Illecillewaet Glacier: Difference between revisions
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The '''Illecillewaet Glacier''' ({{IPA-en|ill ah SIL-ah-wet|pron}}<ref name="BCGNIS" />) is a glacier in [[British Columbia]], [[Canada]]. It is located inside [[Glacier National Park (Canada)|Glacier National Park]] in the [[Selkirk Mountains]], a sub-range of the [[Columbia Mountains]]. After the construction of the [[Canadian Pacific Railway]] (CPR) near the glacier’s terminus, and the building of a hotel nearby, the glacier became a prominent tourist destination in the Canadian west. Due to accessibility by road and railway, it is one of the most-studied |
The '''Illecillewaet Glacier''' ({{IPA-en|ill ah SIL-ah-wet|pron}}<ref name="BCGNIS" />) is a glacier in [[British Columbia]], [[Canada]]. It is located inside [[Glacier National Park (Canada)|Glacier National Park]] in the [[Selkirk Mountains]], a sub-range of the [[Columbia Mountains]]. After the construction of the [[Canadian Pacific Railway]] (CPR) near the [[Glacier terminus|glacier’s terminus]], and the building of a hotel nearby, the glacier became a prominent tourist destination in the Canadian west. Due to accessibility by road and railway, it is one of the most-studied glaciers in North America. Its [[Retreat of glaciers since 1850|retreat]] over the last one hundred years has been extensively documented. |
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==Physical characteristics== |
==Physical characteristics== |
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The glacier is located south of [[Mount Sir Donald]] in the Selkirk Mountains, west of [[Rogers Pass (British Columbia)|Rogers Pass]]. The outflow of the glacier forms the headwaters of the [[Illecillewaet River]]. The Illecillewaet [[névé]] feeds three other glaciers: the Asulkan, Geikie, and Deville.<ref name=Ogilvie>{{cite journal|last=Ogilvie|first=I.H.|title=The Effect of Superglacial Débris on the Advance and Retreat of Some Canadian Glaciers|journal=[[Journal of Geology]]|year=1904|month=Nov./Dec.|volume=2|issue=8|pages=738|url=http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.langara.bc.ca:2048/stable/30056229|accessdate=6 September 2012}}</ref> As of 2002, the [[Accumulation zone|accumulation area]] of the glacier is {{convert|4.92|km2|sqmi}} while its [[Ablation zone|ablation area]] is {{convert|3.91|km2|sqmi}}, for a total size of {{convert|8.83|km2|sqmi}}.<ref name=Ommanney>{{cite book|title=Glaciers of North America – Glaciers of Canada: Mapping Canada’s Glaciers in Satellite Image Atlas of Glaciers of the World. United States Geological Survey Professional Paper 1386-J-1|year=2002|publisher=[[United States Geological Survey]]|location=Washington, D.C. |pages=J103 |url=http://www.geog.uvic.ca/dept2/faculty/smithd/477/manuals/readings/14_geog477.pdf |format=[[PDF]] |last1=Ommanney |first1=C. Simon L. |last2=Champoux |first2=André |accessdate=6 September 2012}}</ref> Its estimated mean depth is {{convert|100|m|ft}}, and its highest point is measured at {{convert|2800|m|ft}}.<ref name=Champoux /> The exposed bedrock downslope of the glacier's terminus shows the effects of glacial [[Plucking (glaciation)|plucking]]. |
The glacier is located south of [[Mount Sir Donald]] in the Selkirk Mountains, west of [[Rogers Pass (British Columbia)|Rogers Pass]] in British Columbia. The outflow of the glacier forms the headwaters of the [[Illecillewaet River]]. The Illecillewaet [[névé]] feeds three other glaciers: the Asulkan, Geikie, and Deville.<ref name=Ogilvie>{{cite journal|last=Ogilvie|first=I.H.|title=The Effect of Superglacial Débris on the Advance and Retreat of Some Canadian Glaciers|journal=[[Journal of Geology]]|year=1904|month=Nov./Dec.|volume=2|issue=8|pages=738|url=http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.langara.bc.ca:2048/stable/30056229|accessdate=6 September 2012}}</ref> As of 2002, the [[Accumulation zone|accumulation area]] of the glacier is {{convert|4.92|km2|sqmi}} while its [[Ablation zone|ablation area]] is {{convert|3.91|km2|sqmi}}, for a total size of {{convert|8.83|km2|sqmi}}.<ref name=Ommanney>{{cite book|title=Glaciers of North America – Glaciers of Canada: Mapping Canada’s Glaciers in Satellite Image Atlas of Glaciers of the World. United States Geological Survey Professional Paper 1386-J-1|year=2002|publisher=[[United States Geological Survey]]|location=Washington, D.C. |pages=J103 |url=http://www.geog.uvic.ca/dept2/faculty/smithd/477/manuals/readings/14_geog477.pdf |format=[[PDF]] |last1=Ommanney |first1=C. Simon L. |last2=Champoux |first2=André |accessdate=6 September 2012}}</ref> Its estimated mean depth is {{convert|100|m|ft}}, and its highest point is measured at {{convert|2800|m|ft}}.<ref name=Champoux /> The exposed bedrock downslope of the glacier's terminus shows the effects of glacial [[Plucking (glaciation)|plucking]]. |
