Fire and Ice Trail #684.2 — Glacier, WA
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Dunbar Loop
N 48° 51.266 W 121° 41.172
10U E 596373 N 5412106
Situated in a cirque this interpretive trail takes people on route of discovery of how this type of landform is created.
Waymark Code: WMP7R7
Location: Washington, United States
Date Posted: 07/16/2015
Views: 2
The Bagley Lakes Valley on Mount Baker is a classic cirque where ice has eroded away rock to create a three sided valley.
As described in Wikipedia:
Cirque landforms, found among mountains as a result of alpine glaciers, may reach up to a square kilometre in size. Situated high on a mountainside near the firn line, they are typically partially surrounded on three sides by steep cliffs. The highest cliff often is called a headwall. The fourth side forms the lip, threshold or sill, the side at which the glacier flowed away from the cirque. Many glacial cirques contain tarns dammed by either till (debris) or a bedrock threshold. When enough snow accumulates it can flow out the opening of the bowl and form valley glaciers which may be several kilometers long.
This cirque has an interpretive trail running through a part of it for visitors to learn how the ice has carved out the shapes before them. From tarns to headwalls, the Bagley Lake Valley is a great example of how ice erosion shapes the landscape.