Homathko Icefield
Encyclopedia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. 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
Coast Mountains
The Coast Mountains 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. They are so-named because of their proximity to the sea coast, and are often...
, with an area of over 2000 km² (772.2 sq mi). It is located between Chilko Lake
Chilko Lake
Chilko Lake is a 180 km² lake in west-central British Columbia, at the head of the Chilko River on the Chilcotin Plateau. The lake is about 65 km long, with a southwest arm 10 km long. It is one of the largest lakes by volume in the province because of its great depth, and the...
and the Homathko River
Homathko River
The Homathko River is one of the major rivers of the southern Coast Mountains of British Columbia, and one of the few rivers that penetrates the range from the Chilcotin Plateau to the coastal inlets, entering the sea at the head of Bute Inlet adjacent to the mouth of the Southgate River, just to...
, and lies across the Great Canyon
Great Canyon (Homathko River)
Great Canyon is the official name of a stretch of the Homathko River as it pierces the heart of the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains between the Chilcotin District of the British Columbia Interior and the Central Coast region at Bute Inlet. Also known unofficially as the Grand Canyon of the...
of that river to the east of the Waddington Range
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 4000 km² in area, relatively small in area within the expanse of the range, but it is the highest area of the Pacific Ranges and of the Coast Mountains, being...
. Although adjacent to Mount Queen Bess
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 Homathko Icefield....
, the Homathko Icefield is largely an expanse of ice, about 30 km (18.6 mi) across, ringed by relatively minor peaks and distinguished, relative to the other Coast Mountains
Coast Mountains
The Coast Mountains 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. They are so-named because of their proximity to the sea coast, and are often...
icefields, by lack of any major ones. The Lillooet Icecap
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 Whistler, and about north of Vancouver, British Columbia...
and the Compton Névé
Compton Névé
The Compton Névé is an icefield in the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains in southwestern British Columbia, Canada, located east of the Homathko Icefield and 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
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 lower reaches of the river's course are flat-bottomed...
which bends around the icefield-massif's southern flank to reach the head of Bute Inlet
Bute Inlet
Bute Inlet is one of the principal inlets of the British Columbia Coast. It is 80 km long from its head at the mouths of the Homathko and Southgate Rivers to the continental headlands at its mouth, where it is nearly blocked by Stuart Island, and it averages about 4 km in width...
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
Mount Grenville, 3126 m prominence: 1101 m, is the highest summit of the Homathko Icefield of the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains, east of the head of Bute Inlet. It is located at the southern edge of the icefield and is one of a large group of summits in this region to be named for figures...
, 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
Chilcotin War
The Chilcotin War, Chilcotin Uprising or Bute Inlet Massacre was a confrontation in 1864 between members of the Tsilhqot'in people in British Columbia and white road construction workers...
, Klattasine Peak, named for the Tsilhqot'in
Tsilhqot'in
The Tsilhqot'in are a Northern Athabaskan First Nations people that live in British Columbia, Canada...
leader of the war. Just northeast of the icefield is Mount Queen Bess
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 Homathko Icefield....
, the second-highest summit in the Pacific Ranges
Pacific Ranges
The Pacific Ranges are the southernmost subdivision of the Coast Mountains portion of the Pacific Cordillera. Located entirely within British Columbia, Canada, they run northwest from the lower stretches of the Fraser River to Bella Coola, north of which are the Kitimat Ranges.The Pacific Ranges...
, and to the icefield's east is Mount Good Hope
Mount Good Hope
Officially Good Hope Mountain but commonly known as Mount Good Hope, this is one of the principal summits of the Pacific Ranges of the southern Coast Mountains in British Columbia, Canada...
; 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 whose territory includes Bute and Toba Inlets.