MOUNT RAINIER
GEOLOGY & WEATHER
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Glacier Info - Paradise Glacier

NOTE: The data shown here is based on the 2021 glacier update at Mount Rainier, and should be considered the most up-to-date data on glaciers at the park (2023-04-06).

Paradise Glacier
This glacier originates on the south central slope of Mount Rainier between the Cowlitz and Nisqually Glaciers. It is subject to heavy melting in warm weather and once produced the well-known ice caves that were popular with visitors. When I.C. Russell and Bailey Willis explored the area in the summer of 1896 they called it a '...small interglacier...'  (Reese, 2009)

Switch Glacier:

STATISTICS AS OF 2021 (Beason et al., 2023):
Aerial Extent:
0.224 ± 0.014 square miles (0.581 ± 0.035 km2) (Rank: 21 of 29)
Debris Cover - Based on data from 2015 (Beason, 2017):
--No appreciable debris cover in 2015--
Estimated Glacier Volume: (See notes below)
0.0027 ± 0.0010 cubic miles (0.0114 ± 0.0040 km3)
Highest Elevation (Head):
8,425 feet (2,568 m)
Lowest Elevation (Terminus):
6,850 feet (2,088 m)
Elevation Range:
1,575 feet (480 m)
Length:
0.41 miles (0.65 km)
Average Slope:
24.07°
Average Flow Direction (direction the glacier flows towards):
East southeast (124°)
Glacier Type:
C - Cirque Glacier, or Glacier Head Starts Below Summit

CHANGE IN EXTENT, 1896-2021 (Beason et al., 2023):
Units 1896 1913 1971 1994 2009 2015 2021
Area, mi2 1.878 1.230 0.526 0.516 0.261 0.236 0.224
Area, km2 4.863 3.186 1.364 1.338 0.677 0.612 0.581
Area Change Between Periods

1913 1971 1994 2009 2015 2021
1896-0.647 mi2
(-1.677 km2)
-1.351 mi2
(-3.500 km2)
-1.361 mi2
(-3.526 km2)
-1.617 mi2
(-4.187 km2)
-1.642 mi2
(-4.252 km2)
-1.654 mi2
(-4.283 km2)
1913---0.704 mi2
(-1.823 km2)
-0.714 mi2
(-1.849 km2)
-0.969 mi2
(-2.510 km2)
-0.994 mi2
(-2.575 km2)
-1.006 mi2
(-2.606 km2)
1971---0.010 mi2
(-0.026 km2)
-0.265 mi2
(-0.687 km2)
-0.290 mi2
(-0.752 km2)
-0.302 mi2
(-0.783 km2)
1994---0.255 mi2
(-0.661 km2)
-0.280 mi2
(-0.726 km2)
-0.292 mi2
(-0.757 km2)
2009---0.025 mi2
(-0.065 km2)
-0.037 mi2
(-0.096 km2)
2015---0.012 mi2
(-0.031 km2)
Percent Change Between Periods

1913 1971 1994 2009 2015 2021
1896-34.48%-71.96%-72.49%-86.09%-87.42%-88.06%
1913---57.21%-58.02%-78.77%-80.80%-81.78%
1971---1.90%-50.38%-55.13%-57.42%
1994---49.42%-54.26%-56.60%
2009---9.58%-14.20%
2015---5.11%

ESTIMATED CHANGE IN VOLUME, 1896-2021 (Beason et al., 2023):
PLEASE see important notes about this, below...
Glacier-specific Scaling Parameter, c:
0.022265
Units 1896 1913 1971 1994 2009 2015 2021
Volume, mi3 0.0498 0.0279 0.0088 0.0085 0.0034 0.0029 0.0027
Volume, km3 0.2076 0.1164 0.0365 0.0355 0.0140 0.0122 0.0114
Volume Change Between Periods

1913 1971 1994 2009 2015 2021
1896-0.022 mi3
(-0.091 km3)
-0.041 mi3
(-0.171 km3)
-0.041 mi3
(-0.172 km3)
-0.046 mi3
(-0.194 km3)
-0.047 mi3
(-0.195 km3)
-0.047 mi3
(-0.196 km3)
1913---0.019 mi3
(-0.080 km3)
-0.019 mi3
(-0.081 km3)
-0.025 mi3
(-0.102 km3)
-0.025 mi3
(-0.104 km3)
-0.025 mi3
(-0.105 km3)
1971--0.000 mi3
(-0.001 km3)
-0.005 mi3
(-0.022 km3)
-0.006 mi3
(-0.024 km3)
-0.006 mi3
(-0.025 km3)
1994---0.005 mi3
(-0.022 km3)
-0.006 mi3
(-0.023 km3)
-0.006 mi3
(-0.024 km3)
2009--0.000 mi3
(-0.002 km3)
-0.001 mi3
(-0.003 km3)
2015--0.000 mi3
(-0.001 km3)
Percent Change Between Periods

1913 1971 1994 2009 2015 2021
1896-43.90%-82.42%-82.87%-93.25%-94.12%-94.53%
1913---68.66%-69.47%-87.98%-89.52%-90.25%
1971---2.59%-61.63%-66.56%-68.88%
1994---60.61%-65.68%-68.05%
2009---12.86%-18.88%
2015---6.92%
Important comments about the calculation of volume shown here

The calculation of glacial volume shown on this page is based on an analysis of two methods used at Mount Rainier in the past (Driedger and Kennard [1986]; and Nylen [2001]) as well as the most recent literature review for glacier area-volume scaling (Please review Beason et al. [2023] for an in-depth discussion about this issue). It should be noted that simply converting area to volume with an equation is extremely difficult and the values presented here have extremely large error margins (likely ± 35% or more). With that in mind, the values presented here should give you an estimate of the glacial volume and change in volume over time. Please use these data very carefully with those caveats.

The calcuation of the volume is as follows:

\[V_i = {(c_iA_i^{1.375}) + (c_nA_i^{1.36}) \over 2}\]

Where:
\(V_i\) = Average volume for the glacier in question (km3);
\(c_i\) = The glacier-specific scaling parameter (back-calculated from glacier area and volume in 1971 in Driedger and Kennard (1986); Method described in Beason et al. (2023). The value for the Paradise Glacier is 0.022265 (this is also listed above the volume graph);
\(c_n\) = The back-calculated scaling parameter from Nylen (2001) of 0.0255; and
\(A_i\) = The measured volume of the glacier in question (km2).

This is essentially an average of the back-calculated Dreidger and Kennard (1986) and Nylen (2001) methods (D&K is in the first parenthesis; Nylen in the second). For example, for the Paradise Glacier in 2021, you can find the following individual volumes:
Back-calculated Dreidger and Kennard (1986) Method: 0.0025 mi3 (0.0105 km3).
Back-calculated Nylen (2001) Method: 0.0029 mi3 (0.0122 km3).
Average of the two (above equation and values listed for 2021 here): 0.0027 mi3 (0.0114 km3).
Official volume estimate listed above, with error: 0.0027 ± 0.0010 mi3 (0.0114 ± 0.0040 km3).

As you can see, the D&K method tends to produce higher values and Nylen produces lower values; the average of these two methods probably estimates the glacial volume. Until further research is done in this area and we can develop a better method or equation to determine volumes, this is the method we are using to determine glacial volumes. For more information about this method, please read the methods section of Beason et al. (2023).

NOTES:

-- No Notes supplied --

RAW DATA: