Maclure Glacier, Cirque glacier on Mount Maclure, Yosemite National Park, US

Maclure Glacier is a small cirque glacier nestled high in California's Sierra Nevada, situated at approximately 11,400 feet elevation. The frozen formation occupies a modest area within an alpine basin surrounded by rocky peaks and permanent snowfields.

The glacier was named after geologist William Maclure and became a subject of scientific study when John Muir began measuring it in 1872. Continuous observation since that time has provided important data on how glaciers respond to changing mountain conditions.

The glacier lies on the northern slopes of Mount Maclure, which honours William Maclure, a geologist and a president of the American Academy of Natural Sciences. The ice sits within the Yosemite Wilderness, the protected backcountry of Yosemite National Park, so the name on maps ties the ice to a 19th-century scientist rather than to any local tradition.

Maclure Glacier sits on the northern slopes of Mount Maclure in the Yosemite Wilderness of Yosemite National Park, Tuolumne County. Reaching it means travelling through high-elevation terrain to about 11,400 ft (3,500 m), so plan for alpine conditions and carry the gear needed for snow and rock. The glacier lies within a protected wilderness area, where park rules apply.

The glacier creeps forward at the slow rate of about one centimeter daily, yet maintains this steady pace year after year. This constant movement reveals how even the smallest glaciers in high mountain areas continue to flow and respond to their environment.