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==History== |
==History== |
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===CPR and Glacier House=== |
===CPR and Glacier House=== |
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[[File:CrevasseIllecillewaetGlacier.jpg|thumb||225px|A visitor to the glacier in 1902]] |
[[File:CrevasseIllecillewaetGlacier.jpg|thumb||225px|A visitor to the glacier in 1902]] |
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Although [[First Nations]] people were present in valleys to the east and west, evidence of aboriginal settlement in the Illecillewaet area has not been |
Although [[First Nations]] people were present in valleys to the east and west, evidence of aboriginal settlement in the Illecillewaet area has not been found.<ref name=Parks1>{{cite web|title=Glacier National Park: History|url=http://www.pc.gc.ca/pn-np/bc/glacier/natcul/natcul2.aspx|publisher=Parks Canada - Government of Canada|accessdate=24 August 2012}}</ref> The first European to visit the glacier was [[A.B. Rogers|Major A.B. Rogers]], a railway surveyor, who examined the area in 1882 and 1883 in search of a viable pass.<ref name=Whyte>{{cite web|last=McCarthy|first=Daniel P|title=Background|url=http://www.whyte.org/time/researchersguide/background.html|work=A researcher’s guide to the Illecillewaet Glacier, British Columbia, Canada.|publisher=[[Whyte Musuem]] of the Canadian Rockies|accessdate=27 August 2012}}</ref> With the completion of the transcontinental Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) through nearby Rogers Pass in 1885, the glacier and its surrounding area became one of western Canada's first tourist destinations. Glacier National Park was established in 1886, and [[Glacier House]], a small hotel, was built near the north end of the glacier in the same year.<ref name=Parks1 /> The hotel was expanded in 1892 and 1904,<ref name=Parks2>{{cite web|title=Rogers Pass National Historic Site of Canada: Glacier National Park and Glacier House|url=http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/lhn-nhs/bc/rogers/natcul/natcul6.aspx|publisher=[[Parks Canada]] - Government of Canada|accessdate=27 August 2012}}</ref> and by 1907 the glacier was described as the "most visited glacier in the Americas".<ref name=Whyte /> |
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At this point, the glacier was called the "Great Glacier" by CPR promoters. The name "Illecillewaet" is a [[Okanagan language|Okanagan]] First Nations word for "big water", and referred to the river before being applied to the glacier.<ref name=Akrigg>{{cite book|title=British Columbia Place Names|year=1997|publisher=UBC Press|location=Vancouver, BC|isbn=0774806370|author=Akrigg, G.P.V.|edition=Third|coauthors=Akrigg, Helen|page=121}}</ref> It gradually replaced "Great" and was adopted by Parks Canada in the 1960s. |
At this point, the glacier was called the "Great Glacier" by CPR promoters. The name "Illecillewaet" is a [[Okanagan language|Okanagan]] First Nations word for "big water", and referred to the river before being applied to the glacier.<ref name=Akrigg>{{cite book|title=British Columbia Place Names|year=1997|publisher=UBC Press|location=Vancouver, BC|isbn=0774806370|author=Akrigg, G.P.V.|edition=Third|coauthors=Akrigg, Helen|page=121}}</ref> It gradually replaced "Great" and was adopted by Parks Canada in the 1960s. |
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[[File:Mary Vaux Walcott.jpg|thumb|left|225px|Mary Vaux in 1914]] |
[[File:Mary Vaux Walcott.jpg|thumb|left|225px|Mary Vaux in 1914]] |
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The new influx of visitors to the glacier brought with it both mountaineers and glaciologists. The first recorded ascent of the glacier |
