Glaciers you’ve never heard of could be the most important climate havens

They’re called rock glaciers, and they might not look like much, but they’ll continue to provide meltwater after the world’s iconic white glaciers are gone.

By: Dan McGrath, Colorado State University; Ashlesha Khatiwada, Colorado State University, and Scott Hotaling, Utah State University, The Conversation

Outlets: The Conversation

Published: July 1, 2026

Words: 1,029

Last Updated: 1 week, 6 days ago

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By Dan McGrath, Colorado State University; Ashlesha Khatiwada, Colorado State University, and Scott Hotaling, Utah State University

If you have ever hiked in the high peaks of Colorado, the Wasatch Range in Utah or the Tetons in Wyoming, you’ve almost certainly seen a rock glacier, perhaps without even knowing it.

Rock glaciers are slow-moving masses of rock debris and ice that flow downhill the same way that glaciers do, but they are covered by …

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