The Mountaineer 21 



cumulates in the great summit crater between Crater 

 Peak and Liberty Cap flows eastward down the precipi- 

 tous slope of the central dome, covering all that side 

 of the mountain. The eastern side of the mountain is 

 more heavily snow covered than any other portion, 

 mainly for the reason that the prevailing westerly 

 winds cause the snow to be deposited there in greatest 

 abundance. Near the lower limit the neve is divided 

 by two rocky promontories known as The Wedge and 

 Little Tahoma. Their prow-like rock masses divide the 

 neve into three primary glaciers — the Winthrop, Em- 

 mons (or White) and Cowlitz. 



The neve of Winthrop Glacier descends below The 

 Wedge and terminates above timber line at an elevation 

 of approximately 8,000 feet. Below the lower margin 

 of the neve the solid blue ice of the glacier proper, in 

 places heavily covered with debris extends far down 

 the valley, between rugged mountains, and ends at an 

 elevation of between 4,000 and 5,000 feet. [Winthrop 

 Glacier carries the largest rock masses of any glacier 

 on Mount Rainier. This is probably due to the great 

 supply of loose rock at the edge of Willis Wall. See 

 Plate 19.] 



From the ends of the glacier one branch of the 

 White River flows out as a swift, turbid stream, heav- 

 ily loaded with coarse debris. One of the characteris- 

 tic features of the glaciers about Mount Rainier is the 

 occurrence of well-marked domes, the summits of which 

 are commonly fractured so as to produce radiating 

 crevasses. Several of these domes occur in Winthrop 

 Glacier, both in the neve portion and in the glacier 

 proper. The margin of the glacier is heavily moraine 

 covered and much broken by crevasses. In places it is 

 impassable. 



The extremity of the glacier flows past a bold rock 

 dome, which was formerly covered with ice, and at a 

 later stage, as the glacier receded, divided it into two 



