Boston Glacier facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Boston Glacier |
|
|---|---|
Boston Glacier below Forbidden Peak
|
|
 Boston Glacier
Location in Washington (state)
|
|
| Type | Mountain glacier |
| Location | North Cascades National Park, Skagit County, Washington, United States |
| Coordinates | 48°30′22″N 121°02′01″W / 48.50611°N 121.03361°W |
| Length | 1 mi (1.6 km) |
| Terminus | Icefall |
| Status | Retreating |
Boston Glacier is a very large ice river found high up in the mountains. It's located in a huge, bowl-shaped area called a cirque. This amazing glacier is part of the beautiful North Cascades National Park in the state of Washington, USA. It's known for being the biggest glacier in the entire park.
Contents
Discovering Boston Glacier
Boston Glacier is a major natural feature in the North Cascades National Park. It's a large mass of ice that moves slowly, like a frozen river. This glacier is important for understanding how our planet's climate is changing.
Where is Boston Glacier?
This impressive glacier is nestled in a big cirque, which is a natural amphitheater carved by ice. It's surrounded by several tall mountain peaks. You can find it in Skagit County, within the state of Washington. The glacier is a key part of the stunning North Cascades National Park.
How Big is Boston Glacier?
Boston Glacier is quite large. It stretches for about 1 mi (1.6 km) (1.6 kilometers) in length. But what's really impressive is its width. The glacier is nearly 3.5 mi (5.6 km) (5.6 kilometers) wide! This makes it the largest glacier you'll find anywhere in North Cascades National Park.
What's Around Boston Glacier?
The glacier forms a wide arc. To its north, you'll find Forbidden Peak. To the southwest, it's flanked by Boston Peak. On its eastern side, the glacier is next to Buckner Mountain.
Between Boston Peak and Buckner Mountain, the glacier lies beneath a sharp mountain ridge called an arête. This specific ridge is known as Ripsaw Ridge. Another arête runs between Boston Peak, Sharkfin Tower, and Forbidden Peak. This ridge helps separate Boston Glacier from two nearby glaciers: the Quien Sabe Glacier and the Forbidden Glacier.
Is Boston Glacier Changing?
Like many glaciers around the world, Boston Glacier has been getting smaller over time. This process is called "retreating." It has been retreating since the end of a period known as the Little Ice Age, which finished around the year 1850.
There was a short time when the glacier grew a bit, between 1950 and the mid-1970s. However, the retreat started again. From 1972 to 2006, the very end of the glacier, called its terminus, moved back by 1,470 ft (450 m) (448 meters). This shows how much the glacier has shrunk in recent decades.
