TGE GLACIERS OF MT. RAINIER 



653 



Gibraltar Rock. Viewed from the foot 

 of that promontory, the sky Hne of the 

 snow castle fairly bristles with honey- 

 comb spines; while below, in the face 



of the snow cliff, 



roughly parallel to 



repeat its pattern 



They represent the 



previous seasons, now 



many feet of snow, but still traceable by 



the dust that was imprisoned with them. 



m 



dark, wavy lines. 



the upper surface, 



in subdued form. 



hone3''combs of 



buried under 



tribution of the glaciers on the cone. 

 By far the greater number originate in 

 the vicinity of the 10,000-foot level, while 

 those ice streams which cascade from the 

 summit, such as the Nisqually are in a 

 sense reborn some 4,000 feet lower down. 



PARADISE GLACIER. 



A striking example of an ice body 

 nourished wholly by the snows falling 

 on the lower slope of Mount Rainier is 



Photo by Curtis. 



General View of Paradise Glacier. 



the ice body originates entirely below the 9,000-foot line. more snow falls at these relatively low 



levels than on the summit of the peak. 



It is between the 8,000 and 10,000 



foot levels, that one meets with the 

 conditions most favorable for the de- 

 velopment of glaciers. Below this zone 

 the summer heat largely offsets the 

 heavy precipitation, while above it the 

 snowball itself is relatively scant. With- 

 in the belt the annual addition of snow 

 to the ice fields is greater than anywhere 

 else on Mount Rainier. The result is 

 manifest in the arrangement and dis- 



the Paradise Glacier. In no wise con- 

 nected with the summit neves, it makes 

 its start at an elevation of less tha 9,000 

 feet. Situated on the spreading slope 

 between the diverging canyons of the 

 Nisqually on the west and of the Cowlitz 

 on the northeast, it constitutes a typical 

 "interglacier," as intermediate ice bodies 

 of this kind are termed. 



Its appearance is that of a gently un- 

 dulating ice field, crevassed only toward 



