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More than 300 glaciers have disappeared from the lower 48 U.S. states, according to a 2026 report on a review published in PNAS. The losses are part of a broader decline: the combined area of glaciers in the western United States has fallen by about 35% since the middle of the 20th century, while remaining ice is shrinking roughly 8% per decade as air temperatures rise.
What the review found
About 1,450 glaciers existed across the western United States in the mid-20th century. More than 300 are now gone from the lower 48, leaving a smaller and increasingly fragmented ice inventory. The review summarized in 2026 reporting also finds that the total area covered by western U.S. glaciers has declined by approximately 35%.
The count of disappeared glaciers does not capture the entire change. Many surviving glaciers are small, so a glacier can vanish as a distinct ice body while substantial ice remains elsewhere in the region. Conversely, a large glacier can lose a large volume without immediately disappearing from an inventory. Area loss, thickness loss and the number of glaciers therefore measure different parts of the same retreat.
How quickly are western U.S. glaciers melting?
Across the region, warming air temperatures are associated with glacier shrinkage of about 8% each decade. That is a broad rate, not a forecast for every glacier. Local elevation, slope, shading, wind exposure and the amount of snow that survives summer can make an individual glacier retreat faster or slower.
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| Region | Reported annual thickness loss | What the comparison indicates |
|---|---|---|
| Beartooth–Absaroka Mountains, southern Montana | About 1.5 feet (0.5 meters) per year | Rapid thinning in a group of generally smaller, more exposed ice bodies |
| Mount Rainier glaciers, Washington | About 0.5 feet (15 centimeters) per year | Slower reported thinning on larger, high-elevation glaciers |
| Mount Baker glaciers, Washington | About 0.5 feet (15 centimeters) per year | Comparable reported rate to Mount Rainier, despite continuing loss |
These figures describe thickness change, not a universal melt rate for every glacier in a state. A glacier may lose thickness unevenly, and annual measurements can vary with snowfall and weather. The Montana-versus-Washington contrast illustrates why regional averages should not be applied mechanically to a particular ice body.
Which states still have glaciers?
The review reports glaciers in six western states. Washington contains the most extensive concentration, covering about 114 square miles (295 square kilometers). Other parts of the lower 48 still contain glaciers in Colorado, Montana, Wyoming and California’s Sierra Nevada; the review’s six-state count includes additional western terrain beyond those examples.
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Many lower-48 glaciers are small. Small ice bodies have less stored mass and can cross the threshold from “glacier” to vanished ice body more quickly when summers become warmer. Their limited depth also leaves less capacity to absorb a run of hot, low-snow years.
Why Montana glaciers can thin faster than Washington glaciers
Size and elevation
Larger, higher glaciers generally have more ice and may retain snow longer. The Mount Rainier and Mount Baker examples are substantially larger systems than many small glaciers elsewhere, which helps explain why their reported annual thickness loss is lower than the Beartooth–Absaroka figure, even though they are also shrinking.
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Topographic shelter and exposure
Ridges, cirques, shading and local wind patterns can protect snow from direct sunlight or reduce warm-air exposure. The review notes that some glaciers in Colorado, Montana, Wyoming and California’s Sierra Nevada are less vulnerable than regional averages would suggest because of their landscape position.
Rain-versus-snow changes
Warmer winters can shift precipitation from snow to rain. That removes the snow accumulation that normally replenishes a glacier and can expose older, darker ice earlier in the melt season. The effect is especially consequential for small glaciers with little reserve mass.
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What happens to rivers when glaciers disappear?
Glaciers act as natural water storage. Snow and ice accumulate during cold periods, then melt during warm months, when streams and ecosystems may need water most. A retreating glacier can temporarily increase runoff because extra ice is melting. That boost is not permanent: once the glacier has lost enough volume, it contributes less water during late summer.
- Short term: accelerated melting can add water to downstream channels during warm seasons.
- Long term: a smaller glacier has less stored ice to release, reducing its late-summer contribution.
- Ecological effects: lower or warmer late-season flows can create uncertainty for cold-water streams, wildlife and connected ecosystems.
- Community effects: communities that rely on predictable seasonal runoff face greater uncertainty, although the size of the impact depends on the watershed and on other water sources.
The timing of water matters as much as the annual total. Losing glacier storage can make flows more dependent on the year’s snowfall and summer weather, complicating planning for habitats and downstream users.
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How to interpret the “300 glaciers gone” figure
- Read it as a lower-48 count: the figure concerns glaciers in the contiguous United States, not Alaska’s much larger glacier inventory.
- Pair it with area loss: the reported 35% decline shows that surviving glaciers have also become smaller.
- Separate thinning from disappearance: annual thickness figures describe how fast ice is being lost at specific sites; they do not predict an exact disappearance date.
- Account for local terrain: sheltered, high-elevation ice can behave differently from a nearby glacier exposed to sun and warm air.
The review’s reported figures establish the scale and direction of change, but the available report does not provide a complete inventory methodology, author list or additional statistics. Those limits matter when comparing the count with future surveys or when translating regional rates into a prediction for one glacier.
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