Hotlum Glacier facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Hotlum Glacier |
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 Hotlum Glacier
Location in California
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| Type | Mountain glacier |
| Location | Siskiyou County, California, US |
| Coordinates | 41°25′13″N 122°11′16″W / 41.42028°N 122.18778°W |
| Area | .7 sq mi (1.8 km2) |
| Length | 1.3 mi (2.1 km) |
| Thickness | 67 ft (20 m) average |
| Terminus | Moraine |
| Status | Expanding |
The Hotlum Glacier is a large glacier found on the northeast side of Mount Shasta in California, USA. It is the biggest and most massive glacier in California. However, it is not as thick or long as the nearby Whitney Glacier.
The Hotlum Glacier starts in a large, bowl-shaped area called a cirque. This cirque is on the northeast side of Mount Shasta's main peak, below a steep cliff called the Hotlum Headwall. The glacier begins at about 13,600 feet (4,100 meters) high. It then flows northeast down the mountain's steep slope. As it moves, it splits into three parts, or "lobes," which end around 10,400 feet (3,200 meters) high.
How Glaciers Change
In 2002, scientists completed the first detailed study of Mount Shasta's glaciers in 50 years. They found something interesting about how these glaciers were changing.
They discovered that seven of the glaciers on Mount Shasta had grown bigger between 1951 and 2002. The Hotlum Glacier and the Wintun Glacier almost doubled in size! The Bolam Glacier grew by half, and the Whitney and Konwakiton glaciers also got about a third bigger. This growth shows that these glaciers are expanding, which is a unique finding for glaciers in California.
