Courtesy Athabasca Glacier Icewalks

Visit the surreal world of shifting ice at the Columbia Icefield. Join a guided Athabasca Glacier Icewalk or Ice Explorer tour, or simply stroll the short Toe of the Glacier Interpretive Trail. If you’re walking the walk, you should talk the talk:

• Till: Sediment rock deposited during glacial melting.
• Lateral Moraine: Till along sides of an abating glacier.
• Terminus: End of the glacier; also called the glacier snout.
• Moulin: Deep hole carved by flowing surface water.
• Crevasse: Crack formed by ice segments moving at different rates.
• Serac: Jagged tower of ice formed by colliding crevasses.

By Lisa Stephens