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Tyndall Glacier (Colorado) facts for kids

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Tyndall Glacier
Hallett Peak & Tyndall Glacier.jpg
Hallett Peak and Tyndall Glacier
Map showing the location of Tyndall Glacier
Map showing the location of Tyndall Glacier
Tyndall Glacier
Location in Colorado
Type Cirque glacier
Location Larimer County, Colorado, United States
Coordinates 40°18′19″N 105°41′22″W / 40.30528°N 105.68944°W / 40.30528; -105.68944
Terminus Talus
Status Retreating

Tyndall Glacier is a small cirque glacier located in Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado, USA. It sits on the east side of the Continental Divide, which is like a giant mountain ridge that separates rivers flowing to the Atlantic from those flowing to the Pacific. This glacier is nestled in a bowl-shaped valley called a "cirque," just north of Hallett Peak.

Tyndall Glacier is special because it's both an ice glacier and a rock glacier. This means its lower parts are mostly made of rock pieces, with only a small amount of ice mixed in.

Discovering Tyndall Glacier

Tyndall Glacier is found in the beautiful Rocky Mountain National Park. This park is famous for its tall mountains, clear lakes, and amazing wildlife. The glacier is a key part of the park's natural landscape.

What is a Glacier?

A glacier is a huge, slow-moving river of ice. It forms over many years as layers of snow pile up and get compressed into ice. Glaciers are powerful forces that can carve out valleys and shape mountains.

Cirque Glaciers

A cirque glacier is a type of glacier that forms in a bowl-shaped hollow on the side of a mountain. This hollow is called a "cirque." Imagine a giant scoop taken out of the mountain, and that's where a cirque glacier sits.

Rock Glaciers

A rock glacier is a bit different from a typical ice glacier. It's a mix of ice and rock debris, often looking like a slow-moving pile of rocks. The ice acts like glue, holding the rocks together and allowing the whole mass to creep downhill.

Who Was John Tyndall?

Tyndall Glacier is named after John Tyndall, an important Irish scientist. He was also a keen mountain climber. In 1861, he was the first to climb the Weisshorn mountain. He also tried to climb the Matterhorn before anyone else succeeded.

Tyndall's Scientific Discovery

John Tyndall made a very important scientific discovery in 1861. He found out that certain gases, like carbon dioxide, can trap heat in the Earth's atmosphere. These are now known as greenhouse gases. This discovery helps us understand how our planet's climate works.

The Retreating Glacier

Today, Tyndall Glacier is "retreating." This means it is shrinking and getting smaller over time. Glaciers retreat when more ice melts than is replaced by new snowfall. The fact that Tyndall Glacier is retreating is a sign of how our climate is changing. Scientists study glaciers like Tyndall to learn more about these changes.

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