The South Mowich Glacier is a glacier on the western flank of Mount Rainier in the state of Washington . It covers 3.6 km² and contains about 127 million m³ of ice. Beginning at the high-lying cliffs above the Sunset Amphitheater at over 12,000 ft (3,658 m) altitude, the glacier flows westward, down Mount Rainier. It is connected to the great Tahoma Glacier to the south near St. Andrews Rock at about 11,000 ft (3,353 m) altitude. After exiting the amphitheater, there is an ice fall within the glacier where it falls below 10,000 ft (3,048 m). As the glacier flows down the mountain, it gradually moves in a different direction, so that when it meets the Puyallup Glacier it flows northwest at about 8,800 ft (2,682 m) altitude. As soon as it approaches Jeanette Heights and makes several turns to pass it, it becomes very rocky in contrast to the upper sections. The glacier splits into two arms before ending at 5,500 ft (1,676 m) in the case of the shorter, northern arm and at around 5,100 ft (1,554 m) in the case of the longer, southern arm. The meltwater from the glacier flows into the South Mowich River , which eventually flows into the Puyallup River .
