South Tahoma Glacier
| South Tahoma Glacier
( South Tahoma Glacier )
|
||
|---|---|---|
| location | Pierce County , Washington , USA | |
| Mountains | Cascade chain | |
| Type | Kar glacier | |
| surface | 2.8 km² (1983) | |
| Altitude range | 3231 m - 1554 m | |
| Ice volume | 0.13 km³ | |
| Coordinates | 46 ° 49 ′ 27 " N , 121 ° 48 ′ 17" W | |
|
||
| drainage | Nisqually River | |
The South Tahoma Glacier is a glacier on the southwest flank of Mount Rainier in Washington state . In 1983 it covered about 2.8 km² and contained about 130 million m³ of ice. It begins at an elevation of around 10,600 ft (3,231 m) at the base of a sheer cliff and flows southwest to merge with the larger, neighboring Tahoma Glacier to the north of it. The smaller South Tahoma is connected to the Tahoma Glacier by an ice field, which is located roughly in the middle of South Tahoma. From there, the glacier narrows and flows southwest, picking up blocks of ice before making a loop and ending at an altitude of about 5,100 ft (1,554 m). The southern ice stream used to be connected to a northern ice stream that originated from the Tahoma Glacier and flowed towards a 7,690 ft (2,344 m) high sub-peak of Rainier, the so-called "Glacier Island", but the glacier retreat since 1850 has the two glaciers separated from each other from an altitude of 8,000 ft (2,438 m) downwards. The meltwater from the glacier feeds the Nisqually River .
Debris flows
The glacier is one of four on Mount Rainier known for triggering debris flows . Similar currents come from the Nisqually Glacier , Kautz Glacier and Winthrop Glacier . The South Tacoma Glacier has had at least 23 documented debris flows since 1967, 15 of which were lost between 1986 and 1992. The currents caused damage and destruction to the streets and picnic areas below. In August 2015, a flow of debris was triggered by a glacier run when melt water was released from the glacier. Part of Westside Road was damaged as a result.
history
The South Tahoma Glacier is the scene of the worst accident on the slopes of Mount Rainier. In December 1946, 32 US Marines were killed when a Curtiss R5C Commando military aircraft collided with the glacier at an altitude of around 3,200 meters. This was the worst aviation accident in the United States at the time. While much of the wreckage and 25 corpses were located during several recovery attempts in the following year, only small artifacts were actually recovered, including various medical records from the Marines. The bodies and the wreck are buried in the glacier to this day.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d DESCRIPTION: Mount Rainier Glaciers and Glaciations - Mount Rainier Glacier Hazards and Glacial Outburst Floods . USGS . Retrieved November 19, 2007.
- ↑ a b USGS Mount Rainier West (WA) Topo Map . In: USGS Quad maps . TopoQuest.com. Retrieved May 15, 2008.
- ^ Sandi Doughton: Rainier melting unleashes 'glacial outbursts' of debris , Seattle Times. August 14, 2015.
- ↑ HistoryLink: A Curtis Commando R5C transport plane crashes into Mount Rainier, killing 32 US Marines, on December 10, 1946 . HistoryLink.org . 2007.