The South Mowich Glacier is a
glacier
A glacier (; or ) is a persistent body of dense ice, a form of rock, that is constantly moving downhill under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires ...
located on the western flank of
Mount Rainier
Mount Rainier ( ), also known as Tahoma, is a large active stratovolcano in the Cascade Range of the Pacific Northwest in the United States. The mountain is located in Mount Rainier National Park about south-southeast of Seattle. With an off ...
in
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 ...
. It covers and contains 4.5 billion ft
3 (127 million m
3) of ice.
Starting from the high-altitude cliffs above the Sunset Amphitheater at over , the glacier flows west down Mount Rainier. The glacier is connected to the large
Tahoma Glacier
The Tahoma Glacier is a long glacier mostly on the western flank of Mount Rainier in Washington. It covers and contains of ice. The glacier starts out near the summit of the volcano at over . As the glacier flows west-southwest out of the summi ...
to the south near St. Andrews Rock at .
After leaving the Amphitheater, there is an
icefall
An icefall is a portion of certain glaciers characterized by relatively rapid flow and chaotic crevassed surface, caused in part by gravity. The term ''icefall'' is formed by analogy with the word ''waterfall'', which is a similar phenomenon of ...
on the glacier where it plunges down below . As the glacier descends, it gradually turns and by the time the South Mowich meets the
Puyallup Glacier
The Puyallup Glacier is a glacier on the west flank of Mount Rainier in Washington. It covers and contains 10.2 billion ft3 (289 million m3) of ice. Sharing the same source of ice as the northern South Mowich Glacier, the Puyallup Glacier begi ...
at , the glacier is flowing northwest. As the glacier nears Jeanette Heights, it passes by several turns and becomes very rocky in comparison to the upper sections of the glacier. The glacier splits into two arms before their termini, with a shorter, northern arm ending at and the longer, larger southern arm ending near a stand of conifers at .
Meltwater from the glacier drains into the
South Mowich River which eventually merges with the
Puyallup River
The Puyallup River ( ) is a river in the U.S. state of Washington. About long, it is formed by glaciers on the west side of Mount Rainier. It flows generally northwest, emptying into Commencement Bay, part of Puget Sound. The river and its t ...
.
See also
*
North Mowich Glacier
*
List of glaciers
A glacier ( ) or () is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight; it forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation (melting and sublimation) over many years, often centuries. Glaciers slowly defor ...
References
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Glaciers of Mount Rainier
Glaciers of Washington (state)