Nearly 400 Western US Glaciers Disappear

A new inventory of glaciers in the contiguous United States found that about 398 of the 1,453 glaciers mapped in the mid-20th century had disappeared by 2015, while total glacier area across six Western states fell by roughly 35%. The smallest glaciers suffered the greatest losses, and the remaining ice is concentrated largely in Washington’s North Cascades. Some glaciers there were counted as separate features after retreat split them into tributaries, even as the range lost about a third of its ice area overall. Researchers say the surviving glaciers are especially vulnerable as temperatures rise.