Illecillewaet Glacier

Illecillewaet Glacier
Great Glacier
Northern terminus of glacier in July 2006
Illecillewaet Glacier location in British Columbia, Canada
Type	Alpine
Location	Selkirk Mountains, British Columbia, Canada
Coordinates	51°14′12″N 117°26′30″W / 51.23667°N 117.44167°W / 51.23667; -117.44167[1]
Area	8.83 square kilometres (3.41 sq mi)
Status	Retreating

The Illecillewaet Glacier /ˌɪləˈsɪləwət/ is a glacier in British Columbia, Canada. It is located inside Glacier National Park in the Selkirk Mountains, a sub-range of the Columbia Mountains. After the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) near the glacier's terminus, and the building of a hotel nearby, the glacier became a prominent tourist destination in the Canadian west. Easily accessible by road and railway, it is one of the most-studied glaciers in North America. Its retreat over the last one hundred years has been extensively documented.