GLACIERS ON THE PACIFIC COAST. 161 



which is named the Agassiz Glacier, he estimates to be twenty- 

 miles in width and fifty miles in length, and to cover an area of a 

 thousand square miles. Another, which he named Guyot Glacier, 

 seemed to be about the same in dimensions. These come down to 

 the sea-level in Icy Bay, and present a solid ice wall many miles in 

 extent, which is continually breaking off into icebergs of great size.* 



Vancouver's account of the glacial phenomena along this coast 

 is still both instructive and interesting, and in places curious : 



" Between these points (Pigot and Pakenham) a bay is formed, 

 about a league and a half deep toward the north-northwest, in 

 which were seen several shoals and much ice ; the termination of 

 this bay is bounded by a continuation of the above range of lofty 

 mountains. On this second low projecting point, which Mr. Whid- 

 bey called ' Point Pakenham/ the latitude was observed to be 60° 

 59£', its longitude 212° 29'. The width of the arm at this station was 

 reduced to two miles, in which were several half-concealed rocks, 

 and much floating ice, through which they pursued their exami- 

 nation, to a point at the distance of three miles along the western 

 shore, which still continued to be compact, extending north 30° 

 east ; in this direction they met such innumerable huge bodies of 

 ice, some afloat, others lying on the ground near the shore in ten 

 or twelve fathoms water, as rendered their further progress up the 

 branch rash and highly dangerous. This was, however, very for- 

 tunately, an object of no moment, since before their return they 

 had obtained a distinct view of its termination, about two leagues 

 farther in the same direction, by a firm and compact body of ice 

 reaching from side to side, and greatly above the level of the sea ; 

 behind which extended the continuation of the same range of lofty 

 mountains, whose summits seemed to be higher than any that had 

 yet been seen on the coast. 



" While at dinner in this situation they frequently heard a very 

 loud, rumbling noise, not unlike loud but distant thunder ; similar 

 sounds had often been heard when the party was in the neighbor- 

 hood of large bodies of ice, but they had not before been able to 

 trace the cause. They now found the noise to originate from 

 immense ponderous fragments of ice, breaking off from the higher 

 parts of the main body, and falling from a very considerable 

 height, which in one instance produced so violent a shock that it 

 was sensibly felt by the whole party, although the ground on 

 which they were was at least two leagues from the spot where the 

 fall of ice had taken place. . . . 



" The base of this lofty range of mountains (between Elias and 

 Fairweather) now gradually approached the sea-side ; and to the 

 southward of Cape Fairweather it may be said to be washed by the 

 ocean ; the interruption in the summit of these very elevated 



* "New York Times," November 14, 1886. 

 vol. xxxv. — 11 



