CIRQUES OF THE SKEENA BASIN 119 



COAST RANGE CIRQUES OP THE SKEEXA BASIX. 



CHARLES KEYES. 

 (ABSTRACT.) 



In British Columbia the manifold aspects of alpine glaciation 

 are displayed as they are perhaps nowhere else on the face of the 

 globe. Northward as they approach the southern tip of Alaska 

 the lofty Cascade ranges of the United States pass into coast 

 ranges; and the coast ranges of the south run into the sea, giving 

 rise to the countless islands which are so characteristic of this 

 part of the Pacific coast. 



At a point a few miles from the Alaskan boundary the Skeena 

 river, after cutting a deep canyon entirely through the coast 

 ranges, enters the sea. This river is one of the noble streams of 

 the continent. On either side the mountains rise abruptly to 

 elevations of 3,000 to 4,000 feet. The permanent snow-line is 

 here sufficiently low to render it easily accessible. Cirque 

 phenomena are developed to a wonderful extent. 



Glaciers are in all stages of growth and. decline. On every 

 hand their work is open to the most detailed scrutiny. Emu 

 from the railway train many of the different aspects are easily 

 viewed. For a distance of more than 100 miles the rail journey 

 lies uninterruptedly in the midst of clearly observable cirque 

 phenomena. In few places in the world are all the details cor- 

 roborating the Johnson hypothesis of cirque formation so well 

 displayed. 



