CHAPTER II. 



GLACIERS ON THE PACIFIC COAST. 



Notwithstanding the great height of the Rocky Moun- 

 tains, they are, in the southern part, devoid of living glaciers. 

 This lack is doubtless caused by the dryness of the atmos- 

 phere, the winds from the Pacific having already, before 

 reaching the interior, yielded their moisture to the solicita- 

 tions of the lofty peaks of the Sierra Nevada and the Cascade 

 Range. Still, a few small glaciers are found among the sum- 

 mits of the Wind River Mountains of Wyoming, and near the 

 sources of Flathead River in Montana. Farther north, how- 

 ever, near the Canadian boundary, glaciers begin to appear 

 in increasing number and size. The broad picturesque sum- 

 mits of the Rocky Mountains forming the continental divide 

 between the head-waters of the Flathead River in Montana 

 and those of the Belly, a branch of the Saskatchewan, in 

 Canada, support innumerable glaciers of small size and many 

 that compare well with those of the Alps. More than forty 

 are found between Lake McDonald and the Canadian bound- 

 ary. Of these the Sperry and Chaney glaciers are most 

 conspicuous. Avalanche Lake, surrounded by glacier-cov- 

 ered peaks, is one of the most picturesque localities on the 

 continent. 



In the Canadian Rockies and in the Selkirk Mountains, 

 north of the line, in Alberta and British Columbia, glaciers 

 increase in numbers and size as higher latitudes are reached. 

 Of these the Victoria, the Wenkchemna, the Yoho, thelllecille- 

 waet and the Asulkan are so near stations on the Canadian 



