The Park Formerly Known As Glacier National Park

Monday, May 18, 2009

Last night was so warm that I snapped this photo of my thermometer at about 5:30pm.

My thermometer, @ 72!!!

I can’t imagine how warm it was earlier in the day. I even put on a dress! It is nice that we have warm weather, but it’s also very scary. The glaciers in Glacier National Park are few and far between. There are about 25 or 26 glaciers left in the park. Now these glaciers are only alpine glaciers. The have nothing to do with the naming of the park. When they disappear, the name sticks. We will not change the name to “The park formerly known as Glacier National Park.” I get so tired of people asking me that. We are named that because of the beautiful formations that remain from the huge continental glaciers from the ICE AGE!!! The U-shaped valleys, the Aretes, the hanging valleys, the strings of small lakes—Nothing to do with the glaciers we see now. In fact, the glaciers have melted all the way before…so it only seems right that they would melt again…I guess it all depends how you look at it.

The glaciers are said to be “gone” by 2020. “Gone” meaning they will no longer be considered glaciers…they will be too small or too thin to be “moving.” Think of a glacier as a conveyer belt: the snow gets piled on top, it adds up, it gets so thick that it’s own weight forces it to move like a belt…then the bottom part of the belt spews out rock, debris and water as it melts and moves. These are some of the most destructed forces on the planet, and they’re in my backyard—A-MAZ-ING!!

Weather: HOT! Sunny with a pleasant breeze!