Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1920-09-10


homa and fhe Kautz glaciers. But many of great
size and impressveness are born OF the SHOWS
in rock pockets or cirques, ice-sculptured DoWls
of great dimensions and ever-ncreaslng depth'
from which they merge into the glistenlng arinor
of the huge volcano. The most notable OF these
are the Cowitz the Paradise, the Frylngpan' tne
Carbon, the Russell, the North and South MoWicn'
the Puyallup, and the Pyramid glaciers
Twenty-eght glaciers, great and small, ciotne
Rainer-riyers of ice, with many of the cnarac-
teristcs of rivers of water, roaring at times over
precipices like waterfalls, ripping and tumDllng
down rocky slopes-veritable noisy cascades, RS
ing smoothly up on hidden rocks to foam Drook-
like, over it's lower edges.
Every winter the moisture-laden winds from the
Pacific suddenly cooled againstits summit, deposit
upon it's top and sides enormous SHOWS Inese
settling in the crater which was left after the
great explosion in some prehistoric age carried
away perhaps 1000 feet OF the volcanoes former
height, press with overwhelming weight down the
mountains sioping Sides
Thus are born the glaciers, for the snow under
its own pressure quickly hardens into ice Through
Ia valleys self-carved ii, the solid rock flow these
rivers Of ice, now turning as rivers OF water turn
to avoid the harder rock strata now roaring over
precipces' like CONCEALED waterfalls, now ripping,
like water currents, over rough bottoms pushing
pouring reientlessy on until they reach those
parts Of their courses where warmer air turns
them into rivers Of water.
In glowing contrast to this marvellous spectacle
of ice are the gardens of wild flowers surrounding
the glaciers. These 1owery spots are called parks
One will find on the accompanying map Spray
Park ST. Andrews Park, Indian Henry's Hunting
Ground Paradise, Summer Land and there are
many others.
"Aboye the forests" writes John Muir, ''there
IS zone of the lovelest flowers fifty miles in cir
cult and nearly two miles wide, SO closely planted
and luxurious that it seems as If nature, glad to
make an open space between woods so dense and
ice so deep, were economizing the precious ground
and trying to see how many of her darlings she
can get together in one mountain wreath-daises
anemones columbine erythroniums larkspurs ETC..
among which we wade knee deep and waist Deep
the bright cOrollas in myriads touching petal to
petaI Altogether this is the richest subalpinA
garden have found, perfect flower eysium.'
The lower attitudes Of the park densely tim
bered with fir, cedar, hemock maple, alder, cot
tonwood and spruce. The forested areas, extend
ing to an altitude Of about $500 feet, gradually
decrease in density of growth after an altitude of
1000 feet is reached and the high, broad plateaus
between the glacial canyons present Incompatible
scenes of diversified beauties
A large part of the area above the 4,50Ofoot
contour consists of open, grassy parks, rocky and
barren SUBMITS, snow fields, and glaciers Tracts
of dense subalpine forest occur in sheltered loca
tions but they are nowhere very extensive, and
their continuity is broken by open swamp giades
and meadows and small bodies of standing wa
ter The steep upper slopes of the spurs d
vuiging from the main ridges are frequently COW
cred with stunted, scraggy growth of low trees
firmly rooted in the crevices between the rocks.
The most beautiful of the alpine trees are about
the mountain parks Growing in scattered groves
and standing in groups singly in the open
grassland and on the margins of the lakes they
produce peculiarly pleasing landscape effect
which agreeably relieves the traveller from the
extended outlook to the snow fields of the noun
tain and broken ridges about it, At the lower
levels of the subalpne forest the average height
of the largest trees is from SO to 60 feet. The
size diminishes rapidly as the elevation increases
The trees dwarfed by the cold, and their
trunks are bent and twisted by the wind. Small
patches of low weatherbeaten, and stunted noun
tain hemlock, alpine fir and white BARI pine occur
up to 1000 feet. The trunks quite PROSTATE,
and the crowns are fattened mats of branches
lying close to the ground. The extreme limit of
tree growth on Mount Rainier is about 1900 feet
There is no distinct timber line.