iceapron type such as the Angel Glacier. Located north of Kicking Horse Pass, 

the Waputik Icefield is the first of a long series of ice fields that straddle the 

Continental Divide (figs. 7, 8). The second is the Wapta Icefield, source of 

the Yoho and Peyto Glaciers, followed by the Campbell and Freshfield Icefields, which send a magnificent valley glacier to feed the Howse River. Nexl 

come the Mons and Lyell Icefields, southeast of the largest ice field in the 

Rocky Mountains, the Columbia Icefield (fig. 4). This last ice field culminates in the Snow Dome, which is the hydrographic apex of the continent 

and drains into three oceans. Located immediately northwest of the Columbia Icefield, the Continental Divide is capped by the Clemenceau, Chaba, 

and Hooker Icefields (fig. 4). The only ice fields off the main divide are the 

Wilson Icefield and Brazeau Icefield, which lie just east of the valleys of the 

North Saskatchewan and Athabasca Rivers.

The glaciation level is lowest in the western parts of the Park Ranges 

and through the Yellowhead Pass (about 2,600 m asl) but, rises in the vicinity of Mount Robson to more than 2,900 m and climbs eastward toward the 

Front Ranges to more than 3,100 m (0strem, 1973b).

In this part of the Continental Ranges, moraines of the "Little Ice Age" 

are evidence of the most significant regional Holocene glacial event in the 

Rocky Mountains. The best developed moraines are those from the early 

1700's, when about one-third of the glaciers showed maximum advance, 

and from the mid- to late-nineteenth century, when major readvances built 

moraines close to or beyond that earlier extent (Luckman, 1986).

Rock glaciers are distributed throughout the area. Luckman and Crockett (1978) reported on those in the southern half of Jasper National Park. 

The 119 rock glaciers identified range in area from 0.035 km2 to 1.57 km2 

and lie between 1,710 and 2,670 m asl; that is 400 to 600 m below the glaciation level. Their distribution seems to be controlled strongly by lithology, 

and they are predominantly oriented to the north. In Banff National Park, 

Papertzian (1973) found no evidence for lithological control of the 80 rock 

glaciers there. They range in area from 0.011 km2 to 1.26 km2 and lie 

between 1,737 and 2,743 m asl. 0strem and Arnold (1970) mapped both 

rock glaciers and ice-cored moraines in southern British Columbia and

GLACIERS OF CANADA J221
118°W

52°N

0IOCT75 C N51-40/WII7-35 N N51-40/WI17-27 MSS 7 D SUN EL3I RZI52 I94-3514-G-I-N-D-IL NRSR ERTS E-2252-18062-7 01

Alberta without distinguishing between them. An intermediate form that is 

quite common is the debris-covered glacier, such as Dome Glacier.

Descriptions of Rocky Mountain glaciers date from the time when 

Athabasca Pass was a major fur-trade thoroughfare, and they became 

more common once the Canadian Pacific Railroad line was completed. 

Despite the fairly long history of formal and informal glacier study, 

data for the whole range are sporadic. This is especially true for glaciers of the Front Ranges and for ice masses away from the main transportation routes such as the Clemenceau Icefield. However, virtually 

all of the detailed information on glaciers in the Rockies comes from 

the central Continental Ranges, primarily through investigations at 

the Peyto, Saskatchewan, and Athabasca Glaciers.

Figure 7 Landsat 2 MSS image of several 

ice fields and outlet glaciers in the Rocky 

Mountains, including the Columbia, Wapta 

and Waputik Icefields. Landsat image 

(2252- 18062, band 7; 1 October 1975; Path 

48, Row 24) from the EROS Data Center, 

Sioux Falls, S. Dak.

J222 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
/ ^ Mourn Pk v .{ -i

Mount 

Carnarvon xx -, 1

N A T!, I O^/A'mj-'

Kilometres 5

Figure 8. Slightly reduced segment of 

the l:250,000-scale topographic map of 

the Golden quadrangle (82N) showing the 

major ice fields along the crest of the 

Rocky Mountains from Waputik Icefield in 

the south to Lyell Icefield in the north. 

©1997. Produced under licence from Her 

Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, 

with permission of Natural Resources 

Canada.

Front Ranges (Central) (FC)

The Front Ranges (Central) (fig. 1, FC) are a continuation of the series 

of parallel ridges described from the region to the south, although the parallelism may be less pronounced. Mountain outliers are found to the east in 

the Bighorn (fig. 1, FC12), Nikanassin (fig. 1, FC19), and Fiddle Ranges 

(fig. 1, FC20). The southern section, starting with the Fairholme Range 

(fig. 1, FC1) just north of the Bow River, continues northwest of Lake 

Minnewanka, with the Ghost River area bordering the Foothills, and 

extends westward through the Palliser (fig, 1, FC4), Bare (fig. 1, FC5),

GLACIERS OF CANADA J223
Vermilion (fig. 1, FC6), Sawback (fig. 1, FC7), and Slate Ranges (fig. 1, 

FC8). Between the Red Deer River and the North Saskatchewan River, 

the Front Ranges are more blocky in outline, with only two large 

groups, Clearuiater (fig. 1, FC3) and Murchison Groups (fig. 1, FC9), 

and the Ram Range (fig. 1, FC10) as a northeasterly outlier. Between 

the Ram Range and the Athabasca River are a series of mountain blocks 

and groups whose boundaries are not very distinct. From south to north 

these are Cline Range (fig. 1, FC11), First Range (fig. 1, FC13), the 

Cataract Group (fig. 1, FC14), Le Grand Brazeau (fig.l, FC15), the 

Southesk Group (fig. 1, FC16), Queen Elizabeth Ranges (fig. 1, FC17), 

and Maligne Range (fig. 1, FC18), with the parallel Colin (fig. 1, FC23), 

Jacques (fig. 1, FC22), and Miette Ranges (fig. 1, FC21) rounding out 

this section in the north. The characteristics of the ranges and their 

glaciers will be discussed in turn.

Fairholme Range (FC1)

The Fairholme Range (fig. 1, FC1) is a large S-shaped feature that is 

clearly visible in satellite images. It extends some 25 km from where the 

Trans-Canada Highway passes through the towns of Exshaw and Canmore 

to Lake Minnewanka. Several peaks lie between 2,800 and 3,000 m asl, but 

the range is essentially free of ice.

Ghost River Area (FC2)

The Ghost River area (fig. 1, FC2), including the irregular mountain 

mass lying north of Lake Minnewanka and east of the Ghost River, has a few 

tiny cirque glaciers around Mount Oliver. These are the easternmost glaciers in the central Front Ranges. Elevations range to a maximum of slightly 

more than 2,900 m.

Clearwater Groups (FC3)

Probably the largest mountain block in this section of the Continental 

Ranges is the Clearwater Groups (fig. 1, FC3). They adjoin the northern 

part of the Ghost River Area and extend northwestward, encompassing 

the headwaters of the Clearwater River to end where the North 

Saskatchewan River cuts through the Front Range. The Clearwater 

Groups are bounded to the west by the Pipestone and Siffleur Rivers, and 

most of the glaciers are concentrated in the part of the group just to the 

east of these two river valleys. In the southwestern sector is found Drummond Glacier. There are about a dozen glaciers in the headwaters of the 

Clearwater River, which range in area from 0.5 km2 to 3 km2 and which generally terminate at elevations between 2,450 and 2,550 m. The equilibrium 

line altitude (ELA) probably lies between 2,600 and 2,650 m asl. Average 

peak elevations rise to well over 3,000 m, with a maximum at 3,373 m. To 

the north, the glaciers flow into the Escarpment and Ram Rivers, the latter 

having as its source the glacier of the same name.

Drummond Glacier

About 8.5 km2 in area and 3.5 km in length, Drummond Glacier flows 

from just over 3,000 m to 2,375 m; it is the largest glacier in the Clearwater Groups. It is part of a small ice field aboul 13 km2 in area just 

west of Mount Drummond at the headwaters of the Red Deer River. Historical photographs taken in 1884, 1906, 1917-20, 1930, and 1939 and 

1963, were used by Brunger and others (Brunger, 1966; Nelson and others, 1966; Brunger and others, 1967) to reconstruct its recession (fig. 9). 

The University of Calgary group also made measurements of ablation 

and surface movement from 1962 to 1965.

Figure 9. (opposite page) Variations of 

glaciers in the Rocky Mountains, compiled 

by C.S.L Ommanney; based on the published work of many glaciologists.

J224 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
YEAR

1860 1870 1880 1890 1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000

1000

oc 1100

1200

1300

1400

Boundary

Peyto

Saskatchewan

Scott

Gl. des Poilus

Drummond

Columbia

Chaba

Para

Bennington

S.E. Lyell

Cavell

Freshfield

Robson

Hector

Victoria

Emerald

1500 -

1600 -

1700

1800

1900 -

2000

GLACIERS OF CANADA J225
Ram River Glacier

The Ram River Glacier (fig. 10) was the most easterly, and hence most 

continental, of the five selected by the Canadian Government as representative glacier basins for the International Hydrological Decade (IHD) in an eastwest transect of the cordillera. It was the smoothest, the smallest (1.89 km2), 

the most compact, and, because of a mean elevation of 2,750 m, at the highest elevation of those studied. Possibly because of this, it is also the least 

dynamic. It lies in a cirque dominated by high, steep cliffs. A standard massbalance measurement program was carried out here from 1965 to 1975, and 

the results (fig. 11) have been published (Young and Stanley, 1976a). A base 

map at a scale of 1:10,000 was published in 1967. The mean specific winter 

balance for the decade was 0.88 m water equivalent (we.), the annual balance was -0.43 m, and the mean equilibrium line was 2,838 m asl.

Palliser Range (FC4)

Surrounded by Lake Minnewanka and Cascade and Ghost Rivers, and 

south of Red Deer River, Palliser Range (fig. 1, FC4) is a westerly extension 

of the Ghost River Area. The maximum elevation in the range is 3,162 m at 

Mount Aylmer, with other peaks ranging from 2,900 to 3,100 m, which is

Figure 10. Photograph of the Ram River 

Glacier, Rocky Mountains, Alberta, Canada, in August 1973. Glacier 4 *5DC-2, Glacier Atlas of Canada, Plate 7.4, North 

Saskatchewan River Glacier Inventory, 

Area 4*5D, Inland Waters Branch, Department of Energy, Mines and Resources, 

1970, scale 1:500,000. Photograph byA.D. 

Stanley, National Hydrology Research 

Institute [NTS Map: 082N16].

-3

Summer balance 

-2 -1

I____I____L

Winter balance

) 1 2

E.L.A.

2800 3000 

I I I I

c

i r

-3-2-10 1 2

Summer Balance Winter Balance 

m H,0

\ I \ I

2800 3000

E.L.A., 

in meters

Figure 11. Mass-balance measurements of the Ram River Glacier, 

Rocky Mountains, Alberta, from 1965 to 1975 (from Young and Stanley, 

1976a).

J226
roughly the elevation of the glaciation level. Three small glaciers have been 

identified in the central part of the range.

Bare Range (FC5)

Slightly lower in height, 2,750-2,950 m, the Bare Range (fig. 1, FC5) is a 

20-km extension of the Palliser Range through which flows the Panther 

River. Because it is below the regional glaciation level, no glaciers have 

been observed here.

Vermilion Range (FC6)

The Vermilion Range (fig. 1, FC6) lies west of Cascade River; it is 

bounded to the south by Banff and to the north by the Red Deer River. Elevations through its 60-km extent are on the order of 2,850-2,950 m. Just 

south of Prow Mountain is a cluster of small glaciers along the headwaters 

of a tributary of Red Deer River.

Sawback Range (FC7)

Farther westward, the last major mountain block in this transect before 

reaching the Park or Main Ranges, is the Sawback Range (fig. 1, FC7). It 

adjoins the Vermilion Range on the east and has a sharp boundary on the 

west created by the Bow River valley, through which runs the Trans-Canada 

Highway. To the north it is limited by the Red Deer River valley. Elevations 

increase here above the regional glaciation level to more than 3,200 m in 

Mounts Douglas and St. Bride and in Bonnet Peak. Ice cover lies predominantly along the east side of the range in a series of almost continuous 

masses north of Bonnet Peak. The largest of these is Bonnet Glacier, 3.3 km 

long and about 6 km2 in area with a snout at 2,560 m asl. Other glaciers 

from 0.5 to 1.2 km in length also terminate below 2,600 m asl.

Slate Range (FC8)

Bounded by Pipestone River and Baker Creek, the Slate Range (fig. 1, 

FC8) lies at the northwest corner of the Sawback Range. Peaks rise to 

slightly more than 3,000 m in elevation. The ice cover is concentrated in a 

small ice field around Mount Richardson. Glaciers range from 0.5 to 1.0 km 

in length, and their lower limits are from 2,410 to 2,570 m asl.

Murchison Group (FC9)

The Murchison Group (fig. 1, FC9) is more than 50 km long and generally 10 km wide, although becoming broader northward. It is bounded 

on the west by the broad valley of the Mistaya and Bow Rivers, on the 

east by the Siffleur and Pipestone Rivers, and in the north by the North 

Saskatchewan River trench. Many peaks rise to more than 3,000 m asl, 

and the range tends to climb northward to a maximum of 3,210 m in 

Mount Loudon, well above the regional glaciation level. About 20 glaciers 

are found here. They average just over 1 km in length, with termini at 

2,500 m asl. The largest are the Hector and Molar Glaciers, 3.0 km and 2.0 km 

long, respectively. The ELA probably lies at about 2,750 m asl. This range 

includes the smallest named ice field in the Rocky Mountains, the Murchison 

Icefield, which is about 0.3 km2 in area.

Hector Glacier

Hector Glacier lies in the southern part of the Murchison Group. It flows 

from Mount Hector, at about 3,350 m, northward for 3 km to 2,430 m asl. In 

the 1960's, this glacier was heavily crevassed and split into several tongues. 

Brunger (1966) and Brunger and others (1967) used historical photographs 

to reconstruct the recession of the western snout (fig. 9). In the late summer

GLACIERS OF CANADA J227
of 1938, a large ice mass separated from the glacier and fell into the Molar 

Creek valley, uprooting trees and destroying everything in its path. The glacier traveled more than 3 km and spread a broad carpet of ice over the valley 

up to 60-m-deep. Old-timers in the district reported no similar occurrence 

during the previous 40 years (B.C. Mountaineer, 1939). This represents the 

second major known glacier hazard in the Rocky Mountains, in addition to 

the repeated mudflows from the Cathedral Glacier, previously discussed.

Ram Range (FC10)

Guarding the southern side of the pass through the Front Ranges created by the valley of the North Saskatchewan River, Ram Range (fig. 1, 

FC10) is a small, L-shaped block on the northern end of the Clearwater 

Group. Elevations average about 2,500 m with a maximum of 2,844 m. A 

few tiny ice masses are found in sheltered north-facing valleys.

Cline Range (FC11)

Bounded by the North Saskatchewan River to the south and the Cline 

River to the north, Cline Range (fig. 1, FC11) contains numerous small 

cirque glaciers, generally less than 1 km2 in area and terminating on average 

at about 2,400 m asl. The Wilson Icefield, 12 km2 in area, which rises to 3,261 

m on Mount Wilson, lies above the regional glaciation level at 3,000 to 3,100 

m in elevation. It is located in the southwestern corner of the range and contains about a dozen outlet glaciers, which range in length from 2 to 4 km and 

have termini that flow down to 2,000 m. The highest peak is Mount Cline 

(3,361 m), with small glaciers on its north and south slopes. One of these 

was, for a short time, subject to some commercial exploitation as the Ice Age 

Company mined it for "pure" freshwater and "gourmet" ice for sale in Alberta 

(Brugman, 1989; Rains, 1990). An application to expand the operation led to 

an environmental impact assessment (Ice Age Co., 1989) and non-renewal of 

the mining licence. Although there are several other peaks with elevations of 

more than 3,000 m, average peak elevations are about 2,800 m.

Bighorn Range (FC12)

The Bighorn Range (fig. 1, FC12) is about 5 km broad at its widest part 

and 44 km long. It lies well outside the main body of the Rockies and could 

be considered part of the transition to the Rocky Mountain Foothills. It has 

no glaciers, and its peaks average less than 2,500 m in elevation.

First Range (FC13)

The next major mountain block in the Front Ranges is the First Range 

(fig. 1, FC13). The Brazeau River marks its northern boundary and the Cline 

River its southern one. The 40x25 km block is cut by Job and Coral Creeks, 

with the section to the west being known as the Job Creek Peaks. Peak elevations average between 2,750 and 2,900 m asl, rising to a maximum of 3,150 

m. Detailed aerial photographic analysis in this area revealed more than 40 

small glaciers in the western section, with a particularly heavy concentration 

at the head of Job Creek. About the same number have been plotted in the 

main First Range. Most lie in the headwaters of the Bighorn River and Littlehorn Creek and in the eastern basin of Job Creek. The glaciers are too small 

to see on Landsat images and are not shown on current topographic maps.

Cataract Group (FC14)

Nestled in behind Job Creek Peaks, and divided from the Park Ranges 

by the valley of the North Saskatchewan River, is the Cataract Group 

(fig. 1, FC14). Peak elevations here average more than 3,000 m and have a

J228 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
maximum in Mount Stewart (3,312 m). Increased elevation and proximity 

to the source of moisture mean that the area covered by glaciers is now a 

little denser. Almost 70 small glaciers can be found in this group, of which 

the Huntington (1.5 km2) and Coleman Glaciers (2 km2) are amongst the 

largest. The regional equilibrium line altitude is thought to lie at about 

2,550 m asl. Large proglacial moraine areas and rock glaciers are common.

Le Grand Brazeau (FC15)

Stretching some 50 km from the Rocky Mountain Foothills to the Park 

Ranges is the mountain block referred to as Le Grand Brazeau (fig. 1, FC15), 

not be to be confused with the Brazeau Range, which is a small feature 75 km 

to the east in the Foothills. Officially the name is applied only to that part of 

the mountain block centered on Poboktan Mountain (3,323 m), but climbers 

have used the wider application. Peaks rise to more than 3,000 m asl with 

several reaching about 3,200 m. The regional glaciation level is at about 

2,900 m. As in the mountain group to the south, glacier density increases 

westward, and there is a predominance of rock glaciers, debris-covered glaciers, and large expanses of proglacial moraine. West of Poboktan Mountain, 

the glaciers drain to the Arctic Ocean, and to the east they contribute to the 

Nelson River system that flows into Hudson Bay. Most of the 25 larger ice 

bodies terminate between 2,350 and 2,500 m asl. Their lengths range from 1 

to 2.5 km, but some extend to 3.5 km, and one is 4.2 km long. Cornucopia 

Glacier is probably typical of those in the area; it is 2.5 km long and has a 

snout at 2,550 m asl. It forms part of Brazeau Icefield, which lies at the junction with the Queen Elizabeth Ranges and is the largest ice field in the Front 

Ranges, having an area of 40 km2 .

Southesk Group (FC16)

North of Southesk River and south of Rocky River lies the 25- by 30-kmwide Southesk Group (fig. 1, FC16). There are a few tiny glaciers in the 

headwaters of Ruby and Thistle Creeks and the Cairn River. To the west, 

glaciers become larger, and three are more than 1 km in length, terminating 

at about 2,400 m asl. Peak elevations tend to lie below 3,000 m, although 

Mount Balinhard rises to 3,130 m and is the site of North Glacier.

Queen Elizabeth Ranges (FC17)

Extending northwestward from Brazeau Icefield for more than 50 km 

are the Queen Elizabeth Ranges (fig. 1, FC17). Whereas the largest ice-covered area is that around Mount Brazeau (3,470 m), others are found around 

Maligne Mountain (3,193 m) and Mount Unwin (3,268 m). Coleman (1903) 

visited the area in 1902 and described the ice field as rising into two white 

mounds to the south and sinking away to dirty surfaces of ice in the valleys 

to the east. All glacier tongues show signs of recession. Kearney (1981) 

dated the moraines here and in the vicinity of Mary Vaux and Center Glaciers. Peak elevations decline northward from more than 3,200 m to about 

2,500 m. As a result, most of the glaciers are found around the upper part of 

Maligne Lake. Almost 20 glaciers average 1 to 2.54 km in length and have 

lower snout elevations of about 2,300 m asl. Coronet Glacier (3.5 km long), 

an outlier of Brazeau Icefield, is one of the largest, exceeded only by the 

5-km-long glacier flowing north from Mount Brazeau.

Maligne Range (FC18)

Somewhat lower and lying between the Maligne and Athabasca Rivers, the 

Maligne Range (fig. 1, FC18) extends for more than 60 km in a northwestward orientation and marks the western limit of this section of the Front 

Ranges. Average peak elevations are about 2,600 m. About two dozen small

GLACIERS OF CANADA J229
cirque glaciers and ice aprons are located in sheltered north- and east-facing 

basins, the largest being those on the slopes of Mount Kerkeslin (2,956 m).

Nikanassin Range (FC19)

The ranges in the northern section of the central Front Ranges (FC) 

begin to decline in height and break up into a series of more isolated, parallel ridges in the region of the Nikanassin Range. Elevations in the Nikanassin Range (fig. 1, FC19) are less than 2,500 m and there are no glaciers.

Fiddle Range (FC20)

An extension northward of the Nikanassin Range, Fiddle Range (fig. 1, 

FC20) has an even lower elevation and likewise no glaciers.

Miette Range (FC21)

West of and parallel to the Fiddle and Nikanassin Ranges lies the Miette 

Range (fig. 1, FC21). It is slightly higher than these two ranges, rising to a 

maximum of 2,795 m asl. Some tiny permanent ice masses may exist in 

north-facing cirques, but all would be too small to be visible from space or 

to be shown on topographic maps.

Jacques Range (FC22)

To the west of the Miette Range lies the Jacques Range (fig. 1, FC22), 

which has an unnamed extension of the range to the southeast. Mountain 

elevations in the Jacques Range are comparable to those in Miette Range; it 

is unlikely that there are any glaciers here.

Colin Range (FC23)

The northwesternmost parallel range in this transect of the Front 

Ranges is the Colin Range (fig. 1, FC23). Mountain elevations here rise to 

2,600 m asl. No glaciers are plotted on any of the topographic maps, and 

because the highest peaks lie below the regional glaciation level, it is not 

expected that any glaciers will be found here.

Park Ranges (Central) (PC)

The central section of the Park, or Main, Ranges (fig. 1, PC) consists of 

three more-or- less parallel sets of mountains between the valley of the Athabasca River on the east and the Rocky Mountain Trench on the west. The 

southern part of the central section (PC) is separated from the southern section (PS) by Kicking Horse Pass with the Canadian Pacific Railroad (CPR) 

and the Trans-Canada Highway. The northern limit of the central section is 

marked by Yellowhead Pass, which is the route of the Canadian National Railroad (CNR) from Edmonton to the west. This part of the Park Ranges contains the greatest concentration of glaciers in the Rocky Mountains, 

including all of the main ice fields (figs. 7, 8). Moving northward through the 

inner chain, one passes the Waputik Mountains, with the Wapta and Waputik 

Icefields; the Conway, Barnard Dent, andForbes Groups, with the Freshfield 

Icefield, Campbell Icefield, and Lyell Icefield; the Columbia Icefield and the 

Winston Churchill Range, and thence through the Fryatt, Cavell, and Portal-MacCarib Groups to the Trident Range. The central chain includes the 

Van Home Range, the Chaba and Clemenceau Icefield Groups with their 

extensive ice covers, and the Whirlpool, Fraser-Rampan, and MeadowClairvaux Groups. The westernmost chain is largely unnamed, apart from 

the large block of the Selwyn Range at the northern end. All are discussed 

below, with particular emphasis being given to the areal coverage of glacier 

ice and those glaciers that have been studied in the most detail.

J230 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Waputik Mountains (PCI)

Extending northward from Kicking Horse Pass is a triangular, elevated 

area of peaks and ridges bounded on the east by the Bow and Mistaya Rivers and the mass of the Front Ranges, and on the west by the valleys of the 

Amiskwi and Blaeberry Rivers. The Waputik Mountains (fig. 1, PC 1) contain the subsidiary President and Waputik Ranges as well as the two southernmost major ice fields of the Rockies, the Waputik and Wapta Icefields 

(figs. 7, 8). An inventory of the glaciers in this region was completed by 

Stanley (1970) as a pilot study for the world inventory of perennial snow 

and ice masses. He found more than 100 glaciers that covered an area of 

146 km2 . They ranged in elevation from 2,100 to 3,200 m and had an average snowline in the vicinity of 2,400 m. The Waputik Range lies east of the 

Waputik Icefield (fig. 8) between Bow River and Bath Creek. It rises to 

about 2,750 m and contains one major ice mass from which drains the 

Waputik Glacier (3 km2). Just west of the Yoho River is the President 

Range. Peaks here are on the order of 3,000 m asl, and a number of small 

glaciers are nestled around them, including the Emerald Glacier and the 

President Glacier. The Emerald Glacier is a small ice apron whose northern section is almost detached; it covers an area of only 0.6 km2 . Part of the 

tongue has a continuous supraglacier debris cover and part is relatively 

debris free. Batterson (1980), Rogerson and Batterson (1982), and Rogerson (1985) determined rates of advance for the push moraine of Emerald 

Glacier (fig. 9).

President Glacier flows from the north slope of The President toward 

Little Yoho River. Its present snout is at 2,353 m asl, but it formerly 

extended downslope an additional 2 km. The President Glacier had one 

advance about 1714 and a second about 1832 (Bray, 1964). In 1937, 

McCoubrey (1938) noted a marked shrinkage of ice (32-36 m) on the left 

side of the glacier as compared to the earlier survey by Roger Neave in 1933 

(Wheeler, 1934). Later, Bray (1965) discussed the relationship between 

solar activity and glacier variation here.

Waputik Icefield

The main feature in the southern section of these mountains is the 

Waputik Icefield (figs. 7, 8, and 12). It is some 53 km2 in area, straddles 

the Continental Divide between Mount Bosworth and Balfour Pass, and is 

the source of a number of quite large glaciers. The Waputik Icefield can 

easily be identified on Landsat images (fig. 7). Bath Glacier (4.3 km2) has 

a large ice apron that extends 7 km southward from the slopes of Mount 

Daly and can be seen from the Trans-Canada Highway. Most of the ice 

field drains westward through Daly Glacier (13.7 km2 in area) with much 

of the remainder flowing northward in Balfour Glacier (5.9 km2 in area). 

Glaciers terminate at about 2,100 m, and the equilibrium line altitude lies 

close to 2,450 m asl.

Balfour Glacier

At the time of the initial photographs by Wilcox (1900), Balfour Glacier 

(fig. 13) was a compound valley glacier draining about 14 km2 of the northeast sector of the Waputik Icefield (figs. 7, 8). The glacier is now about half 

that size (8.8 km2). Its main stream is a northwesterly flowing mass that no 

longer coalesces with the glaciers draining the ice aprons north and east of 

Mount Balfour. McFarlane (1945) did not include this glacier in the 

Dominion Water and Power Bureau (DWPB) network because of the high 

cost of visiting it.

Studies of proglacial Hector Lake established a chronology of proglaciallake sedimentation back to 1700 (Smith, 1978; Leonard, 1981, 1985; Smith 

and others, 1982). Most sediment in the lake is provided by nival and glacial 

meltwater from Balfour Creek. Sediment input varies with inflow discharge 

and is controlled mainly by melting rates (Smith, 1978).

GLACIERS OF CANADA J231
Leonard (1986a, b) documented the changing glacial outwash sedimentation and glacial activity over a period of about 1,000 years. He concluded 

that the very regular rhythmic laminations were indeed true varves and 

could be correlated with the climate record from Lake Louise. Multiple 

cores were used to assess lake-wide sedimentation characteristics likely 

related to changes in total sediment input The maximum ice stand 

occurred about 1847. Recession rates averaged about 10 m a"1 from the late 

1840's to 1900 and then increased fourfold from 1900 to 1948. Since 1948, 

recession has been almost negligible. The major moraine-building episodes 

of 1700-1720 and 1840-1860 were periods of persistent high sedimentation

Figure 12. High-angle oblique aerial photograph of the 53 km2 Waputik Icefield 

looking northwest. The ice field straddles 

the Continental Divide and is the source of 

a number of large outlet glaciers. University of Washington photograph F2116, 

taken 7 August 1961 by Austin Post, U.S. 

Geological Survey, is courtesy of Robert 

M. Krimmel, USGS.

J232 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Figure 13. High-angle oblique aerial photograph of the Bat four Glacier, a 

major northward flowing outlet glacier on the Alberta side of the Waputik Icefield. The glacier drains east into Hector Lake and the Bow River to the left of 

the photograph. Glacier *4*5BAA-63, 64, 65, Glacier Atlas of Canada, Plate 

7.3, Red Deer River, Inland Waters Branch, Department of Energy, Mines and 

Resources, 1970, scale 1:500,000. University of Washington photograph 

F2113, taken 7 August 1961 by Austin Post, U.S. Geological Survey, is courtesy of Robert M. Krimmel, USGS.

GLACIERS OF CANADA J233
rates as was that of the very rapid ice recession period, 1910-1945. The two 

earlier periods were probably because of high glacial erosion rates and the 

later period almost certainly due to high sediment availability.

Wapta Icefield

Wapta Icefield (fig.8) lies northwest of the Waputik Icefield; it is about 

80 km2 in area and has been one of the focal points of glaciological research 

in the Rocky Mountains. It is drained on the Alberta side by the Vulture 

(4.9 km2 in area), Bow (5.1 km2 in area) and Peyto (12.6 km2 in area) Glaciers and, on the British Columbia side, by the Yoho (20.9 km2 in area) and 

Ayesha (3.2 km2 in area) Glaciers, as well as by the Glacier des Poilus (12.8 

km2 in area). The Glacier des Poilus is the southwestern extension of the 

Wapta Icefield and occupies two large basins. II flows from almost 3,000 m 

down to 2,240 m and has an equilibrium line altitude at about 2,450 m asl. 

Bigras (1978) reported on the sediment transport, discharge, volumetric 

change, and geomorphology of this glacier. He concluded that it had lost 

4.5xl06 m'3 of ice during the last century. Average recession since 1951 is 

shown in figure 9.

Crowfoot Glacier (1.5 km2 in area), part, of a separate outlier glacier 

(5km2 in area) which lies east of the Wapta Icefield (figs. 7, 8), is frequently photographed by motorists traveling on what Parks Canada now 

refers to as the Icefields Parkway. Leonard (1981) investigated lichen 

growth curves here and found them to be 35 percent lower than those 

reported by Luckman (1977), thus casting doubt on 

some regional growth curves. Elevations of mountain peaks rise to more than 3,100 m, and the 

regional ELA lies at about 2,440 m. Northward, the 

range narrows. There are significant ice accumulations around Mistaya Mountain, namely, the Delta 

(2.2 km2 in area), Barbette (4.5 km2 in area) and 

Parapet (1.1 km2 in area) Glaciers, and also around 

Mount Sarbach (1.5 km2 in area). Howse Peak 

(3,289 m), the highest in these mountains, is 

located in this part of the Park Ranges (Central).

Bow Glacier

Bow Glacier (fig. 14) flows northeast for 3 km 

from the Wapta Icefield (figs. 7, 8) and begins to 

descend steeply from about 2,600 m asl. Its terminus rests at just over 2,300 m asl, about 200 m 

above the recent maximum position. The lower part 

of the glacier is quite heavily crevassed where the 

ice flows out of the ice field over a series of ridges. 

The popular Num-Ti-Jah Lodge, just off the Icefields Parkway, affords an excellent view of the glacier across Bow Lake.

The glacier was first visited in 1897 (Stutfield and 

Collie, 1903) when the ice extended below the base 

of the main cliff. The terminus remained there until 

1922 before retreating above the base of the cliff by 

1933 (Wheeler, 1934). Further retreat from the 1933 

position appears to have been comparatively minor. 

The glacier was photographed in 1945 by the DWPB 

but not investigated further, as it was then hanging 

over the cliff (McFarlane, 1945). Heusser (1956) 

concluded thai the glacier retreated 1,100 m from 

1850 to 1953. Aerial photographs taken in 1952 

show a narrow lake developing between the glacier 

and cliff edge. By 1966, only a quarter of the

Figure 14. Photograph of the terminus of 

the Bow Glacier, Rocky Mountains, 

Alberta, Canada, in September 1973, 

showing its snowline. Photograph by C. 

Simon L. Ommanney, National Hydrology 

Research Institute [NTS Map: 082N10]. 

(Glacier 4*5BAA-78, Glacier Atlas of Canada, Plate 7.3, Red Deer River, Glacier 

Inventory, Area 4*5, Inland Wafers Branch, 

Department of Energy, Mines and 

Resources, 1970, scale 1:500,000).

J234 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Figure 15. Photograph of the Peyto Glacier, Rocky Mountains, Alberta, Canada, in 

July 1967. A prominent, sharp-crested lateral moraine can be seen on the right valley wall grading into a less prominent 

terminal moraine, evidence of significant 

thinning and retreat of the Peyto Glacier. 

Photograph by C. Simon L. Ommanney, 

National Hydrology Research Institute 

[NTS Map: 082N10]. (Glacier 4*5DB-32, 

Glacier Atlas of Canada, Plate 7.4, North 

Saskatchewan River. Glacier Inventory, 

Area 4*5D, Inland Waters Branch, Department of Energy, Mines and Resources, 

1970, scale 1:500,000.)

present-day lake was visible, and by the 1980's, the entire lake could be seen 

and the glacier tongue was a few meters above it (Smith, 1981).

A number of studies have been carried out on sedimentation in Bow 

Lake and the reduction in sediment input caused by the development of the 

proglacial pond (Kennedy, 1975; Leonard, 1981, 1985; Smith, 1981; Smith 

and Syvitski, 1982; Smith and others, 1982). Leonard (1981,1985) was able 

to explain up to 70 percent of the sedimentation rate variance when he 

compared the Bow Lake varve record to the ablation-season temperature 

record from Lake Louise. The sediment load carried by the stream flowing 

from the glacier was substantial enough to create a large delta at the western end of Bow Lake. Church and Gilbert (1975) have looked at the long 

profile and mean clast size of the outwash fan. In 1997 a group from the 

University of Alberta installed an automatic weather station at Bow Glacier 

and commenced a continuing study of sedimentation and runoff chemistry 

(M.J. Sharp, oral commun., 2000).

Peyto Glacier

The first records of Peyto Glacier (fig. 15) were photographs taken by 

Wilcox in 1896 and by Thorington in 1923. Recession since 1923 was 

recorded by Thorington, Kingman, Dickson, and Vanderburg in 1933 

(Wheeler, 1934) and again by Kingman in 1936 (McCoubrey, 1938). In 

1945, it was selected as a representative glacier by the DWPB, and for the 

next 17 years the position of the snout, changes in the areal extent of Peyto 

Glacier, and ice velocities were measured (fig. 9). The glacier gradually 

retreated into a narrow gorge, which made it less representative. After 

1962, the survey was terminated. Detailed reports, prepared by the DWPB 

as internal documents, were summarized by Ommanney (1972b), and some 

results have been published (McFarlane, 1946a; Meek, 1948b; McFarlane 

and others, 1950; Collier, 1958).

Heusser (1954, 1956) used photographic and botanical techniques to 

reconstruct the recent history of Peyto Glacier. The recessional moraine 

was dated to 1863 and four other moraines were identified. Retreat from 

1865 to 1953 was determined to be about 1,009 m. Brunger and others 

(1967) concluded that an ecesis interval (colonization of flora and fauna in 

deglacierized terrain) of 25 years was more appropriate than the 12-year 

interval used by Heusser. They found glacier response lagged climate by 

aboul 15 years, close to the 20-year lag estimated by Collier (1958).

In 1965, Peyto Glacier was selected as one of the representative International Hydrological Decade (IHD) glacier basins in the Rocky Mountains by

GLACIERS OF CANADA J235
the Canadian Government. The 13.4 km2 glacier originates at an elevation of 

3,185 m asl; its tongue is at about 2,100 m asl, and the mean elevation is 

2,635 m. The measurement program was described by 0strem and Stanley 

(1969). Young (1976) modified this methodology and proposed a grid 

square technique to produce accumulation, ablation, and mass-balance 

maps using associations between snow depth and terrain geometry (for 

example, surface slope, azimuth, and local relief). The technique could be 

used to assess the recurrence patterns of accumulation, bias in sampling 

networks, effects of different sized sampling networks, progress of melt 

throughout an ablation season, as well as being able to extrapolate to unvisited parts of the glacier (Young, 1974a). The assumption of a linear function 

for snow accumulation produced results that seemed realistic but were substantially different from those derived from the normal stake network 

(Young, 1974b).

A report on the glaciological, hydrological, and meteorological data collected for the IHD program (1965 to 1974) has been published (Young and 

Stanley, 1976b). A plot of the mass balance, including more recent data 

(Mokievsky-Zubok and others, 1985; IAHS/UNEP/UNESCO, 1988, 1993, 

1999; IAHS/UNESCO, 1998) is given in figure 16. Young (1977a, 1981) 

found that the same annual balance was produced by different combinations of winter accumulation and summer ablation; the patterns did not 

necessarily repeat themselves. Fluctuations in meltwater discharge over a 

few days closely parallel the air-temperature curve, that from Lake Louise 

being a better predictor than the Peyto Glacier station. The elevation of the 

transient snowline was a good indicator of the health of the glacier. 

Letreguilly (1988) found mass balance to be almost entirely related to summer temperature. The correlation was best with data from the meteorological station in Jasper, some 200 km away, rather than with the closest station 

at Lake Louise. This is in line with Tangborn's conclusion (1980) that mass 

balance here was likely most dependent on summer ablation. Letreguilly 

also found that the correlation coefficients of meteorological data with the 

ELA were as good or better than with the mass balance. Yarnal (1984) demonstrated that the mass balance of Peyto Glacier is also related to the 500- 

mbar patterns. Synoptic atmospheric pressure patterns having cyclonic circulation favor glacier accumulation, whereas anticyclonic types inhibit the 

buildup of the regional snowpack. Ablation is suppressed by synoptic patterns associated with cloudy days and (or) low temperatures and is 

enhanced by patterns associated with warm sunny days. Peyto Glacier 

accumulation appears to be associated with the large-scale patterns. 

According to Xie and Zhang (1986), the glacier has a reasonably stable 

regime with a coefficient of glacial stability of 0.33. Others, in analyzing global mass-balance data, which include those from Peyto Glacier, have concluded that representative mass-balance values might be obtained from 

observations at the ELA (Ohmura and others, 1986), at the weighted mean 

altitude (Valdeyev, 1986), or another single point (Konovalov, 1987). 

Attempts to develop appropriate indices for these and other glacier characteristics, using data from Peyto Glacier, are continuing (Bahr and Dyurgerov, 1999; Dyurgerov and Bahr, 1999).

The glacier's accessibility, only a 2- to 3-hour walk from Peyto Lookout 

off the Trans-Canada Highway, and the availability of semipermanent facilities soon led to the development of many other complementary studies, 

often in collaboration with Canadian and other universities.

A map of the glacier, at a scale of 1:10,000 with 10-m contours, was prepared as a base for glaciological research. A nine-color edition using a 

French bedrock-portrayal technique was published in 1970 (Sedgwick and 

Henoch, 1975), followed in 1975 by a Swiss-style eight-color map; bedrock 

portrayal and shaded relief added a three-dimensional effect (Henoch and 

Croizet, 1976).

J236
A subsequent experiment produced an orthophotograph, stereomate, 

digital-terrain model, and contour map of par! of the glacier (Young and 

Arnold, 1977). There was good agreement in the ablation area with elevations of the existing map (<1 m) but large discrepancies in the freshly 

snow-covered accumulation area. The accumulation area had thinned by 

about 20 m since 1966-76.

Holdsworth and others (1983) and Goodman (1970), using a radio-echosounder, measured depths of 40-192 m in the ablation area and 120-150 m 

in the accumulation area, indicating that the 1967 seismic survey by Hobson and Jobin (1975) was seriously in error, and the volume of 532xlO6 m3 

of water equivalent was wrong by at least a factor of 2-3.

Power and Young (1979a, b), using a modified University of British 

Columbia (UBC) model, compared simulated discharge for 1967-74 to that

Summer balance

-2 -1

I_____|_____L

Winter balance E.

2600

L.A.

2800

\

-2680

Summer Balance Winter Balance 

m H,0

\ i r

2600 2800

E.L.A., 

in meters

Figure 16. A, Mass-balance measurements of the 

Peyto Glacier, Rocky Mountains, Alberta from 1965 to 

1997 (from Mokievsky-Zubok and others, 1985; IAHS/ 

UNEP/UNESCO, 1988, 1993, 1999; IAHS/UNESCO, 

1998, and Demuth (written commun., 2001); B, Cumulative specific net balance of Peyto Glacier from 1965 

to 1997 (IASH/UNEP/UNESCO, 1999). Asterisk indicates absence of measurements in mass-balance 

series.

B

-2000

-4000

-6000

-8000

^ -14000

D

0 -16000

-18000

1945 1950 1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 

TIME (YEARS)

J237
predicted using algorithms derived from mean daily temperature and then 

extended the results using a lapse rate of 0.65°C~10Um with an arbitrary 

reduction of 15 percent melt applied to the accumulation area (Young, 

1980). The model simulates snowmelt and icemelt processes reasonably 

well. The results confirm that the Peyto Glacier tends to compensate for 

changes in snowmelt runoff; for example, lower winter snowpacks produce 

high glacier-melt runoff. The response time of the basin and its various flow 

components is closely linked to the progression of the snowline upglacier, 

although summer hydrographs can vary markedly over the seasons. The 

difference between the calculated and measured discharge over an 8-year 

period averaged 5xl06 m3 , which could be accounted for by an average 

evaporation over the basin of 200 mm a"1 (Young, 1982). Gottlieb (1980) 

obtained reasonably good overall agreement using a degree-day approach 

and simplified water routing procedures, but his model did not seem to be 

able to predict peak flows.

Derikx (1973) considered a glacier analogous to a ground-water system and developed a black-box model to predict meltwater runoff in 

response to meteorological data. Although a linearized equation with simple boundary conditions is a very crude approximation of reality, the 

results showed a fair correspondence between the calculated and measured meltwater discharge. Derikx and Loijens (1971) refined the model 

by adding inputs distributed by different elevation bands and by separating the four hydrological components (exposed ice, snow-covered ice, 

firn, and rock). Daily discharge calculated by the model was 21 percent 

higher or lower than the measured value. In the warm, dry period of 2-27 

August 1967, when the snowcover had been removed, Peyto Glacier contributed 40 percent of the Mistaya River streamflow. Applied to the other 

glaciers in the basin, this means glacier-melt contribution in August can 

reach 80 percent. Loijens (1974) observed that 46 percent of the annual 

flow in the river in 1967 occurred in a 7-week period and that 70 percent 

of this was supplied by glacier runoff and 31 percent by glacier icemelt. 

Average ice ablation contributed 15 percent to annual streamflow. Young 

(1977b) reported that 4 years of negative balance contributed some 

37xl06 m3 of water from storage, or 20 percent of total streamflow, and 4 

positive years retained 13.8xl06 m3 . Hence he proposed a revision in the 

contribution to annual flow in the North Saskatchewan River at 

Saskatchewan River Crossing caused by the 1948-66 reduction in glacier 

volume. He suggested 8-10 percent compared to Henoch's (1971) original 

estimate of 4 percent.

Prantl and Loijens (1977) and Collins and Young (1979, 1981) used 

hydrochemical characteristics to separate the various flow components and 

to study their temporal variation. Conductivity falls rapidly as dilute meltwater arrives at the gauge and rises steadily as chemically enriched meltwater routed more slowly through basal tunnels, cavities, and subglacier 

moraines reaches the portal.

Johnson and Power (1985, 1986) reported on a high-magnitude catastrophic event that substantially modified the proglacial area of Peyto Glacier. A major storm led to the overtopping of a drainage tunnel and the 

collapse of a large section of ice-cored moraine. The downstream area was 

subjected to alternate damming, flooding, and draining. Flood waves up to 

26 m3 s"1 deposited an estimated 6,000 m3 of gravel in the valley, destroying 

the gauging facility. Other major flooding episodes occurred in 1984, again 

in association with extreme rainfall events.

Goodison (1972a) derived a snowmelt-rainfall recession curve and found 

that any particular day's rainfall takes about 5 days to pass through a completely snow-covered basin. The response time shortens as the season 

progresses. Regression models developed using 1968 data accounted for 

82.4 percent of the discharge variation in the 1969 hydrograph and

J238 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
provided a particulary good fit to the June-July runoff. Another study 

found no statistically meaningful relationship between global radiation and 

ablation (Goodison, 1972b). 0strem (1973a) came to a similar conclusion in 

the course of developing an operational model based on temperature, wind, 

and precipitation. Daily computed runoff values were within about 21 percent of the observed values. The negative correlation between glacier discharge and radiation has been observed for other glaciers where liquid 

precipitation, usually associated with low incoming short-wave radiation, is 

a dominating influence on glacier runoff. However, Munro (1975) found 

that short-term variations in the meltwater hydrograph were closely controlled by the net radiative flux; the sensible heat flux was also an important 

energy source. Munro and Young (1982) concluded that net shortwave 

radiation was the prime determinant of meltwater discharge. Estimates 

were a fair approximation of energy equivalents of ablation derived from 

stake measurements. An unexpectedly thin boundary layer, about 1 m 

deep, was attributed to katabatic control of flow (Munro and Davies, 1976). 

Such a finding has implications for the long-term effectiveness of the turbulent-transfer approach (Munro and Davies, 1977). Another factor in the 

long-term suitability of turbulent transfer theory for glacier-melt prediction 

is the finding by Stenning and others (1981) that katabatic layer development and characteristics are also subject to synoptic-scale influences.

Fohn (1973) found fair agreement between energy- and mass-balance 

results. About 20 percent of daily snowmelt takes place internally as a 

result of the penetration of solar radiation. At the base of the snowpack, the 

water table fluctuated 10-50 mm throughout the first 9 days under conditions of continuous snowcover. At some times, lateral inflow of water made 

up for actual mass loss at the upper end of the snowpack.

By studying the weathering surface in a 5,320-m2 ablation-area site, Derikx 

(1975) concluded that the hydrological response time was extremely short 

and closely followed melt calculated from the hourly energy balance. Any 

delay seemed to be mainly the result of the channel network. Dye-tracer tests 

by Collins (1982) gave average flow-through velocities of 0.13-0.35 ms"1 , 

with delays of up to 5 h at low flows and under 2 h during times of peak surface ablation, thus showing a strong dependence on discharge.

The glacier has fairly extensive ice-cored moraines. A simple model suggested that their ablation could be estimated from meteorological variables, 

if the surface temperature of the debris layer were available (Nakawo and 

Young, 1982).

Krouse (1974) demonstrated that the isotopic record retains characteristics of the winter precipitation record, but he and West (1972) have both 

attributed some of the large isotope fluctuations to wind drainage on the 

glacier and to the topographic shape of the ice surface (Krouse and others, 

1977). This conclusion was supported by Foessel (1974), who found "coolair pooling" in the ablation area in response to dish-shaped terrain, and who 

developed an equation that proved very reliable in predicting daily mean 

temperatures at any elevation in the basin. He also found that seasonal 

temperature trends behaved in a cyclic manner in response to migration of 

synoptic weather systems over western Canada (in line with the findings of 

Yarnal (1984) in relation to mass balance).

The suspended sediment regime is very irregular seasonally and diurnally; pulses of sediment occur independently of discharge variations. Sediment concentrations averaged about 660 mg T1 and ranged from 19 to 

3,379 mg r1 , with one extreme event at 14,000 mg I"1 . The total suspended 

sediment output in 1981 was in excess of 68,000 tonnes. Subglacier reorganization of outflow streams that change sediment availability seemed to be 

the main factor influencing sediment output (Binda and others, 1985). 

Downstream in the drainage basin of the Peyto Glacier, Smith and others 

(1982) estimated that over a 75-day measurement period in 1976 some

GLACIERS OF CANADA J239
40x103 tonnes of material was transported to and deposited in Peyto Lake. 

In 1996, a special session of the annual Canadian Geophysical Union scientific meeting in Banff, Alberta, was devoted to past and present work on 

Peyto Glacier. Papers from this session will be published by the National 

Water Research Institute in its science report series (M.N. Demuth, oral 

commun., 2000).

Yoho Glacier

Yoho Glacier is the largest southern outflow from the Wapta Icefield 

(figs. 7, 8). It flows 7 km from the center of the ice field at 3,125 m asl to a 

terminus at 2,150 m asl. The ELA on the glacier surface lies at about 2,450 

m. The first description of Yoho Glacier was published by Habel (1898) 

when the ice was close to its maximum (Bray and Struik, 1963). At that 

time the Yoho Glacier had a magnificent ice fall that attracted visitors for 

many years. Subsequently, studies were conducted by W.H. Sherzer of the 

Smithsonian Institution (Sherzer, 1907, 1908), and the Yoho Glacier was 

included in a set of observations undertaken by the Vaux family (Vaux, G., 

Jr., and Vaux, W.S., 1907a, b, 1908; Vaux, G., 1910; Vaux, M.M. and Vaux, G., 

Jr., 1911; Vaux, M.M., 1911, 1913). These studies were extended by A.O. 

Wheeler and members of the Alpine Club of Canada (ACC), which held a 

number of field camps in that valley (Wheeler, 1907, 1908, 1909, 1910, 

1911, 1913, 1915a, 1917, 1920a, b, 1932, 1934). The Yoho Glacier was 

inspected in 1945 by the DWPB, but by then had retreated up the valley 

and was a hanging glacier unsuitable for recording purposes (McFarlane, 

1945, Meek, 1948a, b). Heusser (1956) concluded that a series of recessional moraines had formed in about 1865, 1880, and 1884. Parks Canada 

became interested in the hydrology of Yoho National Park, and an attempt 

was made to extend the record of glacier recession (Kodybka, 1982). For a 

short time, the National Hydrology Research Institute extended their Peyto 

Glacier program to include observations on the glaciers and streams around 

the Yoho Glacier. No report of that work has been published.

Van Home Range (PC2)

Between the Amiskwi River and the Rocky Mountain Trench and south 

of Blaeberry River lies the Van Home Range (fig. 1, PC2). Maximum elevations here are less than 2,900 m asl, which is the height of the regional glaciation level. Some of the deep, north- and east-facing cirques may contain 

small glaciers, but none is shown on the topographic maps. The range consists of a number of northwest- and southeast-trending ridges.

Conway Group (PCS)

The Conway, Mummery, and Barnard Dent Groups all form part of the 

same range that lies west of the Blaeberry River and is centered on the 

Freshfield Icefield (figs. 7, 8). The Conway Group (fig. 1, PC3) is the easternmost of the three groups. Many peaks rise above 3,000 m, reaching a 

maximum elevation of 3,260 m asl at Solitaire Mountain. The ice-covered 

area of more than 20 km2 contains several glaciers, of which the most notable are the Cairnes, Lambe, and Conway Glaciers, which range in length 

from 4 to 5 km with ELAs at about 2,400 m.

Mummery Group (PC4)

Southwest of the Conway Group, running parallel to and north of the 

Blaeberry River, is the Mummery Group (fig. 1, PC4). Elevations trend 

southwesterly from above 3,000 m at the apex of the Freshfield Icefield 

(fig. 8) downward to the 2,500-m range near the Rocky Mountain Trench. 

The main glaciological feature is Mummery Glacier, a southward-flowing 

extension of Freshfield Icefield. This 7-km-long glacier is joined near its

J240 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
tongue by a large glacier flowing eastward from Mount Mummery 

(3,320 m). Its ELA is about 2,450 m asl.

Barnard Dent Group (PCS)

The Barnard Dent Group (fig. 1, PC5) contains three major ice masses, 

including the bulk of the 78-km2 Freshfield Icefield (fig. 8). This ice field is 

situated in a northeasterly basin that flows into Howse River through a magnificent valley glacier. The Campbell Icefield (13 km2) lies to the west of the 

Continental Divide. A significant ice accumulation is also on Mount Alan 

Campbell. Summit elevations generally exceed 3,000 m, with the highest 

being that of Mount Freshfield (3,325 m). Apart from the Freshfield (11 km), 

Campbel] (5.5 km), Pangman (4.2 km), and Niverville (2.5 km) Glaciers, 

most are 1 to 2 km long and terminate between 2,200 and 2,400 m. Waitabit 

Glacier, just to the south of the Freshfield Icefield, has been reduced to three 

small, disconnected ice masses that total slightly more than 1 km2.

