MOUNT RAINIER
GEOLOGY & WEATHER
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Glacier Info - Edmunds Glacier

NOTE: The data shown here is based on the 2021 glacier update at Mount Rainier, and should be considered the most up-to-date data on glaciers at the park (2023-04-06).

Edmunds Glacier
Located on the eastern slope of Mount Rainier this glacier was named for United States Senator George F. Edmunds who visited there in June of 1883. So impressed with the scenery of the mountain Edmunds that he joined with a group of prominent men who wrote a joint letter urging the establishment of a national park. (Reese, 2009)

Switch Glacier:

STATISTICS AS OF 2021 (Beason et al., 2023):
Aerial Extent:
0.450 ± 0.026 square miles (1.165 ± 0.067 km2) (Rank: 18 of 29)
Debris Cover - Based on data from 2015 (Beason, 2017):
0.050 ± 0.002 square miles (0.130 ± 0.005 km2) (Rank: 14 of 29)
Estimated Glacier Volume: (See notes below)
0.0067 ± 0.0023 cubic miles (0.0279 ± 0.0097 km3)
Highest Elevation (Head):
10,105 feet (3,080 m)
Lowest Elevation (Terminus):
6,958 feet (2,121 m)
Elevation Range:
3,147 feet (959 m)
Length:
1.27 miles (2.04 km)
Average Slope:
23.58°
Average Flow Direction (direction the glacier flows towards):
West northwest (287°)
Glacier Type:
C - Cirque Glacier, or Glacier Head Starts Below Summit

CHANGE IN EXTENT, 1896-2021 (Beason et al., 2023):
Units 1896 1913 1971 1994 2009 2015 2021
Area, mi2 1.089 0.591 0.569 0.547 0.502 0.484 0.450
Area, km2 2.820 1.530 1.474 1.417 1.300 1.252 1.165
Area Change Between Periods

1913 1971 1994 2009 2015 2021
1896-0.498 mi2
(-1.290 km2)
-0.520 mi2
(-1.346 km2)
-0.542 mi2
(-1.403 km2)
-0.587 mi2
(-1.520 km2)
-0.605 mi2
(-1.567 km2)
-0.639 mi2
(-1.655 km2)
1913---0.022 mi2
(-0.056 km2)
-0.044 mi2
(-0.113 km2)
-0.089 mi2
(-0.230 km2)
-0.107 mi2
(-0.278 km2)
-0.141 mi2
(-0.365 km2)
1971---0.022 mi2
(-0.057 km2)
-0.067 mi2
(-0.174 km2)
-0.085 mi2
(-0.221 km2)
-0.119 mi2
(-0.309 km2)
1994---0.045 mi2
(-0.117 km2)
-0.063 mi2
(-0.164 km2)
-0.097 mi2
(-0.252 km2)
2009---0.018 mi2
(-0.048 km2)
-0.052 mi2
(-0.135 km2)
2015---0.034 mi2
(-0.088 km2)
Percent Change Between Periods

1913 1971 1994 2009 2015 2021
1896-45.74%-47.74%-49.76%-53.90%-55.58%-58.70%
1913---3.69%-7.40%-15.03%-18.14%-23.88%
1971---3.86%-11.78%-15.00%-20.97%
1994---8.24%-11.59%-17.79%
2009---3.66%-10.41%
2015---7.01%

ESTIMATED CHANGE IN VOLUME, 1896-2021 (Beason et al., 2023):
PLEASE see important notes about this, below...
Glacier-specific Scaling Parameter, c:
0.019737
Units 1896 1913 1971 1994 2009 2015 2021
Volume, mi3 0.0224 0.0097 0.0092 0.0087 0.0078 0.0074 0.0067
Volume, km3 0.0933 0.0404 0.0384 0.0364 0.0324 0.0308 0.0279
Volume Change Between Periods

1913 1971 1994 2009 2015 2021
1896-0.013 mi3
(-0.053 km3)
-0.013 mi3
(-0.055 km3)
-0.014 mi3
(-0.057 km3)
-0.015 mi3
(-0.061 km3)
-0.015 mi3
(-0.062 km3)
-0.016 mi3
(-0.065 km3)
1913--0.000 mi3
(-0.002 km3)
-0.001 mi3
(-0.004 km3)
-0.002 mi3
(-0.008 km3)
-0.002 mi3
(-0.010 km3)
-0.003 mi3
(-0.013 km3)
1971--0.000 mi3
(-0.002 km3)
-0.001 mi3
(-0.006 km3)
-0.002 mi3
(-0.008 km3)
-0.003 mi3
(-0.011 km3)
1994---0.001 mi3
(-0.004 km3)
-0.001 mi3
(-0.006 km3)
-0.002 mi3
(-0.009 km3)
2009--0.000 mi3
(-0.002 km3)
-0.001 mi3
(-0.005 km3)
2015---0.001 mi3
(-0.003 km3)
Percent Change Between Periods

1913 1971 1994 2009 2015 2021
1896-56.63%-58.81%-60.96%-65.29%-67.01%-70.13%
1913---5.01%-9.98%-19.96%-23.93%-31.13%
1971---5.24%-15.74%-19.92%-27.50%
1994---11.08%-15.50%-23.49%
2009---4.97%-13.95%
2015---9.46%
Important comments about the calculation of volume shown here

The calculation of glacial volume shown on this page is based on an analysis of two methods used at Mount Rainier in the past (Driedger and Kennard [1986]; and Nylen [2001]) as well as the most recent literature review for glacier area-volume scaling (Please review Beason et al. [2023] for an in-depth discussion about this issue). It should be noted that simply converting area to volume with an equation is extremely difficult and the values presented here have extremely large error margins (likely ± 35% or more). With that in mind, the values presented here should give you an estimate of the glacial volume and change in volume over time. Please use these data very carefully with those caveats.

The calcuation of the volume is as follows:

\[V_i = {(c_iA_i^{1.375}) + (c_nA_i^{1.36}) \over 2}\]

Where:
\(V_i\) = Average volume for the glacier in question (km3);
\(c_i\) = The glacier-specific scaling parameter (back-calculated from glacier area and volume in 1971 in Driedger and Kennard (1986); Method described in Beason et al. (2023). The value for the Edmunds Glacier is 0.019737 (this is also listed above the volume graph);
\(c_n\) = The back-calculated scaling parameter from Nylen (2001) of 0.0255; and
\(A_i\) = The measured volume of the glacier in question (km2).

This is essentially an average of the back-calculated Dreidger and Kennard (1986) and Nylen (2001) methods (D&K is in the first parenthesis; Nylen in the second). For example, for the Edmunds Glacier in 2021, you can find the following individual volumes:
Back-calculated Dreidger and Kennard (1986) Method: 0.0058 mi3 (0.0243 km3).
Back-calculated Nylen (2001) Method: 0.0075 mi3 (0.0314 km3).
Average of the two (above equation and values listed for 2021 here): 0.0067 mi3 (0.0279 km3).
Official volume estimate listed above, with error: 0.0067 ± 0.0023 mi3 (0.0279 ± 0.0097 km3).

As you can see, the D&K method tends to produce higher values and Nylen produces lower values; the average of these two methods probably estimates the glacial volume. Until further research is done in this area and we can develop a better method or equation to determine volumes, this is the method we are using to determine glacial volumes. For more information about this method, please read the methods section of Beason et al. (2023).

NOTES:

-- No Notes supplied --

RAW DATA: