Glacier Facts

  • Glaciers and pack ice contain approximately 75% of the world's fresh water: more than all lakes and rivers, groundwater and water in the atmosphere, combined!
  • Ten percent of the Earth's land area is covered by glaciers.
  • There are nearly 100,000 glaciers in Alaska, and most of them don't have names.
  • If all the glaciers melted, sea level would rise about 230 feet.
  • There are glaciers in Washington state. There are 26 glaciers on Mount Rainier alone! Find more Washington glaciers on Glacier Peak and Mount Baker.
  • Life exists on glaciers! The ice worm, less than an inch long, lives on the pollens, insects, minerals and bacteria blown onto the surface of the glacier by the wind.