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| Jackson Glacier |
|
Terminal end of Jackson Glacier
|
| Type |
Mountain glacier |
| Location |
Montana, U.S. |
| Coordinates |
48°35′58″N, 113°41′57″W |
| Area |
252 acres (1.02 km²) (in 1993) |
| Length |
0.7 miles (1.13 km) |
| Terminus |
Moraine |
| Status |
Retreating |
Jackson Glacier is approximately the fifth largest of the remaining 27 glaciers in Glacier National Park located in the U.S. state of Montana. A part of the largest grouping of glaciers in the park, Jackson Glacier rests on the north side of Mount Jackson.[1] The glacier was most recently measured in 1993 at 252 acres (1.02 km²), yet when first documented in 1850, the glacier also included the now separate Blackfoot Glacier and together, they covered 1,875 acres (7.59 km².) When the two glaciers were united prior to their separation sometime before 1929, they were known simply as Blackfoot Glacier. Jackson Glacier is retreating rapidly, as are all of the glaciers in the park.
The upper image shows how Blackfoot (on the left) and Jackson Glaciers (on the right) appeared in 1914. The lower image is taken from the same vantage point in 2001.
In 1850, there were an estimated 150 glaciers in the park. Glaciologists have stated that by the year 2030, many if not all of the glaciers in the park may disappear completely.[2] Jackson and Blackfoot glaciers have been selected for monitoring by the U.S. Geological Survey's Glacier Monitoring Research program, which is researching changes to the mass balance of glaciers in and surrounding Glacier National Park. The glacier is being monitored using remote sensing equipment and repeat photography, where images of the glacier are taken from identical locations periodically.[3] Jackson Glacier is one of the easiest of the park's glaciers to observe, and is located south of the Going-to-the-Sun Road on the east side of the Continental Divide, upper St. Mary Valley.
Jackson Glacier at right was once joined to Blackfoot Glacier on the left
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