The Athabasca Glacier is one of the six principal
'toes' of the
Columbia Icefield
The Columbia Icefield is the largest ice field in North America's Rocky Mountains. Located within the Canadian Rocky Mountains astride the Continental Divide along the border of British Columbia and Alberta, Canada, the ice field lies partly in ...
, located in the
Canadian Rockies. The glacier currently loses depth at a rate of about per year
[ and has receded more than and lost over half of its volume in the past 125 years. Easily accessible, it is the most visited glacier in North America.][ The leading edge of the glacier is within easy walking distance; however, travel onto the glacier is not recommended unless properly equipped. Hidden ]crevasse
A crevasse is a deep crack, that forms in a glacier or ice sheet that can be a few inches across to over 40 feet. Crevasses form as a result of the movement and resulting stress associated with the shear stress generated when two semi-rigid pie ...
s have led to the deaths of unprepared tourists.
The Columbia Icefield Glacier Discovery Centre, closed during the winter (mid-October to mid-April), stands across from the glacier. It is used as a lodge and for ticket sales for sightseeing on the glacier. There are also two restaurants and a Starbucks located in the centre. Standard buses transport tourists from the centre to the glacier edge, where they board specially designed snow coach
A snow coach is a specialized passenger transport vehicle designed to operate over snow or ice, similar to a large, multi-passenger snowcat that is equipped with bus-style seating. These vehicles may have multiple sets of very large, low-pressur ...
es for transport over the steep grades, snow and ice part way up the glacier.
The glacier is approximately long, covers an area of , and is measured to be between thick.
Notable accidents
On 18 July 2020, a sightseeing snow coach rolled over on the glacier's moraine early in the afternoon, killing 3 passengers and injuring 24 others.STARS
A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma held together by its gravity. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye at night, but their immense distances from Earth ma ...
helicopters from Calgary, Edmonton, and Grande Prairie responded to this multiple casualty incident.
On 5 October 2018, an employee of the sightseeing company died in the parking lot after suffering serious injuries when she was struck by her unmanned bus following a collision.
See also
*List of glaciers in Canada
This is a list of glaciers in Canada.
List of glaciers
Saint Elias Mountains
* Donjek Glacier
*Hubbard Glacier
* Logan Glacier
Coast Mountains
Boundary Ranges
* Juneau Icefield
**Llewellyn Glacier
* Hang Ten Icefield
*Stikine Icecap
** Great ...
* Athabasca
References
Further reading
* Kucera, Richard E. ''Probing the Athabasca Glacier: Case History of a Glacier in the Columbia Icefield ic Jasper National Park''. Rev. and second printing. Evergreen Press, 1973, cop. 1972. 32, p., ill. with b&w photos, graphs, and maps. ''N.B''.: A bibliog. and the largest of the maps appear, respectively, on p. 3and 4(i.e., on the inside and outside the back cover).
External links
Parks Canada entry
Gallery
File:Columbia Icefield-Athabasca Glacier.ogv, Athabasca Glacier tour in 2006
File:Terra Bus near the Columbia Icefield.jpg, Athabasca Glacier snow coach
A snow coach is a specialized passenger transport vehicle designed to operate over snow or ice, similar to a large, multi-passenger snowcat that is equipped with bus-style seating. These vehicles may have multiple sets of very large, low-pressur ...
in 2009
File:Snowcoach-01.jpg, Terra Bus on the Athabasca Glacier in 2010
File:Approaching Athabasca Glacier Headwall.jpg, Approaching Athabasca Glacier Headwall
File:Athabasca Glacier headwall; Doug Vic.jpg, Athabasca Glacier headwall (on the ramp)
Glaciers of Alberta
Canadian Rockies
Jasper National Park
{{AlbertaRockies-geo-stub