Freshfield Glacier

Field (1979) provided a comprehensive and illustrated report on Freshfield Glacier (figs. 7, 8, and 17) following the American Geographical Society (AGS) expedition there in 1953, and Ommanney (1984) has compiled a 

list of publications about work on Freshfield Glacier. The Freshfield Glacier 

was determined to be slightly over 14 km long when mapped by the Interprovincial Boundary Survey in 1917 (Interprovincial Boundary Commission, 1924). According to Heusser (1956), the glacier began to retreat in 

1871. Short readvances took place in 1881 and 1905 (Heusser, 1956); in

Figure 12 High-angle oblique aerial photograph of Freshfield Glacier, a major 

northeastward flowing outlet glacier of the 

78 km2 Freshfield Icefield. According to 

Heusser (1956), the glacier began to 

retreat in 1871. It was more than 14 km 

long in 1917 when mapped by the Interprovincial Boundary Survey. Most recently 

it has been mapped as 11 km long. A 

series of ogives can be seen on the tongue 

of the glacier that has been created as the 

slope of the glacier increases down glacier. Glacier 4*5DAC-22, Glacier Atlas of 

Canada, Plate 7.4, North Saskatchewan 

Glacier Inventory, Area 4*5D, Inland 

Waters Branch, Department of Energy, 

Mines and Resources, 1970, scale 

1:500,000. Photograph F642-89, taken 21 

August 1964 by Austin Post, U.S. Geological Survey, is courtesy of Robert M. Krimmel, USGS.

GLACIERS OF CANADA J241
1897, Collie (1899) reported on a small push moraine formed in that year. 

For most of the 20th century, retreat has been continuous and rapid, with a 

total recession of 1,640 m (fig. 9). The Freshfield Glacier was discovered by 

Hector (1861) in 1859, a time when the snout was within 100 m of the 

ancient terminal moraine. The Freshfield Glacier had a row of angular 

blocks running down the center of the ice stream. One of the largest boulders was used by all the early observers as a common reference point, thus 

minimizing errors (McFarlane, 1947). The glacier was observed by Stutfield 

and CoUie (1903) in 1897 and 1902, by Hickson (1915) in 1913, by Palmer 

(1924a, b) in 1922, and by Thorington (1927, 1932, 1938, 1945) in 1926, 

1930, 1934, 1937 and 1944.

The long historical record was one reason why the DWPB selected 

Freshfield Glacier for their studies of the water resources of mountainous 

rivers in 1945. The position of the snout and changes in its areal extent 

were measured, and a set of plaques was placed on the ice surface to measure velocity. The survey was abandoned after 1954 due to the expense, 

including logistics of accessing the glacier. Detailed reports were prepared 

by the DWPB as internal documents, but some results were published 

(McFarlane, 1947; McFarlane and May, 1948; Meek, 1948a, b; McFarlane 

and others, 1949, 1950; May and others, 1950; Carter, 1954). The AGS 

expedition used photographic and botanical techniques (Field and Heusser, 

1954; Heusser, 1954; 1956) to identify glacier limits and variations. Some 

subsequent visits were made by the ACC (Gray, 1962) but little new scientific information was added. In 1922, Palmer (1924a) estimated the firn line 

at 2,400 m; today it is closer to 2,600 m. Because the ice field has a low gradient, any change of the firn limit will have far-reaching effects on the glacier's mass balance.

Waitabit Ridge (PC6)

Nestled in between the Mummery and Barnard Dent Groups is Waitabit 

Ridge (fig. 1, PC6). The maximum elevation is in the center of the Ridge in 

Robinson Peaks (2,925 m), but the average tends to be on the order of 

2,600 m. Only one glacier is visible, a 1.5-km-long ice body flowing to the 

northwest in the section adjoining the Campbell Icefield.

Blackwater Range (PC7)

In the Blackwater Range (fig. 1, PC7), the elevations are lower than 

those of Waitabit Ridge, but there is a small glacier (<1 km2) in a southfacing cirque between Felucca and Blackwater (2,732 m) Mountains. The 

range runs parallel to the Rocky Mountain Trench, with one spur pointing 

eastward along Bluewater Creek. Northward is a small, unnamed range, 

running from Frigate Mount to the large artificial water body of Bush Arm. 

It rises to 2,800 m and has two small glaciers.

Forbes Group (PCS)

North and west of Forbes Creek and Howse River lies the Forbes 

Group (fig. 1, PCS), centered on the 3,612-m peak of that name. Elevations in the Forbes Group exceed 3,000 m, and several are greater than 

3,200 m. The area is heavily glacierized and forms part of the Mons Icefield 

(<30 km2), which spreads out along the range between Mount Outram and 

Mons Peak. Much of the ice drains through Mons Glacier, which was joined 

with neighboring Southeast Lyell Glacier in 1902 (Outram, 1905). In 1918, 

the two glaciers were 300 m apart. Between 1918 and 1953, Mons Glacier 

receded 1,100 m horizontally and 350 m vertically (Field, 1979). Part of 

the ice field drains westward from the Continental Divide. Several glaciers, 

including the East, West, and Sir James Glaciers, are on the order of 3 km

J242 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
long. Termini generally lie between 2,300 and 2,500 m asl, though the ice 

field ELA is thought to be about 2,450 m.

Lyell Group (PC9)

The Lyell Group (fig. 1, PC9) consists of two ranges separated by the valleys of Lyell and Arctomys Creeks. In the southern part of the Lyell Group 

glaciers are scattered in cirques along the ridge that runs from Mount Erasmus (3,265 m) up to the main body of Lyell Icefield (fig. 8). To the west, this 

ridge trends to the southwest and Rostrum Peak (3,322 m), along which 

there are numerous glaciers, 1- to 2-km long, in southeast-facing cirques. 

The focal point here is Lyell Icefield itself, with its outlet glaciers East, 

Southwest, and Southeast Lyell Glaciers, that cover an area of about 50 km2 . 

The bulk of the ice field spreads southward from Mount Lyell (3,500 m) 

before flowing east and west from the Continental Divide and pushing 

tongues of ice well below 2,000 m. The ELA is probably about 2,500 m asl.

Southeast Lyell Glacier

The Southeast Lyell Glacier (fig. 18) flows eastward from Lyell Icefield 

(figs. 7, 8). The accumulation area of the Southeast Lyell Glacier extends 

along the provincial boundary some 9 km between Mount Lyell and Division Mountain at elevations ranging from 2,440 to 3,050 m. As recently as 

1902, the Southeast Lyell Glacier was connected with Mons Glacier (Outram, 1905), but, subsequently, the Mons Glacier receded so far up valley as 

to be scarcely visible (Field and Heusser, 1954). The glacier is strongly broken and crevassed where it travels steeply downward, and a prominent, 

broad, lateral moraine exists along the northern edge. In 1858, the Southeast Lyell Glacier so intrigued James Hector (1861) of the Palliser Expedition, the first European to investigate this area, that he left a detailed 

description of it that Thorington used to establish a datum from which to

Figure 18. Terrestrial photograph of 

Southeast Lyell Glacier, an outlet glacier 

from the approximately 50-km2 Lyell Icefield. The glacier has a steep, crevassed 

surface. The first recorded observation 

was in 1858. The glacier receded gradually from 1858 until about 1930, and then 

more rapidly since then, probably 

because the terminus was resting in a 

lake from about 1930 to 1953 (Field and 

Heusser, 1954) (fig. 9). Glacier 

4*5DAC-89, Glacier Atlas of Canada, 

Plate 7.4, North Saskatchewan Glacier 

Inventory, Area 4*5D, Inland Wafers 

Branch, Department of Energy, Mines 

and Resources, 1970, scale 1:500,000. 

Photograph taken in August 1953 by William O. Field, American Geographical 

Society, is courtesy of Calvin J. Heusser, 

Professor Emeritus, New York University.

GLACIERS OF CANADA J243
measure frontal recession (Gardner, 1972). Following Hector's visit, the 

positions of the terminus were recorded in 1902 by Outram (1905), in 1918 

by the Interprovincial Boundary Survey (Interprovincial Boundary Commission, 1924), and in 1926, 1930, and 1944 by Thorington (1927, 1932, 

1945). Heusser (1956) dated the moraines to 1841,1855,1885,1894,1902, 

and 1906. In 1947, the DWPB visited the glacier to see whether it might be 

suitable for inclusion in their network. It was found to have receded so 

much that what was left of the forefoot was too steep for their purpose 

(McFarlane, 1947), although it was photographed and a reference baseline 

established (Meek, 1948a, b). Glacier limits and variations for the Southeast Lyell Glacier were documented by an AGS expedition in 1953 using 

photographic and botanical techniques (Field and Heusser, 1954; Heusser, 

1954, 1956). The AGS expedition concluded, on the basis of field observations, that the reason for the rapid recession since 1930 was a proglacial 

lake in which the terminus was situated for much of the 1930 to 1953 

period. By 1953, the terminus was 60 m beyond the lakeshore and some 

4 m above its surface. Available information of the retreat of the Southeast 

Lyell Glacier is plotted in figure 9.

North of Lyell Icefield is another mountain block running east from 

Mount Amery (3,329 m) across the ice-covered divide to Cockscomb Mountain (3,140 m). Ice flows east and west from the Continental Divide, pushing down to below 2,400 m in fairly large glaciers such as the Rice Glaciers 

group (2-3 km long) and to below 2,200 m in the Alexandra Glaciers (5.5 

and 4 km long) (fig. 19), which were joined in 1918. This ice mass, which 

might more properly be called the Alexandra Icefield, covers an area of 

about 25 km2 . Average peak elevations are usually well above 3,000 m asl. 

The western part of the Lyell Group consists of up to two dozen small 

cirque and niche glaciers, averaging 1 km in length and about 0.5 km2 in 

area, on either side of the ridges in that part of the range.

Unnamed Range ( )

Between Bush River and Prattle Creek, south of the western extension 

of the Columbia Icefield, is an umbrella-shaped range with no name. Its axis 

is almost 40 km long and 5 km wide at its narrowest, whereas the arc of the 

umbrella frame is 25 km long. Peak elevations range between 2,500 and 

2,800 m in the south, and as much as 3,100 m in the north. Some glaciers, 

as much as 1.5 km2 in area, are scattered along the ridge of the shaft, but 

the majority are concentrated in the northerly part of the range. On the 

eastern side, facing the headwaters of Bush River, is an elongated ice apron 

spread along 8 km of the range. Other glaciers in this sector take the form 

of cirque glaciers or small ice fields with outlet glaciers ranging from 2 to 

4 km in length and about 4 km2 in area. Whereas some glaciers push their 

snouts below 2,000 m asl, some as low as 1,710 m, most terminate at about 

2,300 m.

Vertebrate Ridge (PC10)

Vertebrate Ridge (fig. 1, PC10) extends to the northwest about 20 km; 

its main feature is a 7-km2 ice field centered on Stovepipe Mountain 

(2,804 m). A 4-km-long outlet glacier drains from the ice field northward to 

an elevation of 2,000 m. The southern part of the ice field is drained to the 

east by a glacier reaching to 1,800 m. Heights along the ridge are generally 

about 2,550 to 2,650 m in elevation.

Kitchen Range (PC11)

Parallel to Vertebrate Ridge, and marking the western edge of the Park 

Ranges in this section, is the 30-km-long Kitchen Range (fig. 1, PC11).

J244 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Figure 19. High-angle oblique aerial photograph of West Alexandra Glacier and 

South Alexandra Glacier. The glaciers 

were joined before 1918. Glacier 

4*5DAE-32, 33, 34, 35, Glacier Atlas of 

Canada, Plate 7.4, North Saskatchewan 

Glacier Inventory, Area 4*5D, Inland 

Waters Branch, Department of Energy, 

Mines and Resources, 1970, scale 

1:500,000. The University of Washington 

photograph F2-131, taken 7 August 1961 

by Austin Post, U.S. Geological Survey, is 

courtesy of Robert M. Krimmel, USGS.

Summit elevations range between 2,800 and 2,950 m. About eight glaciers 

are situated on either side of the main ridge, the largest being a 4-km2 ice 

mass easl of Poker Mountain. Lower ice limits vary between 2,025 and 

2,530 m, and glacier lengths are generally less than 1.5 km.

Columbia Icefield Group (PC12)

Seen from space, the Columbia Icefield (fig. 1, PC12) [figs. 7, 20), 

about midway between Lake Louise and Jasper, appears as an extensive 

snow-covered upland with comparatively little relief. Shaped like a stylistic "T," it runs almost 40 km from east to west, and 28 km from northwest 

to southeast. Its area depends on how many of the peripheral ice masses 

are included, but an acceptable figure would be 325 km2 . It is situated on 

a plateau 3,000-3,325 m in elevation that dips slightly to the south and 

culminates in the Snow Dome (fig. 21), a gently-sloping 3,520-m peak, 

completely covered with ice and snow, which is the hydrographic apex of 

the continent, draining into three oceans (Freeman, 1925; Lang, 1943). 

Harmon and Robinson (1981) provided a poetic and pictorial commentary 

on the beauties of the area. Numerous peaks more than 3,500 m asl fringe

GLACIERS OF CANADA J245
the Columbia Icefield, so that ice flowing to the margin of the ice field 

forms huge cliffs above high rock walls and avalanches to the base of the 

rock walls to form reconstituted glaciers (Boles, 1974). The ice discharges radially through outlet glaciers; the three largest (Columbia, 

Athabasca, and Saskatchewan Glaciers) flow in deeply incised valleys. 

There are many other small ones such as Stutfield, Dome, and the Castleguard Glaciers [I, II, III, IV; see footnote 2 in table 1] (Baranowski and 

Henoch, 1978). Several have been studied in some detail and will be discussed further. Not only is the Columbia Icefield (fig. 7) the largest ice 

field in the Rocky Mountains, but together with the Clemenceau and 

Chaba Icefields, it drapes the peaks, mainly along the Continental Divide, 

in a continuous glacier cover for more than 60 km.

A comprehensive inventory of the glaciers (some of which are listed 

in table 5) and of the landforms in the Columbia Icefield area, particularly near the Athabasca (figs. 7, 20) and Dome Glaciers, was undertaken by Baranowski and Henoch (1978) and Kucera and Henoch 

(1978). Detailed geomorphological maps were prepared at scales of 

1:25,000 and 1:2,500. Unfortunately, little is known about the bulk of the ice 

field that lies in British Columbia.

Several federal government agencies and university departments undertook a joint project in 1977 to map the surface of the ice field and to calculate the amount of water held in its snow and ice (Canada, Energy, Mines 

and Resources, 1978). Preliminary findings showed that the part feeding 

the Athabasca and Saskatchewan Glaciers (figs. 7, 20) was thinner than 

previously thought (100-365 m). Surveyors used stereoscopic, vertical 

aerial photography and an Inertial Survey System (ISS) to fix additional

Figure 20. Mosaic of reduced segments 

of the 1:250,000-scale topographic maps 

of the Brazeau Lake and Canoe River 

quadrangles (83C and 83D) showing the 

area around Columbia and Clemenceau 

Icefields. ©1995 and 1986. Produced under 

licence from Her Majesty the Queen in 

Flight of Canada, with permission of Natural Resources Canada.

118 °00' 30' 15'

Kilometres S 30 Kilometres

J246 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Figure 21. High-angle oblique aerial photographs of the Columbia Icefield, the 

largest ice field in the Rocky Mountains, 

having an area of more than 300 km2. 

Together with Clemenceau and Chaba Icefields, it provides continuous glacier-ice 

cover along the Continental Divide for 

more than 60 km. A, Columbia Icefield 

from the south looking up Bryce Creek to 

Snow Dome. U.S. Geological Survey photograph F642-115. B, The northern part of 

Columbia Icefield. Twins Tower is in the 

center. U.S. Geological Survey photograph K641^44. Both photographs taken 

21 August 1964 by Austin Post, U.S. Geological Survey, are courtesy of Robert M. 

Krimmel, USGS.

ground control points on the ice. The aerial survey aircraft also carried a 

thermal infrared (IR) line-scanner from which radiometric temperature isolines at 1°C were to be plotted. One of the thermal IR images generated was 

used for the cover of a new map of the Columbia Icefield (Canada, Environment Canada, 1980).

The accessibility of the Columbia Icefield, particularly the Athabasca 

and Saskatchewan Glaciers, and the availability of a fairly good historical 

sequence of observations, probably favored its selection as the site for a 

wide variety of glaciological studies. These have included investigations of 

glacier chemistry, glacier flow, depth measurement, photogrammetry, 

resistivity, sediment transport, and temperature, among others. Each will

GLACIERS OF CANADA J247
TABLE 5. Characteristics of glaciers in the vicinity of Athabasca, Glacier

Glaciers

Stutfleld.......................

Athabasca trib. (E).... 

Athabasca trib. (W) ... 

Stutfleld trib. ..............

Area 

(square 

kilometers)

5.92 

5.68 

2.17 

2.03 

0.97 

0.75 

0.50 

0.43 

0.39 

0.16 

0.15

Length 

(kilometers)

5.7 

5.2 

2.8 

2.4 

2.3 

1.7 

1.3 

1.0 

1.2 

0.6 

0.8

Elevations (meters) 

Top Bottom

3200 

2740 

3020 

3290 

3140 

2940 

3050 

2320 

2860 

2590 

2700

1980 

1770 

2070 

2290 

2300 

2350 

2380 

2090 

2510 

2440 

2470

Debris-cover 

(square 

kilometers)

2.16 

3.41 

1.35

be discussed in the context of those parts of the Columbia Icefield on 

which the work was carried out.

Castleguard Glaciers

The southern limit of the Columbia Icefield is marked by a group of glaciers (collectively known as the Castleguard Glaciers [I, II, III, IV; see 

footnote 2 in table 1] (fig. 7)) at the head of Castleguard River. Livingston 

and Field visited them in 1949 and numbered them I to IV from northeast to 

southwest. Castleguard Glacier IV (fig. 22), the principal southern outlet 

glacier of the Columbia Icefield was called South Glacier by Ford (1983) 

and his colleagues from McMaster University working on the Castleguard 

Cave system. Castleguard Glacier /, situated at 2,300-2,700 m asl, was 

first photographed by the Interprovincial Boundary Survey in 1918 and subsequently by others in 1919, 1923, 1924, and 1949. Until 1924, it abutted a 

massive moraine which probably formed near the turn of the century (Denton, 1975). Castleguard Glaciers II and /// have shrunk enormously since 

the 1920's, as has Castleguard Glacier IV. Ice fronts have receded an average of 500 m since the end of the "Little Ice Age." Sporadic observations by 

the McMaster group indicate a reduced average recession of the Castleguard Glaciers of about 20 m from 1967 to 1981. This is a key alpine karst 

locality, because the cave and glacier systems are still in contact. Recent 

work has focused on the karst cave system (Ford, 1975, 1983), subglacial 

chemical deposits (Hallet, 1976a, b, 1977; Hallet and Anderson, 1980), and 

the interaction between glaciers and the limestone bedrock (Smart, 1983, 

1984, 1986).

Saskatchewan Glacier

The next major outlet glacier from the Columbia Icefield, the 

Saskatchewan Glacier (figs. 7, 20, 23) is about 13 km long and some 30 km2 

in area. It declines gradually from east to northeast, without ice falls, to its 

terminus at 1,800 m. Several tributary glaciers were formerly active in providing nourishment, although by the late 1980's only one of these supplied 

the Saskatchewan Glacier. The ELA lies almost at the junction of the ice 

field and outlet tongue and ranges from 2,440 to slightly more than 2,530 m. 

Based on ice discharge, Meier (1960) computed the annual accumulation to 

be 1 m water equivalent (we.) and its gradient 13 mm m"1 below the firn 

limit, indicating a high degree of activity. Average ablation ranged from 

1 m a"1 near the ice field through 2.6 m a"1 to 4 m a"1 at the snout. The ice 

was 442 m thick 8 km upglacier and, because of the valley's marked 

U-shape and very steep walls, was as much as 305 m thick, even quite close 

to the margin (Meier, 1960).

J248 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Figure 22. High-angle oblique aerial photograph of Castleguard Glacier IV, the 

principal southern outlet glacier of the 

Columbia Icefield. This glacier and the 

other Castleguard Glaciers have receded 

considerably since the 1920's. Glacier 

4*5DAE-47, Glacier Atlas of Canada, Plate 

7.4, North Saskatchewan Glacier Inventory, 

Area 4*5D, Inland Waters Branch, Department of Energy, Mines and Resources, 

1970, scale 1:500,000. Photograph 

K642-108, taken 21 August 1964 by Austin 

Post, U.S. Geological Survey, is courtesy 

of Robert M. Krimmel, USGS.

In 1953, the American Geographical Society expedition used photographic and botanical techniques to determine the history of the 

Saskatchewan Glacier (Field and Heusser, 1954; Heusser, 1954, 1956). It 

withdrew from its terminal moraine in 1893 and by the time of their visit 

had retreated 1,364 m. The rate of recession from 1948 to 1953 was quite 

fast at 55 m a"1 .

In 1945, the Saskatchewan Glacier was investigated by the DWPB Calgary office. At this time the toe was very irregular and the surface of the 

glacier very rough. The position of the snout and changes in its areal 

extent were measured every year, and a set of plaques was placed on the 

ice surface to measure velocity; in 1950, the measurement interval 

became biennial. Detailed reports were prepared by the DWPB as internal 

documents, but some results were published (Lang, 1943; McFarlane, 

1946b; Meek, 1948a, b; McFarlane and others, 1950; Collier, 1958). In the 

mid-1960's, following recommendations made at the Glacier Mapping

GLACIERS OF CANADA J249
Symposium, the Water Survey of Canada began to use terrestrial photogrammetry to determine volumetric change, with results as shown in table 

6 (Campbell and others, 1969; Reid, 1972; Reid and Charbonneau, 1972, 

1975, 1979, 1981; Reid and others, 1978). Snout and plaque surveys were 

continued in the intervening years by the Calgary office of the Water Survey of Canada (WSC) (Warner and others, 1972; Canada, Environment 

Canada, 1976, 1982), but all were terminated by 1980 (fig. 9).

Meier (1960) measured the velocities on the surface and at depth, the 

surface and bedrock topography, and the ablation and flow structures in a 

project designed to test theories of glacier flow. Summer velocities were 

generally greater than annual ones, though there were significant velocity 

fluctuations in the short-term and there was even intermittent backward 

movement. Maximum surface velocities of 117 m a"1 at the firn limit 

decreased unevenly downglacier to 3.5 m a-1 at the snout. The flow law of 

ice was determined by analysis of a 140-m-deep vertical-velocity profile 

and a surface transverse-velocity profile. Three main classes of structural 

ice features were distinguished: (1) primary sedimentary layering,

Figure 23. High-angle oblique aerial photograph of Saskatchewan Glacier, a major 

eastward-flowing outlet glacier from the 

Columbia Icefield. The glacier is about 

13 km long, has an area of 30 km2, and has 

been studied since 1945 (see text). Glacier 

4*5DAF-18, Glacier Atlas of Canada, Plate 

7.4, North Saskatchewan Glacier Inventory, 

Area 4*5D, Inland Waters Branch, Department of Energy, Mines and Resources, 

1970, scale 1:500,000. Photograph 

K642-102, taken 21 August 1964 by Austin 

Post, U.S. Geological Survey, is courtesy 

of Robert M. Krimmel, USGS.

J250 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
TABLE 6. Changes in the area and volume of the snout of Saskatchewan Glacier, 1965-1979

Changes

Volume (m3x!06)

Surface height (m)

Terminus (m)

Snout elevation(m asl)

Area (km2)

1965-67

^3.96

-6.51

-33.80

1,786

6.75

1967-69

+12.45

+1.89

-28.00

1,789

6.58

1969-71

-44.11

-6.84

-9.60

1,789

6.45

1971-73

-30.85

-4.51

-23.00

1,790

6.84

1973-75

-10.75

-1.76

^5.40

1,790

6.10

1975-77

-3.09

-0.53

-53.60

1,790

5.84

1977-79

-23.88

^3.73

-91.20

1,790

6.40

(2) secondary flow foliation, and (3) secondary cracks and crevasses. 

Meier (1958) also studied crevasse patterns as part of this general study of 

flow. Preliminary results showed that crevasse formation was preceded by 

a buildup in extension rate. Crevasses then formed so as to relieve the 

extension rate on intercrevasse blocks. Intense deformation resulting in 

pure shear preceded an extending crevasse. No crevasses deeper than 30 

m were observed.

Rigsby's (1958, 1960) fabric diagrams did not show preferred orientations as strong as those for other temperate glaciers. Any strong patterns 

observed were thought to be in the more extensively metamorphosed, presumably older, ice flowing from depth. Melt recrystallization probably 

changed the strong orientation of crystals from a single maximum with 

optic axes normal to the foliation plane to 3-4 maxima, none of which necessarily coincided with the pole of the foliation plane.

Sharp and Epstein (1958) and Epstein and Sharp (1959) analyzed the 

oxygen-isotope ratios in different firn strata and found differences that 

reflected the elevation of accumulation, seasonal influences, differences 

among individual storms, and subsequent diagenetic changes. Ice along the 

centerline showed an irregular trend to lower ratios downglacier, which was 

thought to reflect ice transport along flow lines from different parts of the 

accumulation area.

McPherson and Gardner (1969) observed large cross-valley topographic 

highs, composed of till, in front of the Saskatchewan Glacier, which were 

old landforms emerging from beneath the ice. They might have been interpreted as end moraines. If so, they were not disturbed when overridden 

during the neoglacial advance.

Columbia Glacier

The Columbia Glacier (figs. 7, 20, 24), 8.5 km in length and about 16 km2 

in area, is the major outlet glacier flowing from the northwest section of the 

ice field, draining ice as well from the western slopes of Snow Dome and the 

eastern slopes of Mount Columbia (3,747 m). Columbia Glacier drops rapidly from the plateau area over a major ice fall, which creates a series of 

very well-defined ogives, to flow in a 0.6- to 0.7-km-wide glacier to an elevation of about 1,500 m. Its ELA lies at about 2,140 m. Habel (1902), Schaffer 

(1908), Palmer (1924-1926, 1925), Field (1949), and Field and Heusser 

(1954) recorded the location of the terminus in 1901, 1907, 1920, 1924, 

1948, and 1953. The Interprovincial Boundary Survey photographed the 

glacier in 1919 (Interprovincial Boundary Commission, 1924). Heusser 

(1954) established a chronology of recessional moraines and dated the 

outer one at 1724 and others at 1842, 1854, 1864, 1871, 1907, 1909, and 

1919; he concluded that the glacier had retreated 394 m between 1724 and 

1924. A plot of the recession data is given in figure 9; it assumes no change 

from 1725 to 1850. Baranowski and Henoch (1978) observed that the 

Columbia Glacier had advanced as much as 1 km from 1966 to 1977. Since 

the Columbia Icefield map was published, the glacier has advanced farther 

to completely fill the large proglacial lake, a distance of some 800 m (Parks

GLACIERS OF CANADA J251
Canada, oral commun., 1986). The glacier is not being surveyed regularly, 

so it is not known whether this advance is continuing.

Athabasca Glacier

The most-visited glacier in Canada is without a doubt the Athabasca Glacier (figs. 20, 25). Situated only 1 km from the Icefields Parkway, which 

passes through Banff and Jasper National Parks, it is one of the primary 

destinations for tourists and tours. It has also become the focus of Parks 

Canada interpretive program and provides, through the Brewster snowmobiles, one of the few easy opportunities for the general public to get up on 

the ice. However, most would probably identify it as the Columbia Icefield. 

Its accessibility and the need for information about it have led to numerous 

scientific studies, which are summarized below.

The 6.5-km-long glacier leaves the ice field at 2,800 m, descends in a 

series of three ice falls as it passes over successive rock thresholds and 

continues as a gentle 1-km-wide tongue with a slope of 3-7° to its terminus 

at 1,925 m asl. It cuts through the axis of a gentle anticline and is flanked 

by walls of limestone, dolostone, and shale. Crevasses are well developed 

in the lower two ice falls and extend almost across the entire width of the 

glacier. Kucera (1987) measured 15 of the largest crevasses and found 

them to be no deeper than 36 m. Part of the glacier front is formed by 

moraine-covered ice that continues up valley, forming about two-fifths of

Figure 24. High-angle oblique aerial photograph of Columbia Glacier, a major outlet glacier draining the northwest section 

of the Columbia Icefield, including the 

western slopes of Snow Dome (off left 

side of photograph) and the eastern 

slopes of Mount Columbia (off right side 

of photograph). The glacier drops over a 

major ice fall (center of photograph) creating ogives. The glacier receded rapidly 

from the 1920's to the 1960's (fig. 9), but 

has advanced about 2 km between 1966 

and 1986. Glacier 4*7AAG-71, Glacier 

Atlas of Canada, Inland Waters Branch, 

Department of Energy, Mines and 

Resources, scale 1:500,000. Photograph 

K641-42, taken 21 August 1964 by Austin 

Post, U.S. Geological Survey, is courtesy 

of Robert M. Krimmel, USGS.

J252 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Figure 25. High-angle oblique aerial photograph of Athabasca Glacier, the most 

visited glacier in Canada. The 6.5 km glacier drains the Columbia Icefield to the 

northeast and has been studied extensively (see text). Glacier 4*7AAF-4, Glacier 

Atlas of Canada, Inland Waters Branch, 

Department of Energy, Mines and 

Resources, scale 1:500,000. Photograph 

K64L-133, taken 21 August 1964 by Austin 

Post, U.S. Geological Survey, is courtesy 

of Robert M. Krimmel, USGS.

the glacier along the northwest side. Benoit and others (1984) published a 

key to the photointerpretation of features on and around the Athabasca 

and Dome Glaciers. Elements that are important for the analysis of remotesensing imagery, such as the characteristics of various features, their texture, and reflectivity are all discussed. This study complements an earlier 

glaciological and geomorphological investigation by Kucera and Henoch 

(1978). Howarth (1983) and Howarth and Ommanney (1983) reported 

some difficulty in interpreting Landsat scenes for this area.

It is surprising that no systematic annual mass-balance studies have 

been carried out on the Athabasca Glacier. However, geochemical studies 

within the 2,600-2,700-m elevation band were used by Butler and others 

(1980) to estimate a net annual mass balance here of 1.5 and 2.4-2,7 m 

we., respectively, for 1976-77 and 1977-78. Average snowfall on the ice 

field is estimated to be more than 7 m, and the ELA is at about 2,600 m asl. 

Holdsworth and others (1985) obtained an 11.5-m core from the top of 

Snow Dome to evaluate the site for a deep core drilling. Preliminary analysis indicated a lack of evidence of regular seasonal variations in the stableisotope data but evidence of percolation and homogenization of the isotopic 

and chemical constituents. It is clear that the overall mass-balance trend 

during the 20th century has been strongly negative. In 1870, the glacier was 

about 1.5 times its present total volume (I,013xl06 m3) and 2.5 times its 

area (6xl06 m2 vs. 2.6xl06 m2). The average rates of decrease in volume

GLACIERS OF CANADA J253
have declined: 3.2xl06 m3 a'1 for 1870-1971 to 2.5xl06 m3 a'1 for 

1959-1971 (Kite and Reid, 1977). Ice volume has also been reconstructed 

by Mayewski and others (1979) as shown in table 7.

Observations of the retreat of the terminus of the Athabasca Glacier 

have been carried out for many years and are shown in table 8. Figure 26 

shows the position of the terminus of Athabasca Glacier in 1952 and 1977. 

Hermann Woolley and J. Norman Collie visited and named Athabasca Glacier in 1898, at which time it coalesced with the Dome Glacier. Athabasca 

Glacier was photographed in 1908 (Schaffer, 1908) and again in 1919 

(Interprovincial Boundary Commission, 1924). Field photographed it in 

1919. In 1945, the DWPB commenced a series of annual surveys from their 

Calgary office. The position of the snout and the changes in the areal extent 

of Athabasca Glacier were measured every year, and a set of plaques was 

placed on the ice surface to measure velocity. Detailed reports were prepared as internal documents (McFarlane, 1945, 1946b, 1947; McFarlane 

and May, 1948; MacFarlane and others, 1949; May and others, 1950; Carter, 

1954; Carter and others, 1956; Fowler and others, 1958; Chapman and

Figure 26. Two photographs of the 

receding terminus of the Athabaska Glacier, Jasper National Park, Alberta. A, View 

in 1952 by A. MacS. Stalker, Geological 

Survey of Canada, Photograph GSC 

147803. B, View in 1977 from Applied 

Hydrology Division, Environment Canada, 

Photograph GSC 203797-M. Modified 

from figure 9 in Prest, V.K., 1983, p. 20. 

©Produced under licence from Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, with 

permission of Natural Resources Canada.

J254 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Figure 22 Terrestrial photograph of 

Angel Glacier on the north slope of Mount 

Edith Cavell, Cavell Group, Alberta, in 

August 1953, taken by William O. Field, 

American Geographical Society. Photograph and caption courtesy of Calvin J. 

Heusser, Professor Emeritus, New York 

University.

representative (McFarlane, 1945, 1946a, b, 1947; Meek, 1948b). Field and 

Heusser (1954) reckoned that the glacier started to retreat in 1733 and 

that the separation of the lower glacier took place in the 1920's; they also 

noted a substantial reduction in volume. Heusser (1956) established 

moraine positions for 1723, 1783, 1871, and 1901. Early measurements 

were made by E.M. Kindle in 1927 and E.L. Perry in 1929.

Luckman (1976, 1977) attempted to establish the Neoglacial history of 

this and neighboring areas. Based on ground measurements and aerial photographs, a tentative reconstruction of the recent recessional history of 

Cavell Glacier has been determined (fig. 9).

Portal-MacCarib Group (PC19)

North of Astoria River is the small Portal-MacCarib Group (fig. 1, PC 19). 

It is 13.5 km long, trends southwest from the Athabasca River, has summit 

elevations near 2,750 m, and has a few small glaciers and rock glaciers.

Trident Range (PC20)

The northernmost mountain block in the interior part of the central 

Park Ranges is Trident Range (fig. 1, PC20). It is bounded on the north by 

the Miette River and on the east by the Athabasca River. At the junction of 

the Miette and Athabasca Rivers is Jasper, one of the famous resort towns 

of the Rockies. Numerous small glaciers and rock glaciers can be found 

here, ranging in length up to 1.5 km, but none is much bigger than 0.5 km2 

in area. Apart from one rock glacier that pushes below 2,000 m, the lower 

limits of the glaciers is in the range of 2,300-2,400 m. 0strem's (1966) map 

shows a lowering of the glaciation level here to below 2,600 m, possibly 

caused by storm tracks being channeled through Yellowhead Pass. Whereas 

average peak elevations are 2,600-2,800 m, a few rise to about 3,000 m.

GLACIERS OF CANADA J263
Fraser-Rampart Group (PC21)

Between the Tonquin Valley and the Fraser River lies a heavily glacierized mountain range, the Fraser-Rampart Group (fig. 1, PC21), centered 

on what might be called the Bennington Icefield. The Fraser-Rampart 

Group extends 13 km north from Mastodon Mountain to join The Ramparts, a bastion that extends about 10 km from east to west. At the base of 

The Ramparts are very extensive rock-glacier formations. Furthermore, 

there are substantial debris-covered ice features associated with many of 

the glacier tongues. Bennington Peak and Mount Geikie rise to more than 

3,200 m, and the other peaks range from 2,900-3,100 m asl. Some of the 

larger glaciers that form part of Bennington Icefield are the Fraser 

(3.5 km), Mastodon (4.4 km), Simon (4.8 km), Eremite (2.7 km), and Scarp 

(2.8 km) Glaciers that end at 1,800-2,000 m. These are 2 to 4 km2 in size, 

but the majority are 1 km2 or less and have higher termini, at 2,200-2,400 

m. Several studies have been carried out on glaciers in this group, including 

the Bennington Glacier, Para Glacier, and Paragon Glacier. The latter is a 

tongue-shaped glacier about 300 m wide and 1 km long with an area of 

roughly 0.3 km2 . Although its terminus is now at 2,000 m asl, it formerly 

coalesced with the Bennington Icefield. In 1982, its ELA was 2,250 m, 

about the same as on the Bennington Glacier (McCarthy, 1985).

Bennington Glacier

The Bennington Glacier is a fairly large alpine glacier, about 5 km in 

length, with a spectacular series of "Little Ice Age" moraines from which it 

has retreated some 1,300 m. The Bennington Glacier descends 1,600 m in 

elevation from the west face of Mount Fraser. In the early 1980's, the firn line 

was at about 2,130 m. Retreat can be determined from available photographs. The earliest photograph, taken in 1921 by the Interprovincial Boundary Commission, gave a post-"Little Ice Age" recession of 250 m. McCarthy 

(1985) reconstructed the history and the development of the forefield of 

Bennington Glacier through a comprehensive lichenometric study that paid 

particular attention to eight moraine complexes and an ice-front esker. The 

recessional history of the Bennington Glacier is plotted in figure 9.

Para Glacier

The Para Glacier is a small cirque glacier about 2 km in length on the 

east side of Parapet Peak. It flows into Chrome Lake. The main stream of 

ice flows east and is fed by a steep and much-broken ice fall from the eastern arete of Bennington Peak. There is very little debris on the glacier. Initial observations made by C.G. Wates in 1933 (Wheeler, 1934) and 

McCoubrey (1938) plotted in figure 9 were apparently filed with the American Geographical Society (Denton, 1975).

Meadow-Clairvaux Group (PC22)

The mountains that form the southern slopes of Yellowhead Pass are 

part of the small Meadow-Clainwioc Group (fig. 1, PC22). The MeadowClairvaux Group is situated west of the Trident Range and Meadow Creek 

and is separated from Selwyn Range by the valley of the Fraser River. Peaks 

here do not rise above 3,000 m in elevation but generally lie close to 

2,600-2,900 m asl. The 10 glaciers here, such as the Vista, Clairvaux, and 

Meadow Glaciers, are small (<1.5 km2) in area, terminate below 2,300 m, 

and include a number of rock- and debris-covered features.

Selwyn Range (PC23)

The last major feature in this central part of the Park Ranges is the 

Selwyn Range (fig. 1, PC23), which lies between the Fraser and Canoe 

Rivers and extends as a series of transverse ridges, about 25 km wide,

J264 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
TABLE 7. Recession and volume changes of Athabasca 

Glacier, 1870-1970 (from Mayewski and others, 1979)

^ Retreat Date - (meters a )

1870-1877

1877-1882

1882-1886

1886-1900

1990-1908

1908-1922

1922-1938

1938-1945

1945-1950

1950-1956

1956-1960

1960-1965

1965-1970

6

11

11

6

5

4

13

27

27

21

38

8

4

Area Loss 

(square 

kilometers a"1 )

0.025

0.011

0.011

0.022

0.023

0.018

0.035

0.043

0.033

0.028

0.040

0.019

0.013

Volume Loss 

(cubic 

kilometers a'1 )

0.0024

0.0030

0.0014

0.0020

0.0015

0.0033

0.0035

0.0069

0.0068

0.0062

0.0043

0.0040

0.0026

others, 1960; Davis and others, 1962; Davies and others, 1964, 1966, 1970; 

Glossop and others, 1968), but some results were published (McFarlane, 

1946a; Meek, 1948a, b; McFarlane and others, 1950; Collier, 1958).

Following experimental aerial photogrammetric surveys of the Athabasca Glacier in 1959 and 1962 (Reid, 1961), the University of New Brunswick examined the use of terrestrial photogrammetry for measuring the 

melt of the Athabasca Glacier (Konecny, 1963, 1966; Reid and Paterson, 

1973). From 1959 to 1962 the surface was reduced an average of 1.7 m, and 

the glacier lost 3.936xl05 m3 , representing a 35 percent contribution to 

average annual streamflow (Reid and Paterson, 1973). The Water Survey of 

Canada then switched to a program of terrestrial surveys every 2 years 

(Campbell and others, 1969; Reid, 1972; Reid and Charbonneau, 1972, 

1975, 1979, 1981; Reid and others, 1978) for the measurement of volumetric change (table 8); snout and plaque surveys were continued in the intermediate years by the Calgary office (Warner and others, 1972; Canada, 

Environment Canada, 1976, 1982). Paterson (1966) showed that the difference between individually surveyed markers and map heights was less than 

three times the theoretical error, or about 15 percent of the contour interval. Additional surveys were made of the Athabasca Glacier in August 1977 

as part of a program to remap the Columbia Icefield and surrounding areas 

and to test the relatively new orthophoto-mapping process. Young and others (1978) reported that there was little to choose amongst the various 

techniques, although the orthophoto mapping might be faster and cheaper 

and produced a digital-terrain model in computer-compatible form of use 

for further computations. Errors in the three methods ranged from about 

1-2 m on the lower glacier to about 10-20 m on the upper.

Some other records are also available from Field, who revisited the glacier in 1948, 1949, 1953 and 1963 (Denton, 1975). He and Heusser, using 

photographic and botanical techniques (Field and Heusser, 1954; Heusser, 

1954, 1956), were able to develop the history further. Athabasca Glacier 

reached its maximum about 1714 and began to withdraw from different 

parts of its end moraine in 1721 and 1744. It readvanced in the first half of 

the 19th century, reaching almost to its maximum extent. Recession began 

between 1841 and 1866 and has continued with minor fluctuations marked 

by moraines formed about 1841, 1900, 1908, 1925, and 1935.

The glacier has been used as a test area for a variety of depth-measurement techniques, some of which have been designed to provide information 

for physical studies of glacier flow.

Kanasewich (1963) used gravity techniques to obtain ice-thickness values along eight transverse profiles, whereas Paterson and Savage (1963a) 

used seismic waves to determine depths for 2- km downglacier from the 

lowest ice fall. During the summer of 1959, five holes were drilled into the 

glacier with a prototype hotpoint drill (Stacey, 1960). Rossiter (1977) 

tested a 1-32 MHz radio interferometry depth-sounding technique on 

Athabasca Glacier. High scattering levels above 8 MHz were attributed to 

water-filled cavities within the glacier on the order of 3-6 m in width, having typical separations of 10-30 m. Strangway and others (1974) found that 

at 1, 2, and 4 MHz the ice had a dielectric constant of about 3.3,

TABLE 8. Changes in the area and volume of the snout of Athabasca Glacier, 1959-1979

Changes

Volume (m3x!06)...............

Surface height (m)............

Terminus

Snout elevation (m asl) ....

1959-62

-1.76

-0.68

-38.1

2.57

1962-65

-3.07

-1.35

36.3

2.28

1965-67

+3.10

+1.36

10 fi

1930 

2.28

1967-69

+0.66

+0.29

90 4

1930 

2.28

1969-71

-16.76

-7.71

-14.9

1935 

2.17

1971-73

+6.19

+2.49

6.0

1930 

2.48

1973-75

-6.13

-2.45

-19.0

1953 

2.50

1975-77

-6.50

-2.61

+7.8

1941 

2.49

1977-79

-2.79

-1.09

-7.0

1944 

2.56

GLACIERS OF CANADA J255
corresponding to that for ice near 0°C. Measured depths were not always 

consistent with previous seismic, gravity, and borehole results. Radio-echosounding has featured prominently in depth investigations. A sophisticated 

mobile system linked to fixed transponders (Goodman, 1970, 1975) provided results that agreed within 14m with the seismic and borehole measurements of Savage and Paterson (1963). Repetitive soundings at 

individual locations revealed the presence of intraglacier structures that 

appeared to be related to changing hydrological or glaciological conditions 

within the glacier (Goodman, 1973). Waddington and Jones (1977), using a 

1-5 MHz radio-echosounder, sampled the accumulation area of the Athabasca Glacier from below Castleguard Mountain northward to the ice falls 

and westward to the divide. They found depths ranging from 100 to 365 m. 

Contour maps of ice thickness and basal elevations have been produced by 

Trombley (1986), based on 300 depth measurements of the lower 3.6 km of 

the glacier with a portable radio-echosounder. A summary of some of the 

results, based on Paterson (n.d.) and Trombley (1986) is given in table 9.

Measurements show that in the ablation area, below the lowermost ice 

fall, the longitudinal and transverse profiles of ice thickness are geometrically regular and simple. A bedrock depression and two bedrock rises influence the flow. The ice is thickest (>320 m) in the deepest part of the 

depression, which appears to be a relic valley carved by what is now a small 

hanging glacier. Removal of the glacier would create a chain of paternoster 

lakes (Kanasewich, 1963).

In an interesting variant on their seismic study, Neave and Savage 

(1970) used natural seismic activity to monitor icequakes. These appeared 

as single events in the zone of marginal crevasses resulting from extensional faulting near the glacier surface. Swarms of icequakes were occasionally recorded that were distinguished from the crevasse-forming 

icequakes by their intense activity (20 events s"1 ), by their distribution 

along a line several hundred meters long, and by their location, crossing 

the crevasse-free center strip of the glacier. Propagation velocities on the 

order of 30 m s~! were observed. Not only did the individual events in a 

swarm migrate across glacier, but they also appeared to migrate downglacier at a velocity of about 30 m Ir1 .

TABLE 9. Depths of Athabasca Glacier [based on Paterson (n.d.) and 

Trombley (1986)]

Elevation 

(m asl)

2036

2048

2115

2122

2130

2135

2141

2195

2202

2206

2228

2229

2229

2229

2230

2230

Depth 

(meters)

60

73

176

194

195

209

209

248

210

235

310

319

318

315

291

313

Year of 

measurement

1979

1960

1979

1959-61

1979

1959-61

1966-67

1959-61

1979

1960

1979

1979

1979

1979

1979

1966-67

Elevation 

(meters asl)

2231

2232

2234

2234

2235

2237

2237

2238

2238

2239

2240

2240

2240

2250

2250

2250-55

Depth 

(meters)

250

322

316

298

314

265

251

297

300

306

306

308

311

311

312

309

Year of 

measurement

1960

1959-61

1966-67

1966-67

1959-61

1966-67

1979

1966-67

1979

1979

1979

1966-67

1966-67

1966-67

1979

1966-67

J256 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
It is possible to tell from velocity measurements that ice now at the 

tongue of the Athabasca Glacier fell as snow on the ice field 150-200 years 

ago. Observations in 1959 and 1960, along the center line of the glacier, 

showed that ice velocity varied from 74 m a"1 below the ice fall to 15 m a"1 

at the terminus and that the longitudinal strain rate varied from -0.1 to 

0.0 a^1 (Savage and Paterson, 1963, 1965). Paterson (1962) found that the 

longitudinal strain rate was not constant with depth and at 100 m was 

slightly greater than at the surface. He concluded that the quasi-viscous 

Glen flow law provided the best fit to the available data (Paterson and Savage, 1963b). Ice takes about 2 years to travel down the lowest ice fall, corresponding to a velocity there of about 130 m a"1 . Seasonally unexpected 

velocity variations 2.5 km upglacier were explained by variations in the 

amount of water available at the bed for lubrication, being positively correlated with streamflow from the lake, with a lag of 3-4 days (Paterson, 

1964). However, Meier (1965) pointed out that measurements on meltwater discharge from Athabasca Glacier by Mathews (1964a, 1964b) showed 

that maximum runoff occurs within a few hours of maximum melt. Paterson 

(1965) replied that some runoff may be delayed. Short-term velocity variations have been studied by Kucera (1971, 1987), using time-lapse photography. Ice within 60 m of the terminus is moving at an average rate of 

57 mm d"1 (20.8 m a"1 ) and, during the summer, as much as 5 mm h"1 . During a two-and-a-half month period, ice descended the lowest ice fall at a 

velocity of about 0.35 m d"1 , or 125 m a"1 . The glacier moves faster in summer than in winter and seems to move faster during the day than at night.

The velocity of ice deep within Athabasca Glacier has been measured in a 

number of boreholes. Savage and Paterson (1963), Paterson (1970), and 

Raymond (1971b) demonstrated that the upper part of the glacier is moving 

faster than the base. Velocity varies little with depth in the upper half of the 

borehole (209 m deep), but in the lower half, velocity decreases but at an 

increasing rate as the bottom is approached. Savage and Paterson (1963, 

1965) estimated basal slip in two boreholes to be 30 m a"1 and 3 m a"1 . These 

boreholes lie along the same streamline and are separated by only six times 

the average depth. Raymond (1971a) applied a new method for determining 

the three-dimensional velocity field of the Athabasca Glacier. His measurements of ice deformation at depth revealed the pattern of flow in a nearly 

complete cross section of a valley glacier (Raymond, 1971b). He found that 

the relative strength of marginal and basal shear strain-rate was opposite to 

that expected. He further developed methods for determining the distributions of stress and effective viscosity in a glacier (Raymond, 1973) that did 

not support the results obtained by Paterson and Savage (1963a, b).

Using two different techniques, Reid and Paterson (1973) determined 

that the average annual loss of ice is 14.7xl06 m3 , equivalent to 

13.4xl06 m3 a"1 , or about 35 percent of the average annual streamflow measured at the gauging station. This compares to Collier's figure of 10-20 percent (Collier, 1958). The figure for glacier-melt contribution is much higher. 

Reid (1972) determined the 20-year average for mid-May to the end of 

October to be 35.1xl06 m3 . Collier (1958) pointed out how effective glacier 

melt is in sustaining streamflow in August and September. The addition of 

106 percent to the drainage area in Edmonton only increased the September 1955 flow by 1 percent (Collier, 1958).

Mathews (1964a) developed a moderately successful regression equation relating discharge of the Sunwapta River to temperature in Jasper. 

Correlations commonly better than +0.8 and reaching +0.96 were obtained 

for individual periods of from 1 to 2 months. He concluded that the daily 

streamflow was related, first, to the temperatures of the current day and, 

second, to the temperatures of the previous few days. There were pronounced diurnal fluctuations in meltwater flow from Athabasca Glacier 

(Mathews, 1964a)

GLACIERS OF CANADA J257
An interesting feature of the streamflow record noted by Mathews 

(1964a) was the occurrence of jokulhlaups. These interrupted the normal 

diurnal cycle and were apparently unrelated to weather conditions. 

Records covering 13 summers showed at least 10 glacier-outburst floods 

having a discharge volume of 250,000 m3 or more and one flood that 

released 1,400,000 m'3 of water. Because there are no ice-dammed lakes 

near the Athabasca Glacier, the water must have been stored within the glacier itself. Drainage of the floodwaters from a single chamber within the ice 

would certainly have caused some surface subsidence of the ice, but this 

was not observed. Mathews (1964a) concluded that the water must have 

been contained in a number of smaller cavities. Such cavities were noticed 

by Savage and Paterson (1963) during their drilling program in 1962. In 

1968, they punctured a cavity at a depth of 9.2 m (Paterson and Savage, 

1970). Water gushed from the borehole for about 55 s, indicating an excess 

pressure of at least 25 kPa. This pressure was thought to have been generated by the reduction in volume of the cavity caused by freezing of some of 

the water within it. Other evidence of unusual flows is provided by Kucera 

(1987), who reported that a meltwater stream near the snowmobile access 

road tripled in discharge from 0800 to 1600 h during one day in August 

1980. Conditions were clear and air temperatures increased from 1 to 8°C 

during the same period.

During periods of high discharge, the meltwater streams carry a heavy 

sediment load, shifting position and migrating across the "Sunwapta" delta 

throughout the summer (Kucera, 1971, 1987). The sequence of WSC glacier maps shows that the delta has advanced 40 m into Sunwapta Lake, an 

effective sediment trap, during a 14-yr period. During one 24-h period in 

1957, an estimated 380 tonnes of sediment and 190 tonnes of sand were 

brought into the lake by two glacier streams. Of this amount, only 

4-7 tonnes of the sediment and none of the sand left by way of the Sunwapta River (Mathews, 1964b).

Particle-size distribution, roundness, striations, fabric, and lithologic 

composition have been used to distinguish between basal till, lateral- and 

recessional-moraine tills, ablation till, and outwash (Mills, 1977a, 1977b, 

1977c). Glacial debris in a 120-m-wide zone in front of the Athabasca Glacier is not spread haphazardly across the forefield but, rather, occurs as low 

discontinuous ridges 0.7-2 m high that lie 2-20 m apart and trend roughly 

parallel to the glacier front. These are annual moraines produced by an 

advance of ice during the winter months. Measurements by Kucera since 

1967 indicate that although the glacier advances 6-10 m during the winter 

months, the rate of retreat during the ablation season has slowed from 

18-30 m to 10-16 m in recent years. This explains why the annual moraines 

are now spaced more closely together than in the past; for example, the 

position of the 1977 moraine lies only 2 m from the 1976 annual moraine 

(Kucera, 1987).

