G is for Glacier

Tim Iverson
Naturalist

(11/2020) Being described as the "Crown of the Continent" seems like a bold claim, until you visit Glacier National Park. Frequently, National Parks are described as having a magic like quality, and this one truly exhibits an enchanted experience. The park features an immaculately pristine landscape of turquoise lakes and rivers, rugged mountains, sheer cliffs, colorful alpine meadows, and dense pine forests. Complete with virtually all of the native plants and animals that historically existed here from before European exploration and settlement, this park boasts an absolutely incredible array of natural, cultural, and historical wonders.

Nestled in the Rockies of Northwestern Montana, Glacier is one of only two National Parks with an international border crossing, the other is Big Bend National Park in Texas. Known as Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park, the mutual port of entry allows visitors to discover the National Park on both the Canadian and American side of the border. However, the area is in need of only personal discovery as Glacier National Park has been the traditional home of the Salish-Kootenai and Blackfeet tribes for over 10,000 years. The rugged landscape of the park offered shelter from the harsh winters of the surrounding plains. During summers the bounty of plants and animals made a sustainable way of life possible for millenia.

Europeans first entered the area during a series of explorations beginning in 1850. George Bird Grinnell, a noted geologist, conservationist, and eventual editor of Forest and Stream (which later became Field and Stream) made a series of survey trips through the area. With each subsequent expedition, he fell a little more in love with the land. By the early 20th century he, along with the lobbying efforts of the Great Northern Railway, championed the creation of a National Park. Their influence led to success and Glacier National Park was officially legislated into existence on May 11, 1910.

Glacier National Park bears its name from the many glaciers found there and their influence on the landscape. Words and photos fail to capture the uncompromising and imposing grandeur of the mountains as their majestic peaks soar into the sky above. During the last major ice age, vast amounts of snow packed and compressed itself into glaciers and ice sheets. As these massive forces bore their weight across the landscape, they carved out valleys and channels. As they retreated, deep canyons walls, rising several thousand feet, remained. Over the course of thousands of years and repeated cycles of glacial advance and retreat, ice chipped away at the imposing rock carting off colorful pieces and scattering them across the park.

Lakes and rivers throughout the park are decorated with the many varieties of weathered stones deposited from the erosion. The rainbow palette of stones provide the bedding of many bodies of water throughout the park and together seems almost like a fairytale combined with the turquoise blue hue of water they are contained in. The water gets the enchanted blue-green color from glacial silt. As the rocks underneath the glacier are grinding against the surface, tiny particulate matter or silt is picked up by the snow and ice. When the water starts flowing from spring melts, this silt is very light and stays suspended in the water. As the sunlight reflects off this sediment it gives off its stunning turquoise hue.

Despite the name, Glacier National Park, the glaciers themselves are in trouble. During early exploration, detailed maps and assessments were conducted. At the creation of the park, in 1910 there were approximately 80 glaciers. Today there are 37 left, only 25 of which are considered active. Each year as the winter and summer cycles occur, the building and melting processes happen. When the melting process outpaces the growing the glaciers inevitably shrink, and the glacier is no longer considered active. Best estimates project that the remaining glaciers will be inactive or completely gone by 2030. The effects of this loss are still not fully understood as this local ecosystem depends on the slow trickle of glacial melt. Even far flung areas will feel the ripple as this water eventually flows out to the Pacific and Arctic oceans and the Gulf of Mexico.

The opportunity for outdoor recreation is abundant in Glacier National Park. This notion was not lost on the Great Northern Railroad as they pushed for the park’s creation and encouraged tourism. An ad campaign described the park as the "American Alps," and accordingly throughout the park they built charming ski chalets, many of which are still available today. The train may not run to the park anymore, but with the shoelace express hikers can explore over 700 miles of trails within the park. However, most visitors never even leave their cars. The famous Going-to-the-Sun Road is an engineering landmark. The road traverses 50 mountainous miles soaring nearly 7,000 feet up providing sweeping panoramic views of the valleys below.

The wildlife viewing opportunities are nearly as endless as the trails. With over 71 species of mammals, you can find mountain lions, lynx, bears, and more. The mountain goat is the official park symbol, but other hooved animals like bighorn sheep, elk, moose, and deer are all common too. 260 species of birds migrate or reside here throughout the year as well. Pristine wilderness conditions have left dense ancient forests and alpine meadows undisturbed providing a snapshot into northern Rocky Mountain habitat over thousands of years.

If the altitude doesn’t take your breath away the glacier-scoured landscape certainly will. Glacier National Park is remarkably accessible to visitors of all ages and abilities through guided tours or self-exploration. The wide variety of altitudes, habitat, landscape, geology, flora, and fauna truly earn Glacier National Park the title of "The Crown of the Continent."