Nature
Wheeler Peak Glacier, at the base of Wheeler Peak in Great Basin National Park in eastern Nevada, is Nevada’s only glacier and among the southernmost in the United States. Beneath the 13,063-foot summit, this small alpine cirque glacier covers about 120,000 square feet, with much of its ice buried under debris, giving it some characteristics of a rock glacier. Its arc-shaped ridges show uneven movement across the ice, while the mountain’s northeast-facing headwall helps preserve snow and ice. A remnant of the Last Glacial Maximum, it has retreated since about 1850 and is expected to disappear within the next 20 years as warming continues.
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Baker, Nevada · United States
