Vista Glacier is located on north slopes of
Glacier Peak
Glacier Peak or Dakobed (known in the Sauk-Suiattle dialect of the Lushootseed language as "Tda-ko-buh-ba" or "Takobia") is the most isolated of the five major stratovolcanoes (composite volcanoes) of the Cascade Volcanic Arc in the U.S state of ...
in the
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...
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 ...
.
As is true with all the glaciers found on Glacier Peak, Vista Glacier is retreating. During the
Little Ice Age
The Little Ice Age (LIA) was a period of regional cooling, particularly pronounced in the North Atlantic region. It was not a true ice age of global extent. The term was introduced into scientific literature by François E. Matthes in 1939. Ma ...
, Vista Glacier extended down to an altitude of and was connected to
Ermine Glacier
Ermine Glacier is located on north slopes of Glacier Peak in the U.S. state of Washington. As is true with all the glaciers found on Glacier Peak, Ermine Glacier is retreating. During the Little Ice Age, Ermine Glacier extended down to an altitude ...
to its east. From the end of the Little Ice Age to the mid-1950s, Vista Glacier experienced a general retreat upslope, followed by an advance during a cooler and wetter period until the mid-1970s. From then to 1997, the glacier returned to its previous minimal length recorded in 1946 and the process of retreat is ongoing.
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 Glacier Peak
Glaciers of Washington (state)
{{Washington-glacier-stub