Cloud Peak Glacier

Coordinates: 44°23′11″N 107°10′06″W / 44.38639°N 107.16833°W / 44.38639; -107.16833
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Cloud Peak Glacier
Cloud Peak Glacier viewed from the summit of Cloud Peak
Map showing the location of Cloud Peak Glacier
Map showing the location of Cloud Peak Glacier
Cloud Peak Glacier
TypeMountain glacier
LocationJohnson County, Wyoming, USA (Bighorn Mountains)
Coordinates44°23′11″N 107°10′06″W / 44.38639°N 107.16833°W / 44.38639; -107.16833[1]
Area55 acres (22 ha)
Length.30 mi (0.48 km)
Width.30 mi (0.48 km)
TerminusScree, Proglacial lake
StatusRetreating

Cloud Peak Glacier is in the

cirque immediately northeast of Cloud Peak, the highest peak in the Bighorn Mountains. Cloud Peak Glacier lies at approximately 11,800 feet (3,600 m) above sea level.[2]

Cloud Peak Glacier is retreating rapidly and is expected to disappear entirely sometime between the years 2020 and 2034. Photographs taken in 1905 and again in 2005 demonstrated an obvious reduction in the area the glacier, and more ominously, a huge loss of thickness. Between 1905 and 2005, the glacier has been reduced in size from an estimated 506,000,000 cubic feet (14,300,000 m3) to 78,000,000 cubic feet (2,200,000 m3).[3]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Cloud Peak". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved 2012-08-12.
  2. ^ a b Cloud Peak, WY (Map). TopoQwest (United States Geological Survey Maps). Retrieved 2012-08-12.
  3. ^ a b Rahn, Perry H.; Charles Michael Ray; Michael W. Rahn (March–April 2006). "The Last Glacier in the Bighorns". The Professional Geologist. 43 (2). American Institute of Professional Geologists: 43–46.