On the west side of Sunwapta Lake, the toe of the Athabasca Glacier consists of a dirty ice cliff. Rock debris, 1-2 m thick, extends upglacier along 

the western margin. Supraglacial debris cover, such as that also found on 

the neighboring Dome Glacier, creates significant problems in the interpretation of remote sensing imagery for these areas. The cliff is marked by rills 

that collect ice-and-rock fragments that cascade down the steep ice front: 

the slope of 40° has been maintained for several years (Kucera, 1987).

Some other aspects of the Athabasca Glacier have also been studied. 

Paterson (1971, 1972) determined that the temperature in the ablation 

area of Athabasca Glacier is about -0.5°C at a depth of 10 m. Below 17 m, it 

is slightly below the calculated pressure-melting point. The observed temperature regime is accounted for partly by heat produced by ice deformation and partly by freezing of water within the ice. The required water 

content is between 0.5 and 1 percent and is thought to be water trapped

J258 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
between grains when the ice formed from firn. Glee and others (1969) 

investigated the mechanism of internal friction of ice near its melting point 

by observing the attenuation of elastic waves. They decided that attenuation appears to be best explained by grain-boundary slip. Watt and Maxwell 

(1960) measured the electrical properties of snow and glacier ice and concluded that their properties were appreciably different from pure ice. 

Keller and Frischknecht (1960, 1961) used electrical resistivity. Stanley 

(1965) found that most of the lower part of the glacier, below the ice falls, is 

composed of either fine or coarse bubbly ice in alternating layers. Cryoconite holes have been described by Wharton and Vineyard (1983). They 

observed seven species of pennate diatoms and several species of green 

algae in the holes, probably transported onto the glacier from nearby 

aquatic and terrestrial sources.

Dome Glacier

Dome Glacier is poorly nourished in comparison to Athabasca Glacier. 

Dome Glacier's bifurcated terminus is fed largely by avalanching from Snow 

Dome. Most of the surface of Dome Glacier is covered by ablation, lateral, 

and medial moraines, which make it difficult to determine its true areal 

extent. The basic characteristics of Dome Glacier are given in table 5. The 

ablation moraine is commonly less than 1 m thick and the ice beneath is 

clean. Stream courses usually follow the margin of rubble-covered ice, but 

Kucera (1987) observed one on the glacier in a channel 4 m wide and 3 m 

deep which dropped to a depth of about 10-15 m to become an englacier 

stream leaving a route marked by abandoned moulins up to 3 m in diameter. Probably because of the insulating moraine cover, Dome Glacier has 

receded comparatively less than the Athabasca Glacier, with which it coalesced at one time. Starting about 1875, it receded 530 m from 1875 to 1919 

and 318 m from 1919 to 1953. At least four recessional moraines appear 

between the terminal moraine remnants and the present ice front: 1900, 

1908, 1913, and 1918 (Heusser, 1954).

Boundary Glacier

The Boundary Glacier is a 2-km-long cirque glacier, 1.18 km2 in area. It 

is located on the divide between the Saskatchewan and Athabasca watersheds and on the boundary between Banff and Jasper National Parks. It 

flows from the slopes of Mount Athabasca at 3,320 m asl to a low-gradient 

accumulation basin at 2,750 m and thence to two ice tongues at 2,365 m asl. 

The ELA lies at about 2,730 m. Gardner and Jones (1985) and Gardner 

(1987) have studied the sediment budget and bergschrund/randkluft erosion here. Sloan (1987) reported that debris deposition along the 350-m 

tongue is at a rate of 4,400 kg d"1 . A retreat of 810 m from the "Little Ice 

Age" maximum has been determined. Intermediate snout positions have 

been mapped (fig. 9). This is one of the few glaciers in the Rockies for 

which there is recent evidence of a significant advance.

Hilda Glacier

Hilda Glacier is a small cirque glacier fed largely by avalanching from 

the eastern slopes of Mount Athabasca (3,491 m). It is about 2.5 km long, 

1.35 km2 in area. It has a large debris-rich proglacial area 1 km long that 

starts at the prominent Neoglacial moraine (2,055 m), rises to the snout at 

2,170 m, and thence to the upper accumulation area at 2,900 m. The glacier 

surface is covered by a thin mantle of supraglacier debris supplied by rockfalls and avalanches. According to Heusser (1954), retreat began around 

1790, but he made no measurements because the lower end of the glacier 

was hidden by debris (Field and Heusser, 1954). During 1977 and 1978, 

while the glacier was still receding, a study of sediment supply and transport was initiated (Hammer and Smith, 1983). When seen by Heusser 

(1956), the lower part was a boulder mass with humps and pockets that

GLACIERS OF CANADA J259
gave the appearance of concentric "waves" in several places. This morainal 

complex characterizes the mass as an incipient rock glacier. In the continuum from glacier (mostly ice) to rock glacier (mostly rock fragments), the 

morainal complex falls into the rock glacier classification. Folds of soil that 

have been pushed up along the down-valley periphery suggest that the 

mass continues to exhibit motion.

Winston Churchill Range (PC13)

Stretching north-northeast from the Columbia Icefield some 30 km to 

the fork in the Athabasca and Sunwapta Rivers is the Winston Churchill 

Range (fig. 1, PC 13). Summit elevations in the main part of the range 

exceed 3,100 m and reach a maximum at Mount Alberta (3,619 m). The 

Diadem. Icefield includes a number of individual glaciers around Mounts 

Alberta and Woolley, extends northward in a continuous 10-km mass from 

Diadem Peak to Mount McGuire, and encompasses Gong Glacier (3.5 km) 

to the west. Lying outside this ice field are additional small glaciers, usually 

located in deep cirques on north- to northeast-facing slopes. Glaciers average 2 to 3 km in length, up to 1 km2 in area, and have snouts close to 

2,000 m. A characteristic of this region is the large amount of morainal 

debris lying on and around many of the glacier termini, in a number of cases 

grading into classic rock glaciers. Stutfield and Collie (1903) concluded that 

the rock glaciers were formed from massive rockfalls from the limestone 

cliffs at some time in the past.

Chaba Group (PC14)

Northwest of the Columbia Icefield, and contiguous with it and the 

Clemenceau Icefield, lies the Chaba Icefield (fig. 20). This 97-km2 irregular, elongated ice mass runs along and beyond the Continental Divide for 

some 27 km. Its northeast side drains into the Athabasca River through a 

number of outlet glaciers, chief of which are Chaba Glacier (9-km long), 

West Chaba Glacier (7 km long) and Misty Glacier (3.5 km long). The 

ice field and its environs include some 30 glaciers that range from 1 to 3 km 

in length, with snouts reaching to elevations of 2,000-2,300 m asl. The ELA 

probably lies at about 2,300 m, some 500 m below the regional glaciation 

level established by 0strem (1966). J.M. Thorington, in one of the few 

reports from this area, reported a recession of 170 m from the 1927 position 

established by the Harvard University group in 1936 (McCoubrey, 1938). 

Summit elevations in the central portion of the ice field exceed 3,100 m. 

Northward, toward Fortress Lake and Wood River, summit elevations 

decline to below 2,800 m.

Clemenceau Icefield Group (PC15)

Previous writers have stated confidently that the Columbia Icefield is the 

largest in the Rocky Mountains, yet the Clemenceau Icefield (figs. 7, 20), 

including its outliers south of Tsar Mountain (Clemenceau Icefield Group; 

fig. 1, PC 15), is only slightly smaller (313 km2). It is linked to both the 

Chaba and Columbia Icefields (figs. 7, 20) by Wales Glacier, which has one 

major accumulation basin in each ice field. Most of the drainage is through 

two outlet glaciers: (1) a major compound glacier on the northern part of 

the ice field that reaches a maximum length of 13 km and consists of the 

Tusk, Clemenceau, and Duplicate Glaciers, whose cumulative moraines 

have created an extensive debris-covered tongue that feeds Clemenceau 

Creek and (2) Apex Glacier, a triangular-shaped outlet glacier that flows 

13.5 km south from the mountain of the same name. The larger outlet glaciers push down to below 1,500 m asl, with one debris-covered tongue 

reaching to 1,035 m. The ELA is about 2,200 m and the glaciation level at

J260 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
2,700 m. The highest point of this ice field is appropriately Mount Clemenceau (3,630 m); most of the other major peaks in the group exceed 

3,000 m. The isolation and inaccessibility of the region have inhibited glaciological research, visits being limited to a few climbing parties.

Fryatt Group (PC16)

West of the Athabasca River and north of Fortress Lake and Alnus Creek 

is the Fryatt Group (fig. 1, PC 16), a series of mountain ridges stretching to 

the northeast some 15 km from a 30-km ridge that follows the provincial 

boundary. Apart from Catacombs Mountain (3,292 m), elevations in the 

southern part are generally below 3,000 m but rise northward to about 

3,100 m, attaining a maximum at Mount Fryatt (3,361 m). Most of the glaciers lie in northeast-facing cirques below the boundary ridge; they are <2 

km long and terminate between 2,000 and 2,100 m. A 5-km-long glacier 

flows north and northwestward from Catacombs Mountain. Around Mount 

Fryatt the glaciers are shorter and at higher elevations.

Whirlpool Group (PC17)

The ranges surrounding Whirlpool River, west of the Fryatt Group and 

north of Clemenceau Icefield, have been referred to as the Whirlpool 

Group (fig. 1, PCI7). The Whirlpool Group consists of two separate 

blocks, or ranges, divided by the valley of the Whirlpool River and Athabasca Pass, which for many years was a major fur-trade thoroughfare that 

effectively split the Hooker and Mount Brown Icefields (fig. 4). The former 

ice field is an irregular mass of contiguous glaciers covering about 90 km2 

and includes the Kane, Hooker, North Alnus, South Alnus, and Serenity 

Glaciers, each about 4 to 5 km long, as well as the main body of the ice field 

itself. Other glaciers in this part of the group tend to be 1 to 2 km long. Several snouts push down to 1,800 m or lower. Apart from contributions to 

Whirlpool River, the glaciers drain west through Fortress Lake and Wood 

River. Mount Brown Icefield is a more regular ice mass <5 km2 in area. Glaciers in the northern extension of the range, south of Simon Creek, tend to 

be slightly smaller than those to the south and include several debris-covered tongues and rock glaciers. Some descriptions of the glaciers around 

Athabasca Pass date from the time of the fur traders. Scott Glacier was first 

observed by David Douglas in 1827 (Douglas, 1914). Schafer (1954) 

reported that its retreat began in 1780 and that by 1924 the glacier had 

contracted 650 m. In 1952, the Alpine Club of Canada (1953) reported that 

the lower part of Scott Glacier, which in 1924 covered a large part of the 

outwash plain, had almost disappeared after a recession of some 1.2 km in 

28 years (fig. 9). Despite early miscalculations of the elevation of Mount 

Brown that led to suggestions that it might be the highest peak in the 

Rocky Mountains, its highest point is only 2,799 m asl. Summit elevations 

are generally lower here than in the Park Ranges to the east. Although 

some peaks in and around the Hooker Icefield exceed 3,200 m asl, most are 

below 3,000 m, and northward they tend to even lower elevations.

Unnamed Ranges ( )

West of the Clemenceau Icefield, the Whirlpool, and the Fraser-Rampart Groups, and south of the Selwyn Range, is a group of unnamed ranges 

that mark the western limits of the Park Ranges in this section. Individual 

ranges within the group generally trend to the southwest; runoff from the 

ranges drains into what used to be the Canoe River in the Rocky Mountain 

Trench but what is now Canoe Reach of the artificial McNaughton Lake. 

West of Clemenceau Icefield, there are numerous small glaciers, usually 

<1 km in length, that terminate between 2,200 and 2000 m, along with

GLACIERS OF CANADA J261
some evidence of debris-covered tongues and rock glaciers. The largest glaciers in the southern section are no larger than 1 km2 in area. Average peak 

heights are usually below 2,700 m, considerably lower than in the ranges to 

the east. 0strem's (1966) investigations put the regional glaciation level at 

2,500-2,600 m.

The central section of the unnamed ranges, west of the Hooker and 

Mount Brown Icefields, contains one range with much larger ice bodies 

than those found in the southern part of the unnamed ranges, including a 

contiguous mass of glacier ice that is about 17 km2 in area and lies south of 

the Mount Brown Icefield. However, as in the area in the southern part of 

the unnamed ranges, the other ranges have a profusion of small glaciers; 

usually in well-developed cirques, <1.5 km long and about 0.5 km2 in area. 

Most end below 2,200 m, with several reaching as low as 1,700 m. Large 

moraines are much in evidence. Peaks here are slightly higher, some 

exceeding 3,000 m asl, but most are in the 2,600- to 2,800-m range.

The final, northern section of these unnamed ranges consists of mountains within and west of Mount Robson Provincial Park (fig. 4) bounded by 

Eraser River and Ptarmigan Creek. Peaks here are lower than to the south, 

with the highest rising to just over 2,800 m asl. Most of the ice is concentrated in a small ice field about 6 km2 in area. Lengths of the some 15 glaciers here range from 0.5 to 1.5 km, with two at 2.5 km. Snouts are between 

2,100 and 2,300m asl.

Cavell Group (PC18)

Just west of the Banff-Jasper Highway rises the impressive Mount 

Edith Cavell (3,363 m), named after a First World War nurse who was 

shot for helping Allied troops trapped behind enemy lines to escape. It 

is the focal point of the Cavell Group (fig. 1, PC 18), a small range with 

summit elevations ranging from 2,800 m to more than 3,000 m and with 

a number of small glaciers and rock glaciers that terminate as low as 

2,100 m and that are from 0.5 to 2 km in length. A trail leads from the 

highway to the foot of Angel Glacier.

Angel Glacier

On the north side of Mount Edith Cavell lies a group of ice masses that at 

one time formed part of the same glacier. The lower part, a reconstituted, 

debris-covered ice mass, is known as Cavell Glacier. The long, thin ice 

stream, which once joined to the upper Angel Glacier, was known as Ghost 

Glacier; appropriately this glacier has now vanished. Angel Glacier, named 

for the two "wings" of ice adhering to the slopes of Mount Edith Cavell 

(Lang, 1943), occupies a cirque with a collection area of 0.89 km2 . The bulk 

of the ice mass lies between 2,250 and 2,600 m (fig. 27). According to 

0strem (1966, 1973b), the glaciation level is at about 2,600 m asl, with the 

equilibrium line altitude some 300 m below. This implies that Angel Glacier 

has a generally positive balance; something that seems to be confirmed by 

the small hanging glacier (150-190 m long) that flows from it; frequent ice 

falls confirm its active nature.

Cavell Glacier

The lower Cavell Glacier is a gently sloping, heavily debris-laden mass 

of ice barely reaching 2,000 m asl; its snout is at 1,750 m. The glacier thus 

lies entirely below the equilibrium line altitude and survives thanks to its 

heavy, insulating debris cover and the shelter from the Sun provided by the 

neighboring mountains. Curiously, this was one of the glaciers selected by 

the DWPB in 1945 for routine surveys, which was abandoned in 1947 when 

it was realized that the tongue was completely separated from the 

accumulation area and hence that the debris-covered tongue was not

J262 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
toward the northwest for more than 60 km. Peaks here tend to be lower 

than in many other parts of the Park Ranges discussed so far. Average 

elevations are close to 2,600 m; the highest peak reaches to just over 

2,800 m. About 40 small glaciers and ice fields are scattered throughout 

the range, though most are found in the three southernmost transverse 

ridges. The largest of the ice fields is some 3 km2 in area. The glaciers 

average about 1 km in length with snouts between 2,100 and 2,300 m. 

The regional glaciation level lies between 2,600 and 2,700 m.

Continental Ranges [North Yellowhead Pass to 

Muskwa Ranges (M)]

The final section of the Continental Ranges lies north of Yellowhead 

Pass. The indistinct zone of the Foothills marks the eastern boundary, 

while the western boundary continues as the Rocky Mountain Trench, 

which contains the Fraser River. Except for the area around Mount 

Robson, elevations of the mountain ranges generally decrease farther to 

the north. The mountains themselves becoming less distinct and less 

glacierized than those to the south that have just been described. In 

addition, the isolation and inaccessibility of this part of the Continental 

Ranges has meant that far fewer geographical names are available to aid 

in their description. The glaciers are usually of the small, mountain 

variety. They are larger and more numerous in the mountains along and 

west of the divide around Mount Robson, in the Swiftcurrent Icefield, 

and northward in the vicinity of the Resthaven Icefield (figs. 28, 29).

Front Ranges (North) (FN)

The Front Ranges here (fig.l, FN) are narrow and long; they include 

the Boule, Bosche, De Smet, Hoff, Berland, Persimmon, and Starlight 

Ranges and one called The Ancient Wall. North of these ranges are 

additional unnamed ranges before the northern limit at Mount May and 

the valley of the Kakwa River.

Boule Range (FN1)

Lying between Moosehorn Creek and the Rocky Mountain Foothills, 

Boule Range (fig. 1, FN1) is the easternmost section of this part of the 

Front Ranges. It is just over 20 km in length and is 3 to 5 km wide. Because 

summit elevations generally lie below 2,300 m and only reach a maximum 

of 2,429 m in Mount Kephala, it is not surprising there is no permanent ice 

cover here.

Bosche Range (FN2)

Slightly Longer (25 km) than the Boule Range to the east, the Bosche 

Range (fig. 1, FN2) is bounded on the west by the Snake Indian River. 

Peak heights average around 2,400 m, and therefore glaciers are not in 

evidence.

De Smet Range (FN3)

The innermost of the three parallel ranges that form the southern 

section of the northern Front Ranges, the De Smet Range (fig. 1, FN3) 

consists of a series of mountains and ridges strung out over 30 km as a 

northwesterly extension of the Jacques Range. Elevations here also 

average about 2,300 to 2,400 m, so there is no evidence of glacierization.

GLACIERS OF CANADA J265
I19°30'W

Kilometres 5

 p= 

10

=^r 

15

 E=

20

==i~ 

25 30 Kilometres

J266 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
120°W 119°W

121°W

53°M

16SEP73 C N53-02/Wn"9-~55 N N53-00/W119-47 MSS 7 D SUN EL36 RZ153 194-5857-G- I -N-D-1L NRSfl ERTS E-H28-18291 -7 01

Figure 28. (opposite page) Segment of 

the 1:250,000-scale topographic map 

(Mount Robson, 83E) of Mount Robson 

and environs. Jasper National Park, 

Alberta, and Mount Robson Provincial 

Park, British Columbia, showing ice fields 

along the divide from Reef Icefield to Resthaven Icefield. ©1988. Produced under 

licence from Her Majesty the Queen in 

Right of Canada, with permission of Natural Resources Canada.

Figure 29. Annotated Landsat 1 MSS image of part of the glacierized northern Rocky Mountains from Mount Robson (3,954 m), the highest mountain in 

the Canadian Rockies, to Mount Sir Alexander (3,291 m), and the northern 

Columbia Mountains (Cariboo Mountains), British Columbia, east and west 

of the Fraser River, respectively. Landsat image (1420-18291, band 7; 16 September 1973; path 50, Row 23) from the EROS Data Center, Sioux Falls, 

S. Dak.

GLACIERS OF CANADA J267
Hoff Range (FN4)

North of Wildhay River lies the Hoff Range (fig. 1, FN4), another in a series 

of many parallel, northwest-trending ranges that comprise the Fronl Ranges. 

The maximum elevation is 2,440 m on Mount. Campion, but most of the 

higher peaks are 100 m or more lower. No glaciers are found in this range.

Berland Range (FN5)

The Berland Range (fig. 1, FN5), which lies between the Hoff and 

Persimmon Ranges, has two peaks more than 2,600 m asl but no evidence of a present-day ice cover. As with the Hoff Range, there are 

mountains north of Berland River that seem to be a natural extension of 

the Hoff Range, although that name is not now applied to them.

Persimmon Range (FN6)

The next parallel range to the west is the 50-km-long Persimmon Range 

(fig. 1, FN6) having peak elevations on the order of 2,500 to 2,800 m. As 

currently applied, the northern limit of this range appears to be the valley 

of Sulphur River, though that of the Smoky River, 15 km to the north, represents a more significant physiographic break.

Starlight Range (FN7)

West of Rock Creek is the Starlight Range (fig. 1, FN7), which forms part 

of a mountain block whose northern boundary is marked by the valley of 

the South Sulphur River. Peaks lie below 2,500 m asl, so this area is also 

unglacierized. Although unnamed, an extension of the Starlight Range 

extends northwestward to the valley of the Smoky River, paralleling the 

Persimmon Range, with similar heights and no glaciers.

The Ancient Wall (FN8)

The final range in this transect is known as The Ancient Wall (fig.l, 

FN8). It forms a massive rampart overlooking Blue Creek and has heights 

comparable to those in the eastern ranges. The extension of the mountain 

block of which this forms a part is northwestward to the deeply incised 

Rockslide Creek and northward to Hardscrabble Creek. Summit elevations 

are below 2,800 m and no glaciers are visible.

Unnamed Ranges ( )

The remaining groups in the northern Front Ranges are unnamed. North 

and east of the Smoky and Muddywater Rivers and south of Sheep Creek is 

what might be called the Llama Group. The summit elevations are below 

2,500 m, and there are no glaciers. North of the Llama Group and south of 

Kakwa River is the last of the mountain blocks in the Front Ranges. Mount 

May at 2,450 m asl is representative of the average height of the peaks in 

this area. Lack of adequate precipitation and low elevation account for the 

fact that there are no glaciers here.

Park Ranges (North) (PN)

The northern section of the Park Ranges (fig. 1, PN), the last group of 

mountains of the Continental Ranges, includes the Victoria Cross and Rainbow Ranges, the Robson, the Whitehom, and Resthaven Groups, and 

Treadmill Ridge. As in the Front Ranges in this northern section of the 

Continental Ranges, there are several other significant unnamed ranges and 

groups. They extend as far as the Sir Alexander Peaks and Jarvis Creek, a 

headwater tributary of McGregor River and include the Reef Icefield, the

J268 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Swiftcurrent Icefield, the Resthaven Icefield, and significant ice accumulations around Mount Robson and Mount Sir Alexander (fig. 29).

Victoria Cross Ranges (PN1)

The Victoria Cross Ranges (fig. 1, PN1), 30 by 20 km in size, lie northwest of Jasper and south of Snaring River. Summit elevations generally rise 

westward from 2,500-2,600 m near the Athabasca River to more than 2,900 

m in the section facing Treadmill Ridge. These elevations influence the distribution of the few existing glaciers. In the southern part of the ranges are 

well-developed cirques with tarns. In the west, overlooking Miette River, 

are several glaciers 0.5 km2 in area, and one as large as 1 km2 . These glaciers terminate at around 2,000 m asl.

Unnamed Ranges ( )

Between the De Smet Range and The Ancient Wall in the east and the 

Victoria Cross Ranges and Treadmill Ridge in the west is an 80-km-long 

mass of mountains and ranges without a collective name that straddles the 

boundary between the Park Ranges and Front Ranges. Peaks heights average between 2,700 and 2,900 m, with a slight trend to lower elevations 

toward the northwest. Only one peak exceeds 3,000 m asl. More than 25 

glaciers are scattered through a section just north of the Victoria Cross 

Ranges. Seven of these are more than 1 km in length, but most are 0.5 km 

or less in length, and only one glacier exceeds 1 km2 in area. Between 

Snake Indian and Monte Cristo Mountains, at the northern end of these 

ranges, is a small ice field about 5 km2 in area. Five of the associated glaciers are >1 km long and have termini 2,300 m asl.

Treadmill Ridge (PN2)

The provincial boundary, which in this section of the Rocky Mountains still 

lies on the Continental Divide, follows Treadmill Ridge (fig. 1, PN2) from Yellowhead Mountain in the south to Twintree Mountain in the north; streams 

from Treadmill Ridge drain eastward into Snaring River and westward into the 

Fraser River. Summit elevations increase northward from the 2,400 to 2,500-m 

range, through 2,600 to 2,800 m in the middle section, to a maximum of 

3,003 m at Swoda Mountain. Increased glacierization of Treadmill Ridge follows this trend. A few small ice masses, <0.5 km2 in area, can be seen in the 

southern section. The middle section contains almost 50 glaciers. They average between 0.5 and 1.5 km in length, terminate between 2,100 and 2,300 m, 

and the larger ones tend to lie on the eastern side of the divide. About 10 km2 

of the ice is concentrated around Upright Mountain. The densest glacier cover 

is in the north, between Calumet Peak and Swoda Mountain. Here, numerous 

glaciers cover almost 20 km2 in area and include ones more than 3.5 km in 

length. The termini of the glaciers are located between 2,300 and 1,950 m asl. 

According to 0strem (1966), the glaciation level here is more than 2,700 m asl.

Robson Group (PN3)

The Robson Group (fig. 1, PN3) lies between Moose River on the east 

and the Smoky and Robson Rivers on the west. Mount Robson will be discussed below, as it lies within the subsidiary Rainbow Range. Peaks here 

are not unusually high, averaging less than 2,800 m, although Lynx Mountain does rise to 3,140 m asl. Glaciers are concentrated in Reef Icefield and 

its associated outlet glaciers, the Steppe, Coleman, and Reef Glaciers and 

cover about 24 km2 . The largest of these is Coleman Glacier with a length of 

7.1 km. A northern outlier, about 6 km2 in area, lies south of Moose Pass. 

Some of the larger glaciers extend below 2,000 m asl but most end between 

2,100 and 2,200m.

GLACIERS OF CANADA J269
Rainbow Range (PN4)

The southern part of the Robson Group, a block of mountains extending some 30 km in a northwest direction, is known as the Rainbow Range 

(fig. 1, PN4). This part contains Mount Robson (fig. 30), at 3,954 m the 

highest mountain in the Rocky Mountains and thus one of the best known 

to Canadians. Although Resplendent Mountain exceeds 3,400 m asl, the 

other peaks in the range are less than 2,900 m. The western and southern 

sides of Mount Robson are so precipitous that little snow adheres to them. 

However, on the northeastern side, avalanching ice and snow contribute to 

a number of glaciers, of which the largest is Robson Glacier. Mist (2.5 km) 

and Berg (3.3 km) Glaciers discharge northward from the mountain; Berg 

Glacier produces small icebergs in the lake at its foot (1,638 m), which 

gives rise to both its name and that of the lake. A number of small glaciers 

lie along the ridge southeast of Resplendent Mountain and north toward 

the Reef Icefield. They average less than 2.5 km long and most end below 

2,000 m.

Robson Glacier

Robson Glacier (fig. 30) heads in a magnificent snow-filled cirque (Robson Cirque) and flows for 7 km northeast and north to terminate in a small 

proglacial lake at about 1,700 m asl. Subsidiary ice streams join from 

Resplendent Mountain and Extinguisher Tower. Robson Glacier was visited 

by an American Geographical Society expedition in 1953. Glacier limits and 

variations were documented using photographic and botanical techniques 

(Field and Heusser, 1954; Heusser, 1954, 1956). Although Heusser (1956) 

dated moraines to 1801, 1864,1891, 1907,1912, 1922, 1931, Watson (1983) 

and Luckman (1986) resampled some of his sites and concluded, based on 

lichenometric evidence, that some of the trees had been likely overridden 

by ice advances in the late 12th or 13th centuries. Some recession values, 

including those reported by Wheeler (1915b, 1923), are given in figure 9. 

Coleman (1910) observed that the uplift of some warm air masses from the 

west by the 3,000 vertical meters of Mount Robson led to almost daily falls 

of snow on the summit and that this heavy precipitation must compensate 

for the small accumulation area of Robson Glacier.

Whitehorn Group (PN5)

The last large group of glaciers in this area is found northwest of Mount 

Robson in the 20 by 15 km Whitehorn Group (fig. 1, PN5). Peaks here 

range from 2,800 m asl to well over 3,000 m and include Whitehorn Mountain (3,395 m) and Mount Phillips (3,249 m). The glacier cover stretches in 

an almost continuous mass from Mural Glacier in the east past the two large 

mountains to the western edge of the group. This ice cover has been 

referred to as the Swiflcurrent Icefield after the largest of the outlet glaciers, the 7.5-km long Swiftcurrent Glacier, which pushes down to 

1,814 m asl close to the tree line. Other outlet glaciers range in length from 

3 to 5 km and most end below 2,000 m.

Unnamed Ranges ( )

The western part of the northern Park Ranges, between the valley of 

the Fraser River, which flows in the Rocky Mountain Trench, and the 

Whitehorn and Resthaven Groups consists of a number of unnamed 

ranges and groups. Generally the peaks are lower in this western part, on 

the order of 2,500 to 2,800 m asl. One higher area at the head of Horsey 

Creek contains a small ice field and some small local glaciers just less than 

10 km2 in size. Two small glaciers also lie in cirques below Whiteshield 

Mountain between the Swiflcurrent Icefield and Resthaven Icefields.

J270 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Figure 30. High-angle oblique aerial 

photograph of Mount Robson (3,954 m) 

and Mount Robson Glacier looking 

toward the southwest into Robson Cirque 

on 22 August 1964. The upper part of 

Berg Glacier can be seen on the right, 

partly hidden by Rearguard Mountain. 

U.S. Geological Survey photograph 

F642 taken by Austin Post is courtesy of 

Robert M. Krimmel, USGS.

Resthaven Group (PNG)

One of the most significant major ice accumulations in the northern 

Park Ranges in the Resthaven Group (fig. 1, PNG) is the Resthaven Icefield and associated glaciers (fig. 31), including the Chown Glacier, which 

covers nearly 50 km2 . It lies on the provincial boundary between the Smoky 

and Jackpine Rivers. Many peaks rise above 3,000 m asl, the two tallest 

being Mounts Bess (3,215 m) and Chown (3,331 m). The glaciers lie predominantly east of the divide. The two major units are the ice field itself, 

more than 10 km in length, and Chown Glacier, 7.2-km long. These two glaciers penetrate to quite low elevations, terminating below 1,600 m asl. The 

ELA is likely to be about 2,400 m.

Unnamed Ranges ( )

Although the northern boundary of the Resthaven Group runs westward from Short Creek, the natural physiographic boundaries of the group 

lie farther north, extending to the junction of the Smoky and Jackpine 

Rivers. Despite one peak of 3,019 m, average elevations are below 2,600 m. 

The glacier-ice cover consists of a few small outliers of the Resthaven Icefield. Two outliers are about 2 km long and the other <0.5 km long.

GLACIERS OF CANADA J271
Other Unnamed Ranges ( )

The largest area of unnamed mountains in the Continental Ranges can 

be found in the northwestern corner of the northern Park Ranges. This 

area is bounded on the south by the broad valley of the Jackpine River, on 

the west by the Rocky Mountain Trench, and on the north by a broad valley 

containing the McGregor River. Peak elevations average between 2,300 and 

2,450 m and the highest peak here is only 2,650 m. Physiographically, the 

mountains could be divided into a number of individual ranges. Most of the 

glaciers in these unnamed ranges are very small and are scattered through 

the northeastern part of the mountains close to the large ice field around 

the Sir Alexander Peaks. Three exceed 1 km in length and, of these, the 

largest is the Wishaw Glacier at 3 km2 . There are also a handful of glaciers 

about 0.5 km long in the central part.

Sir Alexander Peaks (PN7)

The northern limit of the Continental Ranges (fig. 2, PN), Sir Alexander Peaks (fig. 2, PN7), is marked by one major ice field centered on 

Mount Sir Alexander (3,291 m) and two smaller ones farther north. 

Although one other mountain exceeds 3,000 m, summit elevations generally lie between 2,550 and 2,900 m, increasing slightly toward the 

northwest. The Sir Alexander Icefield fills the range lying between the 

valley of the McGregor River, to the south, and Jarvis Creek, which forms 

the boundary between the Park Ranges and Hart Ranges. Glacier ice 

covers some 65 km2 and includes the Kitchi, Menagerie, and Castle 

Glaciers. Several glaciers more than 4 km in length can be found here

Figure 31. High-angle oblique aerial 

photograph of an outlet glacier from 

Resthaven Icefield, taken on 8 August 

1961 looking toward the west-northwest. 

The cloud-shrouded summit of Resthaven Mountain is in the background. 

Prominent ogives downglacier from the 

ice fall are visible. U.S. Geological Survey photograph F313 taken by Austin 

Post is courtesy of Robert M. Krimmel, 

USGS.

J272 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
with snouts pushing to below 1,600 m asl. The ELA lies below 2,000 m, 

the lowest ELA documented in the Rocky Mountains. Immediately north, 

above Kitchi Creek, lies a small ice field (<10 km2) with several outliers, 

and to the northeast, south of Edgegrain Creek, is a 5-km2 glacier flowing north from Mount St. George. Again, there are several other small 

glaciers in the vicinity, most of which are 0.5 to 0.7 km long. Terminus 

elevations are usually between 1,750 and 1,950 m. The other significant 

ice body lies in the northwest sector of the Sir Alexander Peaks, radiating from an unnamed peak (2,858) between Mount Dimsdale (2,805) and 

Cheguin Mountain (2,470 m). It covers an area of about 25 km2 and consists of a number of glaciers longer than 3 km. One of these, flowing due 

north, has a snout at 1,250 m asl, although the norm is between 1,600 

and 2,000 m.

Hart Ranges (H)

Up to the Hart Ranges (fig. 2, H), we have discussed only about half of 

the total areal extent of the Canadian Rocky Mountains. However, we have 

now reached a geographic location where there are far fewer glaciers and 

very little information in the literature on which to base a comprehensive 

discussion of the glacierization of the other half of the Rocky Mountains in 

Canada. The climber's guide dismisses this northern portion in a scant 

three pages, and Denton (1975) states that there are no glaciers marked on 

the maps from here to the Peace River, the northern boundary of the Hart 

Ranges.

The Hart Ranges extend northwestward from the Park Ranges (North) 

for some 275 km and are bounded laterally by the Rocky Mountain Foothills 

and the Rocky Mountain Trench. There is a steady decline in average peak 

elevations northward from about 2,800 m asl just north of the Sir Alexander Peaks to a low of about 2,000 m around Mount Reynolds in the center of the ranges before the elevations begin to increase as the Hart Ranges 

near the Peace River. The decline in glacierization of the southern part of 

the Hart Ranges is reflected in the elevation of the glaciation level determined by 0strem (1972); the elevation of the glaciation level declines from 

2,400 m asl at the boundary with the Continental Ranges to 2,100 m in the 

center of the Hart Ranges.

Despite Denton's (1975) conclusion, there are, in fact, a number of glaciers in the Hart Ranges. In the area immediately east of the Dezaiko Range, 

between Narraway River and Hanington Creek on the east and Herrick 

Creek on the west, are dozens of small glaciers. The highest peaks here 

range from 2,500 to 2,900 m with glacier snouts terminating between 1,700 

and 1,900 m asl. The glacier ice lies on both sides of the main Rocky Mountain spine with somewhat larger glaciers, on the order of 5 to 7 km2 in area, 

on the western slopes. Average glacier lengths are from 1.5 to 2.5 km. North 

of Framstead Creek, several small glaciers can be found southeast of Mount 

Pulley (2,470 m). Most are less than 2 km in length and range up to 2.5 km2 

in area. To the east, between Framstead Creek and Red River Creek, is a 

glacierized outlier with several small ice masses, all having areas less than 

0.5 km2 .

Just to the northeast of the Dezaiko Range lies the aptly named Ice 

Mountain, which has two fairly large ice fields about 4 kin2 and 8 km2 in 

area, respectively. The largest glacier has an ice stream more than 6 km 

long that flows from 2,350 m to 1,400 m asl. The mountain is isolated from 

the main range.

GLACIERS OF CANADA J273
Dezaiko Range (HI)

The Dezaiko Range (fig. 2, HI) has three small glaciers, each about 

1 km2 in area, situated around Mount Hedrick in the central part of the 

range. Maximum elevations here are more than 2,000 m, and the lower limit 

of permanent ice lies between 1,650 and 1,850 m asl.

Misinchinka Ranges (H2)

Herrick Creek cuts through the Rocky Mountains, forming the boundary 

between the Dezaiko and Misinchinka Ranges (fig. 2, H2). Both ranges have a 

northwest trend and parallel the Rocky Mountain Trench for some 250 km, 

terminating at the northern limit of the Hart Ranges, where the Peace River 

separates them from the Muskwa Ranges. Thanks to a major hydroelectric 

development, this limit can be clearly seen on Landsat images where the 

Peace Reach of Williston Lake follows the Peace River valley. The eastern limits are not well-defined, being marked by a number of river valleys such as 

those of Imperial Creek and the Anzac, Misinchinka, and Pine Rivers. These 

ranges have no glaciers according to modern topographical maps.

Pioneer Range (H3)

In the Pioneer Range (fig. 2, H3), the Monkman (5 km2 in area), Parsnip 

(14 km2 in area) (fig. 32), and Vreeland (2 km2 in area) Glaciers can all be 

found, together with other small glaciers, on the southwestern part of the 

range, where the maximum elevation is found at Mounts Barton (2,400 m) 

and Vreeland (2,440 m). [See section "Mapping Glaciers in the Interior 

Ranges and Rocky Mountains with Landsat Data" for a further discussion of 

Monkman and Parsnip Glaciers.] These glaciers represent the most significant ice fields in the Hart Ranges.

Murray Range (H4)

By following the divide northward to the Murray Range (fig. 2, H4), one 

can find two small glaciers (<1 km2) east of Sentinel Peak (2,500 m) and 

one (<0.5 km2) in a sheltered spot northeast of Mount Dudzic (2,150). 

About 18 km to the northeast of the Murray Range, there are a few more 

small scattered ice bodies around Alexis Peak (2,123 m). Here the average 

maximum elevation of the peaks hovers around 2,000 m asl. This sector 

marks the northern limit of glaciers within the Hart Ranges.

Figure 32. Photograph of Parsnip Glacier, 

Hart Ranges, northern Rocky Mountains, 

British Columbia. © 2000. Produced under 

licence from Her Majesty the Queen in 

Right of Canada, with permission of Natural Resouces Canada. Photograph No. 

A89S1, taken August 1989 by David Seeman, Canadian Forest Service, formerly 

with the Geological Survey of Canada.

J274 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Figure 33. Annotated Landsat 1 MSS 

image mosaic showing the Muskwa 

Ranges, the northernmost part of the 

Canadian Rocky Mountains, including 

Mount Roosevelt (2,815 m), Mount Lloyd 

George (about 2,990 m), and the Lloyd 

George Icefield. There is substantial glacier 

cover in the area and the Lloyd George Icefield is more than 70 km2. The Landsat 

images (1750-18535 and 1750-18542, band 

7; 12 August 1974; Path 56, Rows 19 and 

20) are from the EROS Data Center, Sioux 

Falls, S. Dak.

Muskwa Ranges (M)

The northernmost part of the Rocky Mountains is known as the Muskwa 

Ranges (fig. 2, M, and fig. 33), which contain many unnamed glaciers 

(fig. 34). From the Finlay and Peace Reaches of Williston Lake, the ranges 

extend in a northwesterly direction for some 500 km to their northern 

boundary, where the Liard River flows eastward to join the Mackenzie 

River. The ranges are bounded on the east by the Foothills, which at this 

latitude are a less-easily defined transition zone, and on the west by the 

northern Rocky Mountain Trench, here occupied by the Kechika and Finlay 

Rivers and Williston Lake.

l?6°W 59°N

59°N

58

GLACIERS OF CANADA J275
"i Figure 34. Terrestrial photograph of an 

unnamed glacier in the Muskwa Ranges, 

northern Rocky Mountains. ©2000. Produced under licence from Her Majesty the 

Queen in Right of Canada, used with permission of Natural Resources Canada. 

Photograph A 89S2, taken August 1989 by 

David Seeman, Canadian Forest Service, 

formerly with the Geological Survey of 

Canada.

The first significant concentration of glaciers in the Muskwa Range is in 

the vicinity of the Great Snow Mountain area (fig. 2, M4). Several groups of 

glaciers are found northward from the Great Snow Mountain area along the 

main divide extending to the next concentration of glaciers in the Lloyd 

George Icefield the final agglomeration in what the Climber's Guide (Putnam and others, 1974) calls the Roosevelt-Churchill-Stalin Group. With 

the name change of Mount Stalin to Mount Peck, this area will be referred 

to here as the Allies Group to reflect the remaining names of the Allied 

commanders and the numerous peak names that record the conferences 

they and other leaders attended.

The southern section of the Muskwa Ranges is a fairly broad, dissected 

mountain region with peaks trending from more than 2,200 m asl on the 

eastern side to an average of less than 2,000 m in the west, where many 

river valleys cut into the ranges. The block containing the Deserters (fig. 2, 

Ml) and Akie Ranges (fig. 2, M2) is separated from the rest of the Muskwa 

Ranges by the broad valleys of the Ospika and Akie Rivers. The western 

section of the Muskwa Ranges, from the Truncate Range (fig. 2, M3) north 

of Akie River valley to the Tochieka Range (fig. 2, M5) and thence to Rabbit 

Plateau, is all free of glacier ice. East of Deserters Range, there are a few 

small glaciers on the eastern side of the main ranges below Mount Robb 

(2,500 m) and Mount Kenny (2,677 m). The largest is about 1.5 km2 in area.

As the Great Snow Mountain area (fig. 2, M4) is approached, summit elevations increase and the glaciation level rises from 2,500 to 2,600 m asl. 

Around Mount McCusker (2,592 m) there are some small glaciers, all less 

than 0.5 km2 in area, lying in entrenched, east-facing valleys. Immediately 

south of Great Snow Mountain area there are several small glaciers 

(<0.5 km2) and ice fields. About 2 km2 of ice is spread out along the eastern 

slope of Mount Helen, and another small ice field (1.5 km2) lies southwest 

of Redfern Lake. However, most of the glacier ice in this section of the 

Muskwa Ranges is found just to the north.

Great Snow Mountain Area (M4)

The glacier cover in the Great Snow Mountain area (fig. 2, M4) can be 

divided conveniently into a northern component around Great Snow Mountain and a southern one centered on Mount Ulysses, separated by the valley 

of the Besa River and a tributary of Akie River. The former will here be 

called the Great Snow Icefield and the latter the Odyssey Icefield, reflecting the Homeric theme established in the local names. The fact that ice

J276
covers an area of more than 58 km2 here is not properly reflected in Denton's (1975) observation that there are small glaciers in the vicinity. 

0strem's (1972) map places the glaciation level here at close to 2,600 m.

Odyssey Icefield

Glaciers 3 to 4 km in length flow from Mount Ulysses (3,024 m) and 

the adjoining ridge to Cyclops Peak and Mount Penelope. The total area 

of ice here is about 38 km2 , of which outliers contribute about 4 km2 . 

The ice field includes Achaean Glacier (3.5 km2), a 4-km-long glacier 

dropping to 1,600 m in elevation from the summit of Mount Penelope, 

and Ithaca Glacier, a broad ice mass on the northern side of Odyssey 

Icefield, covering over 7 km2 and terminating at about 1,840 m asl.

Great Snow Icefield

East from Great Rock Peak (2,931 m), a number of small cirque glaciers 

and ice streams are found on either side of the ridges stretching to Redfern 

Mountain and Mount Stringer (2,795 m). Outliers here and to the west 

cover about 7 km2 in area. The main ice field lies north and west of Great 

Snow Mountain and has an area in excess of 20 km2 , including two glaciers 

about 4 km2 in area. Termini generally lie between 1,800 and 2,000 m asl.

Lloyd George Group (M6)

A major concentration of glaciers is found around Mount Lloyd George 

(approximately 2,990 m in elevation on the U.S. aeronautical chart ONC 

D-12), about 50 km to the northwest. In between are several small glaciers 

and ice fields, ranging in size up to 5 km2 , lying on either side of the divide 

between the Prophet and Muskwa Rivers on the east and the North Kwadacha River on the west.

Lloyd George Icefield

The Lloyd George Icefield (fig. 35) is bounded by the Warneford and 

Tuchodi Rivers. It extends about 19 km north to south and 13 km east to 

west. Peaks in this area range from 2,700 to over 2,900 m asl. The ice field 

covers about 70 km2 , much less than the area of 116 km2 estimated by Odell 

(1949). Even with the attendant glaciers to the north and west, including 

McConnell Glacier (1.85 km2), the total ice cover only approaches 180 km2 

in area.

An account of a visit to the Lloyd George Group (fig. 2, M6) has been 

given by Odell (1948, 1949), who reported on Llanberis Glacier, described 

as the main outlet glacier from the Lloyd George Icefield. This small glacier 

(2.7 km2) flows westward towards Haworth Lake. He concluded that there 

had been no advance of the glacier since the end of the last "Ice Age" and 

that recession to its present snout position, 800 m from the moraine, had 

been slow. Much more ice is in fact, drained from the ice field by the Kwadacha (15.5 km2) and Lloyd George (10 km2) Glaciers to the east. The latter lies on the divide between Mount Smythe and Mount Lloyd George; twothirds of the ice drains to the south and one-third northward where it lies 

parallel to, but some 2 km to the east of, Quentin Glacier (2 km2).

At the base of Mount Glendower, Odell's party discovered a large dying 

glacier, Stagnant Glacier (1 km2), which filled the floor of the canyon and 

which was covered with a thick blanket of moraine, on the surface of which 

were growing plants up to 4.5-m high. The glacier is 3.5 km in length, 400 m 

wide, and has an upper limit at 1,800 m asl and a snout at about 1,350 m. 

Dead ice could be seen in thermokarst depressions and along the glacier 

margins. Odell observed that meltwater issuing from the glacier was of 

moderate amount and scarcely turbid.

GLACIERS OF CANADA J277
125°00' 45'

57045 

: ^ ^ ^ 

J^W. I L D E R N E 8 >^ '~

* \V Y"\. -f -r - J yT -. r 

x \ ^HouReaR^,!.^^ :1, m\ I "^i'-cc^

10 15 20 25 30

Kilometres

The final glacierized area within the Muskwa Ranges is situated just 

north of Lloyd George Icefield, in and around the Allies Group.

Allies Group (M7)

The Allies Group (fig. 2, M7) consists of four main mountain masses 

about equally covered in glaciers. Running the full length of the group on 

the eastern side is the Tower of London Range, bounded by Wokkpash 

Creek and separated from the rest of the group by the Racing River valley. 

To the west, and in the center, is the Battle of Britain Range. South of this, 

across the valley of a tributary of Gataga River, is an unnamed mountain 

mass with glaciers extending from Savio Mountain to Sicily Mountain. 

Because there are several Italian names here, this range will be referred to 

as the Italy Range. North of the Battle of Britain Range, separated by 

Churchill Creek, is the last mountain block of this group; glaciers extend 

from Tehran Peak northward to Mount Roosevelt and Delano Creek. For 

convenience this will be referred to as the Allied Leaders Range because 

of the association of Churchill and Roosevelt. No mention has previously 

been made of glaciers in this area by either Denton (1975) or Gadd (1986), 

which is surprising considering that the glacierized area here amounts to 

almost 200 km2 . However, 0strem (1972) did plot a glaciation level for this 

region rising toward the east from 2,600 to 2,700 m asl and shows many glaciers at the head of Racing River.

Figure 35. Segment of the 1:250,000- 

scale topographic map of the Ware quadrangle (94F) showing the glacierized area 

around Mount Lloyd George, Muskwa 

Ranges, northern Rocky Mountains. 

©1990. Produced under licence from Her 

Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, 

with permission of Natural Resources 

Canada.

J278 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Battle of Britain Range

About 37 km2 of this range is covered by glaciers. The glaciers lie within 

the hydrological basins of Churchill Creek and of rivers draining northeastward to Racing River and southwestward to Gataga River. Summit elevations along this divide, from Churchill Peak to the Exploration and 

Lindisfarne Peaks, range from 2,200 m to more than 2,600 m asl. Most of the 

glaciers are between 1 km2 and 3 km2 in area, but the largest is almost 5 km 

in length and 4.5 km2 in area. Glaciers tend to be situated on the northern 

slopes of the northeast- to southwest-trending Battle of Britain Range.

Tower of London Range

The area of ice in the Tower of London Range is about 30 km2 ; glaciers are 

situated on either side of the main range line running from Mount Aida northward to Fusilier Peak. Mountain heights rise to a maximum of 2,815 m at 

Mount Peck. Glaciers range in size from 0.5 to 2 km2 to two glaciers at about 

4 km2 , including Fusilier Glacier, to the largest, Wokkpash Glacier, at 9 km2 , a 

compound glacier consisting of four "ice streams" and well-developed medial 

moraines. Some 5 km2 of glacier ice is found outside the range to the east.

Italy Range

Summit elevations in this range are comparable to those in the Tower of 

London Range, rising to a maximum of 2,853 m at King Peak. The glaciers, 

many of which exceed 2 km2 in area, lie on either side of the main divide, 

which trends to the southwest. They cover a total area of almost 55 km2 . 

The largest glacier (8 km2) is more than 10 km long and flows northward 

from Sicily Mountain.

Allied Leaders Range

This range can be divided into three sections. The southern section, centered on Tehran Peak (2,734 m) lies south of Grizzly Pass; the largest glacier in this section is about 5 km2 in area. In the central section, extending 

eastward from Mount Caen (2,762 m) through Normandy Mountain 

(2,856 m) to Falaise Mountain (2,743 m), glaciers covering an area of 

15 km2 are spread out on both sides of the divide; the largest glacier is 

3.7 km2 in area. The final section, south of Delano Creek, extends from 

Scheldt Mountain (2,759 m) through Mount Roosevelt (2,815 m) to the 

east. Glaciers cover more than 20 km2 with two exceeding 4 km2 .

Total glacier-ice cover in the Allied Leaders Range is about 45 km2 . The 

largest glaciers extend to about 1,700 m, but most terminate between 1,800 

and 1,900m asl.

North and West of Allies Group

Outside the Allies Group, glaciers are found up to 10 km to the west. 

Glaciers cover some 23.5 km2 with one glacier 5.5 km2 in size.

Finally, there are still a few glaciers in the Muskwa Ranges up to 30 km to 

the northwest of the Allies Group. The main concentration is a few kilometers north in the vicinity of Yedhe Mountain (2,685 m), where 8 km2 of ice 

lies on the east slope, flowing down to elevations below 2,000 m and scattered in patches toward Toad River.

West of Toad River, and north of Gataga River, are several moraine and 

rock-glacier systems amongst which can be found a few small glaciers 

amounting in total to less than 1 km2 of exposed ice. The northern limit of 

glaciers in the Muskwa Ranges lies at 58°25'N. The remaining mountain 

blocks (fig. 2), Stone Range (fig. 2, M8), Sentinel Range (fig. 2, M9), Terminal Range (fig. 2, M10), and Rabbit Plateau (fig. 2, Mil), are unglacierized.

GLACIERS OF CANADA J279
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GLACIERS OF CANADA J289
Glaciers of North America 

GLACIERS OF CANADA

GLACIERS OF THE COAST MOUNTAINS

By CARRY K.C. CLARKE and GERALD HOLDSWORTH

SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD

Edited ty RICHARD S. WILLIAMS, Jr., and JANE G. FERRIGNO

U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 1386-J-l

The Coast Mountains of Canada extend from southwestern British Columbia to 

southwestern Yukon Territory. Highland ice fields and associated outlet glaciers are 

present along the erosionally dissected mountain blocks. Mining is difficult in this 

area because of the glaciers, and prehistoric and historic jokulhlaups have resulted 

from glacier-dammed lakes
CONTENTS

Page

Abstract -- J291

Introduction 291

FIGURE 1. Index map of the Coast Mountains, British Columbia, and

surrounding area in Canada and the United States. 292

2. Annotated Landsat MSS image of part of the Coast Mountains 

near Stewart, British Columbia, and the Granduc mining 

development 293

3. Annotated Landsat MSS image of part of the Boundary

Ranges of the Coast Mountains near the confluence of the

Stikine and Iskut Rivers, British Columbia and Alaska 294

Hazards and Problems Created by Glaciers 292

Glaciers and Mining 292

Glaciers and Outburst Floods 295

Recreational and Scientific Roles of Glaciers 296

FIGURE 4. Annotated Landsat MSS image showing the region of

Garibaldi Provincial Park, British Columbia 297

References Cited - 299

CONTENTS III
SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD

GLACIERS OF NORTH AMERICAGLACIERS OF CANADA

GLACIERS OF THE COAST MOUNTAINS

By CARRY K.C. CLARKE1 and GERALD HOLDSWORTH2

Abstract

The Coast Mountains follow the Pacific coast of Canada and extend from southwestern 

British Columbia to southwestern Yukon Territory. The predominantly granitic bedrock 

forms elevated blocks that have been deeply dissected by erosion, yielding a distinctive pattern of disjointed highland ice fields that are drained by radiating outlet glaciers. Popular 

interest in the glaciers of the Coast Mountains centers on the hazards and problems that they 

engender and on their attractions as a recreational resource. Scientific interest has largely 

focused on their status as climate indicators. We touch on these various themes by discussing 

the glacier-associated problems of the Granduc mining operation near Leduc Glacier in 

northwestern British Columbia, the outburst floods of glacier-dammed Flood Lake, and the 

recreational and scientific roles of small glaciers in Garibaldi Provincial Park near Vancouver, 

British Columbia.

