week-3 Glacier

St. Mary's Glacier is located just outside Idaho Springs, Colorado, in the Arapahoe National Park. It is a wonderful place to see what glacial ice looks like, with it's blue tone,(created by the intense compression of the ice) and the wispy snow dunes that cover her surface. It seems as if the wind never stops blowing up here, and of course, this wind contributed both to the creation of the accumulation of snow and the compaction of the snow which is key to creating a glacier. The path and surrounding ground is rocky and sparsely covered with vegetation. The surrounding area is dotted with evergreens, and the lake which has formed from the melting glacial ice reflects the mountain, the glacier and its surrounding vegetation. This time of year, the lake is often frozen, but people come here and swim in the lake in warmer summer months. There are 13 other glaciers in Colorado alone, and more in the Rocky Mountain range up through Montana and more.
One can look at these two pictures and see how different this area can appear in summer and in winter.