THE GLACIERS OF MT. RAINIER 



649 



Photo by Curtis. 



The Nisqually Glacier. 



A GENERAL VIEW FROM THE HEIGHTS OF PARADISE PARK. THE SQUARE CUT ROCK MASS TO THE RI(;HT 

 OF THE SLT«MIT IS GIBRALTAR ROCK, THE CHIEF OBSTACLE IN THE ASCENT OF THE PEAK. 



elevation of 14,408 feet, thus placing it 

 near the top of the list of high summits 

 of the United States. Greater exactness 

 of determination is scarcely practicable 

 in the case of Mount Rainier, as its 

 highest summit consists actually of a 

 mound of snow the height of which 

 naturally varies somewhat with the 

 seasons and from year to year. 



This crowning snow mound, which 

 was once supposed to be the highest 

 point in the United States, still bears the 



proud name of Columbia Crest. It is 

 essentially a huge snowdrift or snow 

 dune heaped up by the westerly winds. 

 Driving furiously up through the great 

 breach in the west flank of the moun- 

 tain, between Peak Success and Liberty 

 Cap, they eddy lightly as they shoot 

 over the summit and there deposit their 

 load of snow. 



The drift is situated at the point 

 where the rims of the two summit 

 craters touch, and represents the only 



