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The Columbia Ice Field is the biggest patch of ice outside the poles. It sits very thickly on top of this mountain range in Jasper, spilling down the sides in glaciers. The melt off from this ice sheet goes into all the watersheds of the world, poised as it is on the continental divide. The Athabaska Glacier (seen below with people on a trail up to it and buses on it to give it scale) has receded dramatically since I was here as a child, when it came right down to the parking lot. It was interesting to see it again and ponder that within our grandchildren’s life span this colossally giant force is doomed to disappear entirely.
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2 Comments
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I, too, visited Athabaska Glacier as a child and played in the snow by the parking lot. When I returned in 2012, I was shocked to see how much it had shrunk and that the beginning of the glacier was a good ways from where it was as a child. Anyone thinking that global warming is a myth and doesn’t need our prayers should see the before and after of Athabaska Glacier.
Bev-
Author
I know, right? Stunning the difference.
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