Introduction

The Coast Mountains of Canada lie almost entirely within British 

Columbia and extend from near the Eraser River slightly north of the 

lat 49° N. boundary between Canada and the United States to just across 

the lat 60° N. boundary between British Columbia and Yukon Territory, a 

distance of some 1,500 km (fig.l). The section north of the Skeena River 

that follows the irregular border between the Alaskan "panhandle" and 

British Columbia is sometimes called the Boundary Ranges, and the section south of the Skeena River, the Pacific Ranges. Physiographically, the 

Coast Mountains resemble deeply dissected elevated blocks (Bostock, 

1948). This gives the present-day glacierization a characteristic pattern: 

highland ice fields, drained by radiating outlet glaciers, are separated 

from one another by deep valleys. In late Wisconsinan time, when the 

region was covered by the Cordilleran ice sheet, these valleys were icefilled, and the tops of the highest peaks protruded as nunataks; drainage 

to the Pacific Ocean was mainly by calving from tidewater glaciers. The 

end of this last glaciation left a spectacular fjord coastline and a network 

of U-shaped valleys that, in places, cut completely across the Coast. 

Mountains. These valleys are now occupied by the major westward-flowing rivers of Canada. The pattern of highland ice fields broken by deep 

valleys is repeated over the entire length of the Coast Mountains. Some 

typical examples are the Frank Mackie highland glacier complex and

Manuscript approved for publication 7 March 2002.

1 Department of Earth and Ocean Sciences, University of British Columbia, 6339 Stores Road, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z4, Canada.

2 Arctic Institute of North America, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive, NW., Calgary, Alberta 

T2N 1N4, Canada; Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans, and Space, Morse Hall, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH 03824-3525; and the National Hydrology Research Centre, 11 Innovation Boulevard, 

Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 3H5, Canada; e-mail address: [gholdswo@acs.ucalgary.ca].

GLACIERS OF CANADA J291
160°W 150' 140° 130° 120°

60°N

50°

40°

Beaufort Sea

ALASKA

Pacific Ocean

 Seattle

UNITED 

STATES

Figure 1. Coast Mountains, British 

Columbia, and surrounding area in Canada and the United States.

no°w

0 500 KILOMETERS

I i i i i

T ":

Cambria Snowfield at the head of Portland Canal (fig. 2) and the highland ice fields of the Stikine River basin (fig. 3).

Although the scientific literature on the glaciers of the Coast Mountains 

is surprisingly sparse, no region in Canada has such close interaction 

between glaciers and humans as in this area. We shall take this interaction 

as our theme.

Hazards and Problems Created by Glaciers

Glaciers and Mining

Rich mineral deposits lie within the Coast Mountains, and the difficulty of 

exploring and mining these deposits has stimulated valuable glaciological 

work. The experience of the Granduc Operating Company in exploiting a 

copper deposit near Leduc Glacier illustrates these problems and is a fertile 

source of cautionary tales. Figure 2 shows the Coasl Mountains at the head 

of Portland Canal, a remarkable fjord less than 5 km across, that extends

J292 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Figure 2. Annotated Landsat 

MSS image of part of the Coast 

Mountains near Stewart, British 

Columbia, and the Granduc mining 

development. Copper ore is transported through an 18-km tunnel 

from a mine (shown by a small 

box) near Leduc Glacier east to a 

concentrator at the terminus of 

Berendon Glacier, then by truck to 

an ocean dock near Stewart. Annotations: 1, the Frank Mackie highland glacier complex; 2, Cambria 

Snowfield. Landsat image (21288- 

18435, band 7; 2 August 1978; Path 

58, Row 21) is from the EROS Data 

Center, Sioux Falls, S. Dak. Map 

references: Leduc Glacier sheet 

104B/1 and 104B/2, 1:50,000; Iskut 

River sheet 104B, 1:250,000.

130°W

56°N

105 km from near Stewart, British Columbia, southwest to Portland Inlet. 

Annotations on this figure show the Granduc mine and associated developments for transporting and concentrating the ore. The main practical problem is to transport ore through rough glacier-covered terrain to a dock near 

Stewart. This Is done in two steps: an 18-km-long access tunnel passing 

beneath Berendon, Frank Mackie, and Leduc Glaciers allows unconcentrated ore to be moved from the mine to a mill at Tide Lake Camp near the 

terminus of Berendon Glacier. Tide Lake Camp is situated between glacierdammed Summit Lake and Tide Lake Flats, the bed of a former proglacial 

lake dammed by Frank Mackie Glacier (Hanson, 1932; Haumann, 1960; 

Field, 1975). From Tide Lake Camp, the concentrated ore is transported by 

truck along an access road that follows the margin of Salmon Glacier, then 

crosses the international boundary and follows the Salmon River from Ninemile, Alaska, to a dock at Hyder, Alaska, near Stewart.

Initial supply of Tide Lake Camp and the mine site was by tractor-hauled 

sled along routes that passed over Salmon, Berendon, Frank Mackie, and 

Leduc Glaciers. Crevasses restricted use of these ice roads to the winter 

months when snow cover made safe crossings possible. In 1955, a fixedwing landing strip was established on the surface of Leduc Glacier near the

GLACIERS OF CANADA J293
58°N 132°W

133°W y

58°N

57°N

03SEP74 C N57-04/W132-00 N N57-0VW131-48 MSS 7 D SUN EL37 RZI51 I95-0766-R-I-N-D-1L NRSR ERTS E-1772-19162-7 01

Figure 3. Annotated Landsat MSS image of part of the 

Boundary Ranges of the Coast Mountains near the confluence of the Stikine and Iskut Rivers, British Columbia 

and Alaska. Hydroelectric development plans for the 

Stikine-lskut basin make it necessary to consider glacier 

hazards. Annotations: 1, 2, highland ice fields; 3, Hoodoo 

Mountain (a volcano); 4, Great Glacier (according to 

Native American oral tradition, this glacier once bridged

the Stikine River); 5, Flood Glacier; 6, site of glacierdammed Flood Lake (the 1979 outburst flood released 

200 x TO6 m3 of water and gave a peak discharge of 

roughly 3,000 m3 s~1). Landsat image (1772-19162, 

band 7; 3 September 1974; Path 60, Row 20) is from the 

EROS Data Center, Sioux Falls, S. Dak. Map references: 

Stikine River sheet 104 SE. and part of 104 SW., 

1:506,880; Iskut River sheet 104B, 1:250,000.

J294 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
mine site. As ice roads and air transport are not practical for transporting 

ore from the mine to an ocean port, much of the early glaciological work 

was directed at selecting possible routes for a tunnel connecting the mine 

to a concentrator. One of these routes passed beneath Salmon Glacier, so 

deep drilling, gravity surveys, and seismic soundings were undertaken to 

ensure that the planned tunnel did not intersect glacier ice (Jacobs, 1958; 

Mathews, 1959; Russell and others, 1960; Doell, 1963); excellent mapping 

and glaciological studies were carried out by Haumann (1960). Four of five 

deep holes drilled through Salmon Glacier in 1956 were believed to have 

reached bedrock at depths ranging from 495 m to 756 m.

An exploratory cross-cut tunnel at the mine site was driven beneath 

Leduc Glacier in 1957, and holes were drilled upward from the tunnel into 

the base of the glacier. These holes eventually became connected to the 

subglacier drainage network, which caused the lower level of the mine to fill 

with water (Mathews, 1964). The inflow of water was sufficiently high in 

volume so that the tunnel could not be reclaimed by pumping; therefore, a 

complicated engineering operation involving holes that were drilled through 

Leduc Glacier and that intersected the tunnel had to be employed in an 

effort to stem the water flow (Walsh, 1963). The problem eventually solved 

itself when, in midsummer, water level dropped below the tunnel elevation.

Annual snowfall at Stewart is high, averaging 5.5 m a"1 , and at Tide Lake 

Camp, a record annual snow fall of 25 m has been recorded. Such high 

snowfall in an alpine area obviously creates a grave avalanche hazard. In 

February 1965, an avalanche destroyed the Granduc Mine Camp near Leduc 

Glacier and claimed more than 20 lives. Defensive measures were subsequently taken to control avalanches and protect the camp and access road.

Because the tunnel portal and ore concentrator were sufficiently close to 

the terminus of Berendon Glacier, they could have been destroyed by a glacier advance. Glaciologists contributed to the discussion of a possible 

advance by measuring mass balance and by predicting glacier variations 

from a kinematic wave model (Untersteiner and Nye, 1968; Fisher and 

Jones, 1971). They also suggested methods of prevention or mitigation that 

used albedo modification (Eyles, 1977; Eyles and Rogerson, 1977b) or that 

involved pumping 30°C waste water from the copper mill onto the glacier 

(Eyles and Rogerson, 1977a).

Tide Lake Camp originally drew its water from Summit Lake, but in 

December 1961, the lake drained unexpectedly through a 12-km melt tunnel 

beneath Salmon Glacier. The resulting jokulhlaup (glacier outburst flood) 

released 251 x 106 m3 of water into the Salmon River drainage. Maximum discharge exceeded 3,000 m3 s"1 , and the flood badly damaged the access road 

and a bridge at Ninemile. Until 1961, Summit Lake had drained stably to the 

north through Bowser River, but since 1900, Salmon Glacier has thinned considerably. The resulting reduction of ice pressure favors the formation of a 

drainage tunnel. The lake now fills and drains annually, but floods are less 

severe than the 1961 flood. Jokulhlaups from Summit Lake are among the 

best studied of any in the world (Mathews, 1965, 1973; Gilbert, 1971, 1972; 

Fisher, 1973; Clarke and Mathews, 1981).

In a fascinating account of the problems facing the mine developers, 

Mamen (1966) wrote: "When production is finally achieved.... It will mark 

man's triumph over some of the severest obstacles Nature has ever placed 

in the path of mineral discovery and mine development." This was hardly 

an overstatement. By 1970, when production began, practically every conceivable glacier-related problem had been faced.

Glaciers and Outburst Floods

Figure 3 shows an annotated Landsat image of the Stikine-Iskut River 

system in the Boundary Ranges of the Coast Mountains. These rivers join

GLACIERS OF CANADA J295
near the British Columbia-Alaska boundary and flow to the Pacific 

Ocean near Wrangell, Alaska. Two unnamed highland glacier systems are 

shown in figure 3: one (labeled 1 in figure) lies along the international 

boundary and is truncated to the south by the Stikine River valley, and 

the other (labeled 2) lies between the Stikine and Iskut Rivers. Hydroelectric and other development plans for the Stikine-Iskut basin make it 

necessary to consider glacier-related hazards to downstream structures. 

As an example, the 1979 jokulhlaup from Flood Lake (labeled 6) released 

200 x 106 m3 of water into the Stikine River, and peak flood discharge was 

roughly 3,000 m3 s"1 (Mokievsky-Zubok, 1980; Clarke and Waldron, 1984). 

Similar floods have taken place for at least the past century and were 

well known to local inhabitants when John Muir visited in 1879 (Muir, 

1915). Other large glacier-dammed lakes existed in the past. According 

to Native American oral tradition, Great Glacier once bridged the Stikine River (Kerr, 1936; Field, 1975). Perchanok (1980) reports that 78 

active or potential glacier-dammed lake sites lie within the Stikine-Iskut 

basin and that jokulhlaups from 10 of these could have significant downstream effects. Apart from explorers' reports and geological reconnaissance work (for example, Kerr, 1948), scientific studies of the glaciers in 

this part of the Coast Mountains are practically nonexistent.

Recreational and Scientific Roles of Glaciers

Besides creating problems for mining and hydroelectric developments, 

glaciers give pleasure to hikers and skiers. Figure 4 shows the Coast 

Mountains in the region of Garibaldi Provincial Park, a popular alpine recreation area near the Whistler-Blackcomb ski resort and the city of Vancouver, British Columbia. Perennial snow patches make individual glaciers 

difficult to distinguish and give a misleading impression of the amount of 

ice cover. All the glaciers are small and tend to be associated with major 

peaks. Garibaldi Neve and its outlet glaciers are the largest glacier feature 

and lie on the slopes of Mount Garibaldi (2,678 m, labeled 8). Other examples are Cheakumus, Wedge, and Weart Glaciers associated, respectively, 

with Castle Towers Mountain (2,676 m, labeled 4), Mount Wedge 

(2,890 m, labeled 3), and Mount Weart (2,834 m, labeled 2). According to 

Mathews (1951), these peaks projected as nunataks above the Cordilleran 

ice sheet. Mount Garibaldi and several lesser features are volcanic, and 

Mathews' suggestion that "volcanism ceased about the time of disappearance of the last ice sheet" makes for interesting speculation. The climatic 

deterioration of the "Little Ice Age" led to a period of glacier growth that 

culminated around 1750-1850. At this climax, many of the glaciers were at 

their greatest extent since the Cordilleran ice sheet had disappeared. The 

climax has been followed by a period of rapid recession that has lasted to 

the present time.

Although the glaciers are small, they are relatively well studied owing to 

their accessibility from the Squamish-Pemberton road. Sentinel and Sphinx 

Glaciers (labeled 7 and 5), near Garibaldi Lake (labeled 6), have received 

intermittent scientific attention since 1945 and are well mapped. Their contribution to annual runoff is important; mass-balance variations have been 

measured, but ice-thickness and flow-velocity measurements are lacking 

(for example, Reid and Shastal, 1970; Mokievsky-Zubok, 1973; MokievskyZubok and Stanley, 1976a). Wedge Glacier has been mapped, its retreat 

monitored, and ice-thickness measurements taken. Its maximum measured 

thickness was only 150 m, and this is likely to be typical for other glaciers in 

the region (Tupper and others, 1978). Place Glacier, north of Garibaldi 

Park, has also been mapped, and mass-balance measurements have been

J296 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
123°W

50 °N

Figure 4.~Annotated Landsat MSS image showing the 

region of Garibaldi Provincial Park, an alpine recreation 

area in the Coast Mountains to the north of Vancouver, British Columbia. Annotations: 1, Place Glacier; 2, Mount 

Weart; 3, Mount Wedge; 4, Castle Towers Mountain; 5, 

Sphinx Glacier; 6, Garibaldi Lake; 7, Sentinel Glacier;

8, Mount Garibaldi (elevation 2,678 m); 9, Ring Creek lava 

flow (note its similarity to a glacier). Landsat image 

(1385-18362, band 7; 12 August 1973; Path 51, Row 25) is 

from the EROS Data Center, Sioux Falls, S. Dak. Map references: Pemberton sheet 92J, 1:250,000; Vancouver sheet 

92G, 1:250,000.

GLACIERS OF CANADA J297
taken since 1964 (Mokievsky-Zubok and Stanley, 1976b). Place and Sentinel Glaciers (labeled 1 and 7) are among the three glaciers of the Canadian 

Cordillera that have been the object of long-term mass-balance measurements, and their role as climate indicators has been examined by 

Letreguilly (1988) and Letreguilly and Reynaud (1989). A decline in field 

activity in the 1990's has been somewhat compensated by increasing use of 

satellite observations (Adam, Pietroniro, and Brugman, 1997; Adam, Toutin, and others, 1997).

J298 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
References Cited

Adam, Steve, Pietroniro, Alain, and Brugman, M.M., 1997, Glacier snow line mapping using ERS-1 SAR imagery: Remote 

Sensing of Environment, v. 61, no. 1, p. 46-54.

Adam, Steve, Toutin, Th., Pietroniro, Alain, and Brugman, M.M., 

1997, Using ortho-rectified SAR imagery acquired over rugged terrain for thematic applications in glacier hydrology: 

Canadian Journal of Remote Sensing, v. 23, no. 1, p. 76-80.

Bostock, H.S., 1948, Physiography of the Canadian Cordillera, 

with special reference to the area north of the fifty-fifth parallel: Canada Geological Survey Memoir 247, 106 p.

Clarke, G.K.C., and Mathews, W.H., 1981, Estimates of the magnitude of glacier outburst floods from Lake Donjek, Yukon 

Territory, Canada: Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, v. 18, 

no. 9, p. 1452-1463.

Clarke, G.K.C., and Waldron, D.A., 1984, Simulation of the 

August 1979 sudden discharge of glacier-dammed Flood 

Lake, British Columbia: Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, 

v. 21, no. 4, p. 502-504.

Doell, R., 1963, Seismic depth study of the Salmon Glacier, British Columbia: Journal of Glaciology, v. 4, no. 34, p. 425-437.

Eyles, Nicholas, 1977, Stop the glacier!: Canadian Alpine Journal, v. 60, p. 54-57.

Eyles, Nicholas, and Rogerson, R.G., 1977a, Artificially induced 

thermokarst in active glacier ice: An example from northwest British Columbia, Canada: Journal of Glaciology, v. 18, 

no. 80, p. 437-444.

 1977b, How to save your mine from a glacier: Canadian 

Mining Journal, v. 98, no. 7, p. 32.

Field, W.O., 1975, Mountain glaciers of the Northern Hemisphere: Hanover, N.H., U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Cold 

Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory, v. 2, 932 p.

Fisher, D.A., 1973, Subglacial leakage of Summit Lake, British 

Columbia, by dye determinations, in Symposium on the 

hydrology of glaciers, Cambridge, England, 1969: Association 

Internationale d'Hydrologie Scientifique Publication No. 95, 

p. 111-116.

Fisher, D.A., and Jones, S.J., 1971, The possible future behavior 

of Berendon Glacier, Canada: A further study: Journal of Glaciology, v. 10, no. 58, p. 85-92.

Gilbert, R., 1971, Observations on ice-dammed Summit Lake, 

British Columbia, Canada: Journal of Glaciology, v. 10, no. 60, 

p. 351-356.

 1972, Drainings of ice-dammed Summit Lake, British 

Columbia: Canada, Inland Waters Directorate, Scientific 

Series 20, 17 p.

Hanson, George, 1932, Varved clays of Tide Lake, British Columbia: Royal Society of Canada Transactions, ser. 3, v. 26, sec. 4, 

p. 335-339.

Haumann, Dieter, 1960, Photogrammetric and glaciological studies of Salmon Glacier: Arctic, v. 13, no. 2, p. 74-100.

Jacobs, J.A., 1958, Geophysical investigations on the Salmon 

Glacier, British Columbia, in Symposium of Chamonix, 1958: 

Association Internationale d'Hydrologie Scientifique Publication No. 47, p. 43-44.

Kerr, FA., 1936, Quaternary glaciation in the Coast Range, northern British Columbia and Alaska: Journal of Geology, v. 44, 

no. 6, p. 681-700.

 1948, Lower Stikine and western Iskut River areas, British Columbia: Canada Geological Survey Memoir 246, 94 p.

Letreguilly, Anne, 1988, Relation between the mass balance of 

western Canadian mountain glaciers and meteorological 

data: Journal of Glaciology, v. 34, no. 116, p. 11-18.

Letreguilly, Anne, and Reynaud, Louis, 1989, Spatial patterns of 

mass-balance fluctuations of North American glaciers: Journal of Glaciology, v. 35, no. 120, p. 163-168.

Mamen, Chris, 1966, Granduc drives tunnel under glacier: Canada Mining Journal, v. 87, no. 1, p. 45-49.

Mathews, W.H., 1951, Historic and prehistoric fluctuations of 

alpine glaciers in the Mount Garibaldi map area, southwestern British Columbia: Journal of Geology, v. 59, no. 4, 

p. 357-380.

 1959, Vertical distribution of velocity in Salmon Glacier, 

British Columbia: Journal of Glaciology, v. 3, no. 26, 

p. 448-454.

 1964, Water pressure under a glacier: Journal of Glaciology, v. 5, no. 38, p. 235-240. 

 1965, Two self-dumping ice-dammed lakes in British

Columbia: Geographical Review, v. 55, no. 1, p. 46-52. 

 1973, Record of two jokulhlaups, in Symposium on the

hydrology of glaciers: Cambridge, England, 1969: Association 

Internationale d'Hydrologie Scientifique Publication No. 95, 

p. 99-110.

Mokievsky-Zubok, 0., 1973, Determination of the mass balance 

on Sentinel Glacier, British Columbia, Canada: Canada, 

Inland Waters Directorate, Scientific Series 30, 39 p.

 1980, Sudden discharge of glacier-dammed Flood Lake, 

August 1979: Ottawa, Fisheries and Environment Canada, 

National Hydrology Research Institute, Summary Report, 17 p.

Mokievsky-Zubok, O., and Stanley, A.D., 1976a, Canadian glaciers in the International Hydrological Decade Program, 

1965-1974: No. 1, Sentinel Glacier, British Columbia Summary of measurements: Ottawa, Fisheries and Environment 

Canada, Inland Waters Directorate, Scientific Series No. 68, 

75 p.

 1976b, Canadian glaciers in the International Hydrological Decade Program, 1965-1974: No. 2, Place Glacier, British 

Columbia Summary of measurements: Ottawa, Fisheries 

and Environment Canada, Inland Waters Directorate, Scientific Series No. 69, 77 p.

Muir, John, 1915, Travels in Alaska: Boston, Houghton Mifflin 

Co., 327 p.

Perchanok, M.S., 1980, Reconnaissance of glacier-dammed lakes 

in the Stikine and Iskut River basins, British Columbia: 

Ottawa, Fisheries and Environment Canada, National Hydrology Research Institute, unpublished internal report, 45 p.

Reid, LA., and Shastal, J., 1970, Glacier surveys in British Columbia 1968: Ottawa, Canada Department of Energy, Mines and 

Resources, Inland Waters Branch, Report Series No. 10, 26 p.

GLACIERS OF CANADA J299
Russell, R.D., Jacobs, J.A., and Grant, F.S., 1960, Gravity Untersteiner, N., and Nye, J.F., 1968, Computation of the 

measurements on the Salmon Glacier and adjoining snow possible future behavior of Berendon Glacier, Canada: 

field, British Columbia, Canada: Geological Society of Journal of Glaciology, v. 7, no. 50, p. 205-213. 

America Bulletin, v. 71, no. 8, p. 1223-1230. Walsh, B.C., 1963, Reclaiming the shaft of Granduc Mines:

Tapper, W.A., Waddington, E.D., and Ricker, K.E., 1978, Western Miner and Oil Review, v. 36, no. 3, p. 86-93. 

Wedgemount Lake and glacier studies, northern Garibaldi 

Park, 1977: Canadian Alpine Journal, v. 61, p. 69-70 and 

map.

J300 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Glaciers of North AmericaGLACIERS OF CANADA

GLACIERS OF THE ST. ELIAS MOUNTAINS

By CARRY K.C. CLARKE and GERALD HOLDSWORTH

With a section on QUANTITATIVE MEASUREMENTS OF TWEEDSMUIR AND LOWELL 

GLACIER IMAGERY

By GERALD HOLDSWORTH, PHILIPJ. HOWARTH, andC. SIMON L OMMANNEY

SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD

Edited by RICHARD S. WILLIAMS, Jr., and JANE G. FERRIGNO

U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 1386-J-l

The St. Elias Mountains, which straddle the Canadian and U.S. border, are highly 

glacierized; icefields and associated outlet glaciers, plateau glaciers, valley glaciers, 

and piedmont glaciers are common. The mix of sub-polar and cold glaciers range in 

area from a few km2 to more than 1200 km2 (Seward Glacier). At least 136 of the 

sub-polar glaciers are surge-type glaciers; the looped medial moraines of surging 

glaciers are distinctive features on Landsat images. The dynamics of two surging 

glaciers, Tweedsmuir and Lowell Glaciers, are analyzed on sequential Landsat 

images
CONTENTS

Page

Abstract -------------------------------------------------------------------- J301

Introduction 301

FIGURE 1. Index map and Landsat image mosaics of the St. Elias

Mountains 302 

2. Annotated mosaic of Landsat 2 MSS images of the Icefield

Ranges, St. Elias Mountains, Yukon Territory-Alaska 305

Chitina River Valley System 306

FIGURE 3. Annotated enlargement of part of a Landsat 3 RBV image

showing the glaciers of the upper Chitina River valley basin,

St. Elias Mountains, Yukon Territory-Alaska 306

White River Valley System 307

Donjek River Valley System 308

FIGURE 4. Annotated enlargements of parts of two Landsat 2 MSS

images showing glaciers of Steele Creek drainage basin, 

Yukon Territory 308 

5. Annotated enlargement of part of a Landsat 3 MSS image 

showing the Donjek Glacier region, St. Elias Mountains, 

Yukon Territory 310

Slims River Valley System 309

FIGURE 6. Annotated enlargement of part of a Landsat 3 RBV image of

Kaskawulsh Glacier, Yukon Territory 311

Alsek River Valley System 312

Quantitative Measurements of Tweedsmuir Glacier and Lowell 

Glacier Imagery, by Gerald Holdsworth, Philip J. Howarth, 

andC. Simon L. Ommanney 312 

Introduction 312

FIGURE 7. High-angle oblique aerial photograph of Tweedsmuir Glacier - 313 

8. High-angle oblique aerial photograph of Lowell Glacier 314

Observations on the Tweedsmuir Glacier Imagery 315

FIGURE 9. Landsat 1 and 2 MSS false-color composite images of the 

north margin and the main fold field of Tweedsmuir 

Glacier 316 

10. Maps of Tweedsmuir Glacier terminus based on analysis of

Landsat images 317

Results 318

TABLE 1. Values of longitudinal, transverse, and vertical strain rates

derived from analysis of Landsat images 318

Observations on the Lowell Glacier Imagery 319

FIGURE 11. Modified, digitally scanned reproduction of topographic map

of Lowell Glacier, Yukon Territory 319

12. Six maps of Lowell Glacier showing the changes in the 

geometry of the ice structure and margin from 

1973 to 1983 320

13. Landsat 3 and 4 MSS images of the Lowell Glacier showing

conditions just before and during the 1983 surge 321

14. Composite terrestrial photographs of the terminus of Lowell

Glacier on 20 September 1984 322

15. Map of the Lowell Glacier, showing ice displacement and 

terminus positions at different dates and graph of ice-flow 

rates 323 

TABLE 2. Measurements of changes in the position of the terminus of

the Lowell Glacier using Landsat imagery 320

Value of Satellite Imagery 324

CONTENTS III
Seward Glacier Drainage System 324

Hubbard Glacier System 324

Grand Pacific-Melbern Glacier System 325

FIGURE 16 Annotated Landsat 5 MSS mosaic of two images showing the

Grand Pacific, Ferris, and Melbern Glaciers 325

References Cited 32?

IV CONTENTS
SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD

GLACIERS OF NORTH AMERICAGLACIERS OF CANADA

GLACIERS OF THE ST. ELIAS MOUNTAINS

By CARRY K.C. CLARKE1 and GERALD HOLDSWORTH2

With a section on QUANTITATIVE MEASUREMENTS OF 

TWEEDSMUIR GLACIER AND LOWELL GLACIER 

IMAGERY

By GERALD HOLDSWORTH,2 PHILIPJ. HOWARTH,3 and 

C. SIMON L. OMMANNEY4

Abstract

The St. Elias Mountains region of Canada is made up of a series of mountain ranges 

that contain a particularly wide variety of glacier types, defined both morphologically 

and thermally. This variety is a result of the extreme topography, which has a maximum 

relief of 4,200 meters within a few kilometers, coupled with the large gradients recorded 

in precipitation and temperature throughout the ranges. Glacier types seen here are valley glaciers, high-elevation plateau glaciers, ice fields and associated outlet glaciers,0 and 

piedmont glaciers of different shapes and sizes. Glacier lengths range from about a kilometer to more than 70 kilometers (Hubbard Glacier, which ends in Alaska, has a length 

of 72 kilometers in Canada and a total length of 112 kilometers); their areas range from a 

few square kilometers to more than 1,200 square kilometers for Seward Glacier. Temperate glaciers are common at low elevations, particularly on the Pacific Ocean side of the 

axis (drainage divide). Subpolar glaciers are present on the north (continental) side of 

the axis even at low elevations. Cold glaciers, at "polar" temperatures, exist on high-elevation plateaus such as on Mount Logan (5,956 meters). The presence of a large concentration of generally subpolar surging glaciers in the region is particularly noteworthy. 

This topic receives the most attention here because features diagnostic of surges are easily detected on satellite images, from which time-series measurements, related to the 

dynamics of the glacier, may he made, as shown for Tweedsmuir Glacier and Lowell 

Glacier.

Introduction

The St. Elias Mountains, straddling the international border between 

Alaska and Canada (fig. 1), are among the world's most rugged and spectacular glacierized landscapes. This is a region of great scientific interest, particularly to the glaciologist, because few other areas combine such a

Manuscript approved for publication 7 March 2002.

1 Department of Earth and Ocean Sciences, University of British Columbia, 6339 Stores Road, Vancouver, 

British Columbia VfiT 1Z4, Canada.

2 Arctic Institute of North America, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive, NW.. Calgary, Alberta 

T2N 1N4, Canada; Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans, and Space, Morse Hall, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH 03824-3525; and the National Hydrology Research Centre, 11 Innovation Boulevard, 

Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 3H5, Canada; e-mail address: [gholdswo@acs.ucalgary.ca].

3 Department of Geography, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada.

4 International Glaciological Society, Lensfleld Road, Cambridge CB2 1ER, England, U.K. (formerly with 

the National Hydrology Research Institute [now the National Hydrology Research Centre], 11 Innovation 

Boulevard, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 3H5, Canada).

5 In Canada, icefield is commonly used in place-names instead of ice field. In the volumes of the Satellite 

Image Atlas of Glaciers of the World, ice field is used (compare Jackson, 1997, p. 316) in the glaciological 

sense of the term.

GLACIERS OF CANADA J301
, aunty

UNITED 

STATES

60°N

Figure 1. Location of the St. Elias Mountains, Yukon Territory-Alaska, 

and Landsat image mosaics of the mountains. A, Landsat 2 and 3 

multispectral scanner (MSS) image mosaic of the St. Elias Mountains. Landsat images (21314-19295, band 7; 28 August 1978; Path 66, 

Row 18; 2952-19124, band 7; 31 August 1977; Path 64, Row 19; 

2955-19285 and 2955-19292, band 7; 3 September 1977; Path 67, 

Rows 17 and 18; 3157-19514, band 7; 23 June 1982; Path 66, Row 18) 

are from the EROS Data Center, Sioux Falls, S. Dak. B, Annotated 

Landsat 2 and 3 MSS image mosaic of the St. Elias Mountains using 

the same Landsat images as for A. Abbreviations: Gl., Glacier; ML, 

Mount; Mtn., Mountain; N., North; S., South.

J302 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
 '* ^L w

" *T

&,

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' V * j 

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61°N 137° 60°

139°W

GLACIERS OF CANADA J303
concentration of glaciers with such a wide variety of glacier types. The 

explanation for both the concentration and the variety lies in the region's 

proximity to the Gulf of Alaska and in the large elevation change found 

between the Alaskan coast and the central axis of the mountain ranges that 

make up the St. Elias Mountains. In fact, the elevation rises within a few 

kilometers of the coast to a maximum relief of 4,200 m. Some of the highest 

precipitation rates in Canada are present in this region, and snow may fall 

at any time of the year.

The Icefield Ranges (fig. 2) form the central axis or crest of the St. 

Elias Mountains and act as both a hydrologic and climatic divide. This is 

the region of the most intense glacier activity and the location of the highest peaks: Mount Logan (5,956 m, labeled 1 in fig. 2), Canada's highest 

mountain; Mount St. Elias (5,489 m, labeled 2 in fig. 2); Mount Lucania 

(5,227 m, labeled 21 in fig. 2), and Mount Steele (5,067 m, labeled 22 in 

fig. 2). The topographic barrier formed by the Icefield Ranges imposes a 

strong gradient in precipitation and mean annual temperature from the 

Alaskan coast to the edge of the Yukon interior. Glaciers, representing 

every geophysical class from temperate to cold (high polar), are found 

here. In general, temperate glaciers are common at low elevations, particularly on the Pacific Ocean side of the axis (drainage divide). Subpolar 

glaciers are present on the north (continental) side of the axis even at low 

elevations. Temperatures, as measured at 10 m depth in the firn, range 

from 0°C on the Seward Glacier (labeled 17 in fig. 2) at 1,800 m (Sharp, 

1951b) to about -29°C on Mount Logan at 5,340 m (Holdsworth and others, 1992). Some glaciers are subpolar in their ablation areas and temperate elsewhere; others are apparently temperate in their ablation areas and 

slightly cold on their neves. An example of this is the transect glacier system of Kaskawulsh and Hubbard Glaciers (labeled 12 and 18 in fig. 2) 

which share a common divide at 2,674 m.

A remarkable feature of the valley glaciers of the St. Elias Mountains is 

that so many of them surge (Meier and Post, 1969). Of the 204 surging 

glaciers identified by Post (1969) in western North America, 136 are in 

the St. Elias Mountains, and most of these are in Canada. The most 

important, generally subpolar, surging glaciers located entirely or partly 

in the Canadian part of the St. Elias Mountains are the Anderson (labeled 

6 in fig. 2), Chitina (5), Walsh (4), Klutlan (7), Steele (8), Donjek (10), 

Kluane (11), Dusty (13), Lowell (14), and Tweedsmuir Glaciers (fig. 1). 

The surging character of most of these glaciers can easily be identified by 

the characteristically looped medial moraines that can be seen so well on 

Landsat imagery. Whereas it is striking that so many of the very large glaciers surge, size alone is not the key to understanding surges because 

many medium-sized and even very small glaciers surge (Clarke, 1991). 

Also, no one obvious explanation exists for the remarkable geographical 

concentration of surging glaciers in the St. Elias Mountains. [For a discussion of surging glaciers, the reader is referred to Chapter K, Glaciers of 

Alaska; see also Chapter E, Glaciers of Svalbard, Norway, another glacierized region that has a variety of glacier types and a large number (86) of 

surging glaciers documented from the end of the 19th century to 1993.]

The following commentary discusses the major glaciers in the region 

and, following Field (1975), is organized according to recognized hydrologic-drainage systems. Glacier lengths have been measured from current 

(usually l:250,000-scale) topographic maps and are given in square brackets, although some discrepancies are present between the values given 

here and those given by Field (1975). Glacier lengths range from about a 

kilometer to more than 70 kilometers (Hubbard Glacier, which ends in 

Alaska, has a length of 72 kilometers in Canada and a total length of 112 

kilometers); their areas range from a few square kilometers to more than 

1,200 square kilometers for Seward Glacier.

Figure 2. (opposite page) Annotated 

mosaic of Landsat 2 MSS images of the 

Icefield Ranges, St. Elias Mountains, Yukon 

Territory-Alaska. Annotations: 1, Mount 

Logan (elevation 5,956 m), highest mountain in Canada; 2, Mount St. Elias (elevation 5,489 m), second highest mountain in 

Canada; 3, Logan Glacier; 4, Walsh Glacier; 

5, Chitina Glacier; 6, Anderson Glacier; 7, 

Klutlan Glacier; 8, Steele Glacier; 9, Spring 

Glacier; 10, Donjek Glacier; 77, Kluane Glacier; 12, Kaskawulsh Glacier; 13, Dusty 

Glacier; 14, Lowell Glacier; 15, Fisher Glacier; 16, Malaspina Glacier; 17, Seward 

Glacier; 18, Hubbard Glacier, 19, Russell 

Fiord; 20, Columbus Glacier; 21, Mount 

Lucania; 22, Mount Steele. The Landsat 

images (2955-19285 and 2955-19292, 

band 7; 3 September 1977; Path 67, Rows 

17 and 18) are from the EROS Data Center, 

Sioux Falls, S. Dak. Map reference: Mount 

St. Elias map sheet 115B and 115C, 

1:250,000 scale.

J304 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
140nW

141°W

61°N

GLACIERS OF CANADA J305
Most of the glaciers discussed are of the valley type. However, another 

important class of glaciers is mentioned here because of its relevance to ice 

coring. These are the high-elevation plateau glacier systems such as on 

Mount Logan (fig. 1). They are in the permanent accumulation area and 

thus appear white on satellite images throughout the year. In addition, ice 

fields and piedmont glaciers are found here as well.

Chitina River Valley System

The major glaciers of the Chitina River valley system are the Anderson 

[40 km], Chitina [70 km], Walsh [70 km], and Logan [70 km] Glaciers (fig. 

3). All have their accumulation zones in the Icefield Ranges of Canada and 

flow across the 141st meridian, which defines the border between the 

Yukon Territory and Alaska. In the recent past, these glaciers were tributaries of a large trunk glacier that occupied the upper Chitina River valley. 

On the 1975 National Topographic Series (NTS) map sheet 115SW and 

115SE (1:500,000 scale), these four glaciers are seen to merge. Now, the

*. 141°W " \

-" *

% '' f* '

Barnard Glacier "V>;.|v! +

Figure 3. Annotated enlargement of part of a 

Landsat 3 return beam vidicon (RBV) image showing the glaciers of the upper Chitina River valley 

basin, St. Elias Mountains, Yukon Territory-Alaska. 

Walsh Glacier shows well-defined moraine loops 

that identify the glacier as surging. Its 1960-64 

surge displaced ice as much as 11.5 km a record 

for North America. The approximate 1968 surge of 

Anderson Glacier truncated the terminus of Chitina 

Glacier, another surging glacier. Logan Glacier is 

not included in Post's (1969) catalog of surging glaciers; the moraine loops near its confluence with 

Walsh Glacier indicate variations in flow velocity, 

but these may be in response to surges of Walsh 

Glacier. The Landsat 3 RBV image (30853-19510; 5 

July 1980; Path 68, Row 17, Subscene C) is archived 

by the U.S. Geological Survey Glacier Studies 

Project. Map references: Kluane Lake map sheet 

115G and 115F (E 1/2); Mount St. Elias map sheet 

115B and 115C; Bering Glacier map sheet 

N6000-W14100/60x180; McCarthy map sheet 

N6100-W14100/60x180; all 1:250,000 scale.

ICEFIELD

*'^\. RANGES

61°N

* ' '

-^.mj^m^-^ -^

Efl^^r '-T^ I "» >jCf ' eJtt ."*/ " ji^- '

20 KH.OMETERS

J306 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Logan-Walsh merger and the Anderson-Chitina merger do not appear to 

connect with each other. The glacier system also does not appear to 

merge on two satellite images taken 3 years apart (Landsat 1, 7 August 

1974; Path 69, Row 17; and 4 September 1977; Path 68, Row 17). However, inspection of a later image (Landsat image, 1 Nov 1978; Path 68, 

Row 17, the same scene illuminated by a low (13°) Sun angle on thin snow 

cover) shows that a (1- to 1.5-km) section of ice-cored moraine probably 

still bridges the two glacier pairs. The same pitted surface topography 

that is characteristic of the terminus of all the glaciers is also seen in that 

section. The glaciers look essentially the same on the three images, which 

indicates that they were in a quiescent phase.

A surge of Walsh Glacier, thought to have started in late 1960 or early 

1961, lasted 4 years and displaced ice as much as 11.5 km a record for 

North America (Post, 1966, 1967). Conspicuous medial moraine loops can 

be traced on the glacier surface, and their spacing can be used to infer a 

fairly regular surge-cycle periodicity for Walsh Glacier. Note that the Walsh 

Glacier apparently overrides the end of Logan Glacier (fig. 3). In 1966, the 

Anderson Glacier showed signs of entering a surge phase (Post, 1967) and 

was observed to be surging in 1968. It was reported (Field, 1975) that the 

surge was slowing down in early 1971. Landsat images of 1974, 1977, and 

1980 (see fig. 3) show the Chitina Glacier totally overridden by the Anderson Glacier surge.

White River Valley System

Klutlan Glacier (fig. 1) [approximately 72 km measured from the base of 

Mount Bona, Alaska] is a large surging glacier that has numerous tributaries 

feeding ice into it. Only the last 25 km of the glacier is in Canada where it 

has two important tributaries entering it on the south side. These are the 

Nesham and Mount Wood Glaciers both of which surge. On the Landsat 

images, evidence of surging of the Klutlan is seen only below the Nesham 

Glacier, despite Field's claim that "the entire Klutlan system is subjected to 

repeated surges" (Field, 1975). The same Landsat images of 7 August 1974 

(Path 69, Row 17) and 4 September 1977 (Path 68, Row 17) mentioned 

above show virtually no change in configuration of the lower glacier or of 

the tributaries, so the system was in the quiescent phase then. Field (1975) 

states that "a small left-hand tributary of the Nesham surged independently 

in 1966." The end of the glacier is quite indistinct, and ice-cored moraine 

may stretch more than 12 km beyond the last visible white ice. Recent 

surges have not disturbed this terminal area, and a spruce forest has grown 

up on the moraine cover. Past major surges blocked regional drainage and 

formed glacier-dammed lakes; two of these lakes had estimated volumes 

exceeding 108 m3 . The catastrophic emptying of these lakes might have 

produced substantial jokulhlaups (glacier-outburst floods) in the White 

River valley. The glacial geology and paleolimnology of this lower deglaciated region have received considerable attention (Rampton, 1970; Bradbury and Whiteside, 1980; Driscoll, 1980; Whiteside and others, 1980; 

Wright, 1980).

GLACIERS OF CANADA J307
140°10'W

61°15'N

0 10KILOMEWRS

I I .I II*

Donjek River Valley System

Steele Glacier [approximately 40 km long] is best known for its 1965-66 

surge. Figure 4 shows the glacier in its quiescent phase. Note that the large 

western tributary apparently overrides the southeast, or main, trunk of the 

glacier. This feature is a relict of the surge a decade earlier. The ice-cored 

moraine of the overextended lower glacier, now shrunken, can also be 

clearly seen. Steele Glacier was one of the few glaciers in the region to 

receive early scientific attention (Sharp, 1943, 1951a; Wood, 1936, 1942, 

1972). A minor surge in the early 1940's did not affect the lower glacier. The 

last surge, in contrast, was quite spectacular. It started in late 1965, and by 

summer 1966, a large wavelike bulge was seen moving down the glacier. By 

summer 1967, the total ice displacement was as much as 9.5 km (Stanley, 

1969). The peak speed during the approximately 3-year duration of the 

surge phase was 24 m d"1 , reached in early 1966. By the beginning of 1968, 

the speed was down to 1 m d"1 and dwindling. Between surges, the lower 

(ablation) zone is virtually stagnant, and the ice is covered by rock debris. 

The Steele Glacier and several of the smaller glaciers (such as Trapridge 

Glacier) in the Steele Creek drainage basin are known to be subpolar;

Figure 4. Annotated enlargements of parts of 

two Landsat 2 MSS images showing glaciers of 

Steele Creek drainage basin, Yukon Territory. 

Steele Glacier surged in 1965-66, and displaced 

ice as much as 9.5 km, which dammed Hazard 

Creek in the process. The resulting proglacial 

lake, known as Hazard Lake, now fills and drains 

annually. A surge of Hodgson Glacier, a tributary 

of the Steele, followed the Steele surge by several years and may have been triggered by it. 

A., A part of Landsat image 2901-19315, band 

7; 11 July 1977; Path 67, Row 17, showing glacier-dammed Hazard Lake full and partial cloud 

cover. B, A part of Landsat image 2955-19285, 

band 7; 3 September 1977; Path 67, Row 17, 

showing the empty basin of Hazard Lake after an 

outburst flood that took place between 2 and 5 

August 1977. The lake drains through a subglacial 

tunnel that runs from the ice dam to the Steele 

Glacier terminus at the head of Steele Creek. The 

Landsat images are from the EROS Data Center, 

Sioux Falls, S. Dak. Map reference: Kluane Lake 

map sheet 115G and 115F (E 1/2), 1:250,000 scale.

J308 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
hence, it is postulated that their surge mechanism is thermally controlled 

(Jarvis and Clarke, 1974, 1975, and Clarke and Jarvis, 1976).

The 1965 surge dammed Hazard Creek and created Hazard Lake on the 

left margin of Steele Glacier near the sharp bend in the glacier. This lake is a 

transient feature that disappears entirely when the ice level ablates sufficiently. During the 1970's and 1980's, the annual cycle of filling and selfdraining of the lake was studied in detail (Collins and Clarke, 1977; Clarke, 

1982). The draining of the lake generated small (600 m3 s"1 ) jokulhlaups in 

Steele Creek. Figure 44 shows the lake full on 11 July 1977; figure 4B shows 

it empty on 3 September 1977 following the draining of 2-5 August 1977.

Southeast of Steele Glacier are the following glaciers: Spring [approximately 26 km long], Donjek [55 km], and Kluane [35 km] Glaciers (fig. 5). 

All are known to surge, but only the Donjek has received much attention. 

The Donjek Glacier terminus spreads out as it flows into a river valley to 

form a small piedmont lobe. Former (major) surges have caused this lobe 

to expand and to butt against the Donjek Ranges to the east, which blocked 

the flow in the river that is fed by Kluane Glacier and numerous other 

smaller glaciers to the east.

Just prior to July 1974, the last tributary on the southeast margin of 

Donjek Glacier surged. A Landsat image of 15 September 1973 (Path 67, 

Row 17) shows the presurge condition, and an image of 4 September 1977 

(Path 68, Row 17) shows the relict effect of the surge on the main glacier 3 

years after the event (also see fig. 5, 10 August 1980). Donjek Glacier did 

not respond to the surge. In 1978, a minor surge of Donjek Glacier failed to 

dam the river. Several centuries ago, the glacier formed an ice dam that created Lake Donjek, estimated to have had a volume of 230 xlO6 m3 (see lake 

site in fig. 5). This transient lake was thought to have drained catastrophically on at least one occasion (Clarke and Mathews, 1981). The terminal 

moraines of this glacier have been studied by Johnson (1972a, b).

In one of the major accumulation basins of the Donjek Glacier, between 

Donjek Mountain and Mount Badham, is an ice-core drill site, referred to in 

the literature (for example, Holds worth and Peake, 1985) as Eclipse. The 

site is at lat 60°50'N., long 139°50'W. at an elevation of 3,017 m (maps 115B 

and 115C, Mount St. Elias map sheet, 1:250,000 scale) and has been core 

drilled on several occasions. Here, the 10-m firn temperature is -6°C, which 

makes this part of the glacier subpolar. The mean annual air temperature 

here is -13°C, as determined from an automatic weather station (Holdsworth, 1992). The annual accumulation rate is determined from pit and 

core studies to be 1,500 kg rrf2 a"1 (1,500 mm water equivalent). The depth 

of ice as determined by radar is about 550 m. The site awaits deep drilling 

in order to acquire a long ice core.

Slims River Valley System

Kaskawulsh Glacier [75 km long] (fig. 6) flows from a divide that it shares 

with the Hubbard Glacier (fig. 1) and ends at the head of two river valleys: the 

Slims and the Kaskawulsh. Thus, the glacier contributes water to two rivers 

simultaneously; the relative contributions, which vary from year to year, 

depend on snout position and varying hydrologic-sedimentation conditions. 

Although Slims River now flows into Kluane Lake (fig. 2), in earlier times, Kluane Lake drained through the (reversed) Slims River down the Kaskawulsh 

River and into the Alsek River (fig. 1) (and thence to the Pacific Ocean) (Bostock, 1969). Kaskawulsh Glacier is not known to surge, and this is confirmed 

by the regular pattern of medial moraines seen in satellite images (fig. 6). However, the last tributary flowing into the central arm contains wavy moraines 

and a "beaded" suture, indicating that this tributary has surged at least once in

GLACIERS OF CANADA J309
139°30'W

61°10'N

''"

Donjek Ranges

Figure 5. Annotated enlargement of part of a Landsat 3 MSS 

image showing the Donjek Glacier region, St. Ellas Mountains, 

Yukon Territory. Spring, Donjek, and Kluane Glaciers are surgetype glaciers. Surges of Donjek Glacier have historically closed the 

Donjek River channel near Mount Hoge to form a large lake. An 

outburst flood from the lake could release roughly 230 x 106 m3 of

water across the Alaska Highway and the route of a proposed natural gas pipeline. A weak surge of Donjek Glacier, noted in 1978, 

almost dammed Donjek River. The Landsat image (30889-19492, 

band 7; 10 August 1980; Path 68, Row 17) is from the EROS Data 

Center, Sioux Falls, S. Dak. Map reference: Kluane Lake map sheet 

115Gand 115F(E 1/2), 1:250,000 scale.

J310 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
139°W

60°45'N

APPROXIMATE SCALf 

0 1DKILOMETE3S

Figure 6. Annotated enlargement of part 

of a Landsat 3 RBV image of Kaskawulsh 

Glacier, Yukon Territory. Kaskawulsh Glacier is one of the few large glaciers of the 

St. Ellas Mountains that does not surge. It 

is a classic example of a trunk glacier that 

has many tributary branches. The uncontorted medial moraines indicate steady, 

rather than irregular, flow. The glacier terminus is at a major hydrologic divide, as 

Slims River flows to the Arctic Ocean and 

Kaskawulsh River flows to the Pacific 

Ocean. The Landsat 3 RBV image 

(30167-19491; 19 August 1978; Path 66, 

Row 18, Subscene A) is archived by the 

U.S. Geological Survey Glacier Studies 

Project. Map reference: Mount St. Elias 

map sheet 115B and 115C, 1;250,000 scale.

the past. Low-altitude aerial photographs acquired in the 1970's and 1980's 

also suggest a similar conclusion. This is an example where surging tributaries 

do not necessarily trigger surges in the main glacier.

Measured ice thicknesses vary from 780 m near the divide (Clarke, 1967) 

to 650 m at the entrance to the north arm (Holdsworth, 1965) to 1,040 m in 

the ablation zone below the confluence of the north and central arms (Dewart, 1970). Surface-flow rates reach 150 m a"1 at the entrance to the north 

arm (Brecher, 1966) and have an ice discharge of more than 108 m3 a"1 

(Holdsworth, 1965). Ice-flow rates increase through an ice fall and then 

decrease to 179 m a"1 below the confluence (Dewart, 1970). Although some 

suggest that the divide region contains some "cold" firn [see Field (1975)], the 

general consensus is that the glacier is temperate. Holdsworth (1965) found 

that deep temperatures in partial water-filled crevasses at the entrance to the 

north arm are 0°C during the summer.

The intensity of research on the Kaskawulsh Glacier, and in the Icefield 

Ranges in general, was due to the Icefield Ranges Research Project, which 

was initiated jointly in 1961 by the Arctic Institute of North America and 

the American Geographical Society (Bushnell and Ragle, 1969, 1970, 1972, 

and Bushnell and Marcus, 1974).

GLACIERS OF CANADA J311
Alsek River Valley System

The major glaciers of the Alsek hydrologic system in Canada are the 

Dusty [38 km long], Lowell [70 km], Fisher [48 km], Tweedsmuir [70 km], 

Vern Ritchie [46 km], Battle [27 km], and Melbern [20 km] Glaciers (fig. 1). 

The Alsek River cuts through the eastern part of the St. Elias Mountains 

and discharges into Dry Bay, Alaska. The surging glaciers in this group are 

the Dusty, Lowell, Fisher, and Tweedsmuir Glaciers (in sequence from the 

north), and all flow directly into the Alsek River valley.

Dusty Glacier surged about 1966; Lowell Glacier surged in 1948-50, in 

1968-70, and in early 1983 (the last known surge). Dusty Glacier has a particularly simple, but distinctive, pattern of medial moraine loops, accentuated by a dark debris cover on the north side, which suggests that the north 

tributary is the surging one. An interesting through-flow of ice from the 

Dusty Glacier into the Lowell Glacier is also present, and this may be seen 

in figure 2, where it is evident from the transient snowline on both glaciers 

that Dusty Glacier is the higher of the two at that location. Also, it is possible to deduce from the ice structure and deformed or truncated medial 

moraines on Lowell Glacier that the flow is coming in from Dusty Glacier. 

On the l:250,000-scale map sheet, this cannot be ascertained, but the 

newer (1987) l:50,000-scale map (115B/8) shows the situation correctly. 

The deformed medial moraines on the lower part of Lowell Glacier are not 

easily interpreted. Post and others (1976) used easily identifiable points in 

the deformed moraine field, on successive images, to compute ice displacements between 1954 and 1973.

