The End of Glaciers in the Rocky Mountains
By Aaron Klein
Glaciers are not just piles of snow. While they are fed by yearly snowpack; the body of the glacier is hard packed deep frozen ice accumulated over many years. In Rocky Mountain National Park(RMNP) glaciers have already done their job shaping the park. Most glaciers in RMNP are small glaciers, remnants of massive valley glaciers that carved the park. They don’t resemble stereotypical glaciers found in Alaska or Greenland, drastically melting into the ocean. Because of their altitude, relatively small size, and accumulation method, the glaciers in RMNP are more stable than the ones you see in the media. This makes their changes even more alarming. Due to different conditions throughout the park glaciers can have very different experience from each other. But now even these high altitude glaciers are showing a trend of shrinking. While melting glaciers may have implications for climate change as a whole, the most pressing issue is water sources. Not all glaciers in the Rocky Mountains are used as water sources, but water for the state of Colorado is dependent on precipitation stored in glaciers and snowpack.


Andrews Glacier in 1962 and Andrews Glacier in 2013, while many glaciers in RMNP change in complex ways, the changes experienced by Andrews Glacier are directly related to summer temperatures. We are clearly seeing the glacier diminish over time, this is telling for the volume of snowpack throughout the Rockies.


Taylor Glacier 1956 and Taylor Glacier 2015 can be seen in the center of each photo. Losses can be seen in the upper section. Like many of the glacier fed lakes in RMNP; Sky Pond seen here at the base of the glacier is a popular hiking destination. If the glaciers disappear tourism to the Rockies would drop.


Rowe Glacier 1916 and Rowe Glacier 2004. The majority of the change is seen on the right side of the glacier. Humans are not the only ones who get water from glaciers. RMNP has many high altitude species who survive off glacier fed streams and lakes.


Tyndal Glacier 1947 and 2000.

Arapaho Glacier one of the water sources for the City of Boulder’s, over the course of 114 years it has seen a drastic change. This is one of the scares water sources on the drier east slope of the Rockies. The Denver Metro area already takes large quantities of water from the wetter west slope. Any more losses would further strain sources on the west slope.