Our goal for the day was to drive up the mountains to see the toe of Salmon Glacier. The toe is the lowest end of a glacier. Salmon Glacier is the fifth largest glacier in North America. It sits at 4,300 feet in a beautiful alpine valley. Our destination will take us above the glacier where we expect the views to be remarkable. A picture is worth a thousand words.
At this point, the glacier is still above us. This large, slow moving river of ice, is formed from compacted layers of snow. Glacier ice is the largest reservoir of fresh water on Earth and second only to the ocean as the largest reservoir of total water.
The glacier moves slowly down the mountain. As it flows, it picks up rock and debris creating the striped effect seen here.
This is an example of a Kettle. A kettle hole is formed by blocks of ice that separate from the main glacier. When these blocks melt they leave behind holes that fill with water to form kettle lakes. The color is caused by fine silt that is suspended in the water. Amazing.
The view from the top of the toe below. The Salmon Glacier toe splits into two parts. What an amazing sight to behold.
Yep, here we are at what seemed like the top of the world.
Up close the texture of the ice looked like mini pyramids. The blue of the ice contrasted with the darkness of debris was stark and amazing.
The girls enjoyed a refreshing drink of the pure, glacial water flowing direct from the source. It was cold and good. Yep, we tried a drink too.
Our final view of the glacier and we made our way back to camp. What a wonderful day.
amazing...
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