338 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 75 



GLACIER LAKE AREA 



The canyon valley in which Glacier Lake and River are situated 

 is about 50 miles (80.5 km.) northwest of Lake Louise Station on 

 the Canadian Pacific Railway. It is about 5 miles (8 km.) in length 

 from the moraines at the foot of Southeast Lyell and Mons glaciers 

 to the foot of the lake. High ridges rise from 2,500 to 3,500 feet 

 (762 to 1,066.8 m.) above the lake and canyon bottom, those on the 

 south forming part of the Mount Forbes massiff (pis. 88, 89), and 

 those on the north leading up to Survey and Sullivan Peaks. The can- 

 yon is graded up for about 2 miles (3.2 km.) at its upper end with 

 gravel and debris brought down by the glaciers at the head of the 

 valley that extend down from the Continental Divide, and the lake 

 occupies the lower 3 miles (4.8 km.) of its length. 



The measured stratigraphic section begins below and east of Mons 

 Peak and extends down over the cliffs on the northwest and southeast 

 sides of Mons glacier (pi. 87) to the cliff at the foot of Southeast 

 Lyell glacier, through which the stream from Mons and Lyell gla- 

 ciers passes in a narrow canyon. The ledges farming this lower 

 cliff are well marked on both sides of the upper Glacier Lake canyon 

 valley, rising from the foot of the glacier at an angle of 15° and 

 continuing to the top of the ridge on the north side of the canyon, 

 where the lower part of the section below the Lyell formation was 

 measured ; the cliff on the north side is divided midway by a band 

 of thin-bedded limestone, forming a narrow terrace between the 

 upper and lower walls, each of which is about 200 feet (60.9 m.) 

 high ; below this cliff the shales of the Sullivan formation form a 

 slope, the upper part of which is usually covered by debris from the 

 cliffs above, and the lower part by a forest of fir, spruce, and pine. 

 To the eastward, the section continues down through the Sullivan 

 formation to the limestones of the Arctomys formation, which latter 

 form ledges on the mountain slopes along the western half of Glacier 

 Lake. On the south side of the canyon valley, the section is finely 

 developed in the cliffs and slopes rising up to Mount Forbes (pi. 89), 

 but is not as easily accessible as on the north side. 



The panoramic view of the south side of Glacier Lake Canyon 

 Valley (pi. 87) extends from the ridge (left) above Howse River 

 to Mons glacier on right. The two high points are the north ends 

 of spurs extending nearly 2.5 miles (4 km.) north from Mount 

 Forbes. The sharp snow-clad points between them, rising to a height 

 of about 10,500 feet (3,200.4 m.), are directly north of Mounr Forbes. 

 The summit of the east (left) ridge is about 10,000 feet (3,048 m.), 



