Wintun Glacier

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Wintun Glacier
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Wintun Glacier
Location in California
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Wintun Glacier
Wintun Glacier (the United States)
TypeMountain glacier
Location Siskiyou County, California, United States
Coordinates 41°24′28″N122°10′56″W / 41.40778°N 122.18222°W / 41.40778; -122.18222 Coordinates: 41°24′28″N122°10′56″W / 41.40778°N 122.18222°W / 41.40778; -122.18222 [1]
Area.5 sq mi (1.3 km2)
Length1.3 mi (2.1 km)
Thickness68 ft (21 m) average
TerminusMoraine
StatusExpanding

The Wintun Glacier is a glacier situated on the eastern flank of Mount Shasta, in the U.S. state of California. [2] [3] It is both the third largest and third most voluminous glacier in California after the neighboring Hotlum Glacier and the Whitney Glacier. [4] The Wintun Glacier starts on the east side of Mount Shasta's main summit, and it has the highest permanent snow and ice on the mountain, reaching above 14,100 ft (4,300 m) to within a few dozen feet (~8–15 m) of the true summit. [5] The glacier flows east down a steep slope and terminates in two lobes, the longer of which extends down near 9,800 ft (3,000 m). [5]

In 2002, scientists made the first detailed survey of Mount Shasta's glaciers in 50 years. They found that seven of the glaciers have grown over the period 1951–2002, with the Hotlum and Wintun Glaciers nearly doubling, the Bolam Glacier increasing by half, and the Whitney and Konwakiton Glaciers growing by a third. [6] [7] [8]

See also

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Mud Creek Glacier

The Mud Creek Glacier is the southernmost glacier on Mount Shasta in the U.S. state of California. It lies to the east of Sargents Ridge on Shastarama point near 10,915 feet (3,327 m) above sea level. The glacier is smaller than the northern ones on Mount Shasta such as Whitney, Hotlum, Bolam, and Wintun Glaciers. There are approximately 80 glaciers in California and unlike the glaciers in Alaska, Colorado and Montana. California’s existing current glaciers are not remnants of the Pleistocene, but instead relatively young approximately 1,000 years in age. The Mud Creek Glacier is one of at least 7 recognized glaciers on Mt. Shasta by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) the rest being: Whitney, Hotlum, Bolam, Wintun, Konwakiton, and Watkins.

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Hotlum Glacier

The Hotlum Glacier is a glacier situated on the northeast flank of Mount Shasta, in the US state of California. It is the largest and most voluminous glacier in California, although not as thick or long as the nearby Whitney Glacier. The Hotlum Glacier flows from a large cirque on the northeast side of Mount Shasta's main summit below the Hotlum Headwall at roughly 13,600 ft (4,100 m). It flows northeastward down the steep slope, forming three lobes which terminate near 10,400 ft (3,200 m).

Bolam Glacier

The Bolam Glacier is a glacier situated on the northern flank of Mount Shasta, in the U.S. state of California. It is the second longest glacier in California behind the nearby Whitney Glacier, and the fourth largest and most voluminous after the neighboring Hotlum Glacier, Whitney Glacier, and Wintun Glacier. The Bolam Glacier flows from a cirque on the north side of Mount Shasta's main summit, with the moving ice starting below a large bergschrund which spans the glacier at 12,600 ft (3,800 m). Above that, permanent snow and ice extends towards the summit to about 13,500 ft (4,100 m). The glacier flows north down a steep slope and terminates near 9,800 ft (3,000 m). It has a contributing drainage area of 1.03 km².

Konwakiton Glacier

The Konwakiton Glacier is a glacier situated on the southern flank of Mount Shasta, in the U.S. state of California. It occupies the head of a large cirque on the south side of Shasta's Misery Hill cone, just northeast of the prominent outcrop of Thumb Rock at about 11,500 ft (3,500 m). It is the fifth largest glacier on Mount Shasta, although less than one-third the size of any of the four larger ones. The Konwakiton is the most frequently visited of Shasta's glaciers, since the standard climbing route up Avalanche Gulch skirts along its western edge above Thumb Rock saddle, with the boot track often only a few feet from the bergschrund at the glacier's head.

Watkins Glacier

The Watkins Glacier is a glacier situated on the southeastern flank of Mount Shasta, in the U.S. state of California. It occupies a small cirque in the Clear Creek drainage. It is the smallest officially-named glacier on Mount Shasta, and it was not accorded that status until 1976, following a decades-long campaign by local resident R. Harry Watkins, Jr., to bring recognition to the previously-ignored glacier.

Mount Shasta Wilderness

The Mount Shasta Wilderness is a 38,200-acre (155 km2) federally designated wilderness area located 5 miles (8.0 km) east of Mount Shasta City in northern California. The US Congress passed the 1984 California Wilderness Act that set aside the Mount Shasta Wilderness. The US Forest Service is the managing agency as the wilderness is within the Shasta-Trinity National Forest. The area is named for and is dominated by the Mount Shasta volcano which reaches a traditionally quoted height of 14,162 feet (4,317 m) above sea level, but official sources give values ranging from 14,104 feet (4,299 m) from one USGS project, to 14,179 feet (4,322 m) via the NOAA. Mount Shasta is one of only two peaks in the state over 14,000 feet (4,300 m) outside the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range. The other summit is White Mountain Peak in the Great Basin of east-central California.

Mount Rainier Stratovolcano in the U.S. state of Washington

Mount Rainier, also known as Tahoma or Tacoma, is a large active stratovolcano in the Cascade Range of the Pacific Northwest, located in Mount Rainier National Park about 59 miles (95 km) south-southeast of Seattle. With a summit elevation of 14,411 ft (4,392 m), it is the highest mountain in the U.S. state of Washington and the Cascade Range, the most topographically prominent mountain in the contiguous United States, and the tallest in the Cascade Volcanic Arc.

References

  1. "Wintun Glacier". Geographic Names Information System . United States Geological Survey . Retrieved September 30, 2012.
  2. "Existing Glaciers of Mount Shasta". College of the Siskiyous. Retrieved January 23, 2007.
  3. "Glaciers of California". Glaciers of the American West. Glaciers Online. Archived from the original on September 3, 2006. Retrieved January 23, 2007.
  4. Driedger, Carolyn L.; Kennard, Paul M. (1986). "Ice volumes on Cascade volcanoes; Mount Rainier, Mount Hood, Three Sisters, and Mount Shasta". U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1365. Retrieved March 6, 2007.
  5. 1 2 Google Earth elevation for GNIS coordinates
  6. Harris, Stephen L. (2005). Fire Mountains of the West: The Cascade and Mono Lake Volcanoes (3rd ed.). Mountain Press Publishing Company. p. 109. ISBN   0-87842-511-X.
  7. Wong, Kathleen. "California Glaciers". California Wild. California Academy of Sciences. Archived from the original on October 6, 2006. Retrieved January 23, 2007.
  8. Whitney, David (September 4, 2006). "A growing glacier: Mount Shasta bucks global trend, and researchers cite warming phenomena". The Bee. Archived from the original on January 21, 2007. Retrieved January 23, 2007.