Mt. McLoughlin

Mt. McLoughlin in southern Oregon (see topographic map at left) had a glacier on it in the late 1890s as shown in the image to the lower left.

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This glacier was called Sholes. Upon a return trip in the late 1930s, this glacier had vanished, making Sholes the first documented disappearance of a glacier in the state of Oregon.

 

This disappearance reflects the regional climate warming that occurred after the end of the Little Ice Age around the same time as the industrial revolution. Humans were releasing greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, which may have played a role in ending the Little Ice Age. This is long before we commonly think of humans influencing climate.