Sir,
Some of your readers will be delighted to learn that the glacier unofficially named “Fox Glacier” in Yukon Territory has now been officially named Rusty Glacier by the Canadian Permanent Committee on Geographical Names. The unofficially named “Jackal” and “Hyena Glaciers” are now officially Backe and Trapridge Glaciers respectively.
The designations “Fox”, “Jackal” and “Hyena” had respectable if not venerable roots. In 1963 Austin Post (personal communication) assigned these names for reference purposes to three small surging glaciers in the St Elias Mountains, Canada. The following year he completed a map on which these names were used, and although the map was not published it was widely circulated. Post was inspired to use canine names by the proximity of these glaciers to the unofficially named “Wolf Creek Glacier”, now Steele Glacier.
In 1968 Rusty Glacier was among a small number of Canadian glaciers selected for special study during the International Hydrological Decade; a substantial literature therefore exists in which the unofficial designation “Fox Glacier” was used. To prevent further confusion with other Fox Glaciers we have compiled a fairly complete list of these references, omitting annual reports on field work in the St Elias Mountain Ranges contained in the Annual Report of the Arctic Institute of North America, Arctic, the Canadian Alpine Journal, the Canadian Geophysical Bulletin, and Ice (Reference NielsenNielsen, 1968; Reference PatersonPaterson, 1968; Reference PostMeier and Post, 1969, p. 816–17; Reference NielsenNielsen, 1969; Reference PostPost, 1969; Reference Clarke and DemersClarke and Classen, 1970; Reference Clarke and ClassenCrossley and Clarke, 1970; Reference West, Krouse, Ogata and HayakawaWest and Krouse, 1970: Reference Clarke and DemersClarke, [1971]; Reference Clarke and DemersClassen and Clarke, 1971; Reference CollinsCollins, 1971; Reference Krouse and DemersKrouse, [1971]; Reference Paterson and FisherPaterson, 1971).