The Glacier

Though apparently tranquil, the Columbia Icefield is a powerful, dynamic force, shaping the regional landscape and climate. Its glaciers endlessly advance and retreat in an ancient elemental dance, in a place where time is measured in millennia.

The Columbia Icefield is located in Jasper National Park. The Icefield – the largest sub-polar body of ice in North America – is one of the reasons why the United Nations declared Canada's four Rocky Mountain Parks World Heritage Sites. The Icefield covers 325 square kilometres with solid ice up to 365 metres (1200 feet) deep. Meltwater from the Icefield flows to three oceans: the Pacific, Arctic and Atlantic via Hudson Bay.

Cold, Hard Facts

COLUMBIA ICEFIELD

Area: 325 square kilometres (130 square miles), making it the largest body of ice in the Rocky Mountains
Highest Point: Mt. Columbia, 3745 m (12,284 ft)
Average Elevation: 3000 m (10,000 ft)
Greatest Depth (estimated): 365 m (1200 ft)
Average Snowfall: 7 m (23 ft) per year
Drainage: Pacific, Arctic and Atlantic Oceans

ATHABASCA GLACIER

Type: Outlet valley glacier
Area: 6 square kilometres (2.5 square miles)
Length: 6 kilometres (3.75 miles)
Depth: 90 - 300 m (270 - 1000 ft)
Surface Speed:
Icefall: 125 m/year (400 ft)
Ice Explorer turn around: 25 m/year (80 ft)
Toe: 15 m/year (50 ft)

ELEVATIONS:

Icefall: 2700m (8900 ft)
Ice Explorer turn around: 2210 m (7000 ft)
Toe: 1965 m (6300 ft)