Old Sun Glacier
Encyclopedia
Old Sun Glacier is located in the U.S. state
of Montana
in Glacier National Park. The glacier is situated immediately to the east and northeast of the Mount Merritt
at an elevation between 9400 feet (2,865.1 m) and 8600 feet (2,621.3 m) above sea level. The glacier was named after a sun priest of the Blackfoot
called "Ntas", translated to Old Sun. Old Sun Glacier has numerous crevasses and appears to have a healthy accumulation zone
. Old Sun Glacier lost 12 percent of its surface area between 1966 and 2005.
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,...
in Glacier National Park. The glacier is situated immediately to the east and northeast of the Mount Merritt
Mount Merritt
Mount Merritt is located in the Lewis Range, Glacier National Park in the U.S. state of Montana. The peak is one of six in Glacier National Park that rise over . Located in the northeastern part of the park, Mount Merritt rises dramatically a vertical mile above nearby rivers. The approach to this...
at an elevation between 9400 feet (2,865.1 m) and 8600 feet (2,621.3 m) above sea level. The glacier was named after a sun priest of the Blackfoot
Blackfoot
The Blackfoot Confederacy or Niitsítapi is the collective name of three First Nations in Alberta and one Native American tribe in Montana....
called "Ntas", translated to Old Sun. Old Sun Glacier has numerous crevasses and appears to have a healthy accumulation zone
Accumulation zone
On a glacier, the accumulation zone is the area above the firn line, where snowfall accumulates and exceeds the losses from ablation, . The annual Glacier equilibrium line separates the accumulation and ablation zone annually...
. Old Sun Glacier lost 12 percent of its surface area between 1966 and 2005.
See also
- List of glaciers in the United States
- Glaciers in Glacier National Park (U.S.)Glaciers in Glacier National Park (U.S.)There are at least 35 named glaciers in Glacier National Park . In 1850, Glacier had 150 glaciers. There are 25 active glaciers remaining in the park today. Since the ice ages stopped 10,000 years ago, there have been many slight climate shifts causing periods of glacier growth or melt-back...