The next glacier south, Fisher Glacier, surged around 1970, but little 

information about this event is available. In 1973, Tweedsmuir Glacier 

began a surge (Holdsworth, 1973) that lasted only into early 1974. A quantitative analysis of glacier-surge dynamics using Landsat images of 

Tweedsmuir and Lowell Glaciers can be found in the separate section that 

follows. Tweedsmuir Glacier has a large piedmontlike lobe that expanded to 

dam the Alsek River temporarily in the winter of 1973-74. Because no flow 

was observed below the dam, the glacier ice must have been cold (that is, 

below 0°C). By the summer of 1974, the Alsek River was flowing past the 

glacier and caused massive ice calving into the river.

Glaciers in this group all have the potential for impeding the flow of the 

Alsek River, which has a peak summer discharge generally in the range 

1,000-1,400 m3 s"1 . Past surges of Lowell Glacier have been the most significant. Clague and Rampton (1982) documented the history of historic Lake 

Alsek, which formed several times during the past 1,000 years as a result of 

major damming of the Alsek River by Lowell Glacier. The last such event 

was thought to have been around 1900.

When these large historic lakes drained, they did so catastrophically and 

caused jokulhlaups downstream, as well as discharged meltwater and sediment into Dry Bay, Alaska. Evidence of these past floods is visible on the 

forested sides of the gorge between Fisher and Tweedsmuir Glaciers.

Quantitative Measurements of Tweedsmuir Glacier and 

Lowell Glacier Imagery

By Gerald Holdsworth, Philip J. Howarth, and C. Simon L. Ommanney

Introduction

Tweedsmuir and Lowell Glaciers (lat 59°52'N., long 138°19.3'W., and lat 

60°17.8'N., long 138°17.2'W., respectively) are located in the St. Elias Mountains in the watershed of the Alsek River, a river that they both have

J312 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Figure 2 High-angle oblique aerial photograph of Tweedsmuir Glacier showing 

folded medial moraine loops and ice margin contact with the Alsek River. View is 

toward the south. Photograph no. 

73R2-197 taken on 77 September 1973 by 

Austin Post, U.S. Geological Survey.

dammed in the recent past. The terminal regions of both glaciers exhibit 

prominent surface features typical of surging glaciers (Meier and Post, 

1969). It is likely that their surges are, at least in part, thermally controlled 

(Clarke, 1976.). Both glaciers are about 70 km long and average 1 km wide, 

although they are considerably wider in their terminal regions. One of the 

most distinctive aspects of their surface features is the folded structure seen 

in the exposed ice in the lower part of each glacier. The folds are denned by 

medial moraines and by different ice types, which may appear white, blue, 

or gray depending on the content of air bubbles and fine-grained sediment. 

The folds can clearly be identified on both terrestrial and aerial photographs 

(figs. 7 and 8) at most scales and very easily on Landsat images given favorable conditions. For the features to be seen on visible-band satellite images,

GLACIERS OF CANADA J313
the lower (ablation) region of the glacier, where the fold fields are found, 

needs to be totally free of seasonal snow cover. Because of this, and because 

of a high incidence of cloud cover in the region, the best period to obtain 

imagery to study moraine movement is normally in August or September, 

when, also, the low Sun angle provides optimum scene contrast and relief 

detail.

The two glaciers studied surge at slightly irregular intervals, typically, on 

average, at 20-30-year intervals, but not concurrently. During a surge, any 

preexisting curvilinear feature on the glacier will become folded because of 

nonhomogeneous strains in the ice. If surface folds are already present 

from a previous surge, they will be amplified during a subsequent surge. In 

addition to large longitudinal displacements, significant transverse displacements also result, which enable flow vectors (in two dimensions) to be 

obtained quite accurately. Employing conventional analyses of Landsat

Figure 8. High-angle oblique aerial photograph of Lowell Glacier showing complex structure in the medial moraines near 

the terminus. Icebergs can be seen in the 

proglacial lake. Alsek River flows south 

out of the lake toward the bottom of the 

picture. Photograph no. 69R1-287 taken 

on 25 August 1969 by Austin Post, U.S. 

Geological Survey.

J314 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
images, we used the spatial changes that took place in these surface fold 

fields over time to generate displacement, velocity, and strain-rate data. 

From these data, it is also possible to deduce something about the movement of the ice in the vertical direction.

By using Landsat images and aerial photographs, we studied Tweedsmuir 

Glacier during the late-surge (1973) and postsurge (1974) phases of a 

recent surge cycle. Lowell Glacier was studied in the presurge (1973-82) to 

the surge (1983) phase of the last surge cycle. From point-displacement 

measurements made on Landsat images taken about 5 years apart for 

Tweedsmuir Glacier and spanning about 10 years for Lowell Glacier, useful 

information relating to glacier-surge dynamics was obtained. In particular, 

the application of this information could be used to predict whether the 

Alsek River will be dammed again by a future surge of either glacier.

Observations on the Tweedsmuir Glacier Imagery

Tweedsmuir Glacier ends in an expanded lobe that is in contact, with the 

Alsek River in several places during a surge. Its thickness has not been measured, but ice cliffs at the river valley contact were estimated to be about 

25-30 m high in 1973. On the northern land-based sublobe, the cliff thickness was about 15 m. Thicknesses in the center of the lobe are probably 

about 50 to 100 m, based on marginal thicknesses, surface slopes, and the 

surrounding topographical detail seen on the l:50,000-scale map sheets.

The glacier began to advance at its terminus in early 1973 (Holdsworth, 

1973), possibly during April. Because surging evidently involves a series of 

linked processes, some delay may have been present before the ice edge 

actually began to move forward. The marginal ice was known to have been 

below the melting point, and hence, it was effectively frozen to the bedrock 

before the surge. During the surge, basal sliding and enhanced flow in any 

basal till would have been the most important mechanisms for ice transport. By direct observation, the peak activity would seem to have been in 

June or July 1973, and by the end of that year, the movement of the transient margin had decreased to very low levels. The speed of the ice flow in 

at least the lower 7 kin of the glacier increased by about an order of magnitude during the surge (Post and others, 1976). This demonstrates the 

importance of basal sliding during a surge, a hypothesis further substantiated by Kamb and others (1985) in their study of the 1982-83 surge of Variegated Glacier, southeastern Alaska.

Krimmel and Meier (1975) show velocity vectors that indicate speeds in 

excess of 10 m d"1 between 22 July 1973 and 13 September 1973 in the 

same lower part of the glacier. These data were obtained from the Earth 

Resources Technology Satellite (ERTS-1, later renamed Landsat 1) satellite 

images that were enlarged to a scale of 1:50,000 and then analyzed by L.R. 

Mayo. Additional analyses were later done by Miller (1974).

In this paper, we are making types of measurements similar to these 

earlier ones, except that we used l:25,000-scale plots obtained by processing digital Landsat data on a Canadian Image Analysis System (CIAS) 

at the Canada Centre for Remote Sensing in Ottawa. Enhanced and mutually registered electrostatic printer plots were produced for the excellent 

Landsat images of 13 September 1973 and 28 August 1978 (fig. 9), which 

cover the end of the surge and the postsurge period. The registration 

points used were all sufficiently far from the glacier to be safely assumed 

to be fixed. The same digital images at 1:50,000 scale registered acceptably with a l:50,000-scale map compiled from 17 August 1974 vertical 

aerial photographs. Even if registration with a digital terrain map or a 

conventional map is not exact, registration between two satellite images 

of the same area is sufficient to provide acceptable displacement and, 

hence, velocity values for transient features in the scenes. Registration of 

the images was achieved by a least squares optical procedure that has a

GLACIERS OF CANADA J315
precision dictated by the picture element (pixel) dimension, approximately 57 m x 79 m. Displacements of the best denned points on the glacier were scaled directly from the registered transparencies and had an 

estimated error of between ±40 m and ±45 m.

Figure 9A shows very well the dark margin in 1973 on the north edge of 

the glacier caused by the 15-m high (and probably still advancing) ice cliff 

at that location. By 1978 (fig. 95), this margin is poorly defined because of 

subsequent postsurge downwasting of the ice edge. Of great significance 

here is the observed displacement of the fold fields by 1978 (figs. 9C, D). 

The best measurement points in this area were mainly apices of folds. A 

total of 36 such points and 11 other miscellaneous points (of lesser reliability) were used to obtain a displacement field.

The resulting postsurge flow rates (fig. 104) (~1 m d"1 ) are seen to be 

about an order of magnitude less than the corresponding flow rates derived 

from L.R. Mayo's surge-phase data referred to earlier (Post and others, 1976, 

fig. 132). These findings are consistent with current knowledge of surge and 

intersurge behavior. Figure 105 is derived from figure 1(M by generating 14 

flow lines, starting at the left, that have equal (250-m) spacings. It was necessary to apply trial-and-error procedures in order to achieve a solution. The 

flow-line geometry illustrates the strongly divergent nature of the ice flow 

line in the terminal region. A similar conclusion was reached by L.R. Mayo 

from his earlier observations of the surge (see Krimmel and Meier, 1975).

Where sufficient velocity information is available along a particular flow 

line, or sufficiently close to it, as is the case for flow lines 5, 10, and 12 

(fig. 105), we computed longitudinal strain rates in a curvilinear coordinate system according to the equation:

£,, = AV//AA- (1) 

where exx is the time- and area-averaged longitudinal strain-rate compoFigure 9. Landsat 7 and 2 MSS falsecolor composite images of the north margin (A and B) and the main fold field 

(C and D) ofTweedsmuir Glacier showing 

changes that took place during the postsurge period. A and C are sections of a 

Landsat image (1417-19532; Path 65, Row 

18) acquired on 13 September 1973, and 

B and D are sections of an image 

(21314-19295; Path 66, Row 18) acquired 

on 28 August 1978. The picture elements 

(pixels) measure approximately 57 m x 79 

m. See figures WA, 10B, 13A, and 13B for 

correct geographic orientation. Image was 

processed by Canada Centre for Remote 

Sensing, Ottawa, Ontario.

J316 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
nent of the total strain-rate tensor, and hVx is the incremental change in the 

velocity component ( Vx ) over the distance Ajt along the flow line. Lower 

order terms due to curvature are neglected.

Figure 10. Tweedsmuir Glacier terminus 

showing ice-flow vectors and ice-flow 

lines for 1973-78. A, 7973 fold geometry 

and ice-flow vectors based on analysis of 

the Landsat images shown in figure 9. 

B, Ice-flow lines based on the ice-flow 

vector field in A. Flow lines 5, W, and 12 

are discussed in the text, as are transverse 

curves A, B, and C.

4 KILOMETERS

EXPLANATION

Fold outline in 1973, 

dashed where inferred

Crest of prominent 

moraine ridge

Ice-flow vector 1973-78 

1.0 m d~1

B

4 KILOMETERS

EXPLANATION

Ice-flow line 1973-78 

Transverse curve

Mean ice margin 

1973-78

GLACIERS OF CANADA J317
The time- and area-averaged transverse component of the strain-rate 

tensor syy is obtained from the expression:

£ = W~ l V&W/kx (2) j J -*

where, if we refer to a curvilinear cell defined by adjacent flow lines and the 

transverse curves labeled A, B, or C in figure 4B, W is the initial width of a 

cell, and AW/AA- is its gradient along the flow lines. V x is the mean ice-flow 

rate along a flow line passing through the center of the cell. These flow 

rates are averaged over 2-km distances on much larger, smoothed curves of 

velocity versus distance.

So far, our analysis scheme has applied to two dimensions in the plane of 

the glacier surface, and as the reference frame moves with the surface 

(even vertically as ablation takes place), it is "Lagrangian" in character. It is 

possible to take advantage of a key property of glacier ice that allows us to 

infer what is happening in the direction perpendicular to the glacier surface. Because of the typically flat slopes of these glaciers in the ablation 

area (Clarke, 1991), this direction is approximately vertical.

The key property is the "incompressibility" of the ice, which allows us to write:

2£/( = 0 (3)

where i=x, y, z. This equation holds for any (orthogonal) reference-axis orientation and for ice of density near the maximum value of about 0.91 Mg rrT3.

Equation 3 expresses the conservation of volume and is used extensively 

in theoretical glaciology (Lliboutry, 1965; Paterson, 1994). From this equation, the vertical strain rate, £zz , at a point can easily be calculated:

£zz= ~( £XX + £yy } (4)

We will show later that our directions (x, y, z) correspond approximately to 

the principal axes of strain in the ice, so that we do not have to take the 

shear strains formally into account.

Results

Table 1 shows the values of exx , eyy , and ezz computed from equations 1, 

2, and 4 for selected points along flow lines 5, 10, and 12 (fig. 45). Positive 

values indicate extension; negative values, contraction.

It may be seen that longitudinal compressive flow [down-glacier flow] is 

taking place consistently in this region of overall divergent flow [spreading 

flow, see Lliboutry, 1965, tome 2, p. 460-461]. Because of the large lateral 

creep, the vertical strain rate is consistently negative and indicates creep 

thinning (vertical compression), which is to be expected during the postsurge phase of a cycle. If we assume an ice thickness of 50 m, then for a 

mean vertical strain rate of-6 x 10^2 a"1 , the surface would be dropping by 

3 m a"1 . This result is independent of any decrease in ice thickness that is 

caused by surface ablation, which could be of the same order.

We are not able to identify crevasse fields positively from the satellite 

imagery, but they may be seen on the excellent aerial photographs of Austin Post (fig. 7). These photographs show many splaying crevasses; that is, 

crevasses parallel to flow direction in the center but curving toward the

TABLE 1. Values of longitudinal, transverse, and vertical strain rates derived from 

analysis ofLandsat images1

Flow line

5

10

12A

12B

Longitudinal strain rate

£A-A (±0.5x 10"V)

-4.7

-6.1

-2.6

-1.8

Transverse strain rate

£,,,,(±0.5 x KfV)

+18.3

+7.7

+10.0

+3.5

Vertical strain rate

£z -(±0.5x \CT2 a ')

-13.6

-1.6

-7.4

-1.7

1 Errors given for values in the first two columns are not standard errors of a mean. They 

are derived through equation 1 and are the maximum for any flow line. The larger error in 

column two reflects the larger relative error in the transverse direction.

J318 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Figure 11. Modified, digitally scanned 

reproduction of topographic map of Lowell Glacier, Yukon Territory. Map prepared 

by Gerald Holdsworth and D. Sherstone of 

the former Glaciology Subdivision, Inland 

Waters Directorate, Department of the 

Environment, from 17 August 1974 vertical 

aerial photographs. Contour interval on 

land, 100 m; contour interval on ice, 20 m. 

Original map scale, 1:50,000. Aerial photographs archived by the National Air Photo 

Library, Natural Resources Canada, 

Ottawa, Ontario. Goatherd Mountain, indicated by plus (+) symbol, is the groundphotograph station for figure 14. Abbreviations: UTM, Universal Transverse Mercator; N., north; E., east.

margin down the glacier. Splaying crevasses tend to be oriented along flow 

lines in the ablation area of spreading snouts (see, for example, Lliboutry, 

1965). This result is consistent with the earlier assumption that the strainrate components given in table 1 are probably close to the principal strain 

rates, which influence the direction of ice flow.

The strain-rate data in table 1 contrast with what would be expected during the surge phase. The longitudinal strain rates midway in 1973 may be 

estimated from some of the displacement data of L.R. Mayo (Krimmel and 

Meier, 1975). Between 22 July and 13 September 1973, along a section of the 

glacier corresponding to our flow line 7 (fig. 105), the vertical strain rates 

were between (+) 10"2 and 10"1 3Tl . This deduced thickening of the ice is 

consistent with our knowledge of peak surge behavior in the terminal region.

Observations on the Lowell Glacier Imagery

Lowell Glacier surged in 1983 after a quiescent phase of about 15 years. 

Conditions during the quiescent phase are documented in figures 11 and 12. 

From observations made by Parks Canada personnel and others, it is thought 

to have begun surging on or before middle April 1983. Figure 12 shows a 

synopsis of changes in the lower 30 km of the glacier between September 

1973 and August 1983. The changes in the ice front (table 2), the changes in

660,000 E 665,000 670,000

6,690,000 N

6,685,000

Icebergs in lake

Swamp, bog or marsh

Morainal ridge, dashed where discontinuous

Undifferentiated morainal material

Moraine-covered area on glacier surface

Sand bars 

Boundary of ice 

Contours on ice 

Contours on land 

Giant ripple marks 

6° UTM grid (meters N; meters E) Meltwater stream

GLACIERS OF CANADA J319
the lake area, and the development of dense clusters of icebergs can all be 

seen on the satellite imagery at the 1:1,000,000 scale; the images in figure 12 

are annotated with these features. In interpreting the satellite images, we 

made extensive use of aerial and terrestrial photography. The 1983 images 

were interpreted with the help of terrestrial photographs taken by Lloyd 

Freese of Kluane National Park.

Figure 13 shows two Landsat 3 and 4 MSS (multispectral scanner) 

images taken on 23 June 1982 and 19 August 1983. In figure ISA, presurge

TABLE 2. Measurements of changes in the position of the terminus of the Lowell 

Glacier using Landsat imagery (see fig. 12)

[Distances given are relative to the 13 September 1973 snout positions. , not applicable. 

Abbreviations: ID no., identification number; N, North: S. South]

Date

13 Sep 1973

17 Aug 1974

28 Aug 1978

17 Sep 1982

9 Jun 1983

19 Aug 1983

28 Aug 1983

Imagery

Landsat 1

ID no.

1417-19532

Snout position change 

(meters)

N Central S

Aerial photo- A23819/#50-60 

graphs

Landsat 2

Landsat 4

Landsat 4

Landsat 4

Landsat 4

21314-19295

Unknown

40328-19482

40399-19540

40408-19475

-2250

-2250

-2050

-2050

-1250

-500

-2500

-2000

-1250

-1000

-750

-2250

-1450

-1050

-950

Note

Reference

Minor change

Retreat

Retreat

Advance

Advance

Advance

Figure 12. Lowell Glacier showing the 

changes in the geometry of the ice structure 

and margin from 1973 to 1983. The first three 

maps show presurge conditions. The second 

three show evidence of the surge. The maps 

were prepared from 1:500,000-scale photographic prints of Landsat images transferred 

to a 1:250,000-scale base map by the use of 

a Bausch and Lomb Zoom Transfer Scope. 

Fiducial marks are at 10-km spacing on the 

6°UTM grid, zone 7 (see fig. 11). Symbols: 

L, lake water, B, icebergs; R, Alsek River. 

The Goatherd Mountain bluffs are shown 

shaded to the right in each map. Landsat 

images used for constructing each map are 

as follows: A, Landsat 1 (formerly ERTS-1) 

MSS image 1417-19532; 13 September 

1973; Path 65, Row 18. B, Landsat 2 MSS 

image 21314-19295; 28 August 1978; Path 

66, Row 18. C, Landsat 4 MSS image identification number unknown; 17 September 1982; 

Path 61, Row 18. D, Landsat 4 MSS image 

40328-19482; 9 June 1983; Path 60, Row 18. 

E, Landsat 4 MSS image 40399-19540; 19 

August 1983; Path 61, Row 18. F, Landsat 4 

MSS image 40408-19475; 28 August 1983; 

Path 60, Row 18. The Landsat images are from 

the EROS Data Center, Sioux Falls, S. Dak.

13 September 1973

D

17 September 1982 9 June 1983

19 August 1983 28 August 1983

J320 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Figure 13. Landsat 3 and 4 MSS images 

of the Lowell Glacier showing conditions 

A just before and B during the 1983 surge. 

Dusty, Fisher, and Tweedsmuir Glaciers 

are also visible. The advance of the terminus is noticeable, and many icebergs are 

present in B. The Landsat images (f\, 

31571-19514; 23 June 1982; Path 66, Row 

18; and B, 40399-19540; 19 August 1983; 

Path 61, Row 18) are from the EROS Data 

Center, Sioux Falls, S. Dak.

138°W

x; 'fisher Glacier" VS^^' \ ~r ''L-*?rrw3^r^^'Ai^^' ' '

. r V-v rTfUr ^V >

' -^ - J.^5J^SL>*i

GLACIERS OF CANADA J321
conditions apply, and in 13B, evidence of the surge can be seen, including a 

noticeable advance of the terminus. The existence of the proglacial lake 

and the river modify the terminal region to a great extent. The icebergs that 

cover the surface of the lake have an appearance similar to clouds. Observations of later satellite images (into 1984) and a visit to the glacier in summer 1984 (fig. 14) made it possible to predict that the ice front would not 

flow against Goatherd Mountain and dam the Alsek River, as had happened 

in earlier surges, perhaps as recently as near the beginning of the 20th century (Clague and Rampton, 1982).

In order to observe glacier behavior during a significant part of the quiescent phase (the previous, known surge was between 1968 and 1970), we 

have again selected excellent Landsat images of 13 September 1973 and 28 

August 1978, enhanced the imagery, and prepared digital (Versatec) terrain 

plots of the glacier and adjacent areas. The plots were not mutually registered images, so in order to get acceptable registration for off-glacier reference points, we had to register the images by a visual iterative procedure for 

10-km-square blocks per step. This, and the smaller relative displacements 

of Lowell Glacier for this period compared with Tweedsmuir Glacier, mean 

that less reliability can be placed on any velocity results from Lowell Glacier.

Figure 15A shows an array of easily identifiable reference points on the 

glacier surface. These were selected for the ice-displacement measurements. 

If we refer to figure 12, these points may be identified with prominent distortions of moraine bands or different (colored) ice types. Measurement of the 

displacement of these points was made between 1973 and 1978 by using the 

first two processed images in figure 12. For the following years, we used 

l:500,000-scale photographic images transferred directly to the 1:250,000- 

scale NTS base map by the use of a Bausch and Lomb Zoom Transfer Scope. 

The results are shown in figure 15£?, where the start of the (early) 1983 surge 

can be identified. [Note that some points were superior to others for making 

measurements, and in order to avoid interference of lines, not all the point 

displacements have been plotted. These points coincide with the center of 

each of the short vertical lines or error bars. These errors (~ ±45 m) are similar to the measurements made on Tweedsmuir Glacier and reflect pixel size, 

as well as errors due to "point" definition in different scenes.]

The average speed of each point (which is changing with position and 

time) is given by the slope of each curve at a given time. For the quiescent 

phase, 1973-82, the speeds decrease down the glacier from about 

0.34±0.03 m d'1 (point 1) to 0.04±0.03 m d'1 (point 13). This indicates a 

general longitudinal compressive strain rate on the order of 10~2 a"1 , which 

is typical of many valley glaciers (Lliboutry, 1965). From a review of terrestrial photographs, a low rock knoll seen in figure 8 in August 1969 was 

apparently covered soon after and then uncovered again after 1973 in the

Figure 14. Two composite terrestrial photographs of the terminus of Lowell Glacier 

on 20 September 1984 showing the ice 

cliffs, Alsek River, flowing in from the right, 

and the transient lake containing some icebergs. Photograph by Gerald Holdsworth 

from Goatherd Mountain. See figure 11 for 

location of photograph station.

J322 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
region immediately down the glacier from the prominent "square" fold seen 

in the images. This knoll or nunatak was again overridden in the 1983 

surge. The ice in this region is evidently quite thin.

During the surge, ice-flow rates increased to values of 12 m d"1 (curve 8, 

fig. 15B; point 8, fig. 15A) and 45 m d"1 (curve 1; point 1), representing an 

increase of more than two orders of magnitude above quiescent phase flow 

rates. Although some uncertainty exists in the magnitude of the errors in 

the last, results (possibly up to 30 percent), they do seem to indicate a 

much greater relative increase in activity of the Lowell Glacier compared 

with the surge of Tweedsmuir Glacier a decade earlier.

Figure 15. Terminal ice margin positions 

of the Lowell Glacier, relative point displacements, and ice speeds from 1973 to 

1983. A, The location of terminal ice margin positions at different dates and the 

location of selected reference points on 

the glacier. B, The displacement versus 

time plots for six of the reference points 

shown in A. Errors in the displacement 

measurements are indicated by the length 

of the short vertical bars (estimated to be 

90 m). Slopes of the curves give the ice 

speeds. Curve numbers in B correspond 

to point numbers in A.

2 Point for displacement measurements (17 September 1982) 

Terminal ice margin positions:

13 September 1973 

28 August 1978 

17 September 1982 

9 June 1983 

19 August 1983 

28 August 1983

i i i i i i i i i i

B Lowell Glacier

Measured point displacements and ice speeds 1973-83

43 m d'1

73 76 77 78 79 

YEAR

80 81 82 83 84

J323
The unfavorable distribution of reference points, biased toward the 

north margin of the glacier (fig. 15A), and the lower accuracy of the registration for the Lowell Glacier have discouraged us from computing the components of the strain-rate tensor, as was done for Tweedsmuir Glacier. This 

deficiency is partially compensated by the excellent opportunity to determine longitudinal flow rates, which are biased toward the northern one-half 

of the glacier.

Value of Satellite Imagery

Significant information has been obtained about the dynamics of two 

large surging glaciers that occupy segments of a major Yukon-British 

Columbia-Alaska river system (the Alsek). This information has come from 

analysis of suitably selected Landsat imagery, supplemented by minimal 

ground-based observations. It is impractical to obtain such information in 

any other way (except by the much more expensive and time-consuming 

methods of aerial or terrestrial photogrammetry) because of the broken 

and dangerous nature of the glacier surface during a surge. (Even airborne 

radar does not work for determining ice thicknesses during a surge.) Satellite surveillance is also a practical way upon which to base predictions 

about potential hydrological hazards, such as jokulhlaups, that might result 

from the breaching of temporary ice dams of the Alsek River, as has happened several times in the past few centuries.

Seward Glacier Drainage System

Seward Glacier (labeled 17 in fig. 2) is actually an immense ice field of 

more than 1,200 km2 , the surface of which lies entirely in the accumulation 

area. This is the result of the extremely high snow-precipitation rate there. 

The glacier is temperate, and large crevasses are partially water filled in 

summer (Sharp, 195la). Two major outlets come from the ice field: the narrow ice stream that feeds south into the vast Malaspina (Piedmont) Glacier 

(labeled 16 in fig. 2), which lies wholly in Alaska, and the Columbus Glacier 

(figs. 1 and 2), which feeds into the Bering Glacier, Alaska.

The spectacular medial moraine loops seen on the Malaspina Glacier are 

indicative of surging that can be traced to the outlet ice stream coming from 

Seward Glacier, and it is deduced that part of this system surges (Post, 1969).

In this glacier system, we will mention the ice-core sites on Mount Logan 

(labeled 1 in fig. 2), although hydrologically they properly should be placed 

in the Chitina River system, as most of the ice flowing from the upper plateau is to the north through Logan Glacier (labeled 3 in fig. 2). However, climatically, the sites are more aligned with the Pacific Ocean-Seward side of 

the mountain. The two sites are on the Northwest Col (5,340 in) and on the 

Prospectors-Russell Col (5,343 in), where 10-m firn temperatures are close 

to -29°C and -SOT, respectively. Ice thicknesses are generally between 100 

and 200 m in the vicinity of the cols (saddles), although they increase out on 

the ice plateau, which has an area of about 15 km2 . Glaciological activities 

for the Northwest Col site are summarized in Holdsworth and others (1992). 

Information on the 2001-2 drilling project can be found at http:// 

sts.gsc.nrcan.gc.ca/ice 2001/home.asp

J324 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Hubbard Glacier System

Hubbard Glacier [112 km] (labeled 18 in fig. 2) originates from a number 

of neves and divides that it shares with other valley glaciers (for example, 

Kaskawulsh and Logan Glaciers, labeled 12 and 3 in fig. 2, respectively). It 

flows across the Yukon-Alaska border [length to that point is 72 km] and 

ultimately calves into Yakutat Bay (fig. 1). The Alaskan section is discussed 

further in Chapter K, Glaciers of Alaska. Within Canada, the glacier appears 

to be wholly in the accumulation area. Geophysical studies on the Canadian 

part are restricted to the Hubbard-Kaskawulsh divide area, where the maximum nrn-ice transition depth was found to be about 40 m. Ice depths are 

more than 500 m, and an ice-flow rate of 132 m a"1 was found about 10 km 

from the divide (Clarke, 1967). Glaciers on Mount Queen Mary (lat 

60°37'N.; long 139°43'W. ; 3,890 m; fig. 1) on the east side of the glacier are a 

source of lateral ice supply. In 1981, a surge was observed in one of the glaciers on the side of Mount Queen Mary, and a surge bulge moved out onto 

Hubbard Glacier. Areas of transient crevasse formation were often 

observed on the upper parts of Hubbard Glacier during the 1980's and early 

1990's. Thus, even though the glacier is not formally identified as a surging 

glacier, it is dynamically very active, especially in its terminal region.

Figure 16 Annotated Landsat 5 MSS 

mosaic of two images (Path 59, Row 19) 

showing the Grand Pacific, Ferris, and 

Melbern Glaciers, as well as other glaciers. Landsat images are from the EROS 

Data Center, Sioux Falls, S. Dak.

Grand Pacific-Melbern Glacier System

In the far southeastern part of the St. Elias Mountains, we find two 

interesting low-elevation transect glaciers that share a common divide 

at about 500 m above sea level. The south one of the pair is the Grand 

Pacific Glacier, well known for its numerous and apparently erratic

60°N 137°W 59°N

GLACIERS OF CANADA J325
oscillations across the British Columbia-Alaska boundary (figs.l, 16). Following a catastrophic retreat up Tarr Inlet in the early part of the 20th century (see Chapter K, Glaciers of Alaska), its terminus retreated behind the 

border, where it stayed for several decades. In 1925, the (probably 

grounded) ice-front position was the farthest back on record, but by 1948, 

it had begun to approach the border, and by 1966, the ice front eventually 

extended at least 1 km into Alaskan waters before starting a steady retreat. 

By 1986, the ice front had retreated 0.8 km (Hall and others, 1995) but was 

still, barely, across the border in Alaska. Maps [for example, U.S. Operational Navigation Chart (ONC) D-12, scale 1:1,000,000] [all editions up to 

edition 6] typically show the ice front essentially coinciding with the border. Field (1958) [map 1.11] also shows the ice front coinciding with the 

border. The current status of the front has not been checked. Recent fluctuations have been connected with activity of the Ferris Glacier (fig. 16), 

one of the major tributaries of the Grand Pacific Glacier and probably a 

surging glacier.

On the other side of the divide, the situation is completely different. Melbern Glacier has generally thinned 300-600 m, and the terminus has 

retreated 15 km since the "Little Ice Age" maximum. About 7 km of this 

retreat took place between the middle 1970's and 1987 and caused the formation of one of the largest existing ice-dammed lakes. In 1987, the lake 

was full of tabular icebergs up to 200 m in diameter (Clague and Evans, 

1994). Satellite imagery is particularly suitable for monitoring these types 

of major changes in Melbern Glacier, as well as in Grand Pacific Glacier.

J326
References Cited

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and allied problems (155G and 115SE): Canada Geological 

Survey Paper 69-28, 19 p.

Bradbury, J.P., and Whiteside, M.C., 1980, Paleolimnology of two 

lakes in the Klutlan Glacier region, Yukon Territory, Canada: 

Quaternary Research, v. 14, no. 1, p. 149-168.

Brecher, H.H., 1966, Surface velocity measurements on the 

Kaskawulsh Glacier, Yukon Territory, Canada: Ohio State 

University Institute of Polar Studies Report 21, 73 p.

Bushnell, V.C., and Marcus, M.G., eds., 1974, Icefield Ranges 

Research Project scientific results: New York, American Geographical Society, and Montreal, Arctic Institute of North 

America, v. 4, 385 p.

Bushnell, V.C., and Ragle, R.H., eds., 1969, Icefield Ranges 

Research Project scientific results: New York, American Geographical Society, and Montreal, Arctic Institute of North 

America, v. 1, 224 p.

 1970, Icefield Ranges Research Project scientific results: 

New York, American Geographical Society, and Montreal, 

Arctic Institute of North America, v. 2,139 p.

 1972, Icefield Ranges Research Project scientific results:

New York, American Geographical Society, and Montreal, 

Arctic Institute of North America, v. 3, 263 p.

Clague, J.J., and Evans, S.G., 1994, Historic retreat of Grand 

Pacific and Melbern Glaciers, Saint Elias Mountains, Canada An analogue for decay of the Cordilleran ice sheet at 

the end of the Pleistocene?: Journal of Glaciology, v. 40, 

no. 134, p. 205-210.

Clague, J.J., and Rampton, V.N., 1982, Neoglacial Lake Alsek: 

Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, v. 19, no. 1, p. 94-117.

Clarke, G.K.C., 1967, Geophysical measurements on the 

Kaskawulsh and Hubbard Glaciers, Yukon Territory: Arctic 

Institute of North America Technical Paper 20, 36 p.

 1976, Thermal regulation of glacier surging: Journal of 

Glaciology, v. 16, no. 74, p. 231-250.

 1982, Glacier outburst floods from "Hazard Lake," Yukon

Territory, and the problem of flood magnitude prediction: 

Journal of Glaciology, v. 28, no. 98, p. 3-21. 

 1991, Length, width, and slope influence on glacier surging: Journal of Glaciology, v. 37, no. 126, p. 236-246.

Clarke, G.K.C., and Jarvis, G.T., 1976, Post-surge temperatures in 

Steele Glacier, Yukon Territory, Canada: Journal of Glaciology, v. 16, no. 74, p. 261-268.

Clarke, G.K.C., and Mathews, W.H., 1981, Estimates of the magnitude of glacier outburst floods from Lake Donjek, Yukon 

Territory, Canada: Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, v. 18, 

no. 9, p. 1452-1463.

Collins, S.G., and Clarke, G.K.C., 1977, History and bathymetry 

of a surge-dammed lake: Arctic, v. 30, no. 4, p. 217-224.

Dewart, Gilbert, 1970, Seismic investigation of the ice properties 

and bedrock topography at the confluence of the north and 

central arms of the Kaskawulsh Glacier, in Bushnell, V.C., 

and Ragle, R.H., eds., Icefield Ranges Research Project scientific results: New York, American Geographical Society, and 

Montreal, Arctic Institute of North America, v. 2, p. 77-102.

Driscoll, EG., Jr., 1980, Formation of the neoglacial surge 

moraines of the Klutlan Glacier, Yukon Territory, Canada: 

Quaternary Research, v. 14, no. 1, p. 19-30.

Field, W.O., 1958, Atlas of mountain glaciers in the Northern 

Hemisphere: Natick, Mass., Quartermaster Research and 

Engineering Command, Headquarters, U.S. Army Technical 

Report EP 92, unpaginated.

 ed., 1975, Mountain glaciers of the Northern Hemisphere: 

Hanover, N.H., U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Cold Regions 

Research and Engineering Laboratory, v. 2, 932 p.

Hall, D.K., Benson, C.S., and Field, W.O., 1995, Changes of glaciers in Glacier Bay, Alaska, using ground and satellite measurements: Physical Geography, v. 16, no. 1, p. 27-41.

Holdsworth, Gerald, 1965, An examination and analysis of the 

formation of transverse crevasses, Kaskawulsh Glacier, 

Yukon Territory, Canada: Ohio State University Institute of 

Polar Studies Report 16, 90 p.

 1973, Surge of Tweedsmuir Glacier, British Columbia, 

Canada: Ice, no. 43 (3d issue), p. 23.

 1992, Ice cores as a source of long-term net precipitation

data A North American perspective, in Kite, G.W., and Harvey, K.D., eds., Using hydrometric data to detect and monitor 

climatic change: National Hydrology Research Institute Symposium 8, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, 1992, p. 107-120.

Holdsworth, Gerald, Krouse, H.R., and Nosal, M., 1992, Ice core 

climate signals from Mount Logan, Yukon, A.D. 1700-1987, in 

Bradley, R.S., and Jones, P.D., eds., Climate since A.D. 1500: 

New York, Routledge, p. 483-504.

Holdsworth, Gerald, and Peake, E., 1985, Acid content of snow 

from a mid-troposphere sampling site on Mt. Logan, Yukon 

Territory, Canada: Annals of Glaciology, v. 7, p. 153-160.

Jackson, J.A., ed., 1997, Glossary of geology (4th ed.): Alexandria, Va., American Geological Institute, 769 p.

Jarvis, G.T., and Clarke, G.K.C., 1974, Thermal effects of crevassing on Steele Glacier, Yukon Territory, Canada: Journal of 

Glaciology, v. 13, no. 68, p. 243-254.

 1975, The thermal regime of Trapridge Glacier and its relevance to glacier surging: Journal of Glaciology, v. 14, no. 71, 

p. 235-250.

Johnson, P.G., 1972a, A possible advanced hypsithermal position 

of the Donjek Glacier: Arctic, v. 25, no. 4, p. 302-305.

 1972b, The morphological effects of surges of the Donjek 

Glacier, St. Elias Mountains, Yukon Territory, Canada: Journal of Glaciology, v. 11, no. 62, p. 227-234.

Kamb, B., Raymond, C.F, Harrison, W.D., Engelhardt, Hermann, 

Echelmeyer, K.A., Humphrey, N., Brugman, M.M., and Pfeffer, 

T, 1985, Glacier surge mechanism, 1982-83 surge of Variegated Glacier, Alaska: Science, v. 227, no. 4686, p. 469-479.

Krimmel, R.M., and Meier, M.F, 1975, Glacier applications of 

ERTS images: Journal of Glaciology, v. 15, no. 73, p. 391-402.

Lliboutry, Louis, 1965, Traite de glaciologie, tome 2: Glaciers, 

variations du climat, sols geles [Treatise of glaciology, v. 2: 

Glaciers, climatic variations, and frozen ground]: Paris, Masson et Cie, 612 p.

GLACIERS OF CANADA J327
Meier, M.F., and Post, Austin, 1969, What are glacier surges?: 

Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, v. 6, no. 4, pt. 2, 

p. 807-817.

Miller, J.M., 1974, Environmental surveys in Alaska based upon 

ERTS data, in Freden, S.C., Mercanti, E.P., and Friedman, 

D.B., eds., Third Earth Resources Technology Satellite Symposium, II: U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration Special Publication 356, p. 12-40.

Paterson, W.S.B., 1994, The physics of glaciers (3d ed.): Oxford, 

U.K., Elsevier Science, 480 p.

Post, Austin, 1966, The recent surge of Walsh Glacier, Yukon and 

Alaska: Journal of Glaciology, v. 6, no. 45, p. 375-381.

 1967, Walsh Glacier surge, 1966 observations: Journal of 

Glaciology, v. 6, no. 47, p. 763-765.

 1969, Distribution of surging glaciers in western North

America: Journal of Glaciology, v. 8, no. 53, p. 229-240.

Post, Austin, Meier, M.F., and Mayo, L.R., 1976, Measuring the 

motion of the Lowell and Tweedsmuir surging glaciers of 

British Columbia, Canada, in Williams, R.S., Jr., and Carter, 

W.D., eds., ERTS-1, a new window on our planet: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 929, p. 180-184.

Rampton, V.N., 1970, Neoglacial fluctuations of the Natazhat and 

Klutlan Glaciers, Yukon Territory, Canada: Canadian Journal 

of Earth Sciences, v. 7, no. 5, p. 1236-1263.

Sharp, R.P., 1943, Geology of the Wolf Creek area, St. Elias 

Range, Yukon Territory, Canada: Geological Society America 

Bulletin, v. 54, no. 5, p. 625-650.

Sharp, R.P., 1951a, Glacial history of Wolf Creek, St. Elias Range, 

Canada: Journal of Geology, v. 59, no. 2, p. 97-117.

 1951b, Thermal regimen of firn on upper Seward Glacier, 

Yukon Territory, Canada: Journal of Glaciology, v. 1, no. 9, 

p. 476-487.

Stanley, A.D., 1969, Observations on the surge of Steele Glacier, 

Yukon Territory, Canada: Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, v. 6, no. 4, pt. 2, p. 819-830.

Whiteside, M.C., Bradbury, J.P., and Tarapchak, S.J., 1980, Limnology of the Klutlan moraines, Yukon Territory, Canada: 

Quaternary Research, v. 14, no. 1, p. 130-148.

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experiment in photographic mapping: Geographical Review, 

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Review, v. 32, no. 1, p. 36-55.

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Ragle, R.H., eds., Icefield Ranges Research Project scientific 

results: New York, American Geographical Society, and Montreal, Arctic Institute of North America, v. 3, p. 1-8.

Wright, H.E., Jr., 1980, Surge moraines of the Klutlan Glacier, 

Yukon Territory, Canada Origin, wastage, vegetation succession, lake development, and application to the late-glacial 

of Minnesota: Quaternary Research, v. 14, no. 1, p. 2-18.

J328 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Glaciers of North AmericaGLACIERS OF THE CONTERMINOUS 

UNITED STATES

GLACIERS OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

By ROBERT M. KRIMMEL

With a section on GLACIER RETREAT IN GLACIER NATIONAL PARK, MONTANA 

By CARL H. KEY, DANIEL B. FAGRE, and RICHARD K MENICKE

SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD

Edited by RICHARD S. WILLIAMS, Jr., and JANE G. FERRIGNO

U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 1386-J-2

Glaciers, having a total area of about 580 km2, are found in nine western states of 

the United States: Washington, Oregon, California, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, 

Idaho, Utah, and Nevada. Only the first five states have glaciers large enough to be 

discerned at the spatial resolution ofLands at MSS images. Since 1850, the area of 

glaciers in Glacier National Park has decreased by one-third
CONTENTS

Page

Abstract ------------------------------------------------------------------- J329

Introduction 329 

Historical Observations 330

FIGURE 1. Historical map of a part of the Sierra Nevada, California 331 

2. Early map of the glaciers of Mount Rainier, Washington 332

Glacier Inventories 332 

Mapping of Glaciers -- -- 333

TABLE 1. Areas of glaciers in the western conterminous United States ~ 334 

Landsat Images of the Glaciers of the Western United States 335

FIGURE 3. Temporal composite of two Landsat images of the South

Cascade Glacier basin, Washington 336 

4. Temporal color composite Landsat image of the northern

Cascade Range 337

Selection of Landsat Images 338

FIGURE 5. A, Map of Landsat nominal scene centers of glacierized areas 

of the Western United States; B, Index map to the optimum 

Landsat 1, 2, and 3 MSS and Landsat 3 RBV images of the 

glaciers of the Western United States 338 

TABLE 2. Optimum Landsat 1, 2, and 3 MSS and RBV images of

glaciers of the western conterminous United States 340

Glaciers of the State of Washington 343 

Glaciers of the North Cascade Range 343

FIGURE 6. Sequence of photographs of South Cascade Glacier,

Washington, taken in 1928, 1939, 1955, 1983, and 1996,

showing changes 344

7. Sequence of photographs of South Cascade Glacier,

taken in 1958, 1978, and 1979, showing changes 346

8. Cumulative mass balance for South Cascade Glacier:

1884-1995- 348

Glaciers of the Olympic Peninsula 348

FIGURE 9. Landsat 2 MSS false-color composite image of the Olympic

Peninsula, Puget Sound, and vicinity, Washington 349

Glaciers of Mount Rainier 350

FIGURE 10. Mount Rainier, Washington, from a part of Landsat 3 RBV

image 350 

11. Ground photograph of Nisqually Glacier from the old

Nisqually River bridge, Mount Rainier, Washington, ca. 1900 351

Glaciers of Southern Washington 352

FIGURE 12. A, Landsat 2 MSS false-color composite image of glaciers on 

Mount St. Helens, Mount Adams, and Goat Rocks; B, Oblique 

aerial photograph of Mount St. Helens, Washington on 

18 May 1980; C, Landsat 3 RBV image of Mount St. Helens 

three months after eruption 352

Glaciers of the State of Oregon 354 

Glaciers of the State of California 354

FIGURE 13. Landsat 3 MSS false-color composite image of the Sierra

Nevada of California 355

14. Landsat 3 RBV image of the high central Sierra Nevada,

including Mono Lake and most of Yosemite National Park -- 356

15. Enlargement of part of a Landsat 3 RBV image of the high

central Sierra Nevada 357

16. Map of the glaciers of the central Sierra Nevada west of

Bishop, California, similar in area coverage to Figure 15 358

CONTENTS III
Page

Glaciers of the States of Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Idaho, 

Utah, and Nevada 359

FIGURE 17. Landsat 3 MSS false-color composite image of the glaciers of

Glacier National Park, Montana 359

18. Landsat 2 MSS false-color composite image of the glaciers

of the Wind River Range in west-central Wyoming 360

19. Oblique aerial photograph taken on 6 August 1979 of some of

the glaciers in the Wind River Range, Wyoming 361

20. Enlargement of part of a Landsat 3 RBV image that includes

most of the glaciers in the State of Colorado 362

21. Landsat 2 MSS false-color composite image of the glacierized

Sawtooth Range, Idaho 363

22. Landsat 2 MSS false-color composite image of the glacierized

Wasatch Range,Utah 364

Glacier Retreat in Glacier National Park, Montana 365

FIGURE 23. Computer-generated, unsupervised spectral classification of a 

Landsat TM scene of Glacier National Park and vicinity, 

Montana 367

24. Oblique photograph (taken about 1912) showing hanging cirque 

glaciers and the "glacier staircase" of North Swiftcurrent 

Glaciers ---- - --» 369

25. Four enlargements of figure 23 provide a comparison of the 

area covered by glacier ice in 1995 with that of the middle 

19th century 371

26. Photograph of Blackfoot Glacier in August 1914 372

27. Neoglacial recession chronology of Sperry Glacier showing

the series of termini mapped since the middle 19th century ~ 3 73

28. Neoglacial recession chronology of Grinnell and Swiftcurrent 

Glaciers showing the series of termini mapped since the 

middle 19th century 373

29. Paired 1938 and 1981 photographs of Grinnell Glacier,

The Salamander, and proglacial Upper Grinnell Lake 374 

TABLE 3. Named glaciers of Glacier National Park and vicinity, Montana 366

Recent Glacier Trends 375 

References Cited 377

IV CONTENTS
SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD

GLACIERS OF NORTH AMERICAGLACIERS OF THE CONTERMINOUS 

UNITED STATES

GLACIERS OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES 

By ROBERT M. KRIMMEL1

With a section on GLACIER RETREAT IN GLACIER 

NATIONAL PARK, MONTANA

By CARL H. KEY,2 DANIEL B. FAGRE,2 and RICHARD K 

MENICKE3

Abstract

Glaciers are found in the following States of the Western United States: Washington, Oregon, California, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Idaho, Utah, and Nevada. According to the 

most recent sources, these glaciers have a total area of about 580 km2. The earliest recorded 

glacier observations were made in 1857, and all the major glacier areas were known by the 

early part of the 20th century. Glacier inventories have been completed or are in progress for 

several major glacierized areas. The major source materials for modern glacier inventories of 

the Western United States are the various U.S. Geological Survey topographic map series at 

scales of 1:24,000, 1:62,500, 1:100,000, and 1:125,000 and the vertical aerial photographs used 

to compile these maps. Where these sources are not available, oblique aerial photographs 

have been used to delineate the extent of glaciers and to update glacier margins where significant change has taken place. Landsat images and digital data have been used in glacier studies in the conterminous United States. However, the spatial resolution of Landsat is such that 

only glaciers in the States of Washington, Oregon, California, Montana, and Wyoming can be 

effectively observed from Landsat 1, 2, and 3 data. In the remaining States, the Landsat data 

can often offer regional views of moraines from past glaciation and can also be useful in the 

study of glacial geology and the variations in seasonal snow cover.

Introduction

Glaciers are found in the following States of the Western United 

States: Washington, Oregon, California, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, 

Idaho, Utah, and Nevada. The single most comprehensive work on the 

glaciers in these States is volume 1 of "Mountain Glaciers of the Northern Hemisphere," edited by William 0. Field (Field, 1975), and he 

relied on the expertise of numerous people as coauthors. The work 

attempted to list all glaciological literature and other reference material 

(including maps, aerial photographs, and terrestrial photographs available for each area), in addition to creating a comprehensive glacier 

inventory. Numerous references are cited at the end of each chapter.

Manuscript approved for publication 7 March 2002.

1 U.S. Geological Survey, 1201 Pacific Avenue - Suite 600, Tacoma, WA 98402.

2 U.S. Geological Survey, Glacier National Park, West Glacier, MT 59936.

3 U.S. National Park Service, Glacier National Park, West Glacier, MT 59936.

GLACIERS OF THE CONTERMINOUS UNITED STATES J329
Perhaps the single most referenced source on the distribution of glaciers in 

the conterminous United States is a paper by Meier (196la), who reported 

on a survey of United States glaciers carried out from 1957 to 1959. Brown 

(1989) summarized the status of work on compiling a glacier inventory of 

the United States. Snyder (1996) compiled a bibliography of glacier studies 

by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) that includes numerous citations to 

studies of glaciers in the Western United States. This section in "Satellite 

Image Atlas of Glaciers of the World" must, by the nature of the subject, 

parallel the work of Meier (1961a) and Field (1975), but it will also stress 

those data available from the Landsat 1, 2, and 3 series of satellites.

The distribution of glaciers in the Western United States can be most 

logically categorized by using the physiographic provinces that encompass 

various mountain ranges. These mountain ranges can be divided arbitrarily 

by States, which are used as the primary geographic categorization in this 

section for glaciers in the Western United States.

Historical Observations

All of the major glacier areas in the Western United States were known 

by the early 20th century. The earliest recorded glacier observations were 

made by Kautz in 1857 (Kautz, 1875). Other pre-1900 glacier observations 

include those of Clarence King (1871), John Muir (1894), and I.C. Russell, 

who published two comprehensive works: "Existing Glaciers of the United 

States" (Russell, 1885) and "Glaciers of Mount Rainier" (Russell, 1898). 

These reports contained maps of glacier cover for a small area of the Sierra 

Nevada (fig. 1), Mount Shasta, the Lyell Glacier4 (Yosemite National Park), 

and Mount Rainier (fig. 2), as well as numerous sketches of glaciers. A 

series of reports by F.E. Matthes from 1931 to 1945, published in the Transactions of the American Geophysical Union (Matthes, 1931, 1932, 1933, 

1934, 1935, 1936, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1940, 1941, 1942, 1944, and 1945), 

attempted to summarize contemporary glacier research for that period. 

With the advent of regionally comprehensive vertical aerial photographs 

and topographic maps compiled from these photographs, some detailed 

glacier inventories have subsequently been compiled (Post and others, 

1971; Graf, 1977; Raub and others, 1980; and Spicer, 1986). Another comprehensive source of glacier data that includes information on United 

States glaciers is the Permanent Service on the Fluctuations of Glaciers 

(now part of the World Glacier Monitoring Service), which has published 

seven volumes since 1967 summarizing glacier changes during seven successive 5-year periods (Kasser, 1967 and 1973; Miiller, 1977; Haeberli, 

1985; Haeberli and Miiller, 1988; Haeberli and Hoelzle, 1993; Haeberli and 

others, 1998).

The long-term measurement of changes in termini position and mass balance of glaciers (Fountain and others, 1991; 0strem and Brugman, 1991) is 

important to understanding both the relationship of glacier fluctuation to 

climate change and to the contribution of glacier meltwater to the total 

annual discharge of a hydrologic basin (Fountain and Tangborn, 1985a,b). 

The latter application is especially important where the drainage basin is 

used for irrigation or for the generation of hydroelectric power.

4 The geographic place-names given in the text have been approved for each State by the U.S. 

Board on Geographic Names. Unapproved names for glaciers are shown in italics.

J330 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Figure 1. Historical map of a part of the Sierra Nevada, (Russell, 1885). The coverage of this early map is shown in 

Calif., taken from "Existing Glaciers of the United States" figure 14. Glaciers are indicated by solid black.

GLACIERS OF THE CONTERMINOUS UNITED STATES J331
U.S.GEOLOGICAL SURVEY EIGHTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT, PART II, PL.IXVI

MAP OF THE GLACIER SYSTEM 

MOUNT RAINIER .WASHINGTON.

Compiled from map by H M.Safvent and G.F Evans 1896 

Revised according to notes bythe U.S.Geological Survey.

Glacier Inventories

Any work that attempts to list pertinent glaciological data on all the glaciers in a given area can be considered to be a glacier inventory, and international guidelines are available for the preparation of glacier inventories 

(UNESCO, 1970; Miiller and others, 1977). Glacier inventories have been 

completed or are in progress for several major glacierized areas in the 

Western United States and Alaska (Brown, 1989), and these will be discussed as appropriate under each area. The definition of the term glacier is 

critical to any glacier inventory, as well as to an evaluation of the utility of 

Landsat images for the observation of glaciers. Broad definitions of glacier 

normally require that the snow or ice is perennial and that the mass moves 

under its own weight (UNESCO, 1970). Qualifications of this definition 

must be made for specific purposes. For example, the hydrologist may be 

interested in all perennial snow or ice, but the person who studies glacier 

mass transport is interested only in ice movement.

