Grasshopper Glacier, Ancient glacier in Beartooth Mountains, Montana.
Grasshopper Glacier is an ice mass in the Beartooth Mountains located at over 11,000 feet in elevation within a protected wilderness area. The glacier's surface shows a distinctive rough texture and contains numerous preserved insects that accumulated over many centuries.
A geologist discovered the ice mass in the early 1900s and recognized frozen insects within it. Since then, scientists have examined this glacier to learn about insect species that once lived in this mountain region.
The name comes from millions of grasshoppers frozen within its ice, helping researchers understand extinct species. Visitors can see how the ice mass has a rough, wrinkled surface that resembles elephant skin.
Access requires a high-clearance vehicle for the initial route and then additional hiking beyond that point. The access road is closed for most of the year and only open during the brief summer season.
Millions of grasshoppers have been frozen within the ice over the centuries, making it a natural archive of insects. These preserved specimens come from a time when a specific locust species was common in the region.
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