Glacier National Park (U.S.)

There is also a non-adjoining national park in Canada by the same name. See Glacier National Park (Canada).

Glacier National Park is a national park in Montana. It was established on May 11, 1910 by an act of the United States Congress. It contains almost 1,584 mi² (4101 km²) of forest, mountains and lakes. It borders Waterton Lakes National Park in Canada and the two were designated an international peace park in 1932. They were both designated Biosphere Reserves in 1976 and World Heritage sites in 1995, jointly called the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park.

The park contains numerous mountains, waterfalls, large and small lakes and a few small and rapidly melting glaciers. Triple Divide Peak is a mountain on the divide between the Pacific Ocean, Hudson Bay and Gulf of Mexico watersheds. Lake McDonald, Two Medicine Lake, St. Mary Lake and Lake Sherburne are large lakes while small tarns are located in cirques throughout the mountains. The north fork of the Flathead River forms the western boundary of the park.

There are about 50 small glaciers in the park. They range in size from the 1.74 km² Blackfoot Glacier to the 0.06 km² Gem Glacier. In total 27 km² of glaciers exist in the park in 2003. Other well-known glaciers include Grinnell Glacier, the Salamander and Jackson Glacier. There were 150 glaciers in the area of the future park in 1850. The larger glaciers are only 1/3 of their 1850 size and it is estimated that all the park's glaciers will have melted by 2030.

The Great Northern Railway completed a railroad through the area south of the park in 1891 after successfully crossing the Continental Divide at Marias Pass (elevation 5,213 ft or 1,589 m). In 1900, the park was designated a forest preserve. Although mining was still allowed, it was not commercially successful. In the 1910s, to promote tourism, the railway built a series of hotels and backcountry houses on a Swiss chalet theme throughout the area. Vacationers could take horse trails between lodgings. Many of these are still in use today. The Great Northern Railway in developing its "American Alps," was following the example of the Northern Pacific Railway in Yellowstone and the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad at the Grand Canyon.

Several large lakes have small wooden tour boats, some dating back to the 1920s. Going-to-the-Sun Road, completed in 1932, is the only road that crosses the park, going over the Continental Divide at Logan Pass. However, there is a major highway (US2) which crosses Continental Divide at Marias Pass on the southern boundary of the park and connects the towns of West Glacier and East Glacier. Amtrak passenger trains use this same route along the highway as part of the Seattle /Portland, Oregon to Chicago line (originally the Great Northern). A fleet of 1930s red tour buses, called jammers, rebuilt in 2001 to run on propane, offer tours on all the main roads within the park. The park contains 700 miles (1100 km) of hiking trails as well as horse trails, but very limited bicycling.

The park is prime grizzly and black bear habitat and contains other large mammals such as mountain goats, bighorn sheep, moose, and elk. Visitors should always read the safety notices regarding the bears and (less common) mountain lions.

Glacier is part of a large preserved ecosystem. Glacier Park borders the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, Flathead National Forest, Great Bear Wilderness, Lewis and Clark National Forest in the United States and Waterton Lakes National Park, Akamina-Kishinena Provincial Park and the Flathead Provincial Forest in Canada.

Wildfires in 2003 on the west side of the continental divide burned 10% of the park. There were also extensive fires in the surrounding forests. Many areas of Glacier Park are only accessible during the summer, and possibly the late spring and early fall (depending on snowfall and elevation). Rainfall is frequent in the late summer months (the peak tourist season) and may be persistent for days. Visiting in the early summer avoids much--but not all--of the wet weather. However, at this time of year, the nights and early mornings will be substantially cooler, and high-elevation trails will be snow covered. This includes the popular Hidden Lake Trail at Logan Pass. Thunderstorms are common in the park all summer, and normal safety precautions for lightning should be taken. Due to its mountainous terrain, tornados are very rare inside the boundary of Glacier Park itself. However, the Great Plains begins just east of the park where tornados occur much more frequently. Visitors staying in or near Babb, St. Mary, Kiowa, Browning, and East Glacier should be alert to any possible tornado warnings issued by the weather service. That said, there is no record of anyone being injured by a tornado in Glacier County, Montana.

Visitors to the park may fly to Calgary on the Canadian side with an optional closer destination of Lethbridge, Alberta (YQL), and on the American side to either Seattle, Salt Lake City, Minneapolis, or Phoenix, Arizona and continue to Kalispell, Montana (FCA). Also, Denver International Airport is possible with the destination of Missoula, Montana (MSO), though an additional 120 miles (190 km) must be driven. Airlines include Delta Air Lines (Salt Lake), Northwest Airlines (Minneapolis & Seattle), United Airlines (Denver), America West Airlines (Phoenix), and American Airlines/Alaska Airlines via Horizon Airlines (Seattle). Amtrak provides full services to Whitefish, Montana (near Kalispell), and outdoor terminals at West Glacier, Essex (near the Continental Divide), East Glacier, and Browning (inside the adjoining Blackfeet Indian reservation).

Those already residing in the Inland Northwest have few options besides driving or taking Amtrak, although there is one small turboprop flight from Spokane, Washington (the largest city in the region) to Kalispell via Big Sky Airlines. Airline service to Calgary has been suspended since 2001.

File:Grinnell glacier.jpg
Grinnell Glacier and Lake Josephine	Iceberg Cirque

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Glacier National Park (United States).

• Official site: Glacier National Park (with webcam streams)
• Effects of Global Warming in Glacier National Park
• Glacier National Park Pictures
• Waterton Lakes National Park Website (part of the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park)
• Photos of Glacier National Park - Terra Galleria
• Spectacular photographs of Glacier National Park - Glacier National Park Photo Gallery
• Glacier National Park - National Parks Gallery