For glacier inventories, the most important factor is that the snow and 

ice be perennial. Discrepancies in measurements of area may result when a 

relatively wet winter is followed by a cool summer. Under these circumstances, many snow patches that could be called glaciers may remain at the 

end of the ablation season. The end result would be widely fluctuating

Figure 2. Early map of the glaciers of 

Mount Rainier, Wash., taken from Russell 

(1898). Compare with figure 10, a Landsat 

3 return beam vidicon (RBV) image of 

Mount Rainier. All the glaciers retreated 

between 1900 and 1980; retreat was minor 

at the Carbon Glacier but was greater than 

1 km at the Cowlitz Glacier.

J332 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
glacierized areas in short time periods, which is generally unacceptable for 

inventory work. Therefore, most inventories are made during a year, or 

multiple years, of abnormally light winter snow and (or) a hot, dry summer, 

which reduce snow-patch areas to a minimum.

Another practical problem in most glacier inventories is that it is normally 

impossible to record every small mass of snow and ice that might fit the glacier definition. For this reason, a minimum size limit, in addition to the more 

common definition of glacier, is often stipulated in glacier inventories. The 

minimum size is determined by the quality of data, the hydrologic importance 

of the snow and ice, and the interest spurred by tourists and recreationalists. 

For an inventory in the north Cascades (northern Cascade Range) of Washington State, a minimum area of 0.1 km2 was used (Post and others, 1971). 

For an inventory in the Sierra Nevada of California, a minimum area of 0.01 

km2 was used (Raub and others, 1980; unpub. data). It is not the intent of this 

Landsat image atlas to inventory glaciers, and no arbitrary minimum size for 

glaciers has been assigned; however, the effective spatial resolution of Landsat's sensors imposes a minimum on the order of 1 km2 where used for glaciological studies.5 However, 1 km2 as the minimum glacier size would be 

absurd in California because only one glacier, Palisade Glacier, is more 

than 1 km2 in area (Raub and others, 1980; unpub. data).

Mapping of Glaciers

In the Western States, numerous small glaciers exist over a very large 

area. Glacier distribution and area are listed in table 1. Because of the scattered distribution, no comprehensive study of glacier extent was done previous to the compilation of modern topographic maps. A few studies were 

made of isolated areas before 1960, however. Most of these consisted of general observations and, in some cases, photographic records; they are, for the 

most part, referenced in Field (1975). In some areas, a few outstanding photographs of glaciers, taken primarily for artistic purposes or the promotion 

of tourism, exist from as early as 1900. Some of these have found their way 

into modern reports and are used to compare glaciers qualitatively.

The major source materials for modern glacier inventories are the various USGS topographic map series at scales of 1:24,000, 1:62,500, 1:100,000, 

and 1:125,000 and the vertical aerial photographs that were used to compile these maps. In some instances, modern maps are not available for 

important glacierized areas, in which case modern oblique aerial photographs have been used to delineate the extent of each glacier. This oblique 

aerial photography also has been used to update glacier margins in areas 

where significant change has taken place.

The tool most useful in describing the geometry of a glacier is a topographic map. Commonly, the USGS topographic map series do not show sufficient detail to satisfy a specific glaciological need, and a special map must 

be produced for a specific glacier. Such special maps, mostly unpublished, 

have been made for the South Cascade, Nisqually, and Klawatti Glaciers 

(Meier, 1966), Blue Glacier (Tangborn and others, 1990), and Shoestring 

Glacier in Washington; the Eliot and Collier Glaciers in Oregon; the McClure 

and Palisade Glaciers in California; the Grinnell and Sperry Glaciers in Montana; the Dinwoody Glacier in Wyoming; and several glaciers in Colorado. 

Normally the vertical aerial photographic surveys used for these maps were 

done in the early fall, a time particularly advantageous to the mapping of

5 Theoretically, for the 79-m pixel size of the Landsat multispectral scanner image, a glacier 0.2 

km2 in area could be resolved (approximately 2.8 times the pixel size). From a practical standpoint, 

however, a glacier 1 km2 in area (1 mm2 on a l:l,000,000-scale Landsat multispectral scanner image) 

is about the smallest that can be unambiguously delineated under optimum contrast conditions.

GLACIERS OF THE CONTERMINOUS UNITED STATES J333
TABLE 1. Areas of glacier's in the western conterminous United States

[Glacier areas in the first column are taken from Meier (1961a); dashes mean not determined by Meier. Glacier areas in the 

second column are from Meier (1961a) where a more recent source is not available. The change in area between 1961 and 

the more recent source is normally due to a more complete data set rather than a true change. An asterisk indicates that 

the value is estimated. Glacier numbers correspond with those in figure 5]

Area (square kilometers)

Location

Meier (1961a) More recent source, 

where available

2267.0

345.9

492.1

1.5

*16.1

55.92/2.16 

428.5/424.8

4 13.5

3.2

48.3

Washington

1. North Cascades1 (northern Cascade Range)..... 251.7

2. Olympic Mountains............................................... 33.0

3. Mount Rainier........................................................ 87.8

4. Goat Rocks area.................................................... 1.5

5. Mount Adams......................................................... *16.1

6. Mount St. Helens................................................... 7.3

Total....... 397.4

Oregon

7. Mount Hood........................................................... 9.9

8. Mount Jefferson..................................................... 3.2

9. Three Sisters area.................................................. 7.6

10. Wallowa Mountains............................................... 

Total....... 20.7

California

11. Mount Shasta......................................................... 5.5

12. Salmon-Trinity Mountains.................................... .3

13. Sierra Nevada......................................................... 13.1

Total...... 18.9

Montana

14. Glacier National Park........................................... 13.8

15. Cabinet Range........................................................ .5

16. Flathead-Mission-Swan Ranges........................... *1.2

17. Crazy Mountains.................................................... *.5

18. BeartoothMountains............................................ 10.8

Total....... 26.8

Wyoming

19. Big Horn Mountains.............................................. .3

20. Absaroka Range..................................................... * 7

21. Teton Range ........................................................... 2.0

22. Wind River Range.................................................. 44.5

Total....... 47.5

Colorado

23. Rocky Mountain Park-Front Range, others....... 1.7

Idaho

24. Sawtooth Mountains............................................. 

Utah

25. Wasatch Mountains............................................... 

Nevada

26. Wheeler Peak......................................................... .2

25.1

46.9 

.3

650.0/63.0 

57.2/70.2

728.4

7.5

7*2.3

7*.4

7 10.9

42.5

7 1.0

7*7

7 1.7

731.6

37.5

71.5

8*1.0

9 .2

1 The region bounded by the Canadian border on the north, Snoqualmie Pass on the south, the 

Puget Lowlands on the west, and the Columbia and Okanogan Rivers on the east.

2 Post and others, 1971.

3 Spicer, 1986.

4 Driedger and Kennard, 1986.

5 Brugman and Meier, 1981. Before/after eruption of 18 May 1980.

6 Raub and others, 1980; unpub. data. The 50-km2 area includes glaciers plus moraine-covered 

ice; the 63-km2 area includes glaciers, moraine-covered ice, and small ice bodies not large enough 

to be considered glaciers.

7 Graf, 1977.

8 Estimated; various observers have reported numerous small glaciers.

9 Timpanogos Cave, Utah, USGS l:24,000-scale topographic map.

J334 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
glaciers because the residual snow cover is at a minimum and new snow has 

not started accumulating. The maps not only provide an accurate position of 

the glacier terminus but, even more important, give reliable ice elevations 

throughout the entire area. This third geometric dimension is especially 

valuable because, through the compilation of later maps from new vertical 

aerial photographic or ground surveys, volumetric change can be determined over a given time. Ice gain or loss is hydrologically important, and the 

distribution of the gain or loss over the glacier is vital to understanding the 

glacier's state of health and its relationship to climate.

In this chapter, no attempt is made to use Landsat multispectral scanner 

(MSS) or Landsat 3 return beam vidicon (RBV) images to define the shape or 

size of a glacier. In almost all cases, vertical aerial photographs are available 

that have spatial resolutions of one or two orders of magnitude better than the 

Landsat MSS images. With the exception of a few isolated cases, even the 

l:125,000-scale topographic maps depict the glaciers more precisely than does 

Landsat. Occasionally though, misinterpretation of photographic data has 

resulted in map errors. Although numerous glaciers have undergone changes 

in terminus position of 100 m or more since the map compilations, no routine 

attempt has been made to correct the maps by using Landsat image data.

Landsat Images of the Glaciers of the Western 

United States

The spatial resolving power of the MSS of the Landsat 1,2, and 3 systems is such that only glaciers in the States of Washington, Oregon, California, Montana, and Wyoming can be observed effectively. In the remaining 

States, the Landsat images commonly offer striking views of moraines from 

past glaciation and can also be useful in the study of glacial geology and 

variations in seasonal snowpack.

The effective spatial resolution of the Landsat MSS sensors is generally 

considered to be about 200 m under normal conditions of contrast. Under 

optimum conditions (high contrast) during the satellite pass and with 

careful image and photographic processing, MSS images can give glaciological information approaching 100 m in spatial resolution (Krimmel and 

Meier, 1975). The best possible analysis of Landsat imagery is achieved by 

using digital data rather than photographic prints. The Landsat MSS digital 

unit is a pixel, and each pixel has a reflectance (gray-scale) value, given as 

a digital number (DN), ranging from 1 to 127 (MSS bands 4-6) or 1 to 63 

(MSS band 7) (1 is dark and 127 or 63 is bright). Manipulation of digital 

data not only allows simple analysis of single MSS bands but also permits 

the use of analytical techniques, such as band-to-band ratioing and dateto-date (temporal) comparisons of sequential images.

A very simple way to determine snow cover is by radiance threshold. A 

radiance value is picked above which it is assumed that all material is snow. 

A summation of these pixels with radiance values higher than the arbitrary 

value then represents the snow-covered area. However, in mountainous 

areas, some snow is always in shadow, which results in a reduced radiance. 

Also, most of the edge of the snow cover is irregular, and along that boundary, many pixels are only partially snow covered (mixed pixels) and normally may have reduced brightness. The radiance of any given pixel is an 

integration of the brightness values of all material within that pixel. Some 

subjectivity always exists in picking the radiance level for a given percent of 

snow cover, and the resulting regional snow-cover determination is a result 

of the selected radiance. Of course, other features in the image can also 

result in high radiance values, notably clouds.

GLACIERS OF THE CONTERMINOUS UNITED STATES J335
The identification of ice is commonly more difficult than that of snow. 

Simple radiance thresholds do not identify ice because much of it is less 

bright than the surrounding rock, glacial outwash, or vegetation. Digital 

band-to-band ratios have been successfully used to identify both ice and 

snow under shadow conditions (Meier and Evans, 1975). On a regional scale, 

however, instead of digital data, it has proven to be more cost-effective to use 

analog photographic film combined with the subjective input of brightness 

variations in order to gain a knowledge of morainal landforms and trimlines.

Some digital-image processing has been used for selected glaciers. South 

Cascade Glacier in the State of Washington is about 3 km long and has an area 

of 2.5 km2 . It has been the site of remote sensing experiments since the 1960's 

(Meier and others, 1966). An exceptional Landsat image is required to obtain 

information about a glacier this small (Krimmel and Meier, 1975). Two cloudfree scenes, one from 11 August 1973 and one from 16 September 1973, were 

used to determine the change in snow-cover area. Figure 3 shows the August 

digital image compared to the September digital image, the pixels that are 

snow (DN>100 on MSS bands) in August, but not in September, being shown 

as heavy solid circles. Although such techniques may be useful in analyzing 

special cases in small areas, it has proven to be impractical for large areas

121°04'W 121°03'

°22'N 

48°2r 

Figure 4. (opposite page) Temporal color 

composite Landsat image (1420-18303, 

band 5; 16 September 1973; Path 50, Row 

26; and 1258-18322, bands 5, 6, and 7; 7 

April 1973; Path 50, Row 26) of two north 

Cascades (northern Cascade Range) 

images in Washington State and British 

Columbia, Canada. This image shows 

areas that were snow covered on 16 September 1973 as a brilliant red, areas that 

were snow covered on 7 April 1973 as a 

white, and healthy vegetation as a tan 

color (Deutsch, 1983, fig. 31-72, p. 1735) 

The southeast quadrant of the image 

includes most of the glaciers of the north 

Cascades. Relief in the north Cascades is 

extreme, the valley to summit difference 

being as high as 2,000 m. Mount Baker 

(image center), at 3,285 m, is the highest 

peak; many other peaks approach 2,500 m. 

Annual precipitation in the north Cascades 

increases rapidly from about 1 m in the 

Puget Lowlands to as high as 4.5 m at the 

crest of the Cascade Range. Precipitation 

diminishes rapidly east of the crest to less 

than 0.5 m (Phillips and Donaldson, 1972). 

The major glacier concentrations are on 

Mount Baker and on high peaks near the 

crest of the north Cascades.

Figure 3. Pixel-by-pixel temporal composite of two Landsat images of the South 

Cascade Glacier basin, Washington. All 

pixels having a radiance of 100 in MSS 

band 5 on images from 11 August 1973 

(1384-18311) and 16 September 1973 

(1420-18303) were considered to be snow. 

The heavy solid circles within the basin 

area show pixels that were snow on 11 

August but not snow on 16 September. 

The shaded area within the basin represents areas of snow, firn, or ice cover at 

the end of the melt season in 1973, as 

determined from field observations. Most 

of the snow-cover loss between 11 August 

and 16 September was near the glacier 

edge, at high elevation, or on the lower 

glacier just below the equilibrium line 

(about 1,850 m). The small triangles indicate the positions of benchmarks.

J336 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
because of the high cost of digital data, and in addition, critical data needed 

from the end of the melt season commonly cannot be obtained because of 

cloud cover.

A similar date-to-date comparison of images can also be made optically. In 

figure 4, all the material having greater than a certain brightness level 

(assumed to be snow) is shown for a fall image (16 September 1973). This is 

then registered to a spring image (7 April 1973), which thereby produces a 

bitemporal color-composite image showing the location of perennial snow

The RBV sensors carried on Landsats 1 and 2 offered no advantage over 

the MSS sensors for glacier observation. However, on Landsat 3, the RBV 

was modified to produce a panchromatic image having a pixel resolution of 

about 30 m (2.6 times better than the MSS image). Commonly the exposure 

of the photographic product was such that only some of the image was

121°30' 49°30'N

122°30'W

49°30'N

49'

07RPR73 C N08-53/WI22-00 N N48-51/W121-53 I1SS D SUN EL'33 RZI«5 193-3598-G-1-N-D-2L NRSfl ERTS E-1258-18322-S QJ 

GLACIERS OF THE CONTERMINOUS UNITED STATES J337
45°N

Figure 5. Western conterminous United 

States showing Landsat nominal scene centers and optimum Landsat images of the glaciers. A, Landsat nominal scene centers, 

indicated by solid circles, are shown only for 

areas where glaciers exist. All except one of 

these nominal scene centers has an excellent 

image available. Red letters in the four quadrants around a scene center show that a 

usable Landsat 3 RBV subscene also exists. 

Scattered numerals indicate important glacier 

areas and are keyed to table 1. B, (opposite 

page) optimum Landsat 1, 2, and 3 MSS and 

Landsat 3 RBV images of the glaciers of the 

Western United States. See table 2 for detailed 

information.

35

usable. Unfortunately, the data from this sensor are not now generally available. A few exceptional scenes of glacierized areas are in individual collections, but the available and usable Landsat 3 RBV images do not cover a 

sufficient area to allow glacier delineation over large regions.

Selection of Landsat Images

The optimum satellite image for the analysis of glacier cover would have 

no clouds, would have a high solar-elevation angle so that deep north-, northwest-, and west-facing valleys are not in shadow, and would have only perennial snow. Clouds commonly obscure the mountains where glaciers exist, 

although enough images have been processed of the United States so that 

cloudless scenes can normally be found. The high solar-elevation angle and 

minimum snow-cover factors are contradictory. The optimum Sun angle is in 

late spring and early summer, but the snowpack at this time of year is still 

heavy in the mountains. Because minimum snowpack is more important, the 

Sun-angle factor is rarely considered. In addition, the date of minimum snow 

cover changes from year to year. Optimum conditions, therefore, commonly 

are present on clear days in the fall before new snow falls.

In the western conterminous States, optimum conditions for satellite 

images typically fall between mid-September and mid-October. In addition 

to selecting imagery from the best time of year, it is also important to select 

a year that did not have an abnormally heavy snowpack or an uncommonly 

cool summer. Either of these conditions would leave excess snow in the fall 

and give an impression of greater snow (interpreted as glacier) coverage. 

With these factors in mind, the optimum images for all the glacierized areas 

in the western conterminous United States were selected and are listed in 

table 2. The locations of important glacierized areas are shown in figure 5, 

which keys these areas to table 1.

J338 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
EXPLANATION OF SYMBOLS

Evaluation of image usability for glaciologic, geologic, 

and cartographic applications. Symbols defined as follows:

9 Excellent image (0 to ^5 percent cloud cover) 

9 Good image (>5 to s10 percent cloud cover)

O Nominal scene center for a Landsat 

image outside the area of glaciers

A_B Usable Landsat 3 return beam vidicon (RBV) scenes. 

CD A, B, C, and D refer to usable RBV subscenes

400 KILOMETERS

J_____I

GLACIERS OF THE CONTERMINOUS UNITED STATES J339
TABLE 2. Optimum Landsat 1, 2, and 3 MSS and RBV images of glaciers of the western contenninous United States

[See fig. 5 for explanation of symbols used in "code" column]

PathRow

36-32

36-32

36-32

36-33

36-33

36-34

37-32

37-32

37-33

37-33

37-34

37-34

39-29

39-29

40-29

40-29

40-30

40-30

40-30

40-32

40-32

40-32

41-28

41-29

Nominal 

scene center 

(lat-long)

105°02'W 

040°14'N.

105°02I W 

040"14'N.

105°02'W 

040"14'N.

105"3rW 

038°49'N.

105031'W 

038°49'N.

105°59'W 

037°24'N.

106°28'W 

040°14'N.

106°28'W 

040°14'N.

106"57'W

038°49'N.

106"571W 

038°49'N.

1071J25'W 

037"24'N.

107°25'W 

037°24'N.

107°46IW 

044"30'N.

107°46'W 

044°30'N.

109°12'W 

044"30'N.

109°12'W 

044°30'N.

109°44'W 

043"05'N.

109°44'W 

043"05'N.

109°44'W 

043°05'N.

110°46'W 

040°14'N.

110"46'W 

040°14'N.

110°46W

040°14'N.

110°04'W. 

045°55'N.

110"38'W 

044°30'N.

Landsat 

identification 

number

2618-16525

2222-17011

30929-16504- C

21338-16451

5843-15511

30209-17041

30516-17073

21699-17025

21699-17032

21303-16491

1425-17190

30210-17095

1409-17285

5147-17022

5490-16444

2244-17224

21720-17195

30573-17231- C

30915-17131- D

6000-16574

30933-17133- A

30933-17133- B

2965-17034

21685-17241

Date

01 Oct 76

01 Sep 75

19 Sep 80

21 Sep 78

08 Sep 77

30 Sep 78

03 Aug 79

17 Sep 79

17 Sep 79

17 Aug 78

21 Sep 73

01 Oct 78

05 Sep 73

13 Sep 75

21 Aug 76

23 Sep 75

08 Oct 79

29 Sep79

05 Sep 80

18 Oct 77

23 Sep 80

23 Sep 80

13 Sep 77

03 Sep 79

Solar 

elevation 

angle 

(degrees)

38

48

42

41

41

42

54

13

44

49

46

42

46

40

43

39

35

38

44

31

40

40

38

45

Cloud 

Code cover 

(percent)

A 0

A 0

A 5

A 0

3 30

A °

A 5

A 0

A °

A 0

A "

A 0

A °

A 0

A °

A °

A 5

A "

A °

A °

A "

A 5

A °

A 0

Remarks

Colorado Front Range. Some snow in the highlands

Entire Colorado Front Range

Superb Landsat 3 RBV of glaciers of Colorado Front 

Range (fig. 22). Archived by USGS-SGP1

Central Colorado. Considerable new snow in the 

highlands. No significant glaciers in the region

Central Colorado. No significant glaciers in the region

South-central Colorado. No significant glaciers in the 

region

North-central Colorado. No significant glaciers in the 

region. Some previous winter snow in the highlands

Excellent image of north-central Colorado. No significant glaciers in the region

Excellent image of central Colorado Rocky Mountains. No significant glaciers in the region

Excellent image of central Colorado Rocky Mountains. No significant glaciers in the region

Southwestern Colorado. No significant glaciers in the 

region

Excellent image of southwestern Colorado. No significant glaciers in the region

Small glaciers in the Bighorn Mountains, Wyo. Snow 

in the highlands

Excellent image of Bighorn Mountains, Wyo.

Some snow in the highlands. Glaciers and moraines in 

the Beartooth Mountains, Absaroka Range, Wyo.

Small glaciers in the Beartooth Mountains, Wyo.

Excellent MSS image. Glaciers and moraines of the 

Wind River Range (fig. 18), Wyo.

Good Landsat 3 RBV image of Wind River Range 

moraines, Wyo. Archived by USGS-SGP

Superb Landsat 3 RBV image of moraines and glaciers 

of the Wind River Range, Wyo. Archived by 

USGS-SGP

No significant glaciers in the region. Good image of 

moraines of Uinta Mountains, Utah (fig. 21)

Moraines and cirques in the western Uinta Mountains, 

Utah. Archived by USGS-SGP

Moraines and cirques in the eastern Uinta Mountains, 

Utah. Archived by USGS-SGP

Crazy Mountains, Mont, No significant glaciers in the 

region

Northern part of Teton Range, Wyo. No significant glaciers in the region

J340 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
TABLE 2. Optimum Landsat 1, 2, and 3 MSS and RBV images of glaciers of the western conterminous United States Continued

[See fig. 5 for explanation of symbols used in "code" column]

PathRow

41-30

42-28

42-29

42-33

43-28

43-29

43-30

44-26

44-26

44-26

44-27

44-28

44-28

44-29

44-29

44-35

45-26

45-26

45-27

45-28

45-29

45-34

45-34

45-34

46-26

Nominal 

scene center 

(lat-long)

1H°10'W. 

043°05'N.

m°30'w.

045°55'N.

112°04'W. 

044°30'N.

114008'W 

038°49'N.

112056'W 

045°55'N.

113°30'W 

044°30'N.

114002'W 

043°05'N.

113009'W 

048°44'N.

113009'W 

048°44'N.

113°09'W 

048°44'N.

113°47'W 

047°20'N.

114°22'W 

045°55'N.

114°22'W 

045°55'N.

114°56'W 

044°30'N.

114°56'W 

044°30'N.

117°56'W 

035°58'N.

114°36'W 

048°44'N.

114°36'W 

048°44'N.

115°13'W

047°20'N.

115°48'W 

045°55'N.

116022'W 

044°30'N.

118°54'W 

037°24'N.

118054'W 

037°24'N.

118054'W 

037°24'N.

116°02'W 

048°44'N.

Landsat 

identification 

number

5509-16492

1790-17354

1790-17361

22064-17363

30558-17395

1791-17415

22029-17405

30523-17452

30559-17445

30919-17342- C

30523-17454

2230-17452

30559-17454

2626-17371

30559-17460

1396-18001

22085-17505

30542-17505- B

21653-17452

21293-17323

21293-17325

30578-17532

30578-17532- A

30578-17532- D

30561-17561

Date

09 Sep 76

21 Sep 74

21 Sep 74

16 Sep 80

14 Sep 79

22 Sep 74

12 Aug 80

10 Aug 79

15 Sep 79

09 Sep 80

10 Aug 79

09 Sep 75

15 Sep 79

09 Oct 76

15 Sep 79

23 Aug 73

07 Oct 80

29 Aug 79

02 Aug 79

07 Aug 78

07 Aug 78

04 Oct 79

04 Oct 79

04 Oct 79

17 Sep 79

Solar 

elevation 

angle 

(degrees)

39

39

40

45

41

40

51

49

39

39

50

43

41

33

42

54

31

44

51

49

49

40

40

40

38

Cloud 

Code cover 

(percent)

A °

A °

A °

A °

A °

A °

A °

A 5

A °

A °

A °

A °

A °

A °

A °

A °

A °

A 5

A 5

A °

A °

A °

A °

A °

A °

Remarks

Central western Wyoming and eastern Idaho. No significant glaciers in the region

Southwestern Montana. No significant glaciers in the 

region

Southwestern Montana and northeastern Idaho. No 

significant glaciers in the region

Wheeler Peak, Nev. No significant glaciers in the 

region

Western Montana. Good image of moraines. No significant glaciers in the region

Eastern Sawtooth Range, Idaho. No significant glaciers in the region

Southern Sawtooth Range, Idaho. No significant glaciers in the region

Glacier National Park and Lewis Range, Mont. Some 

previous winter snow in the highlands (fig. 17)

Glacier National Park and Lewis Range, Mont.

Glacier National Park and Lewis Range, Mont. 

Archived by USGS-SGP

Flathead, Mission, and Swan Ranges, Mont. No significant glaciers in the region

Bitterroot Range, Idaho- Mont. No significant glaciers 

in the region

Bitterroot Range, Idaho- Mont. No significant glaciers 

in the region

Sawtooth Range, Idaho. Some snow in the highlands. 

No significant glaciers in the region (fig. 20)

Sawtooth Range, Idaho. No significant glaciers in the 

region

Southern Sierra Nevada, Calif. No significant glaciers 

in the region

Glacier National Park and Lewis Range. Cabinet 

Mountains, Mont.

Glacier National Park and Lewis Range, Mont.

Western Montana. No significant glaciers in the region

Western Sawtooth Range, Idaho. No significant glaciers in the region

Southwestern Sawtooth Range, Idaho. No significant 

glaciers in the region

Sierra Nevada, Calif. No significant glaciers in the 

region (fig. 13)

Northern Sierra Nevada, Calif, (fig. 14). Archived by 

USGS-SGP

Southern Sierra Nevada, Calif, (fig. 15). Archived by 

USGS-SGP

Cabinet Mountains, Idaho-Mont. No significant glaciers in the region

GLACIERS OF THE CONTERMINOUS UNITED STATES J341
TABLE 2. Optimum Landsat 1, 2, and 3 MSS and RBV images of glaciers of the western conterminous United States Continued

[See fig. 5 for explanation of symbols used in "code" column]

PathRow

46-29

46-33

48-31

48-31

49-26

49-27

49-27

49-28

49-28

49-28

49-29

49-29

49-29

49-30

49-31

50-26

50-26

50-27

50-27

50-28

51-27

51-27

Nominal 

scene center 

(lat-long)

116°39'W 

047°20'N.

119°52'W 

038°49'N.

121°45'W 

041°40'N.

121°45'W 

041°40'N.

120°20'W 

048°44'N.

120°57'W 

047°20'N.

120°57'W 

047°20'N.

121°32'W 

045°55'N.

121°32'W 

045°55'N.

121°32'W 

045°55'N.

122°06'W 

044°30'N.

122°06'W 

044°30'N.

122°06'W 

044°30'N.

122°39'W 

043°05'N.

1230H'W 

041°40'N.

121°46'W 

048°44'N.

121U46'W 

048°44'N.

122°23'W 

047°20'N.

122°23'W 

047°20'N.

122°58'W 

045°55'N.

123°50'W 

047°20'N.

123°50'W 

047°20'N.

Landsat 

identification 

number

1380-18093

30561-17591

21710-18055

30905-17595- C

21657-18080

1419-18251

30888-18043- C

22053-18143

30888-18050- B

30942-18031- D

21657-18091

30150-18160- B

30150-18160- D

1041-18271

21693-18111

1420-18303

30223-18211- D

30583-18190

30889-18102- D

30889-18104- B

2993-17590

30926-18144- B

Date

07 Aug 73

17 Sep 79

28 Sep 79

26 Aug 80

6 Aug 79

15 Sep 73

09 Aug 80

05 Sep 80

09 Aug 80

02 Oct 80

06 Aug 79

02 Aug 78

02 Aug 78

02 Sep 72

11 Sep 79

16 Sep 73

14 Oct 78

09 Oct 79

10 Aug 80

10 Aug 80

11 Oct 77

16 Sep 80

Solar 

elevation 

angle 

(degrees)

53

45

39

47

49

41

49

43

49

34

51

53

53

48

44

39

29

32

48

48

28

38

Cloud 

Code cover 

(percent)

A "

A "

A "

3 15

^ 10

g| 0

g| 0

g| 0

41 "

g| 0

g| 0

A "

A "

A "

A "

fll "

A 0

A "

A "

A "

A "

A "

Remarks

Wallowa Mountains, Oreg. No significant glaciers in 

the region

Northern Sierra Nevada, Calif. No significant glaciers 

in the region

Mount Shasta, Calif.

Mount Shasta, Calif. Archived by USGS-SGP

Northern Cascade Range, Wash.

Northern Cascade Range, Mount Rainier, Wash.

Mount Rainier, Wash. (fig. 10). Archived by 

USGS-SGP

Mount St. Helens, Goat Rocks, Mount Adams, Mount 

Hood, Wash. (fig. 12)

Mount Adams, Wash. Archived by USGS-SGP

Mount Hood, Wash. Archived by USGS-SGP

Mount Jefferson, Three Sisters Range, Oreg. Some 

previous winter snow in the highlands.

Mount Jefferson, Oreg. Some previous winter snow in 

the highlands. Archived by USGS-SGP

Three Sisters Range, Oreg. Some previous winter 

snow in the highlands. Archived by USGS-SGP

Southern Oregon. No significant glaciers in the 

region. Some snow in the highlands

Salmon and Trinity Mountains, Mount Shasta, Calif.

Northern Cascade Range, Wash.

Northern Cascade Range, Wash. Archived by 

USGS-SGP

Northern Cascade Range, Olympic Mountains, Mount 

Rainier, Wash.

Mount Rainier, Wash. Archived by USGS-SGP

Mount St. Helens, Wash. (fig. 12C) Archived by 

USGS-SGP

Olympic Mountains, Wash. (fig. 9)

Olympic Mountains, Wash. Archived by USGS-SGP

1 USGS-SGP is the U.S. Geological Survey-Satellite Glaciology Project (renamed the Glacier Studies Project).

J342 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Glaciers of the State of Washington

It has been estimated that 75 percent of the glaciers in the United States 

exclusive of Alaska are in the State of Washington (Meier, 196la). The glaciers of Washington are conveniently grouped into six geographic divisions: 

(1) the north Cascades (northern Cascade Range), including the area from 

the Canadian border south to Snoqualmie Pass and from the Twin Sister 

Mountain area (about 15 km southwest of Mount Baker) in the west to long 

120° W. in the east; (2) the Olympic Peninsula; (3) Mount Rainier; (4) the 

Goat Rocks area (about 50 km southeast of Mount Rainier); (5) Mount 

Adams; and (6) Mount St. Helens. Landsat images and other illustrations 

for each of the geographic divisions accompany the following discussions of 

each region.

Glaciers of the North Cascade Range

The most recent and comprehensive glacier inventory of the north Cascades, made in late 1969 by the USGS, shows that about one-half of the glaciers in Washington are in this region (Post and others, 1971). The source 

material for this inventory consisted of USGS large-scale (7.5-minute quadrangles, l:24,000-scale) topographic map sheets and USGS oblique aerial 

photographs. The oblique aerial photography was used where maps were 

not available and also where the termini positions needed to be updated to 

the inventory date of 1970. This inventory counted 756 glaciers that had a 

total area of 267 km2. Since that time, several additional small glaciers have 

been "discovered"; however, these small glaciers do not increase the total 

area significantly. The major concentrations of glaciers in the north Cascades are on Mount Baker, at the head of the Thunder Creek drainage, and 

on Glacier Peak. The largest glacier in this area is the Boston Glacier (lat 

48°45' N., long 121°01' W), which has an area of 7.0 km2. The longest glacier, the Deming Glacier (lat 48°45' N., long 121°51' W) on Mount Baker, is 

4.8 km in length.

The north Cascades region is characterized by high relief; many of the 

valley floors are less than 500 m in elevation, whereas the nearby summits 

are in excess of 2,500 m. Precipitation is heavy; annual precipitation is commonly more than 4 m near the west side of the crest of the Cascade Range. 

On the east side of the crest, precipitation is considerably less.

The South Cascade Glacier is located within the north Cascades region at 

lat 48°22' N., long 121°03' W. Not necessarily representative of the glaciers of 

the north Cascades, it is a relatively flat glacier and has no major ice falls. 

However, it would be difficult to pick any one glacier that is typical of the 

north Cascades. This glacier has been studied in detail since 1957 (Meier 

and Tangborn, 1965; Meier and others, 1971; Fountain and Fulk, 1984). It is 

about 3 km long and 2.5 km2 in area and has an equilibrium line altitude 

(ELA) of 1,860 m. Studies in the South Cascade Glacier basin have been 

directed toward glacier mass balance (Meier, 1961b; Meier and Post, 1962; 

Tangborn, 1965, 1968; Tangborn and others, 1975, 1977; Krimmel, 1989, 

1993, 1994; Meier and others, 1980; Mayo, 1984; Walters and Meier, 1989), 

basin water balance (Tangborn, 1963; Krimmel and others, 1978; Sullivan, 

1994; Krimmel, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001) ice dynamics and 

subglacier and englacier water flow (Fountain, 1989, 1992a, b, 1993, 1994), 

and many other related topics (Meier, 1958, 1967; Tangborn, 1962).

The history of the South Cascade Glacier shows advances at about 

3000 B.C. and during the 16th and 19th centuries. A sheared-off tree stump 

some 100 m above the 1970 ice level was dated by the radiocarbon method 

at about 5,000 years B.P. (before present). This suggests that the glacier 

had been at its present size or smaller for some centuries prior to 3000 B.C.

GLACIERS OF THE CONTERMINOUS UNITED STATES J343
Figure 6. Photographic record of South 

Cascade Glacier, Wash., from 1928 to 1996. 

A, In 1928, the glacier had been retreating 

since the neoglaciation maximum length in 

the late 19th century. The average retreat rate 

from 1928 to 1980 was about 18 m a'1; the 

maximum retreat rate took place from about 

1950 to 1960 as the glacier retreated across 

the lake. The retreat rate during the 1970's 

was about 12 m a~1. All the glaciers of the 

north Cascades experienced an overall 

retreat during the 20th century. Oblique 

aerial photograph by Wernstadt, U.S. Forest 

Service. B, South Cascade Glacier in 1939. 

Photograph taken by Watson. C, South Cascade Glacier in 1955. Photograph taken by 

Richard Hubley, University of Washington. 

D, E, see opposite page

Sometime after 3000 B.C., the glacier made an advance that ended in the 

16th century about 1.5 km downvalley from the 1970 position. The glacier 

retreated an unknown distance from the 16th century position and then 

readvanced to nearly the 16th century position near the end of the 19th 

century (MiUer, 1969).

Since the late 19th century advance of the South Cascade Glacier, its terminus has been continuously receding. A 1928 oblique aerial photograph

J344 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Figure 6. D, South Cascade Glacier on 10 

October 1983. Photograph number 

83RI-188 taken by R.M. Krimmel, USGS. 

E, South Cascade Glacier on 9 October 

1996. Black-and-white oblique aerial photograph from original 35-mm color slide 

taken by R.M. Krimmel, USGS.

(fig. 6A) shows the terminus at today's west shore of South Cascade Lake. 

A photograph from 1939 (fig. 6£>) shows about 100 m of lake opened, and 

the first vertical aerial photograph, from 1953, shows about one-half of the 

lake opened. By 1955, more of the lake was free of glacier ice (fig. 6(7), and 

by 1968, the entire lake was clear of glacier ice. Since 1968, recession has 

continued, averaging about 12 m a"1 , although very minor advances have 

been recorded during this period. During the winter, ice motion continues 

but is not offset by ice ablation, and a seasonal advance takes place. In 

1972, extremely heavy winter snowpack covered the terminus well into late 

summer. Because the snow protected the terminus from melting, it 

advanced a few meters. Figure 6D, showing the glacier in 1983, is an example from the collection of recent large-format oblique and vertical aerial 

photographs archived by the University of Alaska's Geophysical Institute in

GLACIERS OF THE CONTERMINOUS UNITED STATES J345
Fairbanks, Alaska. The University of Alaska archive includes most of the 

major glaciers in the United States. Figure 6E shows the position of the glacier terminus in 1996.

Figure 6 illustrates the exceptional photographic record for South Cascade Glacier. Figure 7 illustrates a time sequence of terrestrial photographs 

used for qualitative analysis of ice-level changes.

The annual mass balance of South Cascade Glacier has ranged from 

-2.6 m to +1.4 m and has had an average of-0.7 m from 1966 to 1995. Figure 8 shows the cumulative mass balance from 1884 to 1995. Annual runoff 

from the entire area of the basin (fig. 3) is normally about 4 m. Precipitation 

accounts for 93 percent of this total; the remainder is derived from loss of 

ice mass.

South Cascade Glacier has an average thickness of 100 m and a maximum thickness of 220 m (Krimmel, 1970). Its average velocity is about 

10 m a"1 . The maximum velocity, about 30 m a~l , is found near the center of 

the lower glacier. Maximum seasonal velocity takes place in the early summer and is 140 percent of the annual velocity; minimum velocity takes place 

during the fall and winter.

South Cascade Glacier is one of only a few glaciers worldwide that have 

been analyzed with regard to their dynamic response to change in climate. 

A hypothetical 1-m addition to the glacier surface for only 1 year would 

produce a thickening of the terminus that would amount to 5 m after 23 

years. This would be followed by a slow return to normal, but it would have 

an excess of 0.6 m persisting at the terminus 100 years later. The actual glacier response is a combination of responses to weather events for each year 

of the last century or more, and thus it is complex and has a long "memory" 

(Nye, 1965).

Balance measurements have been made at numerous other north Cascades glaciers, and for the most part, these show trends similar to those at 

South Cascade Glacier. Vesper Glacier was measured during balance years 

1974-75 (Dethier and Frederick, 1981); Pelto made measurements on 

Columbia, Daniels, Foss, Ice Worm, Lower Curtis, Yawing, Rainbow, Spider, and Lynch Glaciers from 1984 to 1994 (Pelto, 1996); and North Cascades National Park personnel measured North Klawatti, Silver, Noisy, and 

Sandelee Glaciers during 1992-96.

Figure 7 Ice-level changes of South Cascade Glacier, Wash. A, South Cascade Glacier in July 1958. Photograph taken by 

Austin Post, USGS. B, South Cascade Glacier in August 1979. Photograph shows a 

loss of about 30 m near the equilibrium 

line since 1958. The dashed line is the 1958 

position of the ice edge. The dotted line 

indicates the level of the active glacier ice. 

Photograph taken by R.M. Krimmel, 

USGS. C, D, E, see opposite page.

J346 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Figure 7 C, Lower South Cascade Glacier in July 1958. 

Photograph taken by Austin Post, USGS. D, Lower South 

Cascade Glacier in August 1979. Photograph shows a loss 

of about 60 m since 1958. The dashed line is the 1958 position of the ice edge. Photograph taken by R.M. Krimmel, 

USGS. E, Lower South Cascade Glacier in August 1978. Ice 

loss on lower Cascade Glacier at the terminus from 1970 to

1978 was about 30 m, and recession during that period was 

about 90 m. The dashed line is the 1970 terminus position 

inferred from, but not visible in, a 1970 photograph. Dotted 

lines show 1970 levels of ice in areas between the photograph point and the far edge of the glacier. The inconspicuous building on the extreme left is 2 m high. Photograph 

taken by R.M. Krimmel, USGS.

GLACIERS OF THE CONTERMINOUS UNITED STATES J347
10

0

-10

-20

-30

-40

-50

-60

-70

-80

-90

1900 1930 1940 1950 1960 1980 2000

Glaciers of the Olympic Peninsula

Storm systems affecting the Olympic Peninsula tend to approach from 

the west and southwest, Because the Olympic Peninsula (fig. 9) forms a 

barrier to the moist clouds from the Pacific Ocean, strong precipitation 

gradients are found from the west to the east. Although most coastal stations receive 2 m of precipitation, about 3 m of precipitation is received 15 

km inland, and at the crest of the Olympic Mountains 60 km inland, the 

annual precipitation is 6 m. Farther inland, to the northeast of the summits, the precipitation drops off rapidly to as low as 0.4 m. Because the 

freezing level during winter is often below 1,000 m, snow is heavy in the 

mountains, and glaciers exist on many of the higher peaks (Phillips and 

Donaldson, 1972).

The major glacier concentration is on the Mount Olympus massif, where 

three major glaciers, the Blue, Hoh, and White Glaciers, and numerous 

other smaller glaciers account for about 80 percent of the area of perennial 

snow and ice in the Olympic Mountains. Small glaciers are found on Mount 

Anderson at 2,233 in and on Mount Carrie at 2,133 m; numerous small glaciers or ice patches exist above 2,000 m in shaded areas on these and other 

peaks. The total area of perennial snow and ice on the Olympic Mountains 

is about 45.9 km2 (Spicer, 1986).

The Blue Glacier is one of the most extensively studied glaciers in the 

United States. The variations of the Blue Glacier during recent centuries 

(Heusser, 1957) and its mass balance (LaChapelle, 1965), structure (Alien 

and others, 1960), internal deformation (Shreve and Sharp, 1970), and 

flow (Meier and others, 1974) have been the subjects of major research 

efforts.

Figure 8. Cumulative mass balance for 

South Cascade Glacier, Wash., for the 

years 1884-1995 (adapted from Tang born, 

1980). For the years 1884 to 1957, balance 

was calculated by a precipitation-temperature model; the balance was directly 

measured for the years 1958-95.

J348 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Glaciers of Mount Rainier

Mount Rainier, a large stratovolcano, is 4,395 m high (fig. 10) and supports the largest concentration of glaciers in the United States, outside 

of Alaska (Dreidger, 1986, 1993). The largest glacier in the Western 

United States, the Emmons (11.2 km2 in area), the longest glacier, the 

Carbon (8.2 km long), and the lowest glacier terminus, the Carbon 

(1,070 m), are all on Mount Rainier. The combined area of the 25 named 

and 50 or so unnamed glaciers on Mount Rainier and its satellite peaks is 

92.1 km2 . The total volume of ice on Mount Rainier is 4.4 km3 (Driedger

J350 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Figure 9. Landsat 2 MSS false-color composite image 

(2993-17590, bands 4, 5, and 7; 11 October 1977; Path 51, 

How 27) of the Olympic Peninsula, Puget Sound, and vicinity. Wash. The Olympic Peninsula is a very distinct physiographic unit. To the west is the Pacific Ocean, to the north is 

the Strait of Juan de Fuca, to the east is the Hood Canal and 

Puget Sound, and to the south is the valley of the Chehalis 

River. Relief in the Olympic Mountains is extreme. Relatively low valleys extend into the interior, and the 300-m 

contour is within 8 km of the 2,429-m high Mount Olympus 

(north of image center). Other peaks greater than 2,000 m

in elevation are numerous; all are east of the Mount Olympus massif. Evidence of the much greater extent ofpastglaciation is easily seen. The valleys of the Hoh, Queets, and 

Quinault Rivers, all draining to the west, have the classic 

broad, relatively straight shape that indicates erosional 

modification by glaciers. Glaciers from these valleys ended 

in piedmont lobes. Much smaller glaciers existed from the 

range toward the east because a precipitation pattern similar to the present probably existed during past glacials. Evidence of past glacier cover in Puget Sound is indicated by 

the small lakes and fjords.

GLACIERS OF THE CONTERMINOUS UNITED STATES J349
Figure 11. Nisqually Glacier from the old 

Nisqually River bridge, Mount Rainier, 

Wash. The exact date and photographer of 

this photograph are unknown, but the 

date is approximately 1900. This is an 

example of a photograph that was presumably taken for nonscientific reasons 

but now provides valuable information on 

the position of the glacier terminus.

Figure 10. (opposite page) Mount Rainier, 

Wash., from a part ofLandsat 3 RBV image 

30888-18043-C on 9 August 1980 (Path 49, 

Row 27). The glacier termini are seen 

extending well beyond the snow-covered 

higher elevations in this Landsat image. 

Most of the glaciers terminate well above 

the vegetation trimlines, and the actual termini are in places identifiable by a darker 

perimeter where the steep glacier edge 

forms a shadow. Landsat 3 RBV images 

allow terminus fluctuations as small as 30 

m to be observed under optimum conditions. Abbreviation: Gl., Glacier.

and Kennard, 1984, 1986). The potential for the interaction of volcanic 

activity and the glacier-ice cover makes Mount Rainier a very dangerous 

volcano that could produce, as it has in the geologic past, jokulhlaups 

(Driedger, 1988; Driedger and Fountain, 1989; Walder and Driedger, 

1995) and lahars (Walder and Driedger, 1993). Richardson (1968) discussed jokulhlaups in the Pacific Northwest region.

Nisqually Glacier is the most accessible major glacier in the conterminous United States and offers numerous tourists their first closeup look at a 

glacier. This glacier also has the longest record of annual observations of 

the position of its terminus since 1918 of any glacier in the Western 

Hemisphere. The history of the Nisqually Glacier is documented as well by 

numerous early photographs (Veatch, 1969). Figure 11 is an example of an 

early photograph of the glacier. The Nisqually Glacier has been the subject 

of several glaciological research projects (Hodge, 1972, 1976, 1979). Since 

1931, annual measurements have been made of the change in thickness, 

and detailed topographic maps of the Nisqually Glacier were made by the 

USGS from vertical aerial photography at scales of 1:10,000 (see Heliker 

and others, 1984; U.S. Geological Survey, 1978) and 1:12,000 dated 16 

August 1951, 4 September 1956, 19 August 1961, 25 August 1971, and 31 

August 1976. The Nisqually Glacier 1976 map sheet (1:10,000 scale) (U.S. 

Geological Survey, 1978) was preceded by four earlier map sheets: 

Nisqually Glacier 1931, 1936, 1941, and 1946, published in 1960; Nisqually 

Glacier 1951, 1956, and 1961, published in 1963; Nisqually Glacier 1966, 

published in 1968; and Nisqually Glacier 1971, published in 1973. The terminus receded almost continuously from the first observation in 1857 

through 1963 (Kautz, 1875; Heliker and others, 1984). In 1964, active ice 

advanced, and this advance continued to 1969 (Sigafoos and Hendricks, 

1972). Advance began again in 1976 and was continued into 1982. Between 

1983 and 1986, little change was noted in the terminus of Nisqually Glacier. 

From 1986 to 1990, a pronounced recession occurred, accompanied by 

thinning, and retreat was continuing in 2001 (Carolyn L. Driedger, oral 

commun., 2001). Since 1857, the total recession has been 1,945 m, and the 

total advance, 294 m (Heliker and others, 1984). An intensive study during 

the late 1960's and early 1970's showed speeds thai varied from 60 to 

160 mm d"1 near the terminus and from 200 to 700 mm d^1 near the equilibrium line. The speed was seasonably dependent, the early summer speed 

being generally about two times the late fall speed (Hodge, 1974).

GLACIERS OF THE CONTERMINOUS UNITED STATES J351
Glaciers of Southern Washington

Glaciers of southern Washington exist only in the Goat Rocks area, on 

Mount Adams, and on Mount St. Helens (fig. 12A). In the Goal Rocks area, 

numerous small glaciers (each less than 1 km2 in area) are present on the 

north or west sides of the crest of the Cascade Range near Gilbert Peak 

(2,496 rn). These glaciers form on slopes lee to the prevailing southwesterly storm winds.

Mount Adams (3,744 m) is the second highest summit in the State of Washington. The mountain has 10 major named glaciers, the largest of which is the 

Adams Glacier. Because most of the termini of Mount Adams' glaciers are completely covered with rock debris, it is difficult to define the precise glacier limits.

Most of the glaciers on the flanks of Mount St. Helens were either 

reduced in size or eliminated during the catastrophic explosive volcanic 

eruption of 18 May 1980 (fig. 125) (Brugman and Post, 1981). The preemption glacier area was approximately 5 km2 and had a volume of 0.18 km3 . 

Seventy percent of this ice was removed on 18 May 1980, including all or virtually all of the Wishbone, Loowit, Leschi, and Forsyth Glaciers. The ice was 

removed either by the paroxysmal blast, which caused the displacement of

Figure 12. Glaciers of southern Washington. 

A, Landsat 2 MSS false-color composite image 

(22053-18143, bands 4, 5, and 7; 5 September 

1980; Path 49, Row 28) showing part of southwestern Washington and northwestern Oregon. 

The ice remaining on Mount St. Helens (northwest part of image) 4 months after the 1980 

eruptions, on Mount Adams (north-central part 

of image), and in the Coat Rocks area (extreme 

north-central part of image) is covered by tephra 

deposits and is not visible in this image. The ice 

in these three areas accounts for all the ice in 

Washington State south of Mount Rainier. Ice 

cover on Mount St. Helens previous to 18 May 

1980 was 5.02 km2, but it was only 2.16 km2 after 

that date (Brugman and Meier, 1981). Ice cover 

on Mount Adams is about 16 km2; in this image, 

summer snow is visible at higher elevations. Ice 

cover in the Coat Rocks area is 1.5 km2 (Meier, 

1961). Mount Hood, Oreg., (south-central part of 

image) has 13.5 km2 of ice, the largest area of 

ice in that state. B, C, see opposite page.

122°30'W 122° 121°30'

46°N

45°30'

J352 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Figure 12. B, Oblique aerial photograph 

of Mount St. Helens, Wash., looking 

toward the northeast at about noon on 18 

May 1980, approximately 3.5 hours after 

the beginning of the explosive eruption. 

Virtually all the glaciers were beheaded or 

destroyed by the collapse of the north 

slope of the volcano and the subsequent 

blast that removed approximately 2.6 km3 

of volcanic material from the summit and 

northern part of the mountain (Foxworthy 

and Hill, 1982). Tephra blankets the 

remaining parts of the glaciers radiating 

from the now-missing summit region. The 

vertical, billowing eruption plume of 

tephra and other volatiles emanates from 

the 1.5-km-wide horseshoe-shaped crater 

(fig. 12C) and extends well into the stratosphere. A small base surge is also visible 

on the southeast edge of the crater. USGS 

photograph number 80-S3-137 by R.M. 

Krimmel, USGS. C, Landsat 3 RBV image 

30889-18104-B taken of Mount St. Helens 

on 10 August 1980 (Path 50, Row 28), 3 

months after the catastrophic explosive 

eruption (fig. 12B). The horseshoe-shaped 

crater is visible at the apex of a large fanshaped area to the north, the region most 

devastated by the lateral "blast" (Tilling, 

[1984]). Light-colored tephra deposits 

blanket the slopes of the volcano, including the remnants of the surviving glaciers.

GLACIERS OF THE CONTERMINOUS UNITED STATES J353
the underlying bedrock and the landslide process, or by melting from pyroclastic flows. The remaining snow and ice were covered with an average 1 m 

of tephra, which acted as in insulator against summer ablation (Driedger, 

1981). The Shoestring Glacier was the site of an ongoing ice-dynamics study 

previous to the eruptions of 1980. During the 18 May 1980 eruption, however, 68 percent of this glacier, including the entire accumulation zone, was 

removed. Preemption velocity was 20 to 50 cm d"1 ; posteruption velocity 

was 10 to 20 cm d"1 (Brugman and Meier, 1981). The posteruption geometry 

of Mount St. Helens is such that a new glacier could form in the crater area 

(Jordan and Kieffer, 1982) (fig. 12C). The floor of the north-facing horseshoe-shaped crater is at 1,880 m in elevation, has steep-sided walls that 

enhance avalanche accumulation, is on the lee side of a steep ridge, so accumulation will be further enhanced, and has a northern exposure. In fact, 

snow from the previous winter was observed under rockfall debris in the 

crater in the late summer of 1983 (R.J. Janda, oral commun.). It is unlikely 

that a significant glacier will form in the crater, however, as long as the active 

lava-dome-building phase of Mount St. Helens continues.

Glaciers of the State of Oregon

Glaciers are found in Oregon on the Cascade Range volcanoes of Mount 

Hood (fig. 12A), Mount Jefferson, and Three Sisters Range, and in the Wallowa Mountains in eastern Oregon. Studies have been made to determine 

the ice volume on Mount Hood and the Three Sisters Range in response to 

requirements for a volcanic-hazards assessment. The total ice area on 

Mount Hood is 13.5 km2 ; the total volume is 0.16 km3 (Driedger and Kennard, 1986). The glaciers in the Wallowa Mountains may be locally significant, but they are less than 0.1 km2 and are insignificant at the 79-m pixel 

resolution of Landsat MSS images.

