Reef Icefield

British Columbia. Icefield: Fraser River drainage
E of Berg Lake, NE of Kinney Lake
53.1333 N 119.0167 W — Map 83E/3 — GoogleGeoHack
Earliest known reference to this name is 1911 (Wheeler)
Official in BCCanada
This icefield appears on:
Wheeler’s map Mount Robson 1912
Icefall of Reef Glacier (Western flow). Photo, Byron Harmon, 1911

Icefall of Reef Glacier (Western flow). Photo, Byron Harmon, 1911
Canadian Alpine Journal 1912

“The glacier at the head of the west branch of the Moose River was named Reef Glacier by Dr. A. P. Coleman on one of his expeditions to Mount Robson,” according to Arthur Oliver Wheeler [1860–1945]. “It is so called on account of the rock ridges, or nunataks, which appear like reefs rising from the snowfield.”

Arthur Philomen Coleman [1852–1939] visited Mount Robson in 1907 and 1908. There is no reference to Reef Glacier in Coleman’s The Canadian Rockies: new and old trails, 1911.

References:

  • Coleman, Arthur Philomen [1852–1939]. The Canadian Rockies: New and Old Trails. London: T. Fisher Unwin, 1911. Internet Archive
  • Wheeler, Arthur Oliver [1860–1945]. “The mountains of the Yellowhead Pass.” Alpine Journal, Vol. 26, No.198 (1912):382
  • Wheeler, Arthur Oliver [1860–1945]. “Topographical Map Showing Mount Robson and Mountains of the Continental Divide North of Yellowhead Pass to accompany the Report of the Alpine Club of Canada’s Expedition 1911. From Photographic Surveys by Arthur O. Wheeler; A.C.C. Director.” Canadian Alpine Journal, Vol. 4 (1912):8-81. Victoria Library, University of Toronto

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