The new influx of visitors to the glacier brought with it both mountaineers and glaciologists. The first recorded ascent of the glacier was by [[A. O. Wheeler]] with Edward Feuz and Charles Clarke in 1901, although it had most likely been climbed earlier.<ref name=Fox>{{cite book|last=Fox|first=John|title=The Columbia Mountains of Canada|year=1992|publisher=American Alpine Club|location=New York, NY|isbn=0-930410-26-2|pages=306|url=http://books.google.ca/books?id=M88Yr1hAdyUC&pg=PA306&lpg=PA306&dq=Illecillewaet+glacier&source=bl&ots=DceR77K4zE&sig=SLj_tC7YdmXt7qEAK8fapIKUAv0&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Uks2UJWfK-LBygHN8IGADw&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=Illecillewaet%20glacier&f=false |accessdate=15 September 2012}}</ref> Wheeler and the [[Alpine Club of Canada]] built a hut near Glacier House for mountaineering use. Feuz was one of several Swiss guides hired by the CPR to accompany visitors to the glacier and up nearby peaks.<ref name=Parks1 /> |
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The Vaux family were well-off [[Quaker]]s from Pennsylvania. The family first visited Glacier House and Illecillewaet Glacier in 1887. On a subsequent trip, they noticed a visible retreat of the glacier's terminus. The Vaux children, William, George, Jr., and Mary (later [[Mary Vaux Walcott]]) were amateur photographers and began a study of the glacier using pictures taken from fixed points. William and George, Jr. presented their findings to the [[National Academy of Sciences]] in the U.S. Their study and methods were considered a "breakthrough" in the new field of glaciology. Mary Vaux would continue to visit the area every summer until her death in 1940.<ref name=Cooper>{{cite news|last=Cooper|first=Alex|title=Following glaciers’ progress a Vaux family tradition|url=http://www.bclocalnews.com/lifestyles/126774393.html|accessdate=8 September 2012|newspaper=Revelstoke Times Review|date=4 August 2011}}</ref> |
The Vaux family were well-off [[Quaker]]s from Pennsylvania. The family first visited Glacier House and Illecillewaet Glacier in 1887. On a subsequent trip, they noticed a visible retreat of the glacier's terminus. The Vaux children, William, George, Jr., and Mary (later [[Mary Vaux Walcott]]) were amateur photographers and began a study of the glacier using pictures taken from fixed points. William and George, Jr. presented their findings to the [[National Academy of Sciences]] in the U.S. Their study and methods were considered a "breakthrough" in the new field of glaciology. Mary Vaux would continue to visit the area every summer until her death in 1940.<ref name=Cooper>{{cite news|last=Cooper|first=Alex|title=Following glaciers’ progress a Vaux family tradition|url=http://www.bclocalnews.com/lifestyles/126774393.html|accessdate=8 September 2012|newspaper=Revelstoke Times Review|date=4 August 2011}}</ref> |
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Revision as of 16:25, 21 September 2012
| Illecillewaet Glacier | |
|---|---|
| Great Glacier | |
 Northern terminus of glacier | |
| Type | Alpine |
| Location | Selkirk Mountains, British Columbia, Canada |
| Area | 8.83 square kilometres (3.41 sq mi) |
| Status | Retreating |
The Illecillewaet Glacier (pronounced /ill ah SIL-ah-wet/[1]) is a glacier in British Columbia, Canada. It is located inside Glacier National Park in the Selkirk Mountains, a sub-range of the Columbia Mountains. After the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) near the glacier’s terminus, and the building of a hotel nearby, the glacier became a prominent tourist destination in the Canadian west. Due to accessibility by road and railway, it is one of the most-studied glaciers in North America. Its retreat over the last one hundred years has been extensively documented.
Physical characteristics
The glacier is located south of Mount Sir Donald in the Selkirk Mountains, west of Rogers Pass in British Columbia. The outflow of the glacier forms the headwaters of the Illecillewaet River. The Illecillewaet névé feeds three other glaciers: the Asulkan, Geikie, and Deville.[2] As of 2002, the accumulation area of the glacier is 4.92 square kilometres (1.90 sq mi) while its ablation area is 3.91 square kilometres (1.51 sq mi), for a total size of 8.83 square kilometres (3.41 sq mi).[3] Its estimated mean depth is 100 metres (330 ft), and its highest point is measured at 2,800 metres (9,200 ft).[4] The exposed bedrock downslope of the glacier's terminus shows the effects of glacial plucking.
History
CPR and Glacier House
Although First Nations people were present in valleys to the east and west, evidence of aboriginal settlement in the Illecillewaet area has not been found.[5] The first European to visit the glacier was Major A.B. Rogers, a railway surveyor, who examined the area in 1882 and 1883 in search of a viable pass.[6] With the completion of the transcontinental Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) through nearby Rogers Pass in 1885, the glacier and its surrounding area became one of western Canada's first tourist destinations. Glacier National Park was established in 1886, and Glacier House, a small hotel, was built near the north end of the glacier in the same year.[5] The hotel was expanded in 1892 and 1904,[7] and by 1907 the glacier was described as the "most visited glacier in the Americas".[6]
At this point, the glacier was called the "Great Glacier" by CPR promoters. The name "Illecillewaet" is a Okanagan First Nations word for "big water", and referred to the river before being applied to the glacier.[8] It gradually replaced "Great" and was adopted by Parks Canada in the 1960s.
The new influx of visitors to the glacier brought with it both mountaineers and glaciologists. The first recorded ascent of the glacier was by A. O. Wheeler with Edward Feuz and Charles Clarke in 1901, although it had most likely been climbed earlier.[9] Wheeler and the Alpine Club of Canada built a hut near Glacier House for mountaineering use. Feuz was one of several Swiss guides hired by the CPR to accompany visitors to the glacier and up nearby peaks.[5]
The Vaux family were well-off Quakers from Pennsylvania. The family first visited Glacier House and Illecillewaet Glacier in 1887. On a subsequent trip, they noticed a visible retreat of the glacier's terminus. The Vaux children, William, George, Jr., and Mary (later Mary Vaux Walcott) were amateur photographers and began a study of the glacier using pictures taken from fixed points. William and George, Jr. presented their findings to the National Academy of Sciences in the U.S. Their study and methods were considered a "breakthrough" in the new field of glaciology. Mary Vaux would continue to visit the area every summer until her death in 1940.[10]
Trans Canada Highway
In 1916, the CPR constructed the Connaught Tunnel, which bypassed the Glacier House site. The numbers of visitors declined, and, in 1925, the hotel was closed. It was demolished in 1929.[11] For a thirty year period, the previously popular glacier was mostly unvisited. In 1962, the new Trans Canada Highway was completed and its route closely followed that of the original CPR line.[5] Once again, Illecillewaet was joined with a major transportation route. Parks Canada began to improve facilities at the glacier; the Illecillewaet campground was opened and new trails were constructed giving access to the glacier, now located significantly farther away.[5] The latter half of the century saw more glaciological studies as the glacier's retreat became more pronounced.
Glaciological studies
Although sparse compared with studies of European glaciers, studies of the Illecillewaet are detailed by North American standards. The first scientific study of the glacier was performed by the Vaux family from 1887 to 1912.[12] George, William, and Mary Vaux with others, including A.O. Wheeler and C.E. Webb measured the glacial retreat mostly with annual photos from fixed points.[4] The period of World War I and the Great Depression saw fewer observations; the closing of Glacier House in 1925 drastically reduced the number of visitors to the area.[4] The federal Dominion Water and Power Bureau started assessing the glacier in 1945 using baseline measurements. The Bureau conducted yearly studies from 1945 to 1950, and every two years from 1950 to 1960.[4] There were no measurements taken from 1960 to 1972, when Parks Canada began surveying. A study which examines rock lichen in order to determine glacial retreat was begun in 1996.[12] Satellite imagery has also been used to measure the glacier's size.[3]
Retreat
Since human observation began in the late 1800s, the Illecillewaet Glacier has been on the whole retreating and shrinking in terms of total area, with shorter periods of smaller advances. Between 1887 and 1962 the terminus of the glacier retreated almost 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi). Parks Canada studies show a period of advancement from 1972 to 1986, where the terminus regained 100 metres (330 ft). In total, there was a net retreat of 1,433 metres (4,701 ft) in the period of 1887 to 1984. The glacier had lost about 28% of its mass by 1951; it had regained maybe 1% by 1986.[4]
On a more anecdotal level, the Vaux family carefully photographed the glacier and surrounding area, first using glass plates which were transported up and down the mountain, and later more modern Mamiya cameras. There is continuing photographic evidence to support their more scientific measurements. As grandson Henry Vaux Jr. was paraphrased, "there are two significant changes over the course of the past 100 years. One [is] ... the retreat of the glaciers. The other changes are man-made such as the Trans-Canada Highway. Otherwise, he said, much is still the same due to the short growing seasons in the mountains." Thus, he saw trees that were observed by his grandfather from the same perspective, and there is little difference "except for the glaciers, most of which are back at least two kilometres, and of man-made things.”[10] [A]
Bibliography
Footnotes
- ^ There are also other organizations that have compiled photographic records. Unfortunately, there have been lapses in the coverage, and discontinuity in the landmarking system. "Photographs of the Terminus". A researcher’s guide to the Illecillewaet Glacier. Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies. Retrieved 14 September 2012.
