Boulder Glacier is located on the southeast slope of
Mount Baker, a
stratovolcano
A stratovolcano, also known as a composite volcano, is a typically conical volcano built up by many alternating layers (strata) of hardened lava and tephra. Unlike shield volcanoes, stratovolcanoes are characterized by a steep profile with ...
near the Pacific coast of North America in the
Cascade Range
The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington (state), Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as m ...
of
Washington
Washington most commonly refers to:
* George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States
* Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A ...
.
Boulder Glacier is the sixth largest on Mount Baker with an area of .
It flows from the summit crater between Grant Peak () and Sherman Peak () to about . It is noteworthy for
retreating between 1987 and 2008, leaving newly exposed rock and soil behind.
Between 1850 and 1950, the glacier retreated .
William Long of the
United States Forest Service
The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency within the United States Department of Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture. It administers the nation's 154 United States National Forest, national forests and 20 United States Natio ...
observed the glacier beginning to advance due to cooler and wetter weather in 1953. This was followed by a advance by 1979.
[ The 1979 terminus position is where the small stream enters Boulder Creek from the southwest. Observations in 2005 suggest that the lowest thousand feet or several hundred meters of the glacier is stagnant and will likely disappear.][ In the pictures, this section of the glacier is gray with rock debris and has few crevasses. On the west side of Boulder Creek is a small waterfall revealed by the recent recession of the glacier.
Boulder Glacier may be approached via the Boulder Ridge Trail number 605. The trail passes through a ]climax community
In scientific ecology, climax community or climatic climax community is a historic term for a community of plants, animals, and fungi which, through the process of ecological succession in the development of vegetation in an area over time, hav ...
of pacific silver fir
''Abies amabilis'', commonly known as the Pacific silver fir, is a fir native to the Pacific Northwest of North America, occurring in the Pacific Coast Ranges and the Cascade Range. It is also commonly referred to in English as the white fir, red ...
and related species of disparate ages with many standing snags. In the fall, a large variety of mushroom species emerge. Near elevation, the trail ascends a lateral glacial moraine
A moraine is any accumulation of unconsolidated debris (regolith and Rock (geology), rock), sometimes referred to as glacial till, that occurs in both currently and formerly glaciated regions, and that has been previously carried along by a gla ...
. At the route ascends about of Class 2 rock and of steep subalpine forest to reach the ridge crest. Soon thereafter, the trail disappears.
Boulder Ridge consists of scenic heather-covered benches and a number of lateral moraines left by vanished glaciers. Glacial retreat has left the upper portion of the ridge barren and unstable and rockfall from the terminus of that portion of the glacier is a hazard to the unwary visitor.
Boulder Glacier is one of the more popular climbing routes on Mount Baker. First climbed on August 24, 1891, it is most often ascended in combination with the cleaver between Boulder and Park Glacier to the north to bypass densely crevasse
A crevasse is a deep crack that forms in a glacier or ice sheet. Crevasses form as a result of the movement and resulting stress associated with the shear stress generated when two semi-rigid pieces above a plastic substrate have different rate ...
d sections of the glacier. At about elevation, the route passes to the southwest of steep rock and ice to reach the summit ridge east of Grant Peak.
Gallery
Image:Bouldert.jpg, Boulder Glacier in 2003 with its 1985 terminus in red
Image:Boulder_Glacier_3664.JPG, View of 2004 terminus from above
Image:Boulder Glacier 3737.JPG, View from Boulder Ridge
See also
* Mount Baker
* Retreat of glaciers since 1850
The retreat of glaciers since 1850 is a well-documented effects of climate change, effect of climate change. The retreat of Mountain glacier, mountain glaciers provides evidence for the Instrumental temperature record, rise in global temperatures ...
* List of glaciers in the United States
Glaciers are located in ten states, with the vast majority in Alaska. The southernmost named glacier is the Lilliput Glacier in Tulare County, California, Tulare County, east of the Central Valley (California), Central Valley of California.
Apa ...
References
External links
*
{{Glaciers of Mount Baker
Glaciers of Mount Baker
Glaciers of Washington (state)