A photographic study of the Collier Glacier on the North Sister Peak during the period 1934-60 showed general recession (Hopson, 1960). A topographic map of the Collier Glacier was compiled from aerial photographs 

acquired on 8 September 1958, on 8 September 1968, and on 29 September 

1979. A longitudinal elevation profile from this map shows that no major 

change in the thickness of the glacier took place between 1959 and 1979. 

The extreme upper part of the glacier was about 16m thicker in 1979 than 

in 1959; however, changes in the rest of the glacier were less than 5 m.

Glaciers of the State of California

Glaciers are present in California on Mount Shasta (4,319 m), in the 

Trinity Alps (approximately lat 41° N., long 123° W.), and in the high Sierra 

Nevada. The glaciers on Mount Shasta have a total area of 6.9 km2 

(Driedger and Kennard, 1984). The glaciers in the Trinity Alps are insignificant at the spatial resolution of the Landsat image.

A comprehensive glacier inventory of the Sierra Nevada has been 

completed (Raub and others, 1980; unpub. data). A major part of the 

area included in the Sierra Nevada glacier inventory is included in a 

single Landsat image (fig. 13), and part of the region is seen in more 

detail in Landsat 3 RBV images (figs. 14 and 15). In this inventory, glaciers and ice patches as small as 0.01 km2 are counted. The total inventory counted 497 glaciers and 788 ice patches for a total area of 63 km2 . 

The largest glacier in the Sierra Nevada is the Palisade Glacier, which 

has an area of 1.6 km2.

J354 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
119°30'W 119 118°30'

38°N

37°30'

04DCT79 C N37-23/W119-00 USGS-EDC N N37-21/W118-54 M 5 D SUN EL40 RH1 S3H-CP-N L2 NRSR E-30576-17532-5

Figure 13. Landsat 3 MSS false-color composite image (30578-17532, 

bands 4, 5, and 7; 4 October 1979; Path 45, Row 34) of the Sierra Nevada of 

California. These mountains, extending from the northwest corner to the 

southeast corner of this image, have a total ice area of 63 km2, as determined by a glacier inventory (Raub and others, 1980). This includes 497 glaciers and 788 ice patches too small to be counted as glaciers. None of these 

1,285 ice bodies, the largest of which is Palisade Glacier (1.6 km2), is significant at Landsat MSS resolution. The only significant glaciers in California not 

seen in this image cover 6.9 km2 on Mount Shasta (Driedger and Kennard, 

1986). Well-defined moraines extend eastward toward Mono Lake (northcentral part of image) and westward in the glacier-carved Tuolumne and 

Yosemite Valleys (northwest corner of the image).

GLACIERS OF THE CONTERMINOUS UNITED STATES J355
The glacier inventory and the high-quality Landsat MSS and Landsat 3 

RBV images available for the Sierra Nevada provide the material needed for 

a direct comparison between an inventory that has been meticulously compiled from maps, conventional vertical and oblique aerial photographs, and 

direct observation and the synoptic view of glaciers offered by Landsat. Figure 16, an excerpt from a map in the Raub inventory (Raub and others, 

1980; written commun.), correctly delineates each glacier. The Landsat 3 

RBV image (fig. 15), having a 30-m pixel resolution, allows some glacier 

delineation, but areas in shade and areas of ice and moraine-covered ice are 

difficult to delineate. Landsat offers an excellent overall picture but must 

be supplemented with knowledge obtained by more conventional methods.

Figure 14. Landsat 3 RBV image 

(30578-17532-A; 4 October 1979; Path 45, 

Row 34) of the high central Sierra Nevada, 

centered at lat 37°57' N. and long 119°18' I/I/., 

including Mono Lake (east-central part of 

image) and most ofYosemite National Park. 

The glaciers in this image are too small for 

any quantitative measurements. However, 

the extent of past glaciation can easily be 

mapped. The black rectangle, including the 

southwest part of Mono Lake, indicates the 

map area shown in figure 1.

J356 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
118°45'W 118°30'

Figure 15. Enlargement of part of Landsat 3 RBV image 30578-17532-D 

taken on 4 October 1979 (Path 45, Row 34) of the high central Sierra Nevada. 

This Landsat image is identical in location to figure 16 and demonstrates the 

difficulties of compiling a detailed glacier inventory from Landsat images. 

Whereas snow is easily seen on this panchromatic image, it is difficult to distinguish from light-colored rock. Where glacier ice is covered with debris, it 

is virtually impossible to distinguish. Areas in shade are also hard to delineate. On the other hand, the overall view offered by Landsat gives a good 

indication of the extent of present and past glaciation in a region.

GLACIERS OF THE CONTERMINOUS UNITED STATES J357
118°45'W 118°30'

37°15'N

^^hmvnBeJr <=> / ^1 P~Fir^Lake \

-Cake ".Se^r^. J-i * 12 /

s Black Bear Lakef? \>-> 0 L *^^, ,( r

\ 

Av ^-^ / 

_/^ 

I/_ r _/fcvrc 

^>s. 

I » 

,, 

-» *. 

^ Ga^

0

Glacier

Number identifies glacier within

subbasin and in table

.....'. Rock glacier

_.._ Major drainage-basin boundary

^^ Drainage subbasin boundary

4214 Drainage subbasin number

Figure 16. Glaciers of the central Sierra Nevada west of Bishop, Calif., 

delineated from vertical and oblique aerial photographs and direct field 

observation. This map excerpt is from the Sierra Nevada glacier inventory 

(Raub and others, 1980). Glaciers much too small to be identified on a Landsat image are shown. Compare this figure to figure 15, a Landsat 3 RBV 

image of the same area.

J358 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Glaciers of the States of Montana, Wyoming, 

Colorado, Idaho, Utah, and Nevada

Figure 17. Landsat 3 MSS false-color 

composite image (30523-17452, bands 4, 

5, and 7; 10 August 1979; Path 44, Row 26) 

of Glacier National Park, Mont. According 

to Graf (1977), the park contains 28.4 km2 

of glacier ice, about two-thirds of Montana's glacier cover. Moraines extend 

beyond lake-filled valleys Into the plains 

to the east and into forested valleys to the 

west.

Glaciers in the inland states of the Western United States are significant 

at the resolution of the Landsat image only in Glacier National Park (fig. 17) 

and the Beartooth Mountains, Mont., and in the Wind River Range, Wyo. 

(figs. 18 and 19). Small glaciers, generally less than 1 km2 , are scattered 

throughout many of the high mountains of the Western States. These glaciers are discussed by Meier (1961a) and Field (1975) and are best identified on USGS topographic maps and (or) aerial photographs. Figures 20, 

21, and 22 are selected images from these other mountain areas and show 

the geomorphic evidence of major past glaciation.

A long history of research is documented on glaciers in Glacier National 

Park, Mont. (Johnson, 1980), in the Wind River Range, Wyo. (Wentworth 

and Delo, 1931), and in Colorado (Waldrop, 1964). Glacier-ice cores from

114°W 113°30' 112°30'

49°N

48°30'

GLACIERS OF THE CONTERMINOUS UNITED STATES J359
110°30'W

43°30'N

43-j^-V &

r-

/*>

42°30'

APPROXIMATE SCALE

10 0 10 20 30 KILOMETERS

I , , , , I_____I_____I_____I

£&-

C N43-0Z/W109-45 USGS-EDC N N43-0Z/W109-44 M 5 E SUN EL35 jj- -N

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the Wind River Range have been used to study changes in atmospheric 

quality and climate (Naftz, Miller, and See, 1991; Naftz, Rice, and Ranville, 

1991; Naftz, 1993). Glaciological studies have also been carried out on the 

Upper Fremont Glacier, Wyo. (Naftz and Smith, 1993). Reed (1964, 1965, 

1967) carried out glaciological studies on Teton Glacier, Grand Teton 

National Park, Wyo.

Figure 18. Landsat 2 MSS false-color 

composite image (21720-17195, bands 4, 

5, and 7; 8 October 1979; Path 40, How 30) 

of the glaciers of the Wind River Range in 

west-central Wyoming. This range supports the largest concentration of glaciers 

in the Rocky Mountains of the United 

States. Graf(1977) reported a total of 31.6 

km2 of ice in this range and a total for 

Wyoming glacier cover of 35 km2. High 

peaks (up to 4,210 m) show negligible 

new snow. Moraines extend 50 km 

toward the northeast and 35 km toward 

the southwest from the crest of the 

range. Overdeepened valleys are now 

occupied by lakes.

J360 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Figure 19. Oblique aerial photograph taken on 6 August 1979 from above 

the Continental Divide in the Wind River Range, Wyo.; the view is toward the 

southeast. The Minor and Mammoth Glaciers are in the foreground. The glaciers flowing away from the viewer on the east side of the divide are, from 

left to right, Gannett, Dinwoody, Helen, and Fremont Glaciers.

GLACIERS OF THE CONTERMINOUS UNITED STATES J361
Figure 20. Enlargement of part of a Landsat 3 RBV image 

(30929-16504-C; Path 36, Row 32) that includes most of the glaciers in the State of Colorado. It was taken on 19 September 1980 

and is centered at about lat 40°12' N. and 105°30' W. The area 

shown extends from the city of Boulder on the east to Lake Gran by

on the west, to Hocky Mountain National Park on the north, and to 

near Berthod Pass on the south. The glaciers are only discernible 

as small snow patches in cirques in the Rocky Mountains along the 

east side of the Continental Divide. Moraines extend both east and 

west from the divide.

J362 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
116°W 115°30'

45°N

44°30'

44°

090CT76 C i5-09 I5-03 MSS D SUN EL33 RZl^G I92-8729-G-I-N-D-2L NflSfl ERTS E-2626-1737!-5 0i

Figure 21. The Sawtooth Range of south-central Idaho covers an extensive area and has numerous peaks 3,500-3,800 m in elevation. Glacier 

cover in Idaho, all of it in the Sawtooth Range, is estimated to be 1 km2, but 

it only exists as small ice patches in protected areas where the snowpack 

is locally increased by wind redeposition. This Landsat 2 MSS false-color 

composite image (2626-17371, bands 4, 5, and 7; 9 October 1976; Path 44, 

Row 29), its center about 140 km northeast of Boise, Idaho, shows new 

snow at higher elevations. Extensive moraines are seen in valleys in the 

southeast quadrant of the image.

GLACIERS OF THE CONTERMINOUS UNITED STATES J363
nrso'w 110°30' 110°

-' ^i^Rn^'l' * -"-» -I/*^

#;»3K<3 TW£'* '^z??" \

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I80CT77 C N40-19/W1I0-53 D0<0-032 N"N40-12/WI10-^6 M 5 / D SUN EL3I RHI SIS- P-N L2 NRSR LRNDSRT E-6 000-1657^-3

Figure 22. Excellent snowfree Landsat 2 MSS false-color composite 

image (6000-16574, bands 4, 5, and 7; 18 October 1977; Path 40, Row 32) 

covering an area in north-central Utah. The only glacier reported in Utah 

occupies a deep cirque on the east side of Mount Timpanogos (3,582 m) in 

the Wasatch Range (extreme west-central part of image) about 22 km north 

of Utah Lake. No glaciers are indicated on 1:24,000-scale USGS quadrangle maps in the Uinta Mountains (northeast quadrant of image), which are 

more extensive and higher (up to 4,100 m in elevation). Glacial moraines 

are clearly seen extending 40 km to the north and south of the crest of the 

Uinta Mountains.

J364 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Glacier Retreat in Glacier National Park, Montana

By Carl H. Key,6 Daniel B. Fagre6 , and Richard K. Menicke7

Glacier National Park encompasses a relatively large, mountainous region 

(4,080 km2) of northwestern Montana that borders southern Alberta and 

British Columbia, Canada. It was established in 1910 because of its glaciers 

and unique, glacially carved topography located along the crest of the Rocky 

Mountains. In the 1990's, 37 named glaciers existed in Glacier National Park. 

All named glaciers within the park are mountain glaciers that have retreated 

dramatically since the middle 19th-century end of the Little Ice Age in the 

Western United States. All but one glacier are contained in the northern 

two-thirds of Glacier National Park between lat 48°30' and 49°00' N. and 

long 113°30' and 114°15' W. All head on the Continental Divide or near the 

divide on lateral connecting ridges. Mountain peaks in this glacierized 

region range from 2,560 m to 3,190 m in elevation at Mount Cleveland, the 

glacier-terminus elevations lying generally between 2,000 and 2,400 m.

Observations of the glaciers of Glacier National Park date from the second half of the 19th century. The earliest delineation of Glacier National 

Park glaciers is found on a map by Ayres (1898) that was made in conjunction with timber inventories of the former Flathead Forest Reserve. All of 

the present Glacier National Park was included in the map. The scale of 

Ayres' map is nominally 1:440,000, and some drainage features are incorrect, but it does provide clues to the areal extent of some of the first recognized glaciers in Glacier National Park. The first systematic mapping of the 

glaciers in the park is presented on the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) 

l:125,000-scale Chief Mountain and Kintla Lake quadrangle maps, published in 1904 and 1906, respectively. These maps resulted from planetable 

topographic surveys conducted between 1900 and 1904. It is important to 

note the number and relative sizes of named glaciers in these maps. Comparison with recent data shows that conspicuous changes have taken place 

during the 20th century. Unfortunately, the scale and horizontal control are 

such that quantitative measurements can only be crudely approximated to 

compare with contemporary map, photographic, and image sources.

In 1914, Alden published a description of Glacier National Park glaciers, 

which includes many oblique photographs of glaciers made from 1887 to 

1913. Although not entirely complete, Alden's work remains the only monograph to describe characteristics of the park's glaciers at the start of the 

20th century. In 1952, Dyson published an updated list of glaciers. However, it does not contain much descriptive material.

The most comprehensive and accurate depiction of Glacier National 

Park glaciers is obtained from USGS l:24,000-scale quadrangle maps published in 1968 and compiled by the use of stereophotogrammetric techniques from aerial photographs made between 1963 and 1966. These maps 

provide an important benchmark for a parkwide assessment of glacier status. In addition, aerial photographs taken in 1950, 1960, 1968, and 1993 

cover most of Glacier National Park's glaciers in late summer and provide 

additional data, both before and after the 1968 maps.

The USGS 1968 maps depict 83 ice-and-snow bodies having areas that 

exceed 0.1 km2 within the boundary of Glacier National Park. Post and others (1971) use an area of 0.1 km2 as a practical minimum size in order to 

indicate the presence of perennial ice-and-snow bodies in regional mapping 

and glacier-inventory surveys. Of these 83 ice-and-snow bodies, 34 are 

named glaciers. The three additional named glaciers within the park have 

areas less than 0.1 km2 (table 3).

6 U.S. Geological Survey, Glacier National Park, West Glacier, MT 59936.

7 U.S. National Park Service, Glacier National Park, West Glacier, MT 59936.

GLACIERS OF THE CONTERMINOUS UNITED STATES J365
TABLE 3. Named glaciers of Glazier National Park and vicinity, Montana

[Glacier area at the end of the Little Ice Age is shown under "1850 area." "Most recent area" refers to the primary body of a 

glacier in the year displayed below "Source year." "Number of snow patches/glacierets" indicates the number of separate 

masses of perennial ice and snow in the cirque(s) associated with each glacier, based on l:24,000-scale USGS quadrangle 

maps compiled from 1966 aerial photography. In most cases, the snow patches/glacierets are separate remnants of a glacier's former extent. Abbreviation: N., North. Leaders (-), not recorded; parentheses, estimated]

Number 

(fig. 23)

3

21

4

33

5

14

18

13

26

25

1

31

10

11

19

32

2

35

37

15

22

20

28

34

7

36

29

17

27

30

23

24

12

8

9

6

16

39

38

1850 area 

Named glacier (square 

kilometers)

Agassiz...................... 4.06

Ahern ........................ -

Baby..........................

Blackfoot.................. ^.59

Boulder.....................

Carter Glaciers ........

Chaney.. ....................

Dixon ........................

Gem...........................

Grinnell..................... 2 2.33

Harris........................

Harrison.................... 3.09

Herbst.......... .............

Hudson ..................... -

Ipasha ....................... -

Jackson..................... 1 (3.44)

Kintla.........................

Logan ........................ .92

Lupfer .......................

Miche Wabun ........... -

N. Swiftcurrent ........ -

Old Sun.....................

Piegan.......................

PumpeUy................... 1.84

Rainbow ................... -

Red Eagle ................. .49

Sexton.......................

Shepard........ .............

Siyeh .........................

Sperry ....................... 3.76

Swiftcurrent............. .70

The Salamander.......

Thunderbird.............

Two Ocean ............... -

Vulture...................... .77

Weasel Collar...........

Whitecrow................ -

4Grant.......................

4Stanton....................

Total 525.55

Most recent 

area (square 

kilometers)

1.02

.59

.12

1.74

.23

.47

.54

.29

.02

.88

.15

1.06

.14

.09

.32

(1.02)

.66

3.43

.14

.20

.07

.42

.28

.72

1.21

3 .15

.40

.20

.22

.87

.14

3 .23

.19

.43

.21

.56

.24

.34

.37

6 16.34

Source 

year

1993

1966

1966

1979

1966

1966

1966

1966

1966

1993

1966

1993

1966

1966

1966

1979

1966

1993

1966

1966

1966

1966

1966

1979

1966

1993

1966

1966

1966

1993

1993

1993

1966

1966

1993

1966

1966

1995

1995

Number of 

snow patches/ 

glacierets

10

10

1

3

1

6

10

3

1

6

1

18

4

4

8

23

13

1

1

3

6

10

1

9

6

2

4

5

3

7

4

1

6

4

14

4

10

1

1

1 The area for Blackfoot Glacier encompasses Jackson Glacier. The area reported for Jackson 

Glacier is the estimated part of Blackfoot Glacier that yielded Jackson Glacier after the two became 

separate glaciers.

2 The area for Grinnell Glacier encompasses what would later be called The Salamander, an ice 

apron.

3 Considered to be stagnant or no longer active in 1979 by Carrara and McGimsey.

4 Grant and Stanton Glaciers are located outside Glacier National Park.

5 Total area includes 11 of 37 named glaciers in Glacier National Park.

6 Total area from 1966, 1979, and 1993. Source material includes 37 named glaciers in Glacier 

National Park and 2 outside the park.

J366 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
114°00'W

49°00'N

48°30'

Figure 23. Computer-generated, unsupervised spectral classification of a 

LandsatTM scene (LT50410260095244, bands 3, 4, 5, Path 41, Row 26) of 

Glacier National Park and vicinity, Montana, collected on 1 September 

1995. The image, which shows the boundary of Glacier National Park, has 

been rectified geometrically to (UTM) zone 12. Sixty multispectral clusters 

are represented in false color in order to approximate mean cluster reflectance in bands 4, 5, and 3 for red, green, and blue (RGB), respectively. Dark 

red to brown represents coniferous forest; light to dark orange includes 

herbaceous and shrub habitats; and yellow green to gray indicates dormant grass, rock, and nonvegetated terrain types. Areas of perennial ice 

and snow stand out in bright pink to dark purple and cover about 36 km2 

within Glacier National Park, including amounts estimated within dark 

shadow zones. TheTM pixel resolution at 28.5 m (1 hectare-12.31 pixels) is 

about 6.6 times greater than that of Landsat multispectral scanner (MSS)

data (1 hectare-1.86 pixels). Therefore, the TM pixel resolution is sufficient 

to resolve many of the smaller ice- and-snow patches that were present in 

1995 from those that were mapped on USGS 1:24,000-scale quadrangle 

maps in 1968. Perennial ice and snow constitute a relatively small part of 

the entire region, and glaciers occupy even less area. Numbers 1-37 identify named glaciers (see table 3), some of which are now stagnant: 1, Harris; 2, Kintla; 3, Agassiz; 4, Baby; 5, Boulder; 6, Weasel Collar; 7, Rainbow; 8, 

Two Ocean; 9, Vulture; 10, Herbst; 11, Hudson; 12, Thunderbird; 13, Dixon; 

14, Carter; 15, Miche Wabun; 16, Whitecrow; 17, Shepard; 18, Chaney; 19, 

Ipasha; 20, Old Sun; 21, Ahern; 22, North Swiftcurrent; 23, Swiftcurrent; 24, 

The Salamander; 25, Grinnell; 26, Gem; 27, Siyeh; 28, Piegan; 29, Sexton; 

30, Sperry; 31, Harrison; 32, Jackson; 33, Blackfoot; 34, Pumpelly; 35, 

Logan; 36, Red Eagle; 37, Lupfer. Numbers 38 (Stanton Glacier) and 39 

(Grant Glacier) are located outside Glacier National Park.

GLACIERS OF THE CONTERMINOUS UNITED STATES J367
A number of individual glaciers have been studied since the early 1930's. 

The most important work, which also provides reviews of previous investigations, includes that by Johnson (1980), Carrara and McGimsey (1981), 

and Carrara (1989).

An assessment by the authors of all available data shows that the area of 

existing ice-and- snow bodies in Glacier National Park totals approximately 

36 km2 . Although the part that is glacier ice is difficult to determine, it is 

estimated to be less than 17 km2 (table 3). This estimated cumulative area 

is based on a comparison of the size of the ice-and-snow bodies having 

areas greater than 0.1 km2 , as delineated in the 1968 quadrangle maps, with 

actual 1979-93 field measurements of 12 of these glaciers.

Analysis of a September 1995 Landsat thematic mapper (TM) image 

(fig. 23) indicates that almost all the discernible ice and snow is located in 

the northwestern (including Kintla, Agassiz, and Rainbow Glaciers) and 

south-central (including Sperry, Jackson, Blackfoot, Harrison, and 

Pumpelly Glaciers) regions of Glacier National Park. Current estimates of 

glacier size reveal that individual glaciers continue to shrink. Only five glaciers (Blackfoot, Jackson, Harrison, Agassiz, and Rainbow Glaciers) have 

areas larger than 1.0 km2 . Sperry and Grinnell Glaciers have areas of about 

0.9 km2 . Five glaciers (Kintla, Weasel Collar, Chaney, Ahern, and Pumpelly 

Glaciers) have areas between 0.5 and 0.8 km2 .

On a regional scale, if one looks beyond Glacier National Park, perennial 

ice-and-snow accumulations of any size are scarce. In the 100 km examined 

north of Glacier National Park into Canada, only seven small ice-and-snow 

accumulations were noted. None approaches the 0.1 km2 minimum glacier 

size. In the mountain ranges within 160 km of Glacier National Park to the 

south and west, Dyson (1952) identified only nine glaciers. Three are in the 

Cabinet Range, three in the Mission Range, two in the Flathead Range, and 

one in the Swan Range. Stanton and Grant Glaciers in the Flathead Range 

are nearest Glacier National Park and are the largest of the nine. In the 

1995 Landsat image, Stanton Glacier has an area of approximately 

0.37 km2 , whereas Grant Glacier has an area of 0.34 km2 (fig. 23).

Today, the glaciers within Glacier National Park are an isolated group, 

the greatest accumulation of alpine glaciers within Montana. Where compared with their historical area! extent, they are an excellent example of 

the glacier retreat that is taking place throughout the Rocky Mountains. A 

variety of dynamics contribute to the health of the park's glaciers, including 

conditions that favor shelter from solar radiation, elevational temperature 

lapse rates, and catchment of winter precipitation. Glacier persistence in 

some cases may be due more to their orientation to storm tracks and windassisted depositional patterns (for example, drifting of snow across the 

Divide) than to thermal buffering. However, all these factors are integrated, 

and the topographic orientation and physiographic setting distinctly modify 

the primary drivers of climate.

Most Glacier National Park glaciers, especially the larger ones, are cirque 

glaciers having aspects that vary from northwest, through north and east, 

to southeast. The cirque morphologies range from deeply concave floors 

and high, nearly vertical headwalls to shallow, concave, nearly straight or 

undulating floors pitched on relatively steep slopes that have minimal headwalls. In addition, glaciers are found in niches in sloping gullies (Lupfer Glacier), near ridge-top saddles (Boulder Glacier), or in slight depressions 

(Gem Glacier, a dome-shaped mass near the apex of the Continental 

Divide). Other small glaciers (glacierets) and snow patches are situated in 

similar situations. After about 150 years of retreat, many glaciers have been 

reduced to ice aprons or stagnant ice masses plastered along steep slopes. 

The Salamander and parts of Kintla, Agassiz, and Harrison Glaciers have 

been separated from shrinking primary glacier-ice masses in recent 

decades.

J368 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Figure 24. Oblique photograph (taken 

about 1912) showing hanging cirque glaciers and the "glacier staircase" of North 

Swiftcurrent Glaciers (Alden, 1914). No terminal moraine exists on the upper part of 

the cliff, whereas a recognizable moraine 

is associated with the lower glacier.

Major cirque glaciers typically are hanging, are perched above cliffs, and 

in some cases, constitute a cascading series of glaciers or a "glacier staircase," like the former North Swiftcurrent Glaciers (fig. 24). Little Ice Age 

cirque glaciers that advanced over cliff margins pushed morainal material 

and ice off steep rock faces. This probably produced unconsolidated, reconstituted ice-and-sediment masses at the base of these slopes. Consequently, 

terminal moraines are absent below many cirques. This complicates the 

accurate mapping of the extent of many middle 19th-century glacier termini. Generally, well-defined lateral moraines do exist, and in the absence 

of additional evidence, the limit of Little Ice Age glaciers can be sufficiently 

well delineated, at least out to the cliff margins.

At several glaciers, terminal moraines exist where cliffs are absent or are 

sufficiently distant that they were not reached during Little Ice Age glacier 

expansion. Good examples exist at the Sperry and Red Eagle Glaciers, as 

well as in the deglacierized valleys below Heavens Peak and Mt. Clements 

(Demorest, 1938). In addition, at least two glaciers, Agassiz and Jackson 

Glaciers, extended far enough below bedrock slopes so that they created 

forest trimlines (krummholz), which provide explicit boundaries for the 

maximum extent of middle 19th- century advances.

Johnson (1980) describes the long series of observations on Grinnell and 

Sperry Glaciers, and he exhibits topographic maps that were compiled at a 

scale of 1:6,000 from 1960 aerial photographs. He also delineates profiles 

and terminus positions from 1887 through 1969. These maps complement 

another set of USGS topographic maps compiled at a scale of 1:4,800 from 

aerial photographs taken in 1950 for Sperry and Grinnell Glaciers. Carrara 

and McGimsey (1981) discuss the recession of Agassiz and Jackson Glaciers through 1979, the period of greatest retreat, and establish the age of 

most of the recent moraines as contemporary with the Little Ice Age that 

ended in the middle 1800's. This age (middle 1800's) had been hypothesized as early as 1939 (Matthes, 1939, 1940), similar to the age of moraines 

elsewhere in North America, Iceland, and Europe, but was not definitively 

dated in Glacier National Park until the work of Carrara and McGimsey in 

the late 1970's.

The moraines in Glacier National Park are significant because of their 

relatively young age and large size. They represent a long-standing glacial

GLACIERS OF THE CONTERMINOUS UNITED STATES J369
maximum (indeterminate age, but perhaps 40 to 150 years ago?) that overrode previous advances, which may have taken place during the preceding 

9,000-10,000 years (Carrara, 1989). Because of the apparently long and 

relatively stable climatic interval preceding the Little Ice Age, it is believed 

that most of the glacier ice remaining in Glacier National Park was formed 

during the Little Ice Age and is not a relic from the Pleistocene Epoch 

(Matthes, 1939, 1940). In addition to his work on the moraines, Carrara 

(1989) presents details on the record of glacier fluctuations since the end 

of the Wisconsinan glacial stage. In 1988, Carrara and McGimsey published 

a map detailing neoglacial recession through 1979 in the Mount Jackson 

area, which includes Sperry, Jackson, Blackfoot, Harrison, Pumpelly, Logan, 

and Red Eagle Glaciers.

The Little Ice Age comprised a several-hundred-year-long cool period 

(about 1400 to about 1850 in North America), during which Glacier 

National Park glaciers formed and expanded. This continued until a warming climate initiated glacier retreat after the middle 1800's. Figure 25 illustrates the magnitude of that recession as of 1995 for the 11 glaciers where 

Little Ice Age moraines have been mapped. Because figure 25 displays both 

perennial ice and snow, the actual area covered by these glaciers in 1995 is 

only a subset of that shown. Glacier area would not include, for example, 

the small, separate snow patches nor the irregular, thin projections of ice 

along glacier margins. The overall reduction in area since the middle 19th 

century ranges between 77 percent and 46 percent on the six glaciers 

mapped from 1993 aerial photographs. At least two glaciers, Logan and Red 

Eagle Glaciers, have become stagnant ice masses. Parkwide, it is not known 

precisely how many named glaciers are now stagnant. The number probably includes many that had areas of less than 0.7 km2 at the end of the Little 

Ice Age. Perennial ice-and (or)-snow patches likely remain at many of 

these locations.

Since the end of the Little Ice Age, small glaciers that were insulated or 

protected by the surrounding topography tended to lose proportionately 

less area to recession. Commonly, they changed rapidly to a stagnant condition. The larger glaciers generally experienced proportionately greater and 

more rapid reduction in area than the smaller glaciers, but they still continue to be active (fig. 25A). During the last 150 years, the larger glaciers, 

which had descended below cirque margins into subalpine terrain, would 

have had the greatest exposure to solar radiation and warmer temperatures 

for longer periods of time. As these large glaciers retreated and shrank in 

area, they regularly separated into discrete ice masses.

Earlier in the 20th century, Grinnell Glacier split into two ice masses 

(fig. 25S). The upper one, now called The Salamander, exists as an ice apron 

and has changed little since it separated sometime prior to 1929 (Dyson, 

1941). In 1911, Blackfoot Glacier (fig. 25(7) encompassed the current Jackson 

Glacier (Alden, 1914) but was distinctly separate from it by 1939 (Dyson, 

1941). Sperry, Pumpelly, and Agassiz Glaciers each separated into smaller 

parts located in depressions within their cirques, so that each consisted of one 

primary mass and several smaller ice masses no longer connected to the main 

body of the glacier. The individual ice masses, like nearby remnant glaciers, 

generally became increasingly shielded by their surroundings and did not 

change much over time, so that they persisted as perennial ice-and- snow 

patches. These favored locations were protected from solar radiation and 

likely accumulated considerable wind-blown snow over a greater proportion 

of their surface area. These patterns are typical of most Glacier National Park 

glaciers and probably represent the condition of other nearby cirque glaciers 

undergoing prolonged recession throughout the Rocky Mountains of the U.S.

The glacial recession, though pervasive and continuous since the middle 

1800's, progressed at variable rates over time and to varying degrees on different glaciers. Through the first decade of the 20th century, early

Figure 25. (opposite page) Four enlargements of figure 23 (labeled A, B, C, and D) 

provide a comparison of the area covered 

by glacier ice in 1995 with that of the middle 19th century. Perennial ice and snow 

remaining on 1 September 1995 are 

shown in pink to purple colors. Yellow 

lines represent glacier-maximum margins 

during the Little Ice Age, as mapped from 

distinctive lateral and terminal moraines 

on 1993 aerial photographs and adapted 

from the work of Carrara and McGimsey 

(1988) and Johnson (1980). A, Glaciers in 

the vicinity of Agassiz Glacier. The 

unmapped Harris Glacier has essentially 

vanished and is today represented by just 

one glacieret. Only two separated parts of 

the unmapped Kintla Glacier remain 

active and have discernible crevasses; the 

eastern part (largest) is the primary fragment. During the middle 19th century, 

Boulder Glacier extended across Boulder 

Pass, where a prominent terminal moraine 

is visible. The small Baby Glacier, bounded 

by a conspicuous moraine, has lost proportionately less than has Agassiz 

Glacier. B, Grinnell and Swiftcurrent Glaciers. The bluish patch abutting Grinnell 

Glacier to the north is Upper Grinnell 

Lake, a proglacial lake that has formed 

since the 1930's. C, The complex of glaciers in the Mt. Jackson area. D, Vulture 

Glacier and environs. Rainbow Glacier is 

one of Glacier National Park's largest glaciers but has been little studied and has 

not yet been mapped. Weasel Collar 

remains active, as evidenced by crevassing, and sits in a dramatic, deep, fanshaped cirque that narrows to the north 

over an extreme precipice. Today, Carter 

Glaciers are reduced to a series of stagnant ice aprons and patches. Vulture Glacier is one of Glacier National Park's 

highest and has an east-to-southeast 

aspect and a present terminus at about 

2,440 m.

J370 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
photographs and descriptions indicate that glaciers thinned but retreated 

little from the end moraines of the Little Ice Age (fig. 26) and that termini 

were still at -or- very near the inner margins of lateral and terminal 

moraines (Alden, 1914; Sperry, 1938; Dyson, 1941). In all cases, it must be 

noted that, although initially the distance of retreat was small, substantial 

thinning and therefore appreciable volume loss likely took place. This 

preceded the eventual retreat of termini. From 1910 onward, recession 

rates increased (Dyson, 1948; Johnson, 1980). This corresponded to a 

period of increased scientific interest in Glacier National Park glaciers, and 

many of the early investigators bore witness to dramatic instances of glacier 

recession. Following the middle 1940's, recession rates decreased, and glaciers became increasingly confined within cirque margins.

On Agassiz and Jackson Glaciers, retreat from 1850's trimlines below 

1,800 m averaged less than 7 m a"1 until about 1911 (Carrara and McGimsey, 1981). Retreat rates increased steadily to 14-42 m a"1 by 1926 and to 

112-117 m a"1 by 1932. At both glaciers, retreat exposed convex bedrock 

slopes. These slopes likely supported thinner ice and contributed to the 

rapid retreat during that interval.

By 1939, Jackson Glacier had separated from Blackfoot Glacier (fig. 25C) 

and rested within the confines of its present-day cirque. Its average rate of 

retreat decreased between 1932 and 1944 to about 10 m a"1 . Agassiz Glacier (fig. 25A), on the other hand, continued retreating up its valley slope at 

a rate of 90 m sTl until 1942. From the middle 1940's until 1979, both

GLACIERS OF THE CONTERMINOUS UNITED STATES J371
glaciers continued to retreat but at very low rates, less than 3 m a"1 . By 

1979, Agassiz and Jackson Glaciers had been reduced to about 30 percent 

of their middle 19th- century area.

Sperry Glacier's retreat (fig. 25C) has a history similar to that of Agassiz 

and Jackson Glaciers, although variations in recession are not as dramatic. 

Figure 27 shows the changes in its size from 1850 to 1993. Until 1913, it 

retreated from its Little Ice Age moraine at a rate that varied between 1 and 

5 m a"1 . From 1913 through 1945, retreat increased substantially to 

between 15 and 22 m a"1 . During this period, Sperry Glacier lost about 68 

percent of its area. Since 1945, the rate of retreat has slowed to an average 

of 11 m a"1 between 1945 and 1950 and to about 5 m a"1 between 1950 and 

1979. At that time, Sperry Glacier occupied only about 26 percent of its 

maximum area in the middle 19th century.

Grinnell Glacier (fig. 255) displayed less overall variation and greater 

constancy in retreat than the glaciers already discussed. However, between 

the 1920's and middle 1940's, it experienced the largest amount of retreat 

of any Glacier National Park glacier (fig. 28). Through 1887, Grinnell 

receded an average of 2 m a"1 . Recession averaged 11 ma"1 from 1887 to 

1911 but decreased to 5 m a"1 by 1920. During the period 1850 to 1920, the 

average recession was about 6 m a"1 . The rate of recession of Grinnell Glacier increased after 1920, averaging 15 m a"1 , for a total loss of 51 percent 

in glacier area by 1946. Between 1946 and 1979, recession averaged about 4 

m a"1 and further reduced the glacier to 41 percent of its former area.

Figure 29 depicts the changes of Grinnell Glacier during the 43-year 

period from 1938 to 1981. Substantial changes are evident not only in the 

margin but also in the thickness of the glacier. Compared to the size and 

thickness of the glacier 50 years earlier (about 1887), when Grinnell Glacier 

included The Salamander ice apron, the magnitude of change is most noteworthy. Recession of Grinnell Glacier has been influenced by its deeply concave cirque, as well as by the formation of Upper Grinnell Lake in the early 

1930's from meltwater that ponded in a concave basin exposed by the 

retreating glacier (fig. 29).

Between 1966 and 1979, small advances of parts of the glacier margins 

were noted at several glaciers, including Grinnell, Jackson, Blackfoot, and 

Harrison Glaciers (Carrara, 1989). Other parts of these glaciers did not 

advance, and overall sizes either remained essentially the same or receded 

slightly during the period.

 *>*- _ 

Figure 26. Overlooking Blackfoot Glacier 

to the west in August 1914 by E.G. Stebingerf USGS. Mount Jackson is the highest 

peak in the center, and Reynolds Mountain 

is to the far right. Glacier ice remains on, 

or very near, the prominent lateral 

moraine, paralleling the glacier across the 

central-right part of the photograph. Hates 

of recession were comparatively slow 

from the end of the Little Ice Age through 

the early 20th century, in contrast to rapid 

recession in subsequent decades of the 

1920's to 1940's. Early visitors had an 

opportunity to see Glacier National Park 

glaciers at or near their 19th century maximum extents. Today, most of the glacier 

ice visible in the right one-half of the photograph has melted away and exposed 

bedrock. From the same viewpoint, the 

current terminus would lie almost in a 

direct line with Mount Jackson (see 

fig. 25C).

J372 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Figure 27 Neoglacial recession chronology of Sperry Glacier showing the series 

of termini mapped since the middle 19th 

century. This model was developed 

within a geographic information system 

(CIS) by incorporating data from previous 

glacier maps (Johnson, 1980; Carrara 

and McGimsey, 1988; P.E. Carrara, 

unpub. data), USGS 1:24,000-scale quadrangle maps (1968) (compiled from 

USGS 1966 1:40,000-scale aerial photographs), and aerial photographs [1945, 

1950, 1960, 1968 (U.S. National Park Service 1:15,840-scale), and 1993]. Two challenges of using such models are, first, 

establishing a common geographic 

datum to rectify the various data sets 

spatially and, second, resolving discrepancies between sources. The latter often 

causes problems of scale and precision 

due to historical information's being generated from different, and sometimes 

rudimentary, types of technology available at the time of measurement.

Figure 28. Neoglacial recession chronology of Grinnell and Swiftcurrent Glaciers 

showing the series of termini mapped 

since the middle 19th century. Grinnell 

Glacier, along with Sperry Glacier (fig. 27), 

is relatively accessible and has been frequently observed, so it has yielded a fairly 

complete record of recession. The first 

field measurement of the terminus position on Grinnell Glacier was recorded in 

1931 (Johnson, 1958). By contrast, Swiftcurrent Glacier, with the exception of the 

moraine-defined 1850 perimeter, lacks 

positional delineations prior to 1950, the 

year of Glacier National Park's first aerial 

photographic survey. The value of an 

archived series of aerial photographs and 

satellite images is highlighted by the fact 

that mapping of the 1950 margin was not 

undertaken until 1993.

GLACIERS OF THE CONTERMINOUS UNITED STATES J373
Other Glacier National Park glaciers, because of their unique characteristics, have responded somewhat independently to changes in climate and 

show variations in recession. The magnitude of shrinkage in Grinnell Glacier (fig. 29) is most representative of the larger glaciers in the park. The 

smaller glaciers here, while experiencing increased rates of retreat from the 

1920's through 1940's, did not recede nearly as far nor did they thin as 

much in magnitude, though most either disappeared completely or reached 

a steady state during that period. Collectively parkwide, such significant 

changes translate into dramatic losses of stored water, which result in concurrent variations in stream hydrology and sedimentation.

By the end of the 1970's, Glacier National Park glaciers had been confined mostly to high cirque basins for more than three decades. It is clear 

that retreat rates decreased in the three decades leading up to that time, 

but it is also evident that, even as glaciers became increasingly buffered at 

higher elevations, broad-scale recession continued as proportionately more 

surface area became sheltered by cirque walls. Between 1979 and 1993, 

Sperry Glacier retreated from 45 to 75 m (an average rate of 3 to 5 m a"1 ) 

and lost about 11 percent of its surface area (fig. 27). During the same 

period, Grinnell Glacier retreated 117 to 130 m (an average rate of 8 to 

9 m a"1 ), receding about 26 percent (fig. 28). However, a significant amount 

of this retreat is due to icebergs' calving.

Between 1979 and 1993, Agassiz, Jackson, and Blackfoot Glaciers 

receded only about 50 m, but all exhibited signs of continued thinning, 

including newly exposed bedrock or increased bedrock outcrops within 

the perimeter of the glaciers. Harrison Glacier, which had lost 61 percent 

of its area by 1979, continued to retreat through 1993, when it had lost 12 

percent of its 1979 area. Overall, it decreased to 35 percent of its

Figure 29.-Paired 1938 (left) and 1981 

(right) photographs of Grinnell Glacier 

and The Salamander. In the 1981 photograph, significant retreat and thinning are 

clearly evident on the lower level Grinnell 

Glacier; note comparative glacier-ice thickness indicated along the cliff below The 

Salamander. Formation of Upper Grinnell 

Lake, which began in the early 1930's, has 

resulted in icebergs' calving along the terminus of much of the Grinnell Glacier. This 

has significantly increased the rate of 

recession. Snow-and-firn lines on the glacier surface are relatively similar in the 

two photographs. Only a minor change is 

noted in the area of The Salamander, as 

compared to the large amount of area 

lost by Grinnell Glacier. In comparison, 

krummholz (dark treed patches of stunted 

conifers on slopes in the background 

showing the approximate location of the 

tree line) have been relatively stable over 

the same period. The 1938 photograph 

was taken byT.J. Hileman, probably in late 

summer; the 1981 photograph by C.H. Key 

in late summer.

J374 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
maximum area during the Little Ice Age (fig. 25C). Vulture Glacier, having 

a 1993 area of only 0.21 km2 , had receded about 18 percent since 1966. In 

1993, it occupied only about 28 percent of its 1850 area (fig. 25D). Swiftcurrent Glacier, another small glacier (1993 area of 0.14 km2), appears to 

be fairly stable. It had receded nearly to its 1993 size by 1966, and it has a 

relatively high terminus elevation of 2,200 m in a well-shaded, northeastfacing cirque (fig. 28).

The retreat of the glaciers observed in Glacier National Park in recent 

years is consistent with a trend observed in temperate glaciers in other 

regions during the last 150 years. Evidently, climate (temperature and precipitation) is the primary controlling factor. Two reasonable hypotheses 

warrant consideration. In the first, the temperature warmed quickly during 

the middle 1800's and then remained relatively stable, so that today's glaciers are still responding to that one change. In the second, the temperature has continued to warm since the Little Ice Age, although it has 

included some brief periods of cooling. In neither hypothesis has precipitation increased. Sigurbsson and Williams (1998) agreed with the second 

hypothesis with respect to Iceland's glaciers.

The hypothesis that temperature has continued to warm since the Little 

Ice Age implies that fluctuations of glacier termini are more closely coupled 

to temperature change and react within shorter time frames than would be 

implied by the hypothesis that temperature warmed quickly during the 

middle 1800's and then remained relatively stable. To address these issues 

specifically, the authors recommend the following be instituted: (1) intervals and magnitudes of climate variation be correlated more explicitly to 

the recession rates of glaciers in the park, (2) new long-term mass-balance 

measurements be carried out, and (3) complete thermodynamic budgets 

be determined that account, individually and over time, for glacier-bed 

morphology, elevation, and exposure to solar radiation. In any case, it is significant that, in spite of favorable topographic settings, Glacier National 

Park's larger glaciers are shrinking and have not reached an equilibrium 

with today's climate.

Recent Glacier Trends

An often asked question is, "How have glaciers changed in area, length, 

or volume with time?" The answer must be qualified. It is relatively simple 

to observe specific glaciers for several decades, as has been done at the 

Nisqually and South Cascade Glaciers, as well as at several other glaciers. In 

all cases, these long records have shown general recession. As the observation frequency is increased, however, some of these records have shown 

periods of advance within the general retreat, and these periods of advance 

do not always correlate from glacier to glacier. In fact, glaciers that are side 

by side geographically sometimes behave differently. These short advances 

in the overall trend are a result of the complex interaction between the 

effects of elevation, latitude, exposure, basin area-elevation distribution, 

the variables of climate, and the individual glacier's dynamic-response characteristics. A strategy for monitoring glaciers of the United States and other 

glacierized regions is discussed by Fountain and others (1996) and was the 

subject of a 1996 workshop on long-term monitoring of glaciers of North 

America and northwestern Europe (Williams and Ferrigno, 1997).

An apparent contradiction exists in this general long-term recession. 

Table 1 gives glacier areas from Meier (1961a) and from more recent

GLACIERS OF THE CONTERMINOUS UNITED STATES J375
sources, where available. Many of the recent sources show an increase in 

total ice during the last 10 to 20 years. An incorrect conclusion is that glacier cover has increased. The correct conclusion is that more glacier cover 

has been recorded as a result of better source material, mainly maps and 

vertical aerial photographs. Had the same quality of source material been 

available and the same methodology been applied for the earlier determinations of area, the apparent trend of glacier increase seen in table 1 would 

almost certainly be reversed.

J376 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
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GLACIERS OF THE CONTERMINOUS UNITED STATES J381
Glaciers of North America 

GLACIERS OF MEXICO

By SIDNEY E. WHITE

SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD

Edited by RICHARD S. WILLIAMS, Jr., and JANE G. FERRIGNO

U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 1386-J-3

Glaciers in Mexico are restricted to its three highest mountains, all stratovolcanoes. 

Of the two that have been active in historic time, Volcdn Pico de Orizaba (Volcdn 

Citlaltepetl) has nine named glaciers, and Popocatepetl has three named glaciers. The 

one dormant stratovolcano, Iztaccihuatl, has 12 named glaciers. The total area of the 

24 glaciers is 11.44 square kilometers. The glaciers on all three volcanoes have been 

receding during the 20th century. Since 1993, intermittent explosive and effusive 

volcanic activity at the summit of Popocatepetl has covered its glaciers with tephra 

and caused some melting
CONTENTS

Page

Abstract ------------------------------------------------------------------ J383

Introduction 383 

Volcan Pico de Orizaba (Volcan Citlaltepetl) 384

FIGURE 1. Topographic map showing the glaciers on Citlaltepetl 385

2. Sketch map showing the principal overland routes to

Citlaltepetl, Iztaccihuatl, and Popocatepetl 386

3. Oblique aerial photograph of Citlaltepetl from the northwest

in February 1942 387

4. Enlargement of part of a Landsat 1 MSS false-color composite

image of Citlaltepetl and environs 388 

TABLE 1. Nine named glaciers of Citlaltepetl 384

Volcan Iztaccihuatl 389

FIGURE 5. Topographic map showing the glaciers on Iztaccihuatl 389

6. Oblique aerial photograph of Iztaccihuatl from the west in

February 1942 390

7. Enlargement of a Landsat 1 MSS false-color composite

image of Iztaccihuatl and Popocatepetl and environs 394 

TABLE 2. Twelve named glaciers of Iztaccihuatl 388

Volcan Popocatepetl 395

FIGURE 8. Topgraphic map showing the glaciers on Popocatepetl 395 

9. Photograph of Popocatepetl from the north at Tlamacas, in

March 1978 ------ 397

TABLE 3. Three named glaciers of Popocatepetl 396

Landsat Images of the Glaciers of Citlaltepetl, Iztaccihuatl, and 

Popocatepetl 401

FIGURE 10. Enlargement of a Landsat 3 RBV image of the glaciers and 

firn on the summit areas of the Iztaccihuatl and 

Popocatepetl volcanoes 402 

11. Index map to the optimum Landsat 1, 2, and 3 images of the

glaciers of Mexico 403 

TABLE 4. Optimum Landsat 1, 2, and 3 images of the glaciers of Mexico 401

References Cited 404

CONTENTS III
SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD

GLACIERS OF NORTH AMERICAGLACIERS OF MEXICO

By SIDNEY E. WHITE1 

Abstract

Glaciers in Mexico are limited to its three highest mountains, all of which are volcanoes: Volcan Pico de Orizaba (Volcan Citlaltepetl), Volcan Iztaccihuatl, and the active 

(since 1993) Volcan Popocatepetl, which have 9, 12, and 3 named glaciers, respectively. 

The total area of the 24 glaciers is 11.44 square kilometers. All of Mexico's glaciers are 

small, with areas rarely exceeding a few tenths of a square kilometer, except for the ice 

cap and firn field of Gran Glaciar Norte on Citlaltepetl, which has an area of 9.08 square 

kilometers and from which seven outlet glaciers emanate. The small area! dimensions of 

Mexico's glaciers severely restrict the usefulness of Landsat multispectral scanner 

images for delineating individual glaciers or for monitoring variations in terminus position. The nearly threefold improvement in spatial resolution of the Landsat 3 return 

beam vidicon images compared to multispectral scanner images (30-meter versus a 79-meter 

pixel), permits a more accurate delineation of the mountain glaciers of Mexico.

Introduction

Under the present climatic conditions, three volcanoes in south-central 

Mexico, all having highest elevations in excess of 5,000 m, support numerous small glaciers. (1) Volcan Pico de Orizaba (Volcan Citlaltepetl) 2 , a 

5,610-m-high (Simkin and Siebert, 1994; previous value was 5,675 m) stratovolcano in the State of Veracruz, supports nine named glaciers. Seven volcanic eruptions have been recorded there in historic time, the last in 1687 

(Simkin and others, 1981). (2) Volcan Iztaccihuatl, a 5,230-m-high (Simkin 

and Siebert, 1994; previous value was 5,286 m), dormant Holocene stratovolcano in the State of Puebla, has three summits and 12 named glaciers. 

(3) Volcan Popocatepetl, a 5,465-m-high (Simkin and Siebert, 1994; previous value was 5,452 m) stratovolcano in the State of Puebla, has three 

named glaciers. Since 1345, Popocatepetl has been the site of at least 25, 

and perhaps as many as 30, eruptions, the last at this writing in January 

2001 (Simkin and Siebert, 1994; Smithsonian Institution, 1994, 1995, 1996, 

1997, 1998, 1999, 2000; Roberto Quaas, written commun., 1997). The 

author also observed one gas-column eruption on 7 April 1953.

The equilibrium line altitude (ELA) of glaciers on Iztaccihuatl and 

Popocatepetl is 4,880 m and 4,925 m, respectively; the ELA of glaciers on 

Citlaltepetl is not known. No other highland areas in Mexico are sufficiently 

high to be above the present-day snowline. During the Illinoian age of the 

Pleistocene Epoch, however, the ELA was as low as 3,510 m on Iztaccihuatl 

during the Tonicoxco (Tomicoxco) advance and was somewhat higher

Manuscript approved for publication 7 March 2002.

1 Department of Geological Sciences, Ohio State University, 275 Mendenhall Laboratory, 125 South 

Oval Mall, Columbus, Ohio 43210-1398.

" Most of the geographic place-names used in this section are from the Gazetteer of Mexico (U.S. 

Board on Geographic Names, 1992). An exception is Citlaltepetl, where the Nahuatl place-name is used 

instead of the Spanish one (Volcan Pico de Orizaba). Throughout the text, references to Citlaltepetl, Iztaccihuatl, and Popocatepetl are, after the first mention, without Volcan in the title. A few names not listed in 

the gazetteer are shown in italics.

GLACIERS OF MEXICO J383
during other advances. Cerro Ajusco, a 3,937 m-high volcanic mountain 

south of Mexico City in the Federal District (D.F., Distrito Federal), supported glaciers during times of lower ELA during the late Wisconsinan age 

and during the late Holocene Epoch (early neoglaciation and middle 

neoglaciation) (White, 1981a, 1984). The following discussion of the glaciers on Citlaltepetl, Iztaccihuatl, and Popocatepetl emphasizes historic 

and modern observations.

Volcan Pico de Orizaba (Volcan Citlaltepetl)

At 5,610 m (Simkin and Siebert, 1994; previous value was 5,675 m, 

which is used as the reference elevation in the text for glacier elevations), Citlaltepetl is the highest mountain in Mexico and the third highest on the North American Continent. It contains the largest ice cap and 

firn field in Mexico (Gran Glaciar Norte) and has nine named glaciers 

(fig. 1 and table 1), including the ice cap, its seven outlet glaciers, and a 

mountain (niche) glacier. Its name is derived from the Nahuatl words Citlalli (star) and tepetl (mountain). However, its officially recognized name 

is Spanish, Pico de Orizaba. Situated at lat 19°02' N. and long 97°17' W., it 

is 210 km east of Mexico City and 120 km west of Veracruz and the Gulf of 

Mexico. Topographic maps of Citlaltepetl are sold by the Comision Cartografica Militar, Secretaria de la Defensa Nacional, Mexico, D.F Provisional maps by Estudios y Proyectos, Asociacion Civil (A.C.), Mexico, 

D.F., also may be purchased. Vertical aerial photos taken in 1955 by the 

Comision del Papaloapan are in the Institute de Geografia, Universidad 

de Mexico, Mexico, D.F. Oblique aerial photographs taken in 1942 are 

available from Compania Mexicana Aerofoto, Sociedad Anonima (S.A.), 

Mexico, D.F.

Because of its inaccessibility due to the 210-km distance from Mexico 

City and the 42-km journey from Tlalchichuca or the 46-km trip from San 

Andres Chalchicomula by alternate third-class roads to trailheads from 

the northwest (fig. 2), Citlaltepetl rarely has been studied from any viewpoint. However, being the highest and the most esthetic mountain in Mexico a white shining star in the east it caught the attention of Europeans 

early in the development of the country and was climbed several times from 

the mid-1800's to the early 1900's (Galeotti, 1850; Plowes and others, 1877; 

Angermann, 1904; Waitz, 1910). Glaciers and snowfields were mentioned in 

the description of these climbs because they were along the logical routes 

of ascent; unfortunately, scientific details are scarce in these works.

TABLE 1. Nine named glaciers of Citlaltepetl

[Taken from Lorenzo, 1964, sketch III. Leaders (-), not known]

Glacier number

I......................

II.....................

III....................

IV....................

V............... ......

VI....................

VII...................

vm .................

Glacier name

Gran Glacial' Norte

Glacier type

Ice cap, firn field 

Outlet

Outlet

Outlet

Outlet

Outlet

Outlet

Outlet

Area 

(square kilometers)

9.08

.42

Total 9.50

J384 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
97°20'W 97"15'

19C 05'N

Citlaltepetl glaciers:

Lengua del

Chichimeco

Jamapa

Toro

Barba

Noroccidental

Occidental 

VII Suroccidental 

VIM Oriental

Gran Glaciar Norte

CITLALTEPETL

Figure 1. Glaciers (shown in green) on 

Citlaltepetl. The numbers refer to the 

named outlet and mountain glaciers listed 

in table 1. Contour interval, 100 m. Original map by Estudios y Proyectos, A.C., 

Mexico, D.F. (Modified from Lorenzo, 1964, 

sketch III.)

Blasquez (1957) may have been the first to study Citlaltepetl's glaciers from 

a glaciological viewpoint. He studied from a hydrogeological perspective 

the meltwater that is used locally. The most exacting study of Citlaltepetl's 

glaciers was by a team of mountaineering geophysicists led by Jose Luis 

Lorenzo in 1958, working under the auspices of the Comite Nacional de 

Alexico for the International Geophysical Year (1957-58) through the Institute de Geofisica. Despite hardships of elevation and unforeseen storms, 

the team measured glacier-surface slopes, accumulation areas, and elevations of glacier termini. In addition, they carried out topographic mapping 

of the nine glaciers and took scores of excellent photographs (Lorenzo, 

1959, 1964). The retreat of the northernmost outlet glacier, Glaciar de 

Jamapa, is recorded by Palacios and Vazquez Selem (1996). No other scientific work on Citlaltepetl glaciers is known, except for an occasional mention in mountaineering journals.

GLACIERS OF MEXICO J385
99"W 98°30'

19°N

18°30'

Mexico 

City

Hidalgo 

 * CITLALTEPETL

UNITED STATES

Pacific 

Ocean

Tepeaca V^""1 Acatzingo San Andres

~~ Chalchicomula

50 KILOMETERS

J

Orizaba

Tehuacan

A temperate, humid climate with periodic rainy seasons, although drier 

in winter, surrounds Citlaltepetl up to about 4,300 m. Above this, tundra 

and ice-cap climates prevail to the summit. Heavy snowfall probably occurs 

both in winter and summer, as it does on the other high volcanoes. Snow 

falling on the south and southeast sides melts quickly because of solar radiation but persists on the northwest and north sides. Aided by the insolation 

angle and wind redeposition, the persistent snow cover develops into a 

huge accumulation area and firn field, which serves as a source for the outlet glaciers.

The entire north side of the upper Citlaltepetl cone is covered by the 

Gran Glaciar Norte of Lorenzo (1959), which fills an elongate highland 

basin with near-radial flow and is the source area for seven outlet glaciers 

(figs. 1 and 3). The main glacier extends 3.5 km north of the crater rim, has 

a surface area of about 9.08 km2 , and descends from 5,650 m to a little 

below 5,000 m (Lorenzo, 1964, fig. 12). It has a slightly irregular and 

stepped profile that is caused in part by the configuration of the bedrock. 

Most crevasses show an ice thickness of approximately 50 m.

Below the 5,0(JO-m elevation on the north side of the volcano, the outlet 

glaciers Lengua del Chichimeco and Glaciar de Jamapa extend north and 

northwest another 1.5 km and 2 km, respectively. The terminal lobe of Lengua del Chichimeco at 4,740 m, having a gradient of only 140 m km" 1 , is a 

low, broad ice fan that has a convex-upward profile (Lorenzo, 1964, fig. 10), 

a front typical of almost all Mexican glaciers. The most distinct glacier is 

Glaciar de Jamapa, which leaves Gran Glaciar Norte (figs. 1 and 3) at about 

4,975 m and, after 2 km with a gradient of 145 m km"1 , divides into two 

small tongues that end at 4,650 m and 4,640 m. Both tongues terminate in 

broad convex-upward ice fans thinning along their edges (Lorenzo, 1964, 

figs. 14 and 15). The retreat of these tongues prior to 1994 produced much 

erosion downstream and buried their edges by ablation rock debris (Palacios and Vazquez Selem, 1996).

The west side of Gran Glaciar Norte generates five outlet glaciers 

(fig. 1). From north to south, the first two, Glaciar del Toro and Glaciar de

Figure 2. Principal overland routes to Citlaltepetl, Iztaccihuatl, and Popocatepetl. 

Paved roads are shown in broadest lines; 

trails, in dashed lines. (Modified from 

Lorenzo, 1959, sketch II.)

J386 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
la Barba (fig. 3), are hanging cliff or icefall glaciers, reaching the tops of 

giant lava steps (Lorenzo, 1964, fig. 18) at 4,930 m and 5,090 m, respectively. They then descend 200 to 300 m farther down into the heads of 

stream valleys as huge ice blocks bul are not regenerated there. One kilometer farther south, Glaciar Noroccidental (fig. 3), a small outlet glacier 

300 m long (Lorenzo, 1964, figs. 21 and 22), drains away from the side of 

Gran Glaciar Norte at about 5,100 m and draws down the ice surface a few 

tens of meters over a distance of 500 m, descending to 4,920 m with a gradient of 255 m km"1 . One kilometer still farther south, Glaciar Occidental 

(fig. 3) breaks away from Gran Glaciar Norte west of the summit crater at 

about 5,175 m as a steep, 1-km-long glacier (Lorenzo, 1964, figs. 22 and 23) 

having a gradient of 270 m krrf: that ends at 4,930 m. From the southwest 

corner of the mountain, another outlet glacier, Glaciar Suroccidental, 1.6 

km long, flows from Gran Glaciar Norte at 5,250 m (Lorenzo, 1964, figs. 22 

and 23) with a gradient of 200 m km"1 , which also ends at 4,930 m in a long 

smooth surface.

East of the summit cone, a separate steep niche glacier, Glaciar Oriental, 

1.2 km long and having a gradient of 440 m km"1 (fig. 1), flows down the 

mountainside from about 5,600 m to 5,070 m; it contains many crevasses 

and seracs (Lorenzo, 1964, figs. 24 and 25) and is the most difficult glacier 

to climb.

Lorenzo (1964) calculated that Glacier Oriental had a surface area of 

about 420,000 m2 in 1958, which makes the total area of glaciers and firn 

field on Citlaltepetl about 9.5 km2 . No earlier historical record of glacier 

tongue activity (advance or recession) is known for Citlaltepetl's glaciers.

Figure 4 is a Landsat 1 multispectral scanner (MSS) false-color composite image of Citlaltepetl and environs on 25 May 1973. Although the 

Gran Glaciar Norte ice cap is covered with snow, it is possible to see 

the seven outlel glaciers on the irregular west margin of the ice cap, 

especially Glaciar de Jamapa and Glaciar Occidental. The 79-m picture element (pixel) of the MSS image makes it difficult to delineate 

the termini of the seven outlet glaciers from the ice cap. Glacier Oriental, the niche glacier on the east, is not discernible in figure 4.

Figure 3. Citlaltepetl from the northwest. 

Gran Glaciar Norte is the high, white cone 

in the center. Glaciar de Jamapa, one of 

the seven outlet glaciers from Gran Glaciar Norte, is on the left skyline. The outlet 

glaciers Glaciar del Toro and Glaciar de la 

Barba are visible in the center; the outlet 

glaciers Glaciar Noroccidental and Glaciar 

Occidental are in the upper right. Oblique 

aerial photograph taken in February 1942, 

courtesy of Compania Mexicans Aerofoto.

GLACIERS OF MEXICO J387
97° Figure 4. Enlargement of part of a 

Landsat 1 MSS false-color composite image (1306-16231; 25 May 

1973; Path 26, Row 47) of Citlaltepetl 

and environs. Landsat image from 

the EROS Data Center, Sioux Falls, 

S. Dak.

TABLE 2. Tivelve named glaciers of Iztaccihuatl

[Taken from Lorenzo, 1964, sketch VII]

Glacier 

number

I............

II

HI .........

IV.........

V...........

VI .........

VII........

VIII.......

IX.........

X

XL........

XII........

Glacier name

Glaciar de la Cabeza

Glaciar del Cuello

Glaciar de Ayolotepito

Glacier Norte

Glaciar del Crater

Glaciar Oestenoroeste

Glaciar Nororiental

Glaciar Centre Oriental

Glaciar de Ayoloco

Glaciar Sudoriental

Glaciar Atzintli

Glaciar de San Agustin

Glacier type

Mountain, ice cap

Mountain, valley

Mountain, cirque, valley

Mountain, niche, hanging, interrupted

Mountain, crater, interrupted,

cascading

Mountain, ice cap, hanging

Mountain, firn field, valley

Mountain, firn field, valley

Mountain, cirque, valley

Mountain, firn field

Mountain, ice apron

Mountain, niche

Total

Area (square 

kilometers)

0.014

0.050

0.213

0.046

0.180

0.050

0.025

0.245

0.247

0.078

0.058

0.011

1.217

J388 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Volcan Iztaccihuatl

Figure 5. Glaciers on Iztaccihuatl. The 

numbers refer to the named glaciers listed 

in table 2. Contour interval, 100 m. (Modified from Lorenzo, 1964, sketch VII.)

At 5,230 m (Simkin and Siebert, 1994; previous value was 5,286 m, which 

is still authoritative and is used as the reference elevation in the text for glacier elevations), Iztaccihuatl is the third highest peak in Mexico and the seventh highest on the continent. It has 2 firn fields and 12 named glaciers (fig. 5 

and table 2). Its name is derived from the Nahuatl words Iztac (white) and 

cihuatl (woman). When viewed from the west (fig. 6), the long profile from 

north to south conjures up the head, neck, chest, stomach, knees, and feet of 

a recumbent sleeping woman covered with a white shroud. Its name, often 

misspelled, is incorrectly translated in places. The highest of three summits, 

El Pecho, is situated at lat 19°10'30" N. and long 98°38'30" W. The 12 named 

glaciers are scattered along a north-south distance of approximately 3 km. 

Iztaccihuatl can be seen from Mexico City, lying only 64 km to the southeast

98"39'W 98°38'

Iztaccfhuatl glaciers:

IZTACCIHUATL

f 

VII

Cabeza

Cuello

Ayolotepito

Norte

Crater

Oestenoroeste

Nororiental

Centre Oriental

Ayoloco

Sudoriental

Atzintli

San Augustin

GLACIERS OF MEXICO J389
near the southern end of the Sienna Nevada (fig. 2). Only one topographic 

map is needed, Iztaccihuatl 14Q-h(107), which is sold by the Secretaria de la 

Defensa Nacional. Vertical aerial photos that have excellent quality and flightline precision and were taken in 1945 by the Compania Mexicana Aerofoto 

are easily purchased; these photographs were used by the company for the 

preparation of the maps by photogrammetric techniques. Oblique aerial photographs taken in 1942 and more recently are also available from Compania 

Mexicana Aerofoto.

The proximity of Iztaccihuatl to Mexico City and the relative ease in 

reaching the mountain from both the east and the west enticed many scientists and mountaineers to climb it and to observe the glaciers. Although nol 

recommended, from the east side one may leave the old Mexico City Puebla Highway at Texmelucan or at Huejotzingo (fig. 2) and drive 5 to 10 km 

onto the broad east slopes of the range. The field party should be accompanied by Spanish-speaking persons in order to explain its presence in the 

area. From Mexico City, however, a paved highway via Chalco and Tlalmanalco past the paper factory at San Rafael (fig. 2), a distance of aboul 

50 km, allows access onto the northwestern and western slopes of the 

mountain by means of mountain roads and four-wheel-drive vehicles. From 

San Rafael, it is 7 km up to Trancas and 6 km more to the end of the road at 

El Salto at 3,750 m. From El Salto, the glaciers at 4,770 m and a mountain 

refuge are only 3 km distant. The route used most by climbers from Mexico 

City is about 65 km by Chalco and Amecameca up a paved mountain road to 

Paso de Cortes at 3,680 m, and then north on a poor road 3.5 km to its end 

at the south end of the mountain at La Joya, which is 4,000 m high (fig. 2). 

From here, the peaks above the glaciers and mountain refuges are reached 

in 3.5 km by a climber's route above 4,500 m along the crest of high peaks.

The oldest reference to glaciers on Iztaccihuatl was made by Jose Antonio 

de Alzate y Ramirez sometime between 1781 and 1789 (Alzate y Ramirez, 

1831; cited in Lorenzo, 1964). Not until 1890 did other reports on the glacier 

ice appear (Whitehouse, 1890; Heilprin, 1890, who briefly mentioned glaciers 

on Iztaccihuatl, including a crevassed one he named the "Porfirio Diaz Glacier," probably Glaciar de Ayoloco). Several scientists discussed cirques on 

the west side, the glaciers in them, and meteorological factors responsible 

(Ordonez, 1894; Farrington, 1897; Bose and Ordonez, 1901; Brecker, 1908; 

Melgarejo, 1910; Freudenberg, 1911). The hydroelectric possibilities of glacier meltwater were studied by Paredes (1922), and glaciers and their

Figure 6. Iztaccihuatl from the west. At 

the far left of the photograph, partly under 

clouds, is the separate, irregularly eroded 

Volcan Teyotl. Next is the higher, snowcovered, cliff-encircled peak. La Cabeza, 

with Glaciar de la Cabeza sloping to the 

left. The highest ice-covered peak is El 

Pecho (5,286 m), with the firn field in the 

"neck" between it and La Cabeza, source 

of Glaciar de Ayolotepito. The ice-covered 

peak of El Pecho is Glaciar Oestenoroeste. 

South of El Pecho (right) is the "stomach 

area" firn field, source of Glaciar de 

Ayoloco. Glaciar Atzintli is to the right of 

the "stomach area," but in the photograph, 

a recent snowfall joins all into one snowfield. La Joya (fig. 2) is at the right side of 

the photograph. Oblique aerial photograph taken in February 1942, courtesy of 

Compania Mexicana Aerofoto.

J390 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
climatic situation, by Jaeger (1925, 1926) and Prister (1927). Robles Ramos 

(1944) conducted hydrologic and meteorologic studies in 1942 on the west 

side and related glacier melting to streamflow. De Terra (1947), De Terra and 

others (1949), White (1962, 1981a), and Vazquez-Selem and Phillips (1998), 

discussed the glaciers in relation to former glaciations.

According to Vazquez-Selem and Phillips (1998), the glacial deposits on 

Iztaccihuatl volcano provide the "most complete record of [past] glaciation of 

central Mexico." Their glacial chronology is based on dating moraines with 

the 36C1 cosmogenic isotope and tephra from Popocatepetl. The Nexcoalango moraines at 3,100 m described by White (1962) are dated at between 

151 and 126 Ka [marine isotope stage (MIS) 6]; the Hueyatlaco Moraines of 

White (1962), associated with the last global glacier maximum (LGGM), are 

dated at 20 to 14 Ka. A major deglaciation of Iztaccihuatl started at 

14-13 Ka; Little Ice Age (LIA) moraines are located at 4,300 to 4,700 m.

The elevations of 3 glacier termini in 1953 and 1955 appeared in White 

(1956), and the elevations of all 12 glaciers in 1959-60, in Lorenzo (1964). 

The best account by far of Iztaccihuatl glaciers is that by Lorenzo and his 

colleagues.

A temperate-rainy climate with no conspicuous dry season encircles the 

lower slopes of the Sierra Nevada and the upper flanks of Iztaccihuatl to 

about 4,000 m. Although rain falls every month, summer is the wettest and 

winter is the driest time of year. Snow falls as low as 4,000 m from November through January. Above 4,000 m are tundra and ice-cap climates. Snow 

accumulates on all slopes above 4,500 m not only in winter but also from 

June through middle-August. The volume of precipitation apparently 

decreases markedly above 4,000 m, but no record of rainfall and snowfall is 

known for the upper mountain slopes. The 5.8-km-long north-south axis of 

Iztaccihuatl plus the location, orientation, and elevation of the highest 

peaks affect local wind directions during snowfall and provide protection 

from insolation. On the basis of all these factors, accumulation areas of firn 

develop above 5,000 m and serve as the source area for 8 of the 12 glaciers. 

Vazquez Selem (1989), however, in his study of periglacial features, discovered ice cores covered with detritus in the rock glaciers at about 4,400 m on 

the north side of the peak of Volcan Teyotl (fig. 6), a lower, much-eroded 

volcano north of Iztaccihuatl. Small firn fields and ice glaciers existed there 

during the most recent neoglaciation, but they are now melted.

Most Iztaccihuatl glaciers originate above the 5,000-m elevation in simple basins and become short, cascading mountain glaciers. Two on the west 

side, Glaciar de Ayolotepito and Glaciar de Ayoloco (fig. 6), are thickest in 

cirquelike valley heads. They are neoglacial remnants and have huge early 

neoglacial moraines and four small inner moraines in front of the ice 

(White, 1956), probably all built within the last 3,000 years. Three glaciers 

start from a high transection firn field that has flow both to the east and 

west (Glacier del Cuello, Glaciar de Ayolotepito, and Glaciar Norte), and 

two start from El Pecho (Glaciar del Crater and Glaciar Oestenoroeste). 

Glaciar del Crater on El Pecho occupies a now-dormant crater, although it 

was active as recently as post-early neoglaciation, possibly between 3,000 

and 2,500 years ago. Because the early neoglacial moraines are covered 

with volcanic scoria from the now-dormant crater, scoria that has been verified petrographically, this suggests that the volcano should be considered 

to be dormant rather than extinct. The descriptions and measurements of 

Iztaccihuatl glaciers that follow are from Lorenzo (1964), plus information 

added from White (1956) and White's unpublished fieldwork.

Glaciar de la Cabeza is a thin lens of ice of 14,400 m2 on the northwest 

summit of La Cabeza and extends only 200 m northwest from about 5,145 

m to slightly lower than 5,000 m (figs. 5 and 6; Lorenzo, 1964, fig. 48). It 

stops above cliffs, but during neoglaciation, it regenerated at the cliff bottom and built moraines north of La Cabeza.

GLACIERS OF MEXICO J391
Glacier del Cuello flows east from the transection firn field occupying the 

"neck" (Cuello). Beginning at 4,990 m, it extends 550 m to 4,760 m on a gradient of 420 m km"1 (Lorenzo, 1964, fig. 49), covers about 50,000 m2 , and 

enters a valley on the northeast side of Iztaccihuatl. Glaciar de Ayolotepito 

originates from the same firn field, also at 4,990 m, and, in part, from a firn 

field on the north side of El Pecho at 5,250 m (figs. 5 and 6). It turns to the 

west 900 m from the summit area down into the cirquelike Ayolotepito valley 

head, where it has a gradient of 520 m km"1 . In 1959-60 it terminated at 

4,760 m (Lorenzo, 1964, figs. 40 and 50) and occupied 212,500 m2 , but in 

1953, it ended at about 4,670 m (White, 1956). Thus, it had retreated 90 m in 

elevation and about 125 m in distance in the 6 to 7 years, or about 19 m a"1 . If 

the accuracy of a barometer used by Bose and Ordonez (1901) in November 

1898 is reliable, then the terminus of Glaciar de Ayolotepito at 4,610 m had 

receded only 150 m in elevation or about 460 m distance in the 61 to 62 years 

since they visited the mountain. This is a rate of retreat of about 7 m a"1 , 

much slower than the retreat between 1953 and 1959-60. The third glacier 

developed from the Cuello firn field and north side of El Pecho is Glaciar 

Norte. It is a small hanging glacier totaling 46,200 m2 that flows northeast 

from El Pecho at 5,250 m, down to cliff tops at 5,050 m, where it is interrupted. It regenerates below the cliffs at 5,010 m and, as a broad tongue, runs 

down to 4,910 m (Lorenzo, 1964, figs. 43, 51, 52).

Glaciar del Crater starts on El Pecho at 5,286 m and cascades as a cliff 

glacier northeast, breaking into chaotic icefalls on a gradient of 755 m km"1 

to 4,965 m, where it bifurcates into two lobes (Lorenzo, 1964, figs. 52 

and 53). The longer northeast tongue continues to 4,890 m, where it is 

interrupted by cliffs and regenerates below in isolated masses extending to 

4,750 m and 4,770 m. The shorter east tongue of accumulated ice blocks 

and great seracs ends above cliffs at 4,910 m. The whole Glaciar del Crater 

covers about 179,500 m2 . On the northwest side of El Pecho, another cliff 

glacier, Glaciar Oestenoroeste (fig. 6), also descends from the mountaintop at 5,286 m to 5,010 m on a gradient of 835 m km"1 and covers about 

50,000 m2 (Lorenzo, 1964, fig. 54). The subdivision of this glacier system 

north of El Pecho, including the Cuello firn field and up to the top of El 

Pecho, is based on ice-surface topography and not on direction of ice 

movement. Southeast of El Pecho and separate from any other ice body is 

a small 400-m-long firn field of 25,000 m2 sloping east from 5,060 m to 

4,830 m, named Glaciar Nororiental (Lorenzo, 1964, fig 55).

A second high-transection firn field that produces a glacier system lies 

0.5 to 1 km south of El Pecho above 5,000 m in the stomach area of Iztaccihuatl (fig. 5). Glaciar Centre Oriental, which flows to the east, has as 

its source about 45,000 m2 of firn on the ridge southeast of El Pecho. It 

drops from 5,190 m to 4,850 m, with a gradient of 550 m km"1 and is about 0.5 

km wide and long. Its terminus divides into three lobes; the longest and lowest lobe ends at 4,715 m. The whole glacier covers about 245,000 m" 

(Lorenzo, 1964, fig. 56).

o

On the west side of the same ridge, and including about 50,000 m" of 

firn as its source, is the largest and best known glacier in Mexico, Glaciar 

de Ayoloco, occupying in 1959-60 about 247,000 m2 . In almost all early 

reports of glacier ice on Iztaccihuatl, it was Glaciar de Ayoloco that was 

observed (fig. 6). In 1959-60 it was approximately 0.5 km wide at its head 

between two high rock buttresses, Pena Ordonez and Pena Aguilera, 

and had seracs, crevasses about 50 m deep, and an irregular bumpy surface (Lorenzo, 1964, fig. 57). Glaciar de Ayoloco descends a distance of 625 

m from 5,190 m to 4,725 m on a gradient of 745 m km"1 . In 1955, the glacier 

ended at 4,668 m (White, 1956, table 1) and thus, to reach Lorenzo's 

1959-60 position, had retreated 57 m in elevation and about 100 m in distance in the intervening 4 to 5 years, an average rate of about 22 m a"1 . 

However, comparison of the position of Glaciar de Ayoloco in a photograph

J392 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
taken 1 November 1898 (Bose and Ordonez, 1901, fig. 2) with photographs 

taken at the same site by Lorenzo shows the terminus at White's 4,465-m 

(third) inner stadial moraine. This gives a retreat of about 260 m in elevation, about 810 m in distance, and an average rate of retreat about 13 m a"1 in 

the 61 to 62 years. A photograph in Melgarejo (1910, no. 8), presumably taken 

in the summer of 1910, shows the terminus of Glaciar de Ayoloco about at 

White's 4,540-m (fourth) inner stadial moraine (White, 1956, table 1). Vertical 

aerial photographs taken in November 1945 reveal a thin ice tongue at about 

4,560 m, perhaps no longer active due to its tenuity in a protected position 

below a high rock ridge on the Ayoloco valley-head bottom, about 260 m 

downvalley from its 1955 position. On the other hand, Bose and Ordonez 

(1901) obtained a November 1898 barometric elevation for Glaciar de Ayoloco 

of 4,545 m. If this elevation is accurate, then in 61 to 62 years, the glacier 

receded 180 m in elevation and about 475 m in distance compared to 

Lorenzo's position, or at an average rate of about 8 m a"1 . This is a much 

slower rate than that between 1955 and 1959-60, although it is quite consistent with the average rate of retreat of the Glaciar de Ayolotepito during the 

same period. From all these historic fluctuations, however disparate, it is evident that Glaciar de Ayoloco has been continuously retreating since the 

1890's.

A third glacier also of this stomach-area system is Glaciar Sudoriental 

which has an area of about 77,500 m2 . It is moving toward the southeast, is 

only about 270 m long, and descends from about 5,110 m to 4,990 m 

(Lorenzo, 1964, fig. 58) on a gradient of 445 m kirf \

Based on photographic documentation, Glaciar de Ayoloco and the 

next glacier 200 m to the south, prior to 1918, had been all one glacier, 

but in 1953, White realized that a name was needed for this small, separate, thin ice mass. Following the suggestion of Jose Luis Lorenzo, it was 

named Atzintli Glacier (White, 1956, p. 294). Glaciar Atzintli, now isolated south of the stomach area (figs. 5 and 6), was only 460 m long in 

1959-60, starting at 5,085 m and ending at 4,855 m. It had an area of 

57,500 m2 (Lorenzo, 1964, figs. 40, 41, 59) and a gradient of 500 m km"1 . In 

1953, its terminus had been at 4,785 m (White, 1956, table 1), which indicates a recession of 70 m in elevation over a 140 m distance, or about 

21m a"1 in the 6 to 7 years, similar to the retreat rate of 22 m a"1 for Glaciar 

de Ayoloco during the same period. As documented in a photograph that had 

Glaciar de Ayoloco in the foreground (Melgarejo, 1910, no. 1), glacier ice surrounding Pena Aguilera had not yet separated into two glaciers by the summer of 1910. In views from the same photographic site, glacier ice still 

surrounded Pena Aguilera by the summer of 1918 (Paredes, 1922, figs. 11, 

17, and 18). Other long-distance photographs also show one large glacier on 

the west side of the stomach area in 1910 (Melgarejo, 1910, no. 5; after Hugo 

Brehme of Mexico City). A photograph taken in April 1946, before the ablation season began, shows the possible initiation of separation into two glaciers (De Terra and others, 1949, plate 20). Historic records of the elevations 

of Glaciar Atzintli are not known.

Glaciar de San Agustin, which has an area of about 11,250 m2 , is a remnant of a once much larger niche glacier on the southeast side of the stomach area. It begins about 80 m east of the 5,070 m ridgecrest at 5,030 m and 

ends about 100 m to the southeast at 4,980 m (Lorenzo, 1964, fig. 41). The 

total area covered by all 12 glaciers on Iztaccihuatl in 1959-60 was 

1,215,850 m2 , about one-eighth that of the glaciers on Citlaltepetl.

Figure 7 is an enlargement of a Landsat 1 MSS false-color composite image 

of Iztaccihuatl and vicinity on 7 February 1973. Although not all of the 12 

named glaciers on Iztaccihuatl can be delineated because of the spatial resolution limitations of the MSS image and because of snow cover, the three largest 

glaciers, Glaciar de Ayolotepito, Glaciar Centro Oriental, and Glaciar de 

Ayoloco can be distinguished (table 2 and fig. 5).

GLACIERS OF MEXICO J393
98°38-W

19°N

Figure 7 Enlargement of a Landsat 1 MSS false-color composite image 

(1199-16285; 7 February 1973; Path 27, Row 47) of Iztaccihuatl and Popocatepetl and 

environs. Landsat image from the EROS Data Center, Sioux Falls, S. Dak.

J394 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Volcan Popocatepetl

Figure 8. Glaciers on Popocatepetl. The 

numbers refer to the named glaciers listed 

in table 3. Contour interval, 100 m. (Modified from Lorenzo, 1964, sketch V.)

At 5,465 m (Simkin and Siebert, 1994; previous value was 5,452 m, which is 

used as the reference elevation in the text for glacier elevations), Popocatepetl is the second highest peak in Mexico and the fifth highest on the continent. It is one of the Earth's highest active volcanoes and 20 million people live 

within a radius of 80 km from its summit (Williams, 1999). Since 1993, intermittent explosive and occasional effusive volcanic activity has occurred "rom 

the summit of Popocatepetl (Smithsonian Institution, 1994, 1995, 1996 1997, 

1998, 1999, 2000). It has one firn field that has three small glaciers flowing to 

the north (figs. 8 and 9 and table 3). The name is derived from the Nahuatl 

words, Popoca (smoking) and tepetl (mountain). The west crater rim is the 

highest point and is situated at lat 19°01'15" N. and long 98°37'35" W. Only 

72 km southeast of Mexico City and fully visible, Popocatepetl forms the 

southern end of the Sierra Nevada'at the southern geologic boundary of the 

North American Continent. Two Secretaria de la Defensa National topographic maps are needed to provide complete coverage: Popocatepetl 

14Q-h(123) and Xalinatzintla 14Q-h(124). Vertical aerial photographs taken 

in 1945 by Compania Mexicana Aerofoto are available, as are oblique aerial 

photographs taken in 1942 and more recently by the same company.

98°38'W 98°37'

Barranca del Ventorrillo

19°02'N

i9°or

^-^ '"^

Popocatepetl glaciers:

I. Ventorillo

II. Norte

III. Noroccidental

A. Peak

i i i i

2 KILOMETERS

i i i i

GLACIERS OF MEXICO J395
TABLE 3. Three named glaciers of Popocatepetl

[Taken from Lorenzo, 1964, Sketch V]

Glacier _ . . Area (square

, Glacier name Glacier type , <,!. ^

number JH kilometers)

I................... Glaciar del Ventorrillo Mountain, firn field, valley 0.400

n.................. Glaciar Norte Mountain, firn field 0.200

III................ Glaciar Noroccidental Mountain, firn field 0.120

Total 0.720

The relative ease with which one can reach a reasonable elevation on 

Popocatepetl in order to start the ascent to the summit crater has always 

made this active volcano readily accessible. The best route is 65 km from 

Mexico City by Chalco, Amecameca, and up the paved mountain road to 

Paso de Cortes [Paso Cortes] at 3,680 m and then south on an excellent 

road 4.5 km to end at Tlamacas at 3,882 m (fig. 2) and a luxurious mountain 

lodge that has all facilities. Several mountain refuges are located higher up 

along the climbing routes on the north side. The road south of Paso Cortes 

and the refuges are closed and off limits because of the potential danger of 

the intermittent explosive and effusive volcanic eruptions that have been 

occurring from the summit crater since 1993, after a long period of quiescence since the 1940's (Smithsonian Institution 1997, no. 10). An attempt 

to climb Popocatepetl from the west or south sides is very difficult because 

from south of Amecameca, one must climb 1,700 m up the west side to 200- 

to 300-m-high vertical lava cliffs, which are still 1,200 m below the summit. 

From the south side, the climb requires a vertical ascent of 4,400 m. Any 

ascent from the east side from Cholula or Puebla (fig. 2) involves an ascent 

of about 2,300 m to the east rim at 5,193 m that also is not recommended.

Observations on the firn field and glaciers on Popocatepetl did not 

appear in climber's reports until the last part of the 1800's (Dollfus and others, 1867; Packard, 1886; Aguilera and Ordonez, 1895; and Farrington, 

1897), although its existence was known as early as 1519 through the writing of the historian Prescott (1872-75). During eruptions in 1920-22, glacier ice did not completely disappear because it was in a protected position 

in Barranca del Ventorrillo on the north side of the cone (Waitz, 1921) 

(fig. 8). White (1954) described the firn field and the glacier ice and gave 

elevations of one small ice tongue for 1950 and 1953. Lorenzo (1959, 1964) 

and his team obtained data on glacier activity, areas, and elevations, took 

photographs, and named the three glaciers. Much of the information that 

follows is from White (1954, 1981b).

A warm temperate-rainy climate without any obvious dry season rings 

Popocatepetl to about 3,880 m. December through March is the driest time 

of year; summers are short and cool on the north and west sides. September is the rainiest month, but rain falls nightly in late June and July. Valleys 

leaving this area carry no perennial streams from the porous and permeable 

slopes above. A narrow band of tundra climate circles the volcano above 

3,880 m up to the ice-cap climate of the firn field and glaciers. Winter accumulation added to that of summer enables the firn field to flourish on the 

upper cone. The loss of firn and new snow from melting increases from January through May, the greatest loss being in May. Greater cloudiness and 

new snow reduce melting in June through December, except for October, 

when skies are clearer and precipitation is less. Maximum evaporation on 

the upper cone takes place from March through May. Penitentes (conical or 

irregularly shaped pillars of snow and ice formed by differential ablation) 

appear all over the cone by May (White, 1954, fig. 5). Owing to summer 

cloudiness, the least evaporation takes place from July through September.

The firn field on the north, northwest, and west sides of the upper cone 

generates three glaciers downslope, Glaciar Norte above the north volcano

J396 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
flanks, Glaciar del Ventorrillo in Barranca del Ventorrillo, and Glaciar 

Noroccidental above the west side cliffs (fig. 8). In 1950, the lower limit of 

Glaciar Norte (not recognized then as a glacier) was estimated as about 

4,800 m. Lorenzo in 1958 recorded it on the convex north cone from about 

5,250 m down to 4,840 m (Lorenzo, 1964, figs. 26 and 27), but he noted that 

it was only the remnant of a glacier. From Lorenzo's map (fig. 8), Glaciar 

Norte, as he then subdivided the firn field, is about 600 m long, has a gradient of 600 m km"1 , and covers about 200,000 m2 of the cone.

The fluctuation of Glaciar del Ventorrillo is more significant in determining the history of the Popocatepetl firn field and glaciers. The 1945 aerial 

photographs show no expansion of the Ventorrillo firn edge as glaciers, but 

by 1949, two conspicuous but small ice tongues extended into the head of 

Barranca del Ventorrillo (White, 1954, fig. 2). In 1950, the lower ice 

tongue was measured as 4,573 m; in 1953, it had melted back 4 m in elevation (White, 1954, fig. 4), and in 1958, Lorenzo (1964) found it at about 

4,690 m. This is a recession of 117 m in elevation over a distance of about 

270 m, an average rate of retreat of about 34 m a"1 in the 8-year interval. 

After 1958, the small ice tongue disappeared. In 1958, the glacier began 

below the north crater rim at about 5,200 m, was about 800 m long on a gradient of 640 m km"1 , and occupied about 400,000 m2 of the cone (Lorenzo, 

1964, figs. 26, 29, 30). This steep gradient pulls the ice apart to form huge 

crevasses (fig. 9). Ice on the cone above Glaciar del Ventorrillo above 

5,030 m was about 40 m thick in 1951 and about 30 m thick in 1958.

Glaciar Noroccidental is the western counterpart of the other two glacier 

extensions of the firn field, becoming distinguished as a glacier at about 

5,300 m. It ends above the lava cliffs at 5,015 m, is 440 m long on a gradient 

of 430 m km"1 , and occupies 120,000 m2 of the cone (Lorenzo, 1964, figs. 29 

and 31). In 1958, the Popocatepetl firn field and glaciers totaled only 

720,000 m2 , about half that of Iztaccihuatl glaciers. At the time of Lorenzo's 

measurements, all of Mexico's firn fields and glaciers covered about 11.4 km2 .

The firn field on Popocatepetl undoubtedly did not survive the "Hypsithermal Interval." Yet historic Toltec and Aztec sketches of the mountains 

depict much ice and snow on both Iztaccihuatl and Popocatepetl. Cortes' 

captains had great difficulty crossing the perpetual snows of the Popocatepetl cone in 1519. Packard (1886) stated that in 1885 a stream flowing in 

the largest valley on the north side of the mountain was "fed by the snows

Figure 9. Popocatepetl from the north at 

Tlamacas (fig. 2). A permanent firn field 

exists above the arcuate crevasses and 

icefall. Glaciar Norte is on the cone under 

recent snowfall above the leftmost tree. 

The reactivated Glaciar del Ventorrillo is 

visible below the crevasses as a doublelobed glacier hanging down from the cone 

into Barranca del Ventorrillo. Glaciar 

Noroccidental is on the cone at the right 

edge of the firn field above a sloping, castellated rock crag. Photograph taken 23 

March 1978 by M.L. White.

,

GLACIERS OF MEXICO J397
of the peak." No stream flows there today, even with the huge firn field 

above, except on sunny days when it is melting. When Anderson (1917) 

climbed Popocatepetl in 1906, he found a glacier in Barranca del Ventorrillo down to nearly 4,335 m, as estimated from his photograph 

(Anderson, 1917, plate XXV). Because of the clarity of detail, photographs taken in 1910 by Hugo Brehme of Mexico City disclose the glacier in Barranca del Ventorrillo to be at a position estimated at 4,390 m. 

Melgarejo's photograph (1910, no. 2), taken from Brehme's photographic 

site, shows the glacier at this same elevation. Weitzberg (1923, 

photograph 8) pictures the glacier just before the 1920-21 eruptions at 

about 4,435 m. In addition, Brehme's other 1910 photographs reveal thick 

ice or firn on the west flanks of Popocatepetl below the lava cliffs beneath 

Glaciar Noroccidental at approximately 4,700 m, as well as at about 4,650 m 

on the flanks due west of the highest summit, places where no ice or firn 

exists at the time of this writing.

The 100-m recession in elevation of Glaciar del Ventorrillo from 1906 to 

1920 agrees with field evidence of fresh striations and glacial polish on bedrock knobs down to 4,440 m and with weathered, disintegrated, striated 

bedrock below 4,335 m down to 4,236 m (White, 1954). Although quite 

speculative and without accurate dating control, the position where Anderson found the glacier in 1906 may match the retreat from the late-neoglacial Arapaho Peak advance (Benedict, 1973) of the southern and middle 

Rocky Mountains in the United States. Evidence of a still older advance, 

certainly prior to 1519 and possibly matching the middle-neoglacial Audubon advance of the Rocky Mountains, exists where Barranca del Ventorrillo emerges from the steeper part of the cone (fig. 9). Here, and 100 to 

200 m beyond on the gentler north flanks to 4,150 m, are striated and polished but weathered surfaces on lava flows, an end moraine almost crossing 

the valley floor of Barranca del Ventorrillo, an inner lateral moraine on 

the east side of the valley, and striated blocks in the tephra of a dissected 

alluvial fan 10 to 100 m north of the end moraine (White, 1954).

When Waitz (1921) climbed Popocatepetl in early 1921 during an eruption, he saw the glacier still well preserved in Barranca del Ventorrillo. He 

attributed this preservation to the glacier's sheltered position and the thickness of volcanic deposits on this side of the cone. Waitz estimated that the 

glacier then reached to about 4,800 m. How much of the recession from the 

4,435 m position in 1920, estimated from Weitzberg's (1923) pictures, is 

due to the 1920-21 volcanic activity is not known, but growth again since 

1921 down to 4,573 m in 1950 attests to a healthy positive mass balance for 

those 30 years. The rapid recession of 117 m in elevation from 1950 to 1958 

suggests a sudden change to a negative mass balance.

The activity of the firn field on the cone above Glaciar del Ventorrillo is 

revealed by a 37-year study of the appearance and disappearance of crevasses. No crevasses were visible on the oblique aerial photographs of the 

firn field in 1942. Vertical aerial photographs taken in November 1945 show 

only one crevasse about 225 m long. By July 1949, four crevasses about 300 

to 400 m long had appeared and were accompanied by several smaller ones. 

By August 1950, all but two of the larger crevasses had disappeared 

because of snow infilling. By May 1953, no new crevasses had appeared, 

and all the old ones were nearly filled by snow. By April 1955, the small ice 

tongues of Glaciar del Ventorrillo had retreated high onto the cone, the old 

but unopened crevasses of 1950 still showed, and a new set of short, en 

echelon crevasses had opened between Glaciar Noroccidental and the west 

edge of upper Glaciar del Ventorrillo. By August 1956, one new crevasse 

above the healed 1950 crevasses and four new ones had opened up at the 

head of Glaciar del Ventorrillo, and the 1955 en echelon set was being filled 

by snow. The firn edge above the position where the small ice tongue had 

been since 1949 was so thin that many rocks showed through in 1956. The

J398 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
set of en echelon crevasses between Glaciar del Ventorrillo and Glaciar 

Noroccidental appears in Lorenzo's figure 31 that he prepared in 1958 

(Lorenzo, 1964). By November 1968, three partially snow-filled crevasses 

on the north crater rim and one several hundred meters lower down had 

formed above the head of Glaciar del Ventorrillo. As a result of this crevasse 

study, no doubt exists as to the activity of the firn field and the importance 

of that gradient of 640 m km'1 on the northwest side of the cone.

The most significant change that took place in the 10 years between 

1958 and 1968 was the growth of a thick bulge of ice down into Barranca 

del Ventorrillo in the same location as the small ice tongue of 1949-58. 

From the 1968 photos, its lower limit is estimated at about 4,700 m and its 

thickness at about 30 to 40 m. By March 1978, this large bulge of ice 

became a broad, lobed glacier (fig. 9), probably 70 to 100 m thick, extending from the former position of Glaciar Norte to a double-lobed glacier in 

Barranca del Ventorrillo at an estimated elevation of 4,600 m. Stratification, possibly annual, of the lobes of ice reveals at least 10 layers. In the 10 

years following 1968, strong drawdown by this double-lobed glacier produced four or five deep, wide crevasses just above its head and a chaotic 

icefall of seracs on the cone. In August 1979, the sides of this double-lobed 

glacier appeared as 50-m-high vertical cliffs, except where the lowest lobe 

at 4,600 m projected as a steep ramp into Barranca del Ventorrillo. A few 

tens of meters below the crater rim, a new, long crevasse also cut across the 

cone. In 1984, French volcanologists recorded the continuing existence of 

this same double-lobed glacier and its vertical cliffs (Christian Boudal, letter dated 24 September 1984).

Glaciar del Ventorrillo has continued to retreat because of heating, sulfur 

dioxide gas flux, spasmodic fumarolic activity of the volcano, and tephra 

falls from the main crater. The area of glaciers on the north flanks already 

had diminished by 24 percent from 1958 to 1982 (Delgado and Brugman, 

1995; Palacios, 1996; Smithsonian Institution, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997). 

Estimations of the elevation of the glacier front made by Hugo Delgado are 

in Palacios (1996, table 1): in 1989 at 4,680 m, in 1992 at 4,694 m, and in 

1993 at 4,702 m. Palacios (1996), on the basis of his field measurements, 

found the glacier front in February 1994 at 4,713 m and in November 1995 

at 4,735 m, as is clearly shown on his map. Delgado and Brugman (1995) 

measured it in April 1995 at 4,879 m. Their rate of recession between 1982 

and 1995 was 7.6 m a'1 . Palacios and Marcos (1998) noted that Popocatepetl's glaciers had undergone significant retreat during the 1980's and early 

1990's, a process that accelerated between 1994 and 1995.

In 1993, Popocatepetl awakened from a long period of quiescence. Since 

1345, it has had 30 observed eruptions. In the 20th century, it has been 

active in 1920-1922, 1923-1924, 1933, 1942-1943, and 1947 (Smithsonian 

Institution, 1997, no. 10).

On 5 March 1996, tephra dropped over the north flank and covered the 

snow and glaciers there; this occurred also on 30 April and again on 28-29 

October 1996 (Smithsonian Institution, 1996, no. 4, 10; 1997, no. 3).

In 1997, on 20 March and 24 and 29 April, tephra was blown to 4 km above 

the summit and fell on the glaciers on the north slopes; one of the most violent 

eruptions in the past three years threw tephra all over the volcano as well as 

far to the east on 11 May (Smithsonian Institution, 1997, no. 4). The amount of 

glacier recession and ice melted by hot tephra after such events is unknown. 

On June 1997, the largest tephra emission of the 1994-97 eruption occurred; 

several large tephra emissions had also taken place earlier during May and 

June.

Between June 1997 and June 1999, Popocatepetl experienced an 

increase in seismic activity and intermittent periods of explosive and occasional effusive volcanic activity from it steep-walled, 250 m-deep summit 

crater (Smithsonian Institution, 1998, nos. 1, 2, 5, 6, 8, 10, 12; 1999, nos. 1,

GLACIERS OF MEXICO J399
3, 4, 6). The Centra Nacional de Prevention de Desastres (CENAPRED), 

Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico (UNAM), sends periodic 

reports to the Smithsonian Institution that are published in the monthly 

bulletin of the Global Volcanism Network. Up-to-date information from 

CENAPRED about Popocatepetl volcanic activity can be obtained from 

their Web site [http://www.cenapred.unam.mx/] under the heading: Boletines and Boletin del Volcan Popocatepetl. The largest explosive event during this period occurred on 20 June 1997, when a 13-km-high column of 

tephra arose from the summit crater. This eruption had no observable 

effect on Popocatepetl's glaciers (Smithsonian Institution, 1997, no. 10). 

However, a closer inspection in January 1998 (Sheridan and others, 2001) 

revealed that "...the glaciers showed noticeable ablation and lacked marginal ice cliffs that had been observed in 1995." Sheridan and others (2001) 

also referenced floods that originated from the terminus of Glaciar Ventorillo on 1 July 1997, that must have resulted from melting of glacier ice. In 

late February and early March 1999, the glaciers were observed to be partially blanketed with tephra; impacts from the December 1998 activity were 

visible, and runoff from melting ice and snow was evident (Smithsonian 

Institution, 1999, no. 3). On 15 May 1999, the increase in activity was 

accompanied by runoff of meltwater (Smithsonian Institution, 1999, no. 5). 

Low-level activity continued during July into the first part of October 1999, 

including occasional low-magnitude microseismic and/or tectonic events 

and tephra plumes and falls on 1, 5, and 29 September, and a 4-km high 

tephra column on 3 October 1999 (Smithsonian Institution, 1999, no. 9). 

On 25 February 2000, a small block-lava dome was observed to be growing 

in the center of the summit crater (Smithsonian Institution, 2000, no. 1). In 

summer 2000, two small mudflows were noted on 23 and 24 June 2000, and 

tephra plumes and falls took place on 3, 4, and 14 July 2000, and on 4 and 

10 August 2000. The 4 August 2000 explosive event was the largest, producing a 5-km high tephra column and tephra falls on several nearby towns 

(Smithsonian, 2000, no. 7). Additional explosive events were reported in 

October 2000 (Smithsonian, 2000, no. 10). In December 2000 and January 

2001, additional tephra columns were reported; on 29 January 2001, flows 

of pyroclastics caused some melting of glacier ice (Smithsonian, 2000, no. 

12). The long-term impact by the volcanic activity on the mass-balance of 

Popocatepetl's glaciers must await the cessation of its currently active 

phase. Research by Sheridan and others (2001) stated that the glacier ice 

on Popocatepetl covered an area of 0.559 km2 in April 1995; radio-echosounding surveys showed a volume of 2.8 x 10' m3 of glacier ice. They postulated that about one-third of the volume (~1 x 107 m3) was available for 

melting, primarily by ablation from pyroclastic flows. Lorenzo (1964) calculated an area of 0.720 km2 (Table 3), so the loss of area is 0.161 km2 or 

about 22 percent.

Figure 7 is an enlargement of a Landsat 1 MSS false-color composite 

image of Popocatepetl and vicinity on 7 February 1973. The three named 

glaciers can be delineated on the northwest slope of the volcano, although 

they are just barely within the spatial resolution of the MSS image. Snow 

can also be seen in the 0.8-km-wide summit crater.

J400 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Landsat Images of the Glaciers of Citlaltepetl, 

Iztaccihuatl, and Popocatepetl

Landsat MSS images are only marginally useful in delineating the termini 

of some of the larger individual glaciers at the summit areas of the Mexican 

volcanoes. The small area of these glaciers and the spatial resolution limitation (79-m pixels) of the MSS image are the limiting factors. A search of the 

Landsat image archive turned up two usable Landsat 3 return beam vidicon 

(RBV) images of the glaciers of Iztaccihuatl and Popocatepetl; no Landsat 3 

RBV images of Citlaltepetl were acquired. Unfortunately, however, the 

national Landsat 3 RBV archive has been destroyed. The only images that 

remain are in local archives, such as the Satellite Glaciology Project at the 

U.S. Geological Survey. Figure 10 is an enlargement of the December 1980 

Landsat 3 RBV image of Iztaccihuatl and Popocatepetl. When compared 

with figure 7, a Landsat 1 MSS false-color composite image of the same 

area, it is evident that the nearly threefold increase in spatial resolution of 

the Landsat 3 RBV image (30-m versus 79-m pixels) permits a more reliable 

delineation of the firn areas and termini of the 12 glaciers on Iztaccihuatl 

and 3 glaciers on Popocatepetl. Table 4 provides a list of the optimum Landsat 1, 2, and 3 images of the glaciers of Mexico; figure 11 is an index map 

showing the location and coverage of the optimum Landsat imagery.

TABLE 4. Optimum Landsat 1, 2, and 3 images of the glaciers of Mexico

[see fig. 11 for explanation of symbols used in "code" column]

Path-Row

26-47

26-47

26^7

27-47

27-47

27-47

Nominal 

scene 

center 

(lat-long)

18°45'N. 

96°53'W.

18°45'N. 

96°53'W.

18°45'N. 

96°53'W.

18°45'N. 

98°19'W.

18°45'N. 

98°19'W.

18°45'N. 

98°19'W.

Landsat 

identification 

number

1180-16225

1306-16231

21508-16003

1199-16285

1235-16291

31028-16054-A

Solar

 . elevation Date , angle

(degrees)

19 Jan 73 38

25 May 73 61

10 Mar 79 44

07 Feb 73 41

15 Mar 73 51

27 Dec 80 34

Cloud 

Code Cover 

(percent)

A °

A °

A °

A °

^ 10

A °

Remarks

Citlaltepetl

Citlaltepetl, image used for figure 4

Citlaltepetl

Iztaccihuatl and Popocatepetl, 

image used for figure 7

Iztaccihuatl and Popocatepetl

Iztaccihuatl and Popocatepetl, image used for 

figure 10; Landsat 3 RBV image archived by the 

USGS Satellite Glaciology Project

GLACIERS OF MEXICO J401
98°38'W

19°05'N

Figure 10. Enlargement of a 

Landsat 3 RBV image (31028- 

16054, subscene A; 27 December 

1980; Path 27, Row 47) of the glaciers and firn on the summit 

areas of the Iztaccihuatl (north) 

and Popocatepetl (south) volcanoes. Reproduced by permission 

of the Earth Observation Satellite 

Company (EOSAT).

Jt ^ : ttil

J402 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
115 W 110°W 105°W 100°W 95°W 90°W

0 O o 0

Gulf of Mexico -

35°N

30°N

25°N

20°N

15°N

now 105°W 100UW 95°W 90°W

EXPLANATION OF SYMBOLS

Evaluation of image usability for glaciologic, geologic, 

and cartographic applications. Symbols defined as follows:

 Excellent image (0 to <5 percent cloud cover) 

9 Good image (>5 to <10 percent cloud cover)

O Nominal scene center for a Landsat 

image outside the area of glaciers

A B Usable Landsat 3 RBV scenes. A, B, C 

c D and D refer to usable RBV subscenes

0 400 KILOMETERS

I i i i I

Figure 11. Optimum Landsat 1, 2, and 3 

images of the glaciers of Mexico.

GLACIERS OF MEXICO J403
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GLACIERS OF MEXICO J405

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