One of the objects of the recently organized Alpine Club of Canada is the study of prominent glaciers of the region, with a view to obtaining information concerning the formation and flow, advance or retreat of those upon which no observations have as yet been made, and of adding to existing information where some little work in this direction has been done. Speaking generally, it is desired to add the Club's mite to scientific knowledge of glacial action by instituting yearly observations of the more prominent and accessible ice-cascades of the Canadian Rockies.
With two noteworthy exceptions, the observations made thus far have been so casual as to be, practically, of no value. The exceptions are: those by George and William S. Vaux,[1] members of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, and by William Hittell Sherzer, Ph.D., of Michigan State College, under the auspices of the Smithsonian Institution of Washington.
Investigations of the Illecillewaet glacier at the summit of the Selkirk range, near Glacier station on the Canadian Pacific railway, were begun by George and William S. Vaux in 1887, when photographs were obtained of the ice-tongue. They were taken up systematically in 1894 and have been continued yearly since then. Other glaciers upon which they have made observations are: the Asulkan glacier in the Selkirks, and the Victoria and Yoho glaciers in the Main range.
- ↑ Active members of the Alpine Club of Canada.
