Hi everyone!
Wow, it snowed a lot here this weekend!! Thursday was sunny and in the lower 50's. There was absolutely no snow left on the ground. Well, when we woke up Friday morning, the weather had changed dramatically. All weekend it has been hovering round 32 degrees. Winter is here, at least this week it is. We got about a foot and a half of snow over the weekend! I was hoping to go on a hike or two to look for some wildlife, but the weather wouldn't allow it. Bummer!
On the bright side, we had our second visitor, so it was an enjoyable weekend with a friend. Sunday, we had to take him out of the park. The park rangers locked the gate because of all the snow, so we had to plow our way through on the snowy road to get him out of here. We saw some deer on the trip, but no other wildlife.
In response to the snowy weather and since a couple of you have been asking about glaciers, I thought I would tell you some more about them. Of course, the reason Glacier NP is named Glacier NP is because of the glaciers that shaped the region. Although glaciers are quickly disappearing, the name of the park will never change. Whether glaciers are here or not, they are responsible for making the park what it is today. Glaciers are found all across Glacier NP. They are located on the sides of mountains at higher elevations where it stays cooler in the summer and receives more snow in the winter. In 1910, 150 glaciers existed in the park. Today, there are only 25.
As a review, glaciers are thick slabs of ice that have been compacted over time (usually several thousand years). Glaciers move very, very slowly, like a river of ice. The Glaciers in Glacier NP are relatively young. They were formed only a few thousand years ago. Current scientific research predicts that the glaciers will be gone from the park by 2020. That's only ten years!
When glaciers slide down the side of a mountain, they take rocks and soil along with them, shaping the land as they move. Moving glaciers create valleys, lakes, sharp peaks, and walls. Sharp peaks, called horns, are formed when glaciers work on more than one side of a mountain. Walls, called aretes, are formed when two glaciers wear on both sides of a mountain at the same time.
Assignment: I want you to look at some pictures of glaciers that have changed over time.
Go to this website. http://www.nrmsc.usgs.gov/repeatphoto/agassiz-b.htm
On the right hand side of the page when you page down, you will see a column that says view glacier images. Pick a few different glaciers to look at.
How have these glaciers changed over time?
Why do you think glaciers are retreating?
Do you think that it will effect the animals if glaciers disappear?
What about plants?
How could the loss of glaciers affect humans?
Below: Notice how the rock seems wavy. A glacier once moved along the side of this mountain, carving the rock as it moved.
Below: These bowl shaped lakes were formed by glaciers.
Below: These knife-edge ridges were formed by two or more glaciers working on either side of the mountains.
We checked on the glacier site. We could not believe our eyes when you could see how the glaciers have changed over 100 years. It was a drastic difference.
ReplyDeleteWhy? WE are not so sure, we need to research more. The weather?
Yes, we think this will affect animals. They will not have the same home to live in.
How will it affect humans? Hopefully to make us think about what we are doing to make the climate change.