GRINNELL GLACIER PHOTO GALLERY,
GLACIER NATIONAL PARK

Repeat photography (i.e., before and after pictures) is a valuable tool for demonstrating the changes in glacier size during the past 87 years. (click on each image for larger scale photo)

The photo below was taken in 1981 from the summit of Mt. Gould in Glacier National Park. The remnants of Grinnell Glacier are shown in the bottom portion of the photo with bands of debris covering the ice. Icebergs dot the lake which has formed as the glacier melted. The approximate former locations of the glacier margin (the "toe" of the glacier) are indicated for each time period (1850 to 1981) with arrows. (click on each image for larger scale photo)

The aerial photograph below, taken from specially-equipped planes late in the summer, is a valuable tool for tracking glacier changes. This photograph has been scanned into a computer. We superimposed red lines to indicate the margins of Grinnell Glacier during different times of its retreat. The glacier covered approximately 576 acres in 1850. By 1993, the glacier had receded 62% to approximately 216 acres as indicated by the yellow line. Additional shrinkage has occurred since 1993. New aerial photographs are being obtained this fall to update our information of Grinnell Glacier. (click on each image for larger scale photo)

Glacier monitoring in Glacier National Park

View real time and historic streamflow data for the Swiftcurrent Creek at Many Glaciers, Montana

Content Information Contact: dan_fagre@usgs.gov @usgs.gov

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U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey
Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center, BOX 173492, Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana, 59717-3492
 first gov Maintainer: mrblair@usgs.gov
Last Modified: 25 April 2003 11:22
URL: http://nrmsc.usgs.gov/research/grinnell.htm