Athabasca Glacier

The Athabasca Glacier is one of six major outlet glaciers flowing from the Columbia Icefield in the Canadian Rockies, straddling the Alberta-British Columbia border near Jasper National Park. It runs about 6 kilometers long, covers roughly 6 square kilometers, and reaches thicknesses of 90 to 300 meters, and it is the most visited glacier in North America thanks to its accessibility from the Columbia Icefield Glacier Discovery Centre. Over the past 125 years the glacier has retreated more than 1.5 kilometers and lost over half its volume, and it continues to lose about 5 meters of depth every year, a pace officially classified as receding. Its accessible position draws large numbers of tourists, although hidden crevasses pose a serious hazard to visitors who venture onto the ice unprepared.