North Klawatti Glacier lies in a
cirque
A (; from the Latin word ') is an amphitheatre-like valley formed by glacial erosion. Alternative names for this landform are corrie (from Scottish Gaelic , meaning a pot or cauldron) and (; ). A cirque may also be a similarly shaped landform ...
to the east of
Austera Peak
Austera Peak () is in North Cascades National Park in the U.S. state of Washington. Located in the south unit of the park, Austera Peak is about north of Klawatti Peak and the same distance south of Primus Peak. The North Klawatti Glacier, Kla ...
,
North Cascades National Park
North Cascades National Park is an American national park in the state of Washington. At more than , it is the largest of the three National Park Service units that comprise the North Cascades National Park Complex. North Cascades National Par ...
, in the U.S. state of
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
.
The glacier is approximately in length, in width at its widest and descends from , where it terminates above
Klawatti Lake. An
arête
An arête ( ) is a narrow ridge of rock which separates two valleys. It is typically formed when two glaciers erode parallel U-shaped valleys. Arêtes can also form when two glacial cirques erode headwards towards one another, although frequen ...
divides North Klawatti Glacier from
Klawatti Glacier to the south.
[ In 1993, it had an area of 1.48 km2.] The North Klawatti Glacier was one of four glaciers selected for glacier mass balance
Crucial to the survival of a glacier is its mass balance or surface mass balance (SMB), the difference between accumulation and ablation (sublimation and melting). Climate change may cause variations in both temperature and snowfall, causing c ...
research. From 1993 (when monitoring began) to 2013 the glacier had lost ~8 m of thickness.
See also
*List of glaciers in the United States
This is a list of glaciers existing in the United States, currently or in recent centuries. These glaciers are located in nine states, all in the Rocky Mountains or farther west. The southernmost named glacier among them is the Lilliput Glacier ...
References
Glaciers of the North Cascades
Glaciers of Skagit County, Washington
Glaciers of Washington (state)
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