NATURE · GLACIER
Palisade Glacier
Nature
Palisade Glacier lies on the northeast side of the Palisades in California’s central Sierra Nevada, high in a cirque below four fourteeners, including North Palisade. One of the few California glaciers to survive the entire Holocene, it reached its last maximum during the Little Ice Age and has since continued to retreat while still moving slowly. Its turquoise proglacial lake, moulin, and bergschrund are notable features. Research has found pollutants preserved in the ice, with higher concentrations in newer layers, raising concerns about effects on downstream waters as melting continues. It is expected to disappear by about 2085.
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Big Pine, California
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