The Glacier National Park in Montana just celebrated its 100th anniversary last Tuesday. However, its birthdays are numbered as the glaciers are melting extremely rapidly. Scientists predict that there may be nothing left in ten years. When the park was established in 1911, it had around 150 glaciers. Now, though, it only has 25. Average temperatures in the park have risen 1.8 times faster than the average global temperature, so the change is visible to the naked eye. Receding glaciers leave behind huge moraines, and the increase in temperature is causing more wildfires and lower stream flows, which endangers many fish populations. The animals in the park do not seem to be suffering yet, but spring is arriving three weeks earlier than usual which could disrupt the animals' survival patterns as food grows at different times or becomes scarce. If the glaciers do disappear, it will make international headlines; it's hard for anyone to imagine Montana without its snow capped mountains or glaciers.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap_travel/20100511/ap_tr_ge/us_travel_trip_glacier_at100
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