The Pyramid Glacier is actually a scattering of

glaciers A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires distinguishing features, such as ...

and snowfields located on the south-southwestern flank of

Mount Rainier Mount Rainier (), indigenously known as Tahoma, Tacoma, Tacobet, or təqʷubəʔ, is a large active stratovolcano in the Cascade Range of the Pacific Northwest, located in Mount Rainier National Park about south-southeast of Seattle. With a s ...

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 ...

. It covers and contains 400 million ft³ (11 million m³) of ice. The glaciers lie at an elevation ranging from about to . The Success Divide separates this glacier from the

South Tahoma Glacier The South Tahoma Glacier is a glacier located on the southwest flank of Mount Rainier in State of Washington. It covers and contains 4.6 billion ft3 (130 million m3) of ice. Starting from an elevation of around at the base of a steep cliff, the ...

to the west. Both the

Success Glacier The Success Glacier is a small glacier located on the southwestern slopes of Mount Rainier in Washington. It covers and contains 500 million cubic ft (14 million m3) of ice. The glacier is bounded to the northwest by the Success Cleaver and to t ...

and lower end of the

Kautz Glacier The Kautz Glacier is a narrow glacier on the southern flank of Mount Rainier in Washington. Named for August Kautz, who is sometimes credited for the first ascent of Mount Rainier, covers and contains 7.8 billion ft3 (221 million m3) of ice. U ...

border this glacier on the eastern side. Meltwater from the glacier drains into the

Nisqually River The Nisqually River is a river in west central Washington in the United States, approximately long. It drains part of the Cascade Range southeast of Tacoma, including the southern slope of Mount Rainier, and empties into the southern end of Pu ...

. In a June 2023 report from the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...

, the glacier had lost 34% of its volume between 2015 and 2021. Based on 2022 satellite imagery, glaciologist Mauri Pelto declared Pyramid Glacier dead.

References

{{Glaciers of Mount Rainier Glaciers of Mount Rainier Glaciers of Washington (state) Former glaciers of North America

See also

References