Peyto Glacier

Peyto Glacier is located in the Canadian Rockies in Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada, approximately 90 km (56 miles) northwest of the town of Banff, and can be accessed from the Icefields Parkway. Peyto Glacier is an outflow glacier from the Wapta Icefield, which rests along the Continental divide. The glacier snout is subject to high melt rates from season to season and there is marked surface lowering on several parts of the glacier. Glacial silt, which is carried from the glacier by streams, ensures a turquoise appearance to Peyto Lake, a popular tourist destination. As is true for the vast majority of glaciers worldwide, Peyto Glacier has been retreating rapidly, especially since the last half of the 20th century, and has reportedly lost 70% of its mass since it was first researched (Demuth and Keller, 2006). In 1987, an automatic weather station was constructed near the glacier that monitors temperature changes, radiation, and precipitation

Peyto Glacier provides the most direct access to Peyto Hut, a base of both summer and winter mountaineering.

See also

• List of glaciers

References

• Demuth, M.N. and R. Keller, 2006. An assessment of the mass balance of Peyto Glacier (1966–1995) and its relation to recent and past century climatic variability. In – , M.N. Demuth, D.S. Munro and G.J. Young Eds. National Hydrology Research Institute Science Report 8: 83-132.

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