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The Columbia Icefield is a mass of ice covering a high plateau between Mount Columbia (3747 m), the highest point in Alberta, and Mount Athabasca (3491 m), located between Banff and Jasper national parks, along the BC-Alberta border.
Astride the CONTINENTAL DIVIDE, it lies at the hydrographic apex of North America. Called the "mother of rivers," its meltwaters nourish the North SASKATCHEWAN, COLUMBIA, ATHABASCA and FRASER river systems. It contains about 30 distinct glaciers, the largest being Saskatchewan and Athabasca. A vestige of the great ice shield that once lay over most of Canada, the Columbia Icefield is the largest accumulation of ice in the ROCKY MOUNTAINS, covering some 230 km2 of snow and ice to a depth of 365 m. Tree-ring studies show that the icefield advances and recedes in cycles, the latest advance having occurred around 1840. It has been receding throughout the 20th century. The icefield is a spectacular sight of undulating white, soaring rock peaks and deep ice caverns. Castleguard CAVE runs for 23 km beneath it. At its south and north faces, it drops off into forested valleys. It can be reached from the Icefields Parkway, a scenic road connecting LAKE LOUISE and JASPER, and can be climbed by experienced mountaineers to its crest, called the Snow Dome (3520 m), from which point its waters are said to melt into 3 oceans.
 Columbia IcefieldThe Columbia Icefields, Jasper National Park, from the air (Corel Professional Photos).
 Columbia Icefield, Close-upColumbia Icefield (courtesy Canadian Tourism Commission & Ocean Images).
Author
JAMES MARSH
Links to Other Sites
Ice Walk
Learn about guided interpretive hikes onto the spectacular Athabasca Glacier located in the Columbia Icefield.
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Browse the rich visual resources of The Canadian Encyclopedia through thematic galleries of Canadian Art, History, Nature, People, and Science and Technology.
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