Cowlitz Glacier
Encyclopedia
The Cowlitz Glacier is a large glacier
on the southeast flank of Mount Rainier
in Washington. The body of ice covers 1.3 square miles (3.4 km²) and has a volume of 6 billion ft3 (170 million m3). The glacier starts at an elevation of 10700 feet (3,261.4 m) and flows southeast downhill. An adjacent glacier, the Paradise Glacier
, is connected to this glacier. As it flows heads down the slopes of Rainier, another glacier, the Ingraham Glacier
contributes ice to this glacier. The joined glaciers flow together as a valley glacier until their terminus at around 5500 ft (1,676.4 m). Meltwater from the glacier drains into the Cowlitz River
.
. As the Ice Age
ended the glacier retreated north back to Mount Rainier. In recent times, the glacier has thinned, except for the period between the mid-1970s and mid-1980s, during which the glacier made a notable advance.
Glacier
A glacier is a large persistent body of ice that forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. At least 0.1 km² in area and 50 m thick, but often much larger, a glacier slowly deforms and flows due to stresses induced by its weight...
on the southeast flank of Mount Rainier
Mount Rainier
Mount Rainier is a massive stratovolcano located southeast of Seattle in the state of Washington, United States. It is the most topographically prominent mountain in the contiguous United States and the Cascade Volcanic Arc, with a summit elevation of . Mt. Rainier is considered one of the most...
in Washington. The body of ice covers 1.3 square miles (3.4 km²) and has a volume of 6 billion ft3 (170 million m3). The glacier starts at an elevation of 10700 feet (3,261.4 m) and flows southeast downhill. An adjacent glacier, the Paradise Glacier
Paradise Glacier
The Paradise Glacier is a glacier on the southeast flank of Mount Rainier in Washington. It covers and contains 0.8 billion ft3 with Stevens Glacier included. The glacier is bounded to the west by the Muir Snowfield, Anvil Rock and McClure Rock. There is a single extant main lobe of the glacier,...
, is connected to this glacier. As it flows heads down the slopes of Rainier, another glacier, the Ingraham Glacier
Ingraham Glacier
The Ingraham Glacier is a large glacier on the eastern flank of Mount Rainier, Washington. Named for the Mount Rainier enthusiast Edward Sturgis Ingraham, it covers an area of and contains of ice...
contributes ice to this glacier. The joined glaciers flow together as a valley glacier until their terminus at around 5500 ft (1,676.4 m). Meltwater from the glacier drains into the Cowlitz River
Cowlitz River
The Cowlitz River is a river in the state of Washington in the United States, a tributary of the Columbia River. Its tributaries drain a large region including the slopes of Mount Rainier, Mount Adams, and Mount St. Helens....
.
History
About 35,000 years ago, the combined Cowlitz and Ingraham glaciers terminated some 65 mi (105 km) from Mount Rainier near present-day MossyrockMossyrock, Washington
Mossyrock is a city in Lewis County, Washington, United States. The population was 759 at the 2010 census.-History:The city began as a trading post named Mossy Rock in 1852, after a high moss-covered rock at the east end of Klickitat Prairie...
. As the Ice Age
Ice age
An ice age or, more precisely, glacial age, is a generic geological period of long-term reduction in the temperature of the Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental ice sheets, polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers...
ended the glacier retreated north back to Mount Rainier. In recent times, the glacier has thinned, except for the period between the mid-1970s and mid-1980s, during which the glacier made a notable advance.