From this convenient observation site you can see the Emmons Glacier in it's entirety. Although the bottom looks like only dirt, I assure you that there is solid ice beneath it. The White River originates from the face of the glacier. Forty miles downstream it passes by my town on it's way to Puget Sound. The small sea-green lake's color (bottom left) comes from a high concentration of glacial sediment suspended in it's waters. The tall peak hovering above the glacier is called Little Tahoma Peak, elevation 11,138. Some years back (1960's?)a large rockfall from this peak covered the Emmons Glacier with debris, blanketing the ice. This holds in the cold allowing the glacier to advance while most others are retreating. In it's day, the glacier filled this valley for many miles downstream.
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