Whitman Glacier, Active glacier on Mount Rainier, Washington, United States
Whitman Glacier is a medium-sized glacier on the eastern flank of Little Tahoma Peak, a sub-peak of Mount Rainier. It covers 0.9 square miles (2.3 km2) and holds 4.4 billion ft3 (125 million m3) of ice. Starting near the rocky spire of Little Tahoma at 10,000 feet (3,000 m), it flows southeast, bounded by the Whitman Crest to the northeast, and ends at 8,200 to 7,800 feet (2,500 to 2,400 m).
The Whitman Glacier is named for Marcus Whitman, a missionary to the Cayuse at Waiilatpu, not an explorer of the Pacific Northwest. The name appears on maps of Mount Rainier's eastern flank, where the glacier descends from Little Tahoma Peak. Meltwater from its terminus feeds the Cowlitz River.
The glacier is named for Marcus Whitman, a missionary remembered for his work in the Pacific Northwest. The name was given by mapmakers of the Mount Rainier region, and it sits beside other features on Little Tahoma Peak's eastern flank, such as the Whitman Crest, which bounds the ice to the northeast.
The glacier is not a hiking destination: it sits on the eastern flank of Little Tahoma Peak, and its terminus at 7,800–8,200 ft (2,400–2,500 m) is reached only by off-trail travel on snow and broken ice. The Wonderland Trail crosses nearby terrain but does not lead onto the ice. Meltwater from the glacier drains into the Cowlitz River.
A small snowfield connects this glacier with the nearby Fryingpan Glacier, creating an interconnected ice system on the mountain's eastern side. This connection shows how alpine glaciers interact at higher elevations and share their movement patterns.
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