Watkins Glacier
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| Watkins Glacier | |
|---|---|
| Type | Mountain glacier |
| Location | California, U.S. |
| Coordinates | |
| Area | approx. 0.04 miles² (0.1 km²) |
| Length | 0.2 miles (0.3 km) |
| Terminus | moraine |
| Status | expanding |
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.[1]
The Watkins is one of three small cirque glaciers on the southern side of Shasta, along with the Konwakiton and Mud Creek Glaciers located about 1 mi (1.6 km) west. It has the lowest average elevation of any of Shasta's glaciers, extending only between 10,400 and 11,000 ft (3,170–3,350 m)[2].
In 2002, scientists made the first detailed survey of Mount Shasta's glaciers in 50 years. They found that seven of the glaciers (including the Watkins) 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.[3] [4] [5]
[edit] References
- 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 on 2007-03-06.
- Glaciers of California. Glaciers of the American West. Glaciers Online. Retrieved on 2007-03-07.
- ^ Existing Glaciers of Mount Shasta. College of the Siskiyous. Retrieved on 2007-03-07.
- ^ Google Earth elevation for GNIS coordinates.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Wong, Kathleen. California Glaciers. California Wild. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved on 2007-01-23.
- ^ Whitney, David. "A growing glacier: Mount Shasta bucks global trend, and researchers cite warming phenomena", The Bee, September 4, 2006. Retrieved on 2007-01-23.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Watkins Glacier is at coordinates Coordinates:
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