The plan was to follow the Continental Divide from the Canada–U.S. Although the ice field embraces some 100 square miles (300 square km) of glacial ice extending from its summit plateau to the termini of more than a dozen outlet glaciers, it is relatively small compared with such vast ice fields of the Alaska-Canada border region as the Juneau Icefield, near Alaska’s capital city, Juneau, and the ice sheets of the northeastern Arctic on Ellesmere Island and Greenland. Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. [4] In July 1898, British explorer J. Norman Collie and his friends Hugh Stutfield and Herman Wooley set off in search of Douglas' giants, equipped by the famous Banff outfitter Bill Peyto. Draped over the continental divide on a high alpine plateau along the Alberta-BC border, it receives an average of 7 … The Athabasca and Saskatchewan glaciers are the two main outlet ice tongues on the north and east. [6] The following year, another American expedition led by William O. The Columbia Icefield is located in the Canadian Rockies astride the Continental Divide along the border of British Columbia and Alberta, Canada, the ice field lies partly in the northwestern tip of Banff National Park and partly in the southern end of Jasper National Park. The total amount of ice-front recession from the mid-19th to the late 20th century was about 1 mile (1.6 km). The Columbia Icefield sits on the Continental Divide and is called the “mother of rivers,” as the meltwaters from the Athabasca and Saskatchewan glaciers flow … Located within the Canadian Rocky Mountains astride the Continental Divide of the Americas along the border of British Columbia and Alberta, Canada, the ice field lies partly in the northwestern tip of Banff National Park and partly in the southern end of Jasper National Park. It forms a high-elevation ice cap on a flat-lying plateau that has been severely truncated by erosion to form a huge massif. The icefield was first reported in 1898 by J. Norman Collie and Hermann Woolley after they had completed the first ascent of Mount Athabasca. The Arctic Divide (sometimes called the Northern Divide) runs from Snow Dome mountain, on the edge of the Columbia Icefield in Jasper National Park, across Alberta, Saskatchewan and the Northwest Territories to finally reach Nunavut. On the way up to Athabasca Glacier, we learned that part of the Columbia Icefields is on a rare triple continental divide. Lying partially within Jasper National Park, it is one of the most accessible expanses of glacial ice in North America. The first thing I did when I woke up in my van in the parking lot in Jasper, Alberta, was to walk over to the gas station restroom. It sits on the continental divide along the border of British Columbia and Alberta. $2.99 ... Columbia Icefield, Alberta, Canada Postcard ct7. Parts of the Columbia Icefield and part of other icefields and glaciers are visible from the Icefields Parkway. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). [3] The last major period of advance occurred during the Little Ice Age, which lasted from about 1,200 to 1900 AD. Omissions? Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. As the icefield is atop a triple continental divide these waters flow ultimately west to the Pacific Ocean, north to the Arctic Ocean, and east to Hudson's Bay (and thence to the North Atlantic) respectively. A more gently rising surface from the terminus, however, provides easier access to the ice field’s higher zone. Ice depths in this glacier have been measured to 1,450 feet (442 metres). [6] In 1927, A. J. 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