Stanton Glacier is located in the U.S. state

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

 of 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,...

 in Flathead National Forest

Flathead National Forest

The Flathead National Forest is a national forest in the western part of the U.S. state of Montana. The forest covers of which about 1 million acres is designated wilderness. It is named after the Flathead Indians who lived in the area. The forest is located in the Rocky Mountains with elevations...

. The glacier is situated in a cirque

Cirque

Cirque may refer to:* Cirque, a geological formation* Makhtesh, an erosional landform found in the Negev desert of Israel and Sinai of Egypt*Cirque , an album by Biosphere* Cirque Corporation, a company that makes touchpads...

 on the northeast slope of Great Northern Mountain. Stanton Glacier is one of several glaciers that have been selected for monitoring by the U.S. Geological Survey's Glacier Monitoring Research program, which is researching changes to the mass balance

Glacier mass balance

Crucial to the survival of a glacier is its mass balance, the difference between accumulation and ablation . Climate change may cause variations in both temperature and snowfall, causing changes in mass balance. Changes in mass balance control a glacier's long term behavior and is the most...

 of glaciers in and surrounding Glacier National Park (U.S.). Stanton Glacier is immediately north of Grant Glacier

Grant Glacier

Grant Glacier is located in the U.S. state of Montana in Flathead National Forest. The glacier is situated in a cirque and lies below the east slopes of Mount Grant . Grant Glacier is just south of Stanton Glacier and both are southwest of Glacier National Park...

.