Glacier has been defined by scientist as a body of ice that has an area of 0.

1square kilometer and

above. Glaciers acts as very important banks/reservoirs of cold water released when the rivers
and streams have dried up and not flowing anymore, especially in the late summer. Because of
this, glaciers play a very important role in the ecology of a place they are found. It is estimated
that in 1850, there were around 150 glaciers in Glacier National Park. Out of these 150 glaciers,
eighty glaciers had an area of more than 0.1km2. However, it is unfortunate that these glaciers
have reduced to an extent where some glaciers do not cover an area of more than 0.1km2 which
is a guideline used for defining a glacier. For a period of 50 years, since 1966 to 2015 when this
data was collected, glaciers have reduced dramatically with some going as much as 85 percent.
Over the period of 50 years, there is 39% reduction in the average area of these glaciers. At the
moment there are only 26 glaciers that qualify to be considered glaciers, means that they cover
an area more than 0.1 square kilometers while the rest do not fit to be considered as glaciers.
Scientists attribute these glacial changes to the warming climate. Glaciers are sensitive to climate
changes, temperature and precipitation patters (Petersen et al., 2017). Glacier coverage area and
mass reduce due to increase in temperature. Besides, the effect of global warming resulting from
increased industrial activities also contribute to raised global temperature which causes this
glacial retreat. I wish to visit this Glacier National Park in the next coming winter. A guided hike
to this place so I can identify the vegetation, animals (wildlife) and fish that can be found in the
place. Important of all will be to appreciate these geographical glaciers.

REFERENCE

1. USGS (n.d.) Retreat of Glaciers in Glacier National Park;

https://www.usgs.gov/centers/norock/science/retreat-glaciers-glacier-national-park
2. James F. Petersen, Dorothy Sack, Robert E. Gabler, 2017; Physical Geography 11th
Edition.