White River Glacier, Alpine glacier on Mount Hood, Oregon, United States
White River Glacier is an alpine glacier on Mount Hood's southern slopes that stretches across multiple elevations. Its surface features deep crevasses and blue ice formations that change appearance with the seasons.
The area was explored in 1845 by Joel Palmer and Sam Barlow while searching for a wagon passage over the mountain range. This early documentation made the glacier a noted geographic feature of the region.
The glacier serves as a natural boundary between the two largest ski areas on Mount Hood, shaping winter sports activities in the region.
The best time to explore is late summer when access routes become easier to navigate. Visitors should bring sturdy footwear, weather protection, and good directional awareness, as the terrain can be steep and unpredictable.
The glacier generates periodic outburst floods that have repeatedly destroyed stretches of Highway 35, with major events occurring in 1926, 1949, and 1968. These floods show how dynamic and powerful glacial movement can be.
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