How Glacier Got Its Name

Glaciers were tied to the park’s story even before the beginning.

Since time immemorial, Indigenous People have referred to the area as “the place where there is a lot of ice.” Other Tribes describe the park as “the land of the shining mountains” because of the bright, reflective snow and ice seen from the plains to the east.

In 1873, U.S. Army Lieutenant John Van Orsdale was one of the first white Americans to see one of the park’s glaciers as he climbed over Cutbank Pass. In 1883 Van Orsdale wrote a letter to the Fort Benton River Press and said, “a great benefit would result to Montana if this section could be set aside as a National Park.” He was the first to suggest this for Glacier.

In 1887, George Bird Grinnell and Lieutenant John H. Beacom took this image of Grinnell Glacier spilling out of the mountains, below left. The other, below right, was taken more than thirty years later, around 1920 by T.J. Hileman. Together, these images are likely the very first pair of repeat photographs taken in Glacier National Park.

Grinnell Glacier from Lake Josephine in 1887 and around 1920

Left image

Grinnell Glacier, 1887 by Lieutenant Beacom

Right image

Grinnell Glacier, circa 1920 by T.J. Hileman

Grinnell would spend the rest of his life visiting the region’s glaciers, and advocating for the land, but he was especially fond of the glacier that would eventually bear his name.

The earliest known mention of the park’s name is found in a 1906 exchange between Grinnell and glacial geologist, François E. Matthes. He wrote, “the park proposed would contain roughly 1500 sq. miles, containing upward of 50 ice-bodies and over 200 lakes. It might fitly be called Glacier Park.”

Jackson Glacier around 1900 and in 1941

Left image

Jackson Glacier circa 1900 by F. E. Matthes

Right image

Jackson Glacier in 1941 by Marion Post

The 1914 Glaciers of Glacier National Park by William Alden for USGS.

In the April 29th 1908 issue of the Free River Press newspaper, it was reported that Senator Thomas H. Carter, suggested the park’s name because, **“it includes the principle glacier in United States territory outside of Alaska.” **

Once Glacier National Park was established in 1910, the US Geological Survey (USGS) began sending William C. Alden on annual expeditions into the backcountry to survey and map the park’s glaciers and topography.

In 1914, USGS published Alden’s report, The Glaciers of Glacier National Park. The first sentence of the report reads, “Glacier National Park derives its name and much of its interest from the presence of many small glaciers.” Then Alden adds on that glaciers were also involved in sculpting the beautiful landscapes of the park in its ancient past.

Alden defines a glacier in his report:

“Here what is left of the many snows of many winters has become compacted and changed to granular ice. When such ice accumulates to a sufficient thickness internal movement begins. Such moving ice constitutes a glacier.”

Defined simply: if more snow falls in the winter than can melt in the summer for long enough, a glacier will form.

One Year in the Life of a Glacier

How do glaciers change through the seasons?

Duration:1 minute, 36 seconds

The exciting adventures of Grinnell, Matthes, Alden and others, produced many excellent photographs of the park’s glaciers that can now be repeated to show how the glaciers have changed over time.

By standing in the same places that Alden stood (or other early photographers) and taking a new picture, we can compare how the landscape has, or has not, changed. This technique is called repeat photography or rephotography.

The top image was taken for the Great Northern Railway and used in advertisements circa 1940. In 2008, Lisa McKeon with the U.S. Geologic Survey was able to repeat the image and document how the landscape changed.

However, despite the icy photographs, not everyone was excited about Glacier National Park’s name. When the news broke about the park’s establishment, one Helena newspaper wrote a critical editorial. “...one may gather the idea that Glacier Park is picturesque. It is, and also barren, unproductive, frigid and a dreary waste.” The paper was worried that such an icy name would give Montana a bad reputation. ““Glacier Park in Montana” has a chilly sound. To the uninitiated it may indicate that Montana is all glaciers. We want homeseekers to know the truth--that Montana is a perpetual summer resort. Glacier Park won’t help us in spreading that truth.”

As it turned out, they were wrong, the idea of seeing a real glacier was appealing and drew many tourists to the area. The Great Northern Railway heavily used the park’s glaciers in advertising campaigns. Photographing the glaciers for advertising purposes created many pictures ideal for repeating later.

While the views have changed, park visitors are just as eager to see a glacier. Glaciers provoke curiosity and awe and although they seem timeless, repeat photography shows us otherwise.

###

Sources

Alden, W. C. (1914). Glaciers of Glacier National Park. United States Geological Survey. https://doi.org/10.3133/70200436 Pp. 3. “Glacier National Park derives its name and much of its interest from the presence of many small glaciers. Very much of the grandeur of its wonderful Alpine scenery, the final sculpturing of the great mountain valleys and of the amphitheaters at their heads, and the production of the basins of its many beautiful lakes are due to the action of the more extended glaciers of the past.”

Finley, Vernon. (2009) One of Our Homelands. Glacier National Park short film.

https://www.nps.gov/media/video/view.htm?id=64B75A66-155D-451F-675BB26472A9A8CC Minute 1:10. "Ya·qawiswit̓xuki is the term that they used to describe Glacier Park. And it's, "the place where there's a lot of ice."

Newberry, Ethan. (2023) Shining Mountains. The North Face short film. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hro6ciOyVkY 0:13 Tyrel Fenner, Blackfeet Tribe Hydrologist speaking “we’ve called it the land of shining mountains and that was because of the glaciers”

Ober, Michael J. “Icy Reconnaissance: The Discovery of Pumpelly Glacier.” Montana; The Magazine of Western History, 2004. Pp. 66. "The region," he prophetically concluded, "ought to become a national park." Later, in an obscure statement published in the Fort Benton River Press, Van Orsdale mused, "A great benefit could result to Montana if this region could be set aside as a national Park."

Taliaferro, John. 2019. Grinnell: America’s Environmental Pioneer and His Restless Drive to Save the West. New York: Liveright Publishing Corporation. Pp. 161. “Both Grinnell and Beacom carried cameras and took pictures of the glacier looming above them. Grinnell had very little experience with the delicate plates and sensitive shuttering, and his photographs would prove a disappointment. Fortunately Beacom was better skilled, and several of his images yet survive, revealing a husky, glowering glacier–an ominous benchmark that would measure the** dramatic retreat forthcoming over the next century and a half.**”

Pp. 356-357. “Matthes, the topographer, responded to Grinnell, suggesting approximate boundaries for the refuge under consideration. “The park proposed would contain roughly 1500 sq. miles, containing upward of 50 ice-bodies and over 200 lakes, “ he said. “It might fitly be called Glacier National Park.”

The Helena Independent. Sunday April 17, 1910. "Advertising that is Questionable." Helena, Montana. “...one may gather the idea that Glacier Park is picturesque. It is, and also barren, unproductive, frigid and a dreary waste. It was, perhaps, a commendable motive that first prompted the creation of Glacier park in Montana. It may bring some people here, but none of them will remain, unless they chance to stop off enroute in some of Montana’s garden spots. The railroads may sell some tickets to Glacier Park, and everyone from the east who buys such a ticket will pin his return coupon securely in the inside pocket of his vest after he gets there for fear he might lose it and have to stay. The Independent believes that it is much better to advertise Montana as the place where 49 bushels of oats and 27 bushels of wheat grow to the acre rather than the home of glaciers. Montana is not a frigid state. Our temperature for the year round averages better and healthier than any state in the union.** “Glacier Park in Montana” has a chilly sound.** To the uninitiated it may indicate that Montana is all glaciers. We want homeseekers to know the truth--that Montana is a perpetual summer resort. Glacier Park won’t help us in spreading that truth.”

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