Anderson Glacier is Gone

Mauri Pelto notes that Anderson Glacier in the Olympic Mountains has melted away anderson-glacier-olympic-mountains-washington-disappears/.

 

Olympic National Park has an interactive glacier page showing various glaciers in the park over time http://www.nps.gov/olym/naturescience/interactive-glacier-map.htm. The disappearance of the Anderson Glacier has been rather dramatic. The 1960 to 2010 comparison shows a sharp contrast between Anderson Glacier and the nearby Linsley's Glacier. Particularly striking is the Linsley's Glacier as well as nearby snow fields are essentially identical in the 1960 and 2010 images.

The 1936 image of Anderson Glacier shows that Anderson Glacier was not a small glacier.

A note on the 1936 photograph. Ashel Curtis was Edward Curtis' brother and his work in the mountains and in Seattle has and continues to be of importance for understanding the changes to Washington State.

Anderson Mountain had three glaciers. The other two glaciers are still in tact. The Eel Glacier is oriented to the north and its accumulation area is higher than the former Anderson Glacier. The Linsley Glacier is oriented to the south but also has a higher elevation accumulation area than the former Anderson Glacier. The few hundred feet has made a considerable difference as the climate warmed.