638 



THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



THE GREAT GlyAClERS ON THE MOUNTAIN 



The profile of the peak on the north- 

 west (about 45°) is finely shown in the 

 ^reat photograph. On the western side 

 the slope is 8,800 feet (2,679 meters) 

 from the summit to the floor of the val- 

 ley above Lake Kinney. On the east and 

 southeast the upper 3,000 feet (947.4 

 meters) are very precipitous, but on the 

 more gentle slopes below, the snow gath- 

 ers to form the neve of the great Hunga 

 (Chief) Glacier. 



The snow clings to the steep sides of 

 the upper peak in long ribbons quite to 

 the crest; gathering below, it forms a 

 neve, which pushes out and divides into 

 two streams of ice that fall and slip 

 ■down the steep inclines for nearly a mile. 

 The stream on the left forms Blue Gla- 

 cier* and on the right Chupo (mist) 

 •Glacier. Blue Glacier extends two miles 

 (3.2 kilometers) in horizontal distance 

 and has 7,000 feet (2,210 meters) ver- 

 tical descent between the snow cornices 

 ■of Robson and its foot, where the ice is 

 thrust into the water to break off and 

 float away as small bergs. Blue Glacier 

 is a wonderful stream of slipping, sheer- 

 ing, blue, green, and white ice. The de- 

 tails of its marvelous descent are beau- 

 tifully shown on page 634. Why it does 

 not slip and slide as a whole down into 

 Berg Lake is one of the unsolved secrets 

 ■of this great mountain. 



Chupo, the glacier of fog and mist, is 

 usually half concealed by clouds and 

 ■banks of mist that form on the edge of 

 the mountain and drift over it. It is not 

 ■comparable in size and beauty with Blue 

 Glacier, but it proved of great interest 

 and service to us in our geologic work. 

 On its surface blocks of rock from high 

 up on the peak were carried down to the 

 great moraine at its foot, and in those 

 l^locks I found the evidence that proved 

 the upper third of the mountain to be of 

 post-Cambrian age by the presence in the 

 limestones of marine shells and frag- 

 ments of crab-like animals that lived in 

 so-called Ordovician time. 



Directly above Blue Glacier a point of 

 rock was named by Dr. Coleman "The 



Helmet,'' and the great black" mountain 

 in the center, which he called the "Rear- 

 guard," is now given the Indian name of 

 iyatunga (black rock). Four thousand 

 feet (1,263.1 meters) lower than Rob- 

 son, iyatunga rises dark and massive 

 above the milky white Berg Lake and 

 the great ice river on its left. 



A EEOWING RIVER OF ICE 



The beautiful Hunga Glacier is liter- 

 ally a flowing river of ice. In the large 

 photograph (see Supplement) we see 

 nearly three miles of the length of this 

 glacier, and on page 632 its upper half of 

 neve and tributary fields and slopes of 

 snow and ice are shown from Mount 

 Resplendent to Robson. At the foot of 

 Hunga Glacier, on the left, Titkana"^ 

 (bird) Peak rises as a black limestone 

 mass that with Iyatunga* forms the 

 mighty portals of the great glacier. 



Day after day we passed between these 

 portals and climbed over the crevassed 

 and hummocky ice (see page 633) in 

 order to trace the connection of the rocky 

 section of Titkana Peak with that of 

 Robson. Thanks to the fine fossil fauna 

 found in Billings Butte, and the slope of 

 the layers of rock, a satisfactory "tie" 

 was made across the glacier to the lime- 

 stones of Robson. 



The work was trying and tedious, but 

 Nature kindly assisted by bringing down 

 long trains of boulders on the ice of the 

 glacier. From these was revealed the 

 story concealed in the clififs far above, 

 and thus we learned the geologic history 

 of the rocks connected with that of the 

 more accessible clififs on the opposite side 

 of the glacier. 



Back on the horizon line between Iya- 

 tunga and Titkana there is a fine point 

 that I am calling Phillips Mountain, in 

 recognition of Donald Phillips, who 

 made the ascent of Robson with Dr. 

 Kinney. From its crest a glacier slopes 

 down for a mile and a half to the edge 

 of the cliffs west of Snowbird Pass. It 

 is such a fine example of a small and 

 complete glacier from neve to foot that 

 I think it worthy of the name Chushina. 



* Coleman. Account of expedition of igcS. 



* Names approved by Geographic Board of 

 Canada, December, igi2. 



