We took a day trip yesterday two hours north to the Columbia Icefield. It's a remarkable place. A huge shelf of ice set among mountain peaks feeds six large glaciers. The center is the world's only triple continental divide - the glacier runoff drains into the Pacific, Arctic and Atlantic oceans. One of them, the Athabasca Glacier, ends not too far from the highway, although it is receding at 3 to 6 meters a year.
You take a behemoth ice bus from near the bottom right up in the middle of the thing, where you can get out and walk around. Below, Mrs. C makes sure everyone know where she's been.
Note the bottom photo. There are markers for the end of the ice in years past. I was using a telephoto and the edge of the ice is a lot farther away than it looks. This glacier system provides much of the water for western Canada. If it shrinks much more there will be trouble.
You take a behemoth ice bus from near the bottom right up in the middle of the thing, where you can get out and walk around. Below, Mrs. C makes sure everyone know where she's been.
Note the bottom photo. There are markers for the end of the ice in years past. I was using a telephoto and the edge of the ice is a lot farther away than it looks. This glacier system provides much of the water for western Canada. If it shrinks much more there will be trouble.
