The Cowlitz Chimneys and Sarvant Glaciers at Mount Rainier National Park in Washington State, USA.
Cowlitz Chimneys and the Sarvant Glaciers in Mount Rainier National Park
-click to enlarge-
I have most often viewed the Cowlitz Chimneys in Mount Rainier National Park from the eastern side of the park near Tipsoo Lake. I photographed this panorama of the Chimneys from the Sunrise area of the park along the Silver Forest Trail. The Cowlitz Chimneys are the remains of a rhyolite plug at Mount Rainier and the highest Chimney (South Chimney) has an elevation of 2318m (7605 ft). I had thought when I made this photograph that the patches of snow and ice below the chimneys were just that – the remaining snowfall from the previous winter. However, upon some research it seems that these are the Sarvant Glaciers and are “permanent”. From comparison photographs it seems these glaciers may have melted beyond their usual ebb and flow in recent years due to lower snowfall levels in the winter and warmer temperatures.
You can see more photographs from this area in my Mount Rainier National Park Gallery.
