Grinnell Glacier is located in the heart of Glacier National Park (U.S.) in the U.S. state

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

 of Montana

Montana

Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...

. The glacier is named for George Bird Grinnell

George Bird Grinnell

George Bird Grinnell was an American anthropologist, historian, naturalist, and writer. Grinnell was born in Brooklyn, New York, and graduated from Yale University with a B.A. in 1870 and a Ph.D. in 1880. Originally specializing in zoology, he became a prominent early conservationist and student...

, an early American conservationist

Conservationist

Conservationists are proponents or advocates of conservation. They advocate for the protection of all the species in an ecosystem with a strong focus on the natural environment...

 and explorer, who was also a strong advocate of ensuring the creation of Glacier National Park. The glacier is in the Lewis Range

Lewis Range

The Lewis Range is a mountain range located in the Rocky Mountains of northern Montana, U.S. and extreme southern Alberta, Canada. Formed by the Lewis Overthrust beginning 170 million years ago, an enormous slab of Precambrian rocks 3 miles thick, wide and long faulted and slid over newer...

 and rests on the north flank of Mount Gould

Mount Gould (Montana)

Mount Gould is a peak on the Continental Divide in Glacier National Park, Montana, United States. It is the highest point of the Garden Wall, a distinctive ridge of the Lewis Range. It is most notable for its huge, steep east face, which drops 4000 feet in only one-half mile...

 at an altitude averaging 7000 feet (2,133.6 m), in the Many Glacier

Many Glacier

Many Glacier is an area within Glacier National Park which is located in the U.S. state of Montana. The Many Glacier region is located north of the Going-to-the-Sun Road, on the east side of the park. Lake Sherburne is the large lake in the area and the Many Glacier Hotel, the largest hotel within...

 region of the park.

The glacier has been one of the most photographed glaciers in the park and many of these photographs date back to the mid 19th century.