Lyell Glacier
East lobe of Lyell Glacier
Map showing the location of Lyell Glacier
Map showing the location of Lyell Glacier
Lyell Glacier
Location in California
Map showing the location of Lyell Glacier
Map showing the location of Lyell Glacier
Lyell Glacier
Lyell Glacier (the United States)
TypeMountain glacier
LocationYosemite National Park, Tuolumne County, California, United States
Coordinates37°44′35″N 119°16′09″W / 37.74306°N 119.26917°W / 37.74306; -119.26917[1]
Length.5 mi (0.80 km) estimated
TerminusTalus
StatusRetreating

Lyell Glacier is in the Sierra Nevada of California. The glacier was discovered by John Muir in 1871,[2] and was the largest glacier in Yosemite National Park. It lies on the northern slopes of Mount Lyell.[3]

The glacier has retreated since the end of the Little Ice Age in the mid-19th century. During the mid-20th Century, the glacier split into two smaller glaciers occupying the high cirques of Mount Lyell. Since 1883, the glacier area has retreated up to 70 percent.[4] Another glacier, the Maclure Glacier on nearby Mount Maclure, has also retreated significantly.

According to a study in 2013, today the Lyell is no longer a glacier, having lost any movement and thus it should be considered an ice field.[5][6]

Lyell Glacier in 1883

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Lyell Glacier". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved September 30, 2012.
  2. ↑ Muir, John, 1873. On Actual Glaciers in California. American Journal of Science and Arts, v:69-71
  3. ↑ Mount Lyell, CA (Map). TopoQwest (United States Geological Survey Maps). Retrieved September 30, 2012.
  4. ↑ "Twentieth Century Glacier Change in the Sierra Nevada, California". Hassan Basagic. May 14, 2005. Archived from the original on September 6, 2006. Retrieved January 11, 2007.
  5. ↑ "California's Vanishing Glaciers: A Defining Moment | KQED". Kqed.
  6. ↑ Gilbreath, Aaron (April 12, 2019). "What the Death of a Glacier Means for Us". Longreads.
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