Glacier National Park

Photos from "Going-to-the-Sun Road"

The sign reads: Shrinking Glaciers

Today Jackson Glacier is barely visible among the peaks. In the mid-19th century it extended much farther down the valley and connected with neighboring Blackfoot Glacier in one continuous mass of ice. Tree-ring studies, conducted in the forest at the head of the valley, indicate the ice began its retreat in 1860. Like most glaciers within the park, it continues to shrink.

A glacial landscape can evolve with startling speed. return in a few years, and you may witness newly exposed ground that was buried under ice for centuries - or the glacier may be advancing again.

Tens of thousands of pounds of ice compress the bottom layers of a glacier, deforming the ice and causing it to slowly flow. Surface ice, however, remains brittle, creating spectacular crevassing as the glacier flows over the rocky substrate.

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