These peaks dominate the skyline, ever a reminder that they are only dormant and may at anytime, like Lassen Peak in 1914-21 and Mount St. Helens in 1980, erupt in fury and rage at the fragile world built by humans. One of the unexpected side benefits of these eruptions has been the deposit of ash and pumice layers that are rich in nutrients and support the abundance of wildflowers throughout the mountainous Pacific Northwest. Even as volcanic forces were building up this land, the slow, inevitable power of glacial ice began to shape and form it. Glaciers come from snow that does not melt from year to year-it accumulates to greater and greater depths. The weight of the snow presses the air out, packs it tight, and compresses it into ice.
Gravity pulls the ice down the mountainside, both scouring and smoothing the bedrock as it goes.
Freezing and thawing break rocks from the adjacent stones, and they fall onto the glacier's surface. More debris is picked up by the passing ice. This is an inexorable process that continues today and will alter the mountain in the tomorrows to come. Nisqually Glacier is one of the most accessible glaciers on Mount Rainier. It can be viewed readily from Nisqually and Glacier Vistas located less than 1-mile from Paradise visitor facilities.