Glacier National Park’s namesake glaciers have receded rapidly since the park’s establishment in 1910. In 1997, the United States Geological Survey began the Repeat Photography Project with a systematic search for historic photographs of glaciers in the vast collection of Glacier National Park’s archives. Many high quality photographs exist from the park’s early photographers such as Morton Elrod, T.J. Hileman, Ted Marble, F.E. Mattews, and others who scoured the park to publicize its beauty and earn their livings. Scientists paired these historic photographs with contemporary images taken from the same locations. The result is a dramatic chronicling of the loss of the park’s glaciers, primarily due to long term changes in regional and global climate. These changes include warming, particularly of daily minimum temperatures, and persistent droughts. This warming is ongoing and the park’s glaciers continue to diminish. As of 2010, experts predict that the park’s glaciers will disappear by 2020.

Under current trends of global temperature increase, glaciers here and around the world are rapidly melting. In 1850, Glacier National Park had 150 glaciers. Today, only 25 remain large enough (at least 25 acres in area) to be considered functional glaciers. Since the last ice age ended, around 10,000 years ago, there have been many slight climate fluctuations that have been mirrored by the growth or recession of glaciers. Based on current trends, however, glacier recession models predict that by 2030, Glacier National Park will be without glaciers. Most of the park's glaciers, being of small to moderate size, will likely be gone before then, as many glaciers are retreating faster than their predicted rates.

Credits and Sources:

“Glaciers/Glacial Features,” National Park Service, http://www.nps.gov/glac/learn/nature/glaciers.htm, Accessed on June 20,2015.

Land of Many Stories: The People and History of Glacier National Park, National Park Service, Montana Hisotrical Society, Glacier Naitonal Park Fund, Burlington Northern Santa Fe Foundation, http://www.nps.gov/features/glac/LMSeTour/centennial_eTour.html, Accessed June 10, 2015.