Snowpatches: Their Influence on Mountain Wall Temperatures and the Geomorphic Implications

Abstract

Temperature data from two snowpatches in the Canadian Rocky Mountains are presented and discussed with respect to their geomorphological significance. While the data represent the summer period only, they show that the presence of snowpatches influences mountain wall temperature conditions to the extent that diurnal freezing and thawing occurs occasionally. Shattered bedrock on the mountain walls indicates that active physical weathering has occurred. An under-cutting or notch at the break in slope between the mountain wall and a talus accumulation indicates that the weathering is most concentrated in this location. This break in slope is often the site of late-lying snowpatches. The shattered bedrock, the notch and the temperature data suggest that the presence of snowpatches is of considerable geomorphic significance in the high mountain environment.