Survey shows considerable glacier loss in the mountains of Oregon

A new analysis finds that Oregon has now lost nearly 30% of its named glaciers since the mid-1900s.

The findings by the recently-founded Oregon Glaciers Institute were displayed this month at the American Geophysical Union’s fall meeting. Author Aaron Hartz says the study marks the beginning of an ongoing glacier monitoring program. Oregon’s glaciers were first mapped in the 1950s by the U.S. Geological Survey.

“We know that the glaciers have changed quite a bit since then,” said Hartz, whose institute formed this year to conduct science and public education around glacier loss.

Most of Oregon’s named glaciers are found on Mount Hood and South Sister in the Cascades.

A glacier is a huge chunk of ice that moves and deforms under its own weight. Hartz says the ice needs to be about 100 feet thick to trigger this motion.