A Closer Look: Glaciers in Glacier National Park

Figure 1. Total Glacier Surface Area in Glacier National Park, 1966–2015
Total Glacier Surface Area in Glacier National Park, 1966–2015

This figure shows the change in total glacial surface area for all 37 named glaciers in Glacier National Park for four distinct points in time from 1966 to 2015.

Year Total glacier area
1966 8.016003
1998 6.050147
2005 5.736552
2015 5.262804

Figure 1. Total Glacier Area in Glacier National Park, 1966–2015
Data source: Fagre et al., 2017; USGS, 2017.
Web update: April 2021
Units: square miles

Figure 2. Change in Glacier Surface Area in Glacier National Park, 1966–2015

Change in Glacier Surface Area in Glacier National Park 1966–2015
Change in Glacier Surface Area in Glacier National Park 1966–2015
This map shows the change in the surface area of ​​all 37 named glaciers. Glacier National Park for 1966, 1998, 2005, and 2015.

Use the red map icon above to open an interactive version where users can view individual data layers, pan the map, and zoom in to see more details.

Key Points

  • The total surface area of ​​the 37 glaciers named in Glacier National Park decreased by about 34 percent between 1966 and 2015 (see Figure 1).
  • The surface area of ​​each glacier was smaller in 2015 than in 1966 (see Figure 2). The three glaciers temporarily gained some space during a portion of the overall duration.
  • The general trend of shrinking surface areas of glaciers in Glacier National Park is consistent with observed glacier retreats in the United States and worldwide.

Background

  • Visitors from far and wide are drawn to Montana’s Glacier National Park for its impressive beauty and glaciers. Established in 1910, Glacier is one of the most visited national parks in the United States.

    Warming temperatures and other changes are melting the park’s mountain glaciers. Such changes have implications for tourism and ecosystems, animals, and humans that depend on glacier-fed stream flow. Shrinking glaciers is a clear and convincing indicator of climate change.
  • In 2017, the U.S. Geological Survey published a study in which they analyzed aerial images from 1966, 1998, 2005, and 2015 to assess changes in the surface area of ​​Glacier National Park’s 37 glaciers over time.

    Scientists are studying the Park’s mountain glaciers to understand better how they have changed, what this means for the local environment, and how they may affect land management decisions in the park.

About the Data

Notes

The surface area changes of these glaciers do not reflect how the total mass or volume of the ice has changed. Changes in glacial surface area will not necessarily follow linearly with temperature changes due to differences in geology, shadow, snowdrift wind patterns, and other factors.

The 37 glaciers in this dataset have all Glacier National Park’s major named glaciers. Still, they do not represent a comprehensive accounting of the park’s glaciers or permanent ice features.

These glaciers are not necessarily representative of glaciers in other regions either. But in the past few decades, several national parks have begun to monitor glacial mass balance. All these programs have datasets, expertise.

Data Sources

Data in this feature come from surface area measurements over time of 37 named glaciers in Glacier National Park. This dataset was originally published by the USGS’s Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center.

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