Canadian Glacier Inventory Project is a project being developed by fourth year students in the School of Geography and Earth Sciences at McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
All information presented here is unedited content, supplied by our students. For more information on this project, contact mapref@mcmaster.ca.IntroductionThere is considerable concern about the effects of global climate warming and the impact that melting glaciers will have on ecosystems, energy and water resources, and global sea levels.
Canada has more glacial ice than any other country in the world (except Greenland) but some research has shown that many of its glaciers are receding at an alarming rate. Since the early 1900’s southern parts of the Canadian Rockies have lost approximately 25% glacial cover, and some glaciers have lost up to 70% of their volume. It has been suggested that many small glaciers in the Rockies will disappear within 20 years.
The aim of this project is to create a web-based inventory of Canadian glaciers that records their current characteristics and past history. We will update this resource regularly to evaluate how extensively Canadian glaciers have receded in recent time.
Inventory AreasThe map below shows the main areas which the project will focus on. These areas have been subdivided into specific regions. For more information on a specific region please refer to the links below.
Canadian Arctic (Orange areas) -
Axel-Heiberg Island -
Ellesmere Island -
Baffin Island British Columbia and Yukon (Red Areas)
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B.C. Coast South-
B.C. Coast North-
Yukon SouthRockies (Blue Areas)