300 glaciers have disappeared from the American West since the mid-20th century – the survivors have a few things in common

A new study compared the glaciers in the Lower 48 states today against historical data from the mid-20th century. The results show the region’s vulnerabilities as temperatures rise.

By: Andrew Fountain, Portland State University, The Conversation

Outlets: The Conversation

Published: October 12, 2026

Words: 925

Last Updated: 5 days, 3 hours ago

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By Andrew Fountain, Portland State University

From an airplane, most of the glaciers of the Rocky Mountain West look like small patches of white nestled into rugged landscape where the topography folds. The white is the snow cover, and lower down you can see the gray-blue bare ice.

In the middle of the 20th century, over 1,450 glaciers could be found in the contiguous U.S. Together, they covered 217 square miles (562 square kilometers) in six …

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