Grasshopper Glacier (Montana)
Encyclopedia
Grasshopper Glacier is a glacier
located in the Beartooth Mountains
, Custer National Forest
, Montana
, U.S.. The glacier is within the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness
, a part of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem
. The glacier is approximately 0.2 mile (0.321868 km) long and 0.25 mile (0.402335 km) wide. Starting at a point more than 11300 feet (3,444.2 m) above sea level, the glacier originally was more than 5 miles (8 km) long but has receded significantly since first researched in the early 20th century. As of 2007, the glacier consists of several smaller glaciets, each occupying a different north facing cirque. Grasshopper Glacier was named for the tens of millions of grasshoppers (locusts) that have been found entombed in the ice, some for hundreds and perhaps thousands of years. Many of the grasshoppers are now extinct and their high level of preservation allowed early researchers to send some specimens to entomologists for identification. It was during this research that it was discovered that some of the grasshoppers were from the now extinct species Melanoplus spretus–(the Rocky Mountain locust
), known to have existed at least up to the beginning of the 20th century.
Known to travel in swarm
s numbering in the trillions in some years, it is believed that the grasshoppers found in the glacier may have been caught in severe storm
s and perished. Until late 20th century, the grasshopper remains were quite common; however lower snowfall rates since the late 1980s and higher temperature
s have contributed to a higher melting rate of the glacier and many specimens decompose before they can be retrieved.
Access to the glacier is difficult due to poor weather conditions and the requirement to travel via off road vehicle and then hike on foot several miles to the base of the glacier. The road is impassable for up to 10 months of the year. The Beartooth Highway
(U.S. 212) is one of the closest access roads. Two smaller glaciers in the immediate region also have the same species of grasshoppers entombed in their ice, one is also named Grasshopper Glacier and the other simply Hopper Glacier. Another glacier in the Crazy Mountains, which are located north/north-west of the Beartooths, also bears the same name.
Glacier
A glacier is a large persistent body of ice that forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. At least 0.1 km² in area and 50 m thick, but often much larger, a glacier slowly deforms and flows due to stresses induced by its weight...
located in the Beartooth Mountains
Beartooth Mountains
The Beartooth Mountains are located in south central Montana and northwest Wyoming, U.S. and are part of the 900,000 acre Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness, within Custer, Gallatin and Shoshone National Forests. The Beartooths are the location of Granite Peak, which at 12,807 feet is the highest...
, Custer National Forest
Custer National Forest
Custer National Forest is located primarily in the southern part of the U.S. state of Montana but also has separate sections in northwestern South Dakota. With a total area of 1,278,279 acres , the forest comprises over 10 separate sections...
, Montana
Montana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
, U.S.. The glacier is within the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness
Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness
Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness was created from existing National Forest lands in 1975 and is located in Montana and Wyoming, United States. The wilderness is partly in Gallatin, Custer and Shoshone National Forests and is composed of . The wilderness encompasses two distinct mountain ranges, namely...
, a part of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem
Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem
The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem is one of the last remaining large, nearly intact ecosystems in the northern temperate zone of the Earth and is partly located in Yellowstone National Park. Conflict over management has been controversial, and the area is a flagship site among conservation groups...
. The glacier is approximately 0.2 mile (0.321868 km) long and 0.25 mile (0.402335 km) wide. Starting at a point more than 11300 feet (3,444.2 m) above sea level, the glacier originally was more than 5 miles (8 km) long but has receded significantly since first researched in the early 20th century. As of 2007, the glacier consists of several smaller glaciets, each occupying a different north facing cirque. Grasshopper Glacier was named for the tens of millions of grasshoppers (locusts) that have been found entombed in the ice, some for hundreds and perhaps thousands of years. Many of the grasshoppers are now extinct and their high level of preservation allowed early researchers to send some specimens to entomologists for identification. It was during this research that it was discovered that some of the grasshoppers were from the now extinct species Melanoplus spretus–(the Rocky Mountain locust
Rocky Mountain locust
The Rocky Mountain locust was the locust species that ranged through almost the entire western half of the United States until the end of the 19th century...
), known to have existed at least up to the beginning of the 20th century.
Known to travel in swarm
Swarm
Swarm behaviour, or swarming, is a collective behaviour exhibited by animals of similar size which aggregate together, perhaps milling about the same spot or perhaps moving en masse or migrating in some direction. As a term, swarming is applied particularly to insects, but can also be applied to...
s numbering in the trillions in some years, it is believed that the grasshoppers found in the glacier may have been caught in severe storm
Storm
A storm is any disturbed state of an astronomical body's atmosphere, especially affecting its surface, and strongly implying severe weather...
s and perished. Until late 20th century, the grasshopper remains were quite common; however lower snowfall rates since the late 1980s and higher temperature
Temperature
Temperature is a physical property of matter that quantitatively expresses the common notions of hot and cold. Objects of low temperature are cold, while various degrees of higher temperatures are referred to as warm or hot...
s have contributed to a higher melting rate of the glacier and many specimens decompose before they can be retrieved.
Access to the glacier is difficult due to poor weather conditions and the requirement to travel via off road vehicle and then hike on foot several miles to the base of the glacier. The road is impassable for up to 10 months of the year. The Beartooth Highway
Beartooth Highway
The Beartooth Highway is an All-American Road that has been called "the most beautiful drive in America," by late CBS correspondent Charles Kuralt...
(U.S. 212) is one of the closest access roads. Two smaller glaciers in the immediate region also have the same species of grasshoppers entombed in their ice, one is also named Grasshopper Glacier and the other simply Hopper Glacier. Another glacier in the Crazy Mountains, which are located north/north-west of the Beartooths, also bears the same name.