Columbia Icefield

The Columbia Icefield is the largest ice field in the Rocky Mountains of North America. 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.DescriptionThe 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. It is about 325km2 in area, 100m to 365m in depth and receives up to 7m of snowfall per year.HistoryThe Columbia Icefield was formed during the Great Glaciation, or Illinoisan period . The initial advancement of the ice field ended during the latter millennia of the Early Wisconsinan period, around the time Homo sapiens began to appear on the earth. The next major advance of the ice field occurred during the Late Wisconsinan period, which marked the end of the major intercontinental land mass bridges. During the Crowfoot Glacier advance, humans were beginning to learn farming along the Tigris, Euphrates, and Nile rivers. The last major period of advance occurred during the Little Ice Age, which lasted from about 1,200 to 1900 AD. Around 1800, the Athabasca Glacier peaked, then went through a period of recession, and then advanced again until 1840, when it began receding until the present day.