Cowlitz Glacier lies on the southeast flank of Mount Rainier in Washington, beginning at about 10,700 feet and flowing southeast across roughly 1.3 square miles. Along its southwest margin it connects to Paradise Glacier, and farther downslope it nearly meets Ingraham Glacier. During the Little Ice Age, which ended around 1850, the Cowlitz and Ingraham glaciers shared a common terminus, reflecting a much larger extent of ice. About 35,000 years ago, the combined glaciers stretched about 62 miles from Mount Rainier. Since the Ice Age ended, the ice has retreated mountainward, and in modern times it has generally thinned and receded despite a brief advance from the mid-1970s to mid-1980s.