Box Canyon: Glacier Exhibit Panel

Exposed bedrock shows evidence of glaciers that once shaped this landscape.

NPS Photo

Quick Facts

Location:

