Peyto Glacier

Peyto Glacier, in Banff National Park in Alberta’s Canadian Rockies, flows from the Wapta Icefield along the Continental Divide and helps feed Peyto Lake. Fine glacial silt carried by meltwater gives the lake its well-known turquoise color, and the glacier also offers the most direct route to Peyto Hut for mountaineering. Like many glaciers worldwide, it has retreated rapidly, especially in the second half of the 20th century, with heavy melt, surface lowering, and major mass loss. First photographed in 1896, it became a significant scientific reference site after study began in 1965 and a weather station was added in 1987.

Alberta · Canada