Blue Glacier

This article is about the glacier in the Olympic Mountains. For the glacier in the Cascade Mountains, see Blue Glacier (Chelan County, Washington). For the glacier in Antarctica, see Blue Glacier (Antarctica).
Blue
The Blue Glacier as seen from the Lateral Moraine.
Map showing the location of Blue
Map showing the location of Blue
Blue
TypeMountain glacier
LocationMount Olympus, Olympic National Park, Jefferson County, Washington, USA
Coordinates47°48′09″N 123°41′12″W / 47.80250°N 123.68667°W / 47.80250; -123.68667[1]
Area1.7 sq mi (4.4 km2)[2]
Length2.7 mi (4.3 km)[2]
Thickness900 ft (270 m)[3]
TerminusIcefall
StatusRetreating[2]

Blue Glacier is a large glacier located to the north of Mount Olympus in the Olympic Mountains of Washington.[4] The glacier covers an area of 1.7 sq mi (4.4 km2) and contains 580,000,000 cu ft (16,000,000 m3) of ice and snow in spite of its low terminus elevation.[2] The glacier length has decreased from about 3.4 mi (5.5 km) in 1800 to 2.7 mi (4.3 km) in the year 2000.[2] Just in the period from 1995 and 2006, Blue Glacier retreated 325 ft (99 m).[3] Blue Glacier is also thinning as it retreats and between 1987 and 2009 the glacier lost 178 ft (54 m) of its depth near its terminus and between 32 and 48 ft (9.8 and 14.6 m) in the uppermost sections of the glacier known as the accumulation zone.[3]

  1. ^ "Blue Glacier". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved 2012-10-05.
  2. ^ a b c d e Drummond, Benjamin (2002-03-11). "Blue Ice" (PDF). Carleton College Geology Department. Retrieved 2007-10-13.
  3. ^ a b c "Glaciers and Climate Change". National Park Service. Retrieved 2012-10-06.
  4. ^ Mount Olympus, WA (Map). TopoQwest (United States Geological Survey Maps). Retrieved 2012-10-05.