| Wapta Glacier | |
|---|---|
| Wapta ice fields | |
  Wapta Glacier  Wapta Glacier  Wapta Glacier | |
| Location | Alberta, Canada |
| Coordinates | 51°38′22″N 116°31′35″W / 51.63944°N 116.52639°W |
| Status | Receding |
 | |
The Wapta Icefield is a series of glaciers located on the Continental Divide in the Waputik Mountains of the Canadian Rockies, in the provinces of British Columbia and Alberta, [1] in Yoho National Park in the Canadian Rockies.[2] The icefield is shared by Banff and Yoho National Parks and numerous outlet glaciers extend from the icefield, including the Vulture, Bow and Peyto Glaciers. Runoff from the icefields and outlet glaciers supply water to both the Kicking Horse and Bow Rivers, as well as numerous streams and lakes.
The icefield is one of the most studied in the Canadian Rockies and all evidence supports the conclusion that the icefield is shrinking in area, especially near the lowest altitudes of its outlet glaciers, including Peyto Glacier, in which the glacier has become both shorter in length and thinner in thickness. In the 1980s the icefield covered an area of approximately 80 km2 (30 sq mi).
The glaciers popular with climbers[3] accessible in both summer and winder. Both ski trips in the winter and glacier hiking trips in the summer often combine a traverse of this icefield with a trip across the Waputik Icefield directly to the south.
The Burgess shale animal Waptia takes its name from these features.[4] Their meltwater feeds the nearby Wapta falls.
