ADVANCE AND RETREAT OF CANADIAN GLACIERS 725 



observations on the Illecillewaet, or great glacier of the Selkirks. 

 Their observations include a measurement of the rate of motion of 

 different parts of the ice by means of iron plates fixed on the surface, 

 and also a record of the retreat of the ice front since 1887. They 

 record a few observations on other glaciers, but these are of a more 

 general character. In 1888 Dr. Wilham S. Green made a single 

 measurement of the rate of movement of the Illecillewaet.' 



These observations appear to be the only ones on record. In 

 the face of such sparse statistics, generalizations seem premature; 



Fig. I. — Victoria Glacier, showing level surface, and cliff glaciers on Mount Lefroy. 



nevertheless, one fact is evident, namely, that the glaciers on the east, 

 ^hich are covered with debris, are either advancing or retreating 

 slowly, while those on the west, with clean surfaces, are retreating 

 rapidly. 



GLACIERS OF THE FIRST GROUP 



Victoria glacier (Fig. i). — This glacier is now well known to 

 tourists, lying at a short distance from one of the Canadian Pacific 

 Railway chalets, and being the feeder of the now famous Lake 

 Louise. As seen on the map (Fig. 2), it is short and wide, and has 

 two branches, which come from the south and the east repectively. 

 These branches are fed by avalanches from the cliff glaciers of 



^ Green, Among the Selkirk Glaciers (Macmillan, 1890). 