Sources
- ^ a b "Illecillewaet Glacier". BCGNIS. Retrieved 24 August 2012.
- ^ Ogilvie, I.H. (1904). "The Effect of Superglacial Débris on the Advance and Retreat of Some Canadian Glaciers". Journal of Geology. 2 (8): 738. Retrieved 6 September 2012.
{{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help) - ^ a b Ommanney, C. Simon L.; Champoux, André (2002). Glaciers of North America – Glaciers of Canada: Mapping Canada’s Glaciers in Satellite Image Atlas of Glaciers of the World. United States Geological Survey Professional Paper 1386-J-1 (PDF). Washington, D.C.: United States Geological Survey. pp. J103. Retrieved 6 September 2012.
- ^ a b c d e Champoux, André; Ommanney, C. Simon L. (1986). "Evolution of the Illecillewaet Glacier, Glacier National Park, B.C., Using Historical Data, Aerial Photography and Satellite Image Analysis" (PDF). Annals of Glaciology. 8: 31–32. Retrieved 15 September 201.
{{cite journal}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ a b c d e "Glacier National Park: History". Parks Canada - Government of Canada. Retrieved 24 August 2012.
- ^ a b McCarthy, Daniel P. "Background". A researcher’s guide to the Illecillewaet Glacier, British Columbia, Canada. Whyte Musuem of the Canadian Rockies. Retrieved 27 August 2012.
- ^ "Rogers Pass National Historic Site of Canada: Glacier National Park and Glacier House". Parks Canada - Government of Canada. Retrieved 27 August 2012.
- ^ Akrigg, G.P.V. (1997). British Columbia Place Names (Third ed.). Vancouver, BC: UBC Press. p. 121. ISBN 0774806370.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ Fox, John (1992). The Columbia Mountains of Canada. New York, NY: American Alpine Club. p. 306. ISBN 0-930410-26-2. Retrieved 15 September 2012.
- ^ a b Cooper, Alex (4 August 2011). "Following glaciers' progress a Vaux family tradition". Revelstoke Times Review. Retrieved 8 September 2012.
- ^ "Glacier House hotel site". Bivouac.com. Retrieved 8 September 2012.
- ^ a b Morris, Michael. "National Park Feature Articles: Glaciers, lichens, and the history of the Earth". Columbia Mountains Institute of Applied Ecology. Retrieved 6 September 2012.
Further reading
Original glaciology studies
- Vaux, George; Vaux, William S., Jr. (March, 1901). "Observations made in 1900 on Glaciers in British Columbia". Proceedings of National Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. Academy of Natural Science, Google Books. Retrieved 15 September 2012.
{{cite journal}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Text "pages-214-215" ignored (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - Vaux, George; Vaux, William S., Jr. (October - Dececember, 1907). "Observations Made in 1907 on Glaciers in Alberta and British Columbia". Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. 59 (3). Academy of Natural Sciences (JSTOR): 560–563. Retrieved 15 September 2012.
{{cite journal}}: Check date values in:|date=(help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - Champoux, André; Ommanney, C. Simon L. (1986). "Evolution of the Illecillewaet Glacier, Glacier National Park, B.C., Using Historical Data, Aerial Photography and Satellite Image Analysis" (PDF). Annals of Glaciology. 8. International Glaciological Society. Retrieved 15 September 2012.
See also
External links
- "Illecillewaet Glacier". BC Geographical Names.
- "Photographs of the Terminus" - A researcher’s guide to the Illecillewaet Glacier, Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies