THE VARIATIONS OF GLACIERS 253 



Colorado.' The only other glacier known in this state is the 

 Hallett. 2 



The Eliot glacier on Mt. Hood, Washington, is retreating 

 and growing thinner (H. D. Langille). This means that the 

 retreat will probably continue for some years and at an increas- 

 ing rate. 



On September 3, 1899, an earthquake shook the Alaskan 

 coast and caused a large quantity of ice to be broken from the 

 ends of tide-water glaciers. Glacier bay was so full of ice during 

 the summer of 1900 that the steamers which usually visit that 

 region were unable to approach Muir glacier nearer than four or 

 five miles, and no satisfactory estimates could be made of the 

 retreat of the glacier. 



The Windom glacier, which ends on gravel-deposits in Taku 

 inlet, is reported to have suffered the loss of a large part of its 

 end, due apparently to the washing out of the supporting 

 gravels. 



Miles glacier, near the Copper River, Alaska, shows a marked 

 recession since last year [A. C. Spencer). 



The United States Geological Survey has published a large 



volume on " Explorations in Alaska in 1898. 3 Several parties 



were sent to explore various routes from the coast to the interior 



and, although no especial attention was given to the study of 



the glaciers, sufficient observations were made to bring out some 



interesting facts ; many glaciers are cursorily described and their 



locations shown on the maps. The Alaskan glaciers are all of 



the valley or Piedmont types ; Alaska was never under a great 



ice sheet like the eastern part of North America. The glaciers 



in the mountainous regions to the north, east, and southeast of 



Cook's Inlet, many of which are very large, were formerly much 



more extensive than now, and show evidences of continued 



1 The Glacier of Mt. Arapahoe, Colorado, Willis T. Lee: This Journal, Vol. 

 VIII, pp. 647-654. 



2 F. H. Chapin : Appalachia, Vol. V. p. I; and Mountaineering in Colorado, 

 p. 97. 



' Twentieth Ann. Kept. U. S. Geol. Surv., Part VII. See also Abercrombie : 

 The Copper River Exploring Exped. Washington, 1899. 



