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Boulder Glacier (Montana)
Encyclopedia
Boulder Glacier is located in the U.S. state
of Montana
in Glacier National Park (U.S.). The glacier is situated to the north of Boulder Peak and west of the Continental Divide
. Between 1966 and 2005, Boulder Glacier lost more than 75 percent of its surface area. As of 2005 the glacier was measured to cover only 13 acre (0.05260918 km²), and no longer met the 25 acre (0.1011715 km²) theshold often cited as the minimal area to qualify as an active glacier.
Boulder Glacier was photographed in 2007 by researchers from the U.S. Geological Survey and those images demonstrate that the glacier has almost disappeared. Earlier images taken in 1910 depict a glacier that was far larger than what was recorded in 2007.
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Montana
Montana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
in Glacier National Park (U.S.). The glacier is situated to the north of Boulder Peak and west of the Continental Divide
Continental Divide
The Continental Divide of the Americas, or merely the Continental Gulf of Division or Great Divide, is the name given to the principal, and largely mountainous, hydrological divide of the Americas that separates the watersheds that drain into the Pacific Ocean from those river systems that drain...
. Between 1966 and 2005, Boulder Glacier lost more than 75 percent of its surface area. As of 2005 the glacier was measured to cover only 13 acre (0.05260918 km²), and no longer met the 25 acre (0.1011715 km²) theshold often cited as the minimal area to qualify as an active glacier.
Boulder Glacier was photographed in 2007 by researchers from the U.S. Geological Survey and those images demonstrate that the glacier has almost disappeared. Earlier images taken in 1910 depict a glacier that was far larger than what was recorded in 2007.
See also
- List of glaciers in the United States
- Glaciers in Glacier National Park (U.S.)Glaciers in Glacier National Park (U.S.)There are at least 35 named glaciers in Glacier National Park . In 1850, Glacier had 150 glaciers. There are 25 active glaciers remaining in the park today. Since the ice ages stopped 10,000 years ago, there have been many slight climate shifts causing periods of glacier growth or melt-back...