A small moraine is exposed along the exit road from the parking lot at Many Glacier Hotel. It contains a number of small red boulders, the sources of which are the red rock ledges in the mountains several miles up the Swiftcurrent Valley, plainly visible from the hotel.
One of these ancient moraines which has been eroded into a series of mounds (25 to 100 feet high) extends from Swiftcurrent Cabin Camp down the valley on the north side of the road to a point near the entrance to Many Glacier Ranger Station. Some of the cabins are actually situated in a space between two of the highest mounds.
LOOKING SOUTH ALONG THE GRINNELL GLACIER ICE FRONT. NOTE CREVASSES ALONG WHICH BERGS ARE BREAKING OFF.(DYSON PHOTO)
LOOKING SOUTH ALONG THE GRINNELL GLACIER ICE FRONT. NOTE CREVASSES ALONG WHICH BERGS ARE BREAKING OFF.(DYSON PHOTO)
Surrounding all existing Park glaciers are two sets ofrecent morainesvarying in height from a few feet to more than two hundred. So recently (probably 800 to 900 years) have the glaciers withdrawn from the older of these that only sparse willows and other forms of dwarf vegetation are growing on them.
The younger set of moraines, which has accumulated during the last several hundred years, consists of unweathered rock on which only small pioneer plants and lichens have begun to establish themselves. These moraines are particularly striking at Grinnell, Sperry, Blackfoot, Agassiz and Sexton Glaciers. On the last few yards of the spectacular Grinnell Glacier trail all persons who make the trip to the glacier must climb over the moraine before setting foot on the ice. From this vantage point on the highest part of this moraine the visitor can look down upon a huge crevassed mass of ice lying in a stupendous rock-walled amphitheater, then merely by facing the opposite direction, he will see unfolded before his view one of the most colorful vistas in the Park. More than a thousand feet below in the head of a splendid U-shaped valley lies the turquoise gem of Grinnell Lake. A mile farther away the blue surface of Lake Josephine stands out in sharp contrast to the dark green of the spruce which lines its shores. High above he can see the red summit of Mount Allen carrying its white snowbanks into the deep blue of a Montana sky. Despite this magnificence the visitor must soon turn his attention to the tremendous accumulation upon which he stands, for it is no less interesting than the mountains and lakes. Among the manyboulders which lie along the path are two prominent limestone blocks each 10 to 15 feet in diameter. The underside of one was grooved and polished as the ice pushed it across the rock surface underlying the glacier. The other, partially embedded in the moraine, has a polished upper surface because the glacier flowed over it for a time. Both these boulders, although now nearly 300 yards from the ice front, were covered by the glacier until about 20 years ago.
Because of shrinkage many of the glaciers are no longer in contact with these newer moraines. In some cases a quarter of a mile of bare rock surface intervenes between the moraine and the glacier which made it.
A few glaciers have disappeared within recent years, but their moraines remain as evidence of former glacier activity. One of the most notable examples is afforded by Clements Glacier, a small body of ice which existed until about 1938 in the shadow of Clements Mountain at Logan Pass. Its edge was bordered by a ridge-like moraine nearly a hundred feet high. Today, the trail from Logan Pass to Hidden Lake skirts the outside edge of the moraine. Should the hiker leave the trail and climb the few yards to the top of this moraine he could see it stretched out before him as a giant necklace encircling the base of Clements Mountain, but between mountain and moraine, where a few years ago the glacier lay, he will see only bare rock or drifted snow.
Despite recent rapid shrinkage of glaciers and the disappearance of some, Glacier National Park still is a land of ice, yet when the visitor views its present day glaciers and its sublimely beautiful mountain scenery he should not be unmindful of the powerful forces which, working during many thousands of years, have brought it all about. Then, and only then, can he properly appreciate the magnificence which Nature has so generously bestowed upon us.
CLEMENTS MOUNTAIN AND GLACIER. THE GLACIER HAS SINCE DISAPPEARED.(HILEMAN PHOTO)
CLEMENTS MOUNTAIN AND GLACIER. THE GLACIER HAS SINCE DISAPPEARED.(HILEMAN PHOTO)
[1]Dr. Dyson worked as a ranger naturalist in Glacier National Park for eight different summers starting in 1935. During that time he undertook special research on park glaciers in addition to his regular assignments.[2]For a brief description of these rock formations see Special Bulletin No. 3 (Geologic Story) of the Glacier Natural History Association.
[1]Dr. Dyson worked as a ranger naturalist in Glacier National Park for eight different summers starting in 1935. During that time he undertook special research on park glaciers in addition to his regular assignments.
[2]For a brief description of these rock formations see Special Bulletin No. 3 (Geologic Story) of the Glacier Natural History Association.
Organized for the purpose of cooperating with the National Park Service by assisting the Interpretive Division of Glacier National Park in the development of a broad public understanding of the geology, plant and animal life, history, Indians, and related subjects bearing on the park region. It aids in the development of the Glacier National Park library, museums, and wayside exhibits; offers books on natural history for sale to the public; assists in the acquisition of non-federally owned lands within the park in behalf of the United States Government; and cooperates with the Government in the interest of Glacier National Park.
Revenues obtained by the Association are devoted entirely to the purposes outlined. Any person interested in the furtherance of these purposes may become a member upon payment of the annual fee of one dollar. Gifts and donations are accepted for land acquisition or general use.
GLACIER NATURAL HISTORY ASSOCIATION INC.