Paradise Ice Caves

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Paradise Ice Caves Paradise Ice Glacier Cave.jpg
Paradise Ice Caves

The Paradise Ice Caves (also known as the Paradise Glacier Caves) were a system of interconnected glacier caves located within Mount Rainier's Paradise Glacier in the United States. These glacier caves were visited and documented at least as early as 1908. [1] They have a varied natural history, as their size and even existence has changed over time, from a maximum surveyed length of 13.25 kilometers in 1978, to not existing at all during both the 1940s and 1990s [2] due to glacial recession. In 1978 they were the longest mapped system of glacier caves in the world. [3]

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Paradise Glacier is a glacier on the southeast flank of Mount Rainier in Washington. It covers 0.4 square miles (1.0 km2) and contains 0.8 billion ft3 with Stevens Glacier included. The glacier is bounded to the west by the Muir Snowfield, Anvil Rock and McClure Rock. There is a single extant main lobe of the glacier, ranging from 9,000 feet (2,700 m) to 7,200 feet (2,200 m), that is connected to the larger Cowlitz Glacier. To the south, there was a smaller portion which was near the Cowlitz Rocks and the tiny Williwakas Glacier, ranging from 6,900 feet (2,100 m) to 6,400 ft (2,000 m) in elevation and containing the Paradise Ice Caves until the 1990s. This smaller lobe melted between 2004 and 2006. Meltwater from the glacier drains into the Cowlitz River.

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Camp Muir, named for the naturalist John Muir, is a high-altitude refuge for climbers in Mount Rainier National Park in Washington, accessed through the Paradise Entrance. The shelters comprising the camp are situated at a 10,188 ft (3,105 m) elevation between the Muir Snowfield and the Cowlitz Glacier on Mount Rainier. Camp Muir is the most-used high camp for those attempting to climb to the mountain's summit. Camp Muir is between the Nisqually and Paradise Glaciers.

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References

  1. Caving International magazine, No. 4, p 31
  2. Caving International magazine, No. 4, p 32 - 33
  3. "Thin Ice - Exploring Mount Hood's Glacier Caves" . Retrieved 2013-10-07.