The Homathko Icefield is an

icefield An ice field (also spelled icefield) is a mass of interconnected valley glaciers (also called mountain glaciers or alpine glaciers) on a mountain mass with protruding rock ridges or summits. They are often found in the colder climates and highe ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. Officially named the Homathko Snowfield from 1950 until the current name was adopted in 1976, it is one of the largest icefields in the southern half of the

Coast Mountains The Coast Mountains (french: La chaîne Côtière) are a major mountain range in the Pacific Coast Ranges of western North America, extending from southwestern Yukon through the Alaska Panhandle and virtually all of the Coast of British Columbia ...

, with an area of over .Bivouac.com - Canadian Mountain Encyclopedia
/ref> It is located between

Chilko Lake Chilko may refer to: *Chilko River The Chilko River is a river in the Chilcotin District of the Central Interior of British Columbia, Canada, flowing northeast from Chilko Lake to the Chilcotin River. Its main tributary is the Taseko River. Th ...

and the

Homathko River The Homathko River is one of the major rivers of the southern Coast Mountains of the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is one of the few rivers that penetrates the range from the interior Chilcotin Country to the coastal inlets of the P ...

, and lies across the Great Canyon of that river to the east of the

Waddington Range The Waddington Range is a subrange of the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains in southwestern British Columbia, Canada. It is only about 4,000 km2 (1,545 sq mi) in area, relatively small in area within the expanse of the range, but it is t ...

. Although adjacent to

Mount Queen Bess Mount Queen Bess is one of the principal summits of the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains of southern British Columbia. It stands west of Chilko Lake and to the south of Tatlayoko Lake, and crowns a peak-studded ridge to the north of the Ho ...

, the Homathko Icefield is largely an expanse of ice, about across, ringed by relatively minor peaks and distinguished, relative to the other

icefields, by lack of any major ones. The

Lillooet Icecap The Lillooet Icecap, also called the Lillooet Icefield or the Lillooet Crown, is a large icefield in the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains in southwestern British Columbia, Canada. It is about northwest of the towns of Pemberton and Whistl ...

and the

Compton Névé The Compton Névé is a névé in the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains in southwestern British Columbia, Canada, located southeast of the Homathko Icefield and Mount Gilbert (British Columbia), Mount Gilbert and to the south of the Bishop River ...

, both similar in size to the Homathko Icefield but much more peak-studded, lie to the Homathko Icefield's southeast across the

Southgate River The Southgate River is a river in the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains in British Columbia, Canada, entering the head of Bute Inlet, on that province's South Coast, just east of the mouth of the Homathko River at Waddington Harbour. The l ...

which bends around the icefield-massif's southern flank to reach the head of

Bute Inlet , image = Bute Inlet.jpg , image_size = 260px , alt = , caption = , image_bathymetry = , alt_bathymetry = , caption_bathymetry = , location = Strathcona RD, British Col ...

adjacent to the mouth of the Homathko River. The icefield is essentially one large ice-girt montane plateau between these two rivers. The highest summit of the icefield is

Mount Grenville Mount Grenville is the highest summit of the Homathko Icefield of the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains, east of the head of Bute Inlet , image = Bute Inlet.jpg , image_size = 260px , alt = , caption ...

, located at its southern edge. Among its other peaks are Plateau Peak, Cambridge Peak, Cloister Peak, Galleon Peak and, on its northwest overlooking the site of the opening battle of the

Chilcotin War The Chilcotin War, the Chilcotin Uprising or the Bute Inlet Massacre was a confrontation in 1864 between members of the Tsilhqot'in (Chilcotin) people in British Columbia and white road construction workers. Fourteen men employed by Alfred Wadd ...

Klattasine Peak Lhatŝ’aŝʔin (also known as Klatsassan or Klattasine; died 1864), a chief of the Chilcotin ( Tsilhqot'in) people, led a small group of warriors in attacks on road-building crews near Bute Inlet, British Columbia, in April and May 1864. The road ...

, named for the Tsilhqot'in leader of the war. Just northeast of the icefield is

, the second-highest summit in the

Pacific Ranges , photo = Mount Garibaldi (50997016501).jpg , photo_size = 280px , photo_caption = Mount Garibaldi massif as seen from Squamish , map = , map_image = South BC-NW USA-relief PacificRanges.png , m ...

, and to the icefield's east is

Mount Good Hope Officially Good Hope Mountain but commonly known as Mount Good Hope is one of the principal summits of the Pacific Ranges of the southern Coast Mountains in British Columbia, Canada. It stands immediately west of Chilko Lake, with the highest p ...

; near it, and within the icefield, are peaks whose names continue the Elizabethan theme - Burghley Peak, Howard Peak, and Walsingham Peak, named after soldiers and statesmen of that era. Homathko is a derivation of Homalco or Homalhco or Homalhko, who are a subgroup of the

Mainland Comox Mainland is defined as "relating to or forming the main part of a country or continent, not including the islands around it egardless of status under territorial jurisdiction by an entity" The term is often politically, economically and/or dem ...

whose territory includes Bute and Toba Inlets.

References

External links

Glaciers of the Pacific Ranges Landforms of the Chilcotin Ice fields of British Columbia {{canada-glacier-stub

See also

References

External links