White River Glacier | |
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The glacier melting in late summer
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Type | Mountain glacier |
Location | Hood River County, Oregon, United States |
Coordinates | 45°21′26″N 121°41′55″W / 45.35722°N 121.69861°WCoordinates: 45°21′26″N 121°41′55″W / 45.35722°N 121.69861°W |
Area | 101 acres (41 ha) (2004 estimate) |
Terminus | Ice fall |
Status | Retreating |
White River Glacier is an alpine glacier located on the south slopes of Mount Hood in the U.S. state of Oregon. It ranges in elevation from about 10,000 to 6,200 feet (3,000 to 1,900 m). It is among the best known of the twelve glaciers on the mountain, and the lower reaches are a popular destination for Nordic skiing enthusiasts. The glacier is the source of the White River, a tributary of the Deschutes River, and has a long history of washing out the bridge where Oregon Route 35 crosses at 45°18′11″N 121°40′19″W / 45.30307°N 121.67208°W.
The glacier is a remnant of the massive glaciers that formed during the last ice age and have created White River Canyon. The canyon divides the two largest ski areas on Mount Hood, and is easily seen from many areas of Timberline Lodge ski area, and from the upper southern runs of Mount Hood Meadows. The glacier is bounded on the east by a ridge shared with Newton Clark Glacier and on the west by a ridge shared with Palmer Glacier. The upper glacier forms at the base of Steel Cliff to the east of an area known as Triangle Moraine. The glacier lies almost entirely within Mount Hood Wilderness.