120 



JOHN MUIR 



and Washington, groups of larger residual glaciers still 

 exist on all the highest mountains — The Three Sisters, 

 Mounts Jefferson, Hood, St. Helens, Adams, Rainier, 

 Baker and others. From Mount Rainier, the highest of 

 this series of volcanic cones, eight glaciers five to ten 

 miles long radiate, descending to within 3,000 or 4,000 

 feet of the sea level. On through British Columbia and 

 southeastern Alaska the broad, lofty mountains along the 

 coast are usually laden with ice. The upper branches of 

 nearly all the canyons are occupied by glaciers, which in- 

 crease in size gradually and descend lower until the region 

 which is highest and snowiest, between latitudes 56 and 

 6i° is reached, where a considerable number discharge 

 fleets of icebergs into the sea. This is the Iceland of 

 Alaska, the region of greatest glacial abundance on the 

 west side of the continent. It is about 500 miles long, 



100 broad, and 

 probably i n - 

 eludes nine- 

 tenths of the 

 ice on the 

 coast. To the 

 north of lati- 

 tude 6i° the 

 glaciers di- 

 minish in size 

 and number to 

 about latitude 



62 30' or 63 . Beyond this all the way up to the north 

 end of the continent few if any glaciers now exist, the 

 ground being comparatively low and the snowfall light. 

 In the iciest region the smaller glaciers, a mile or two 

 to ten or fifteen miles in length, once tributary to large 

 ones, now fill all the subordinate canyons and upper hol- 

 lows of the mountains in countless thousands. 



HANGING GLACIER, LYNN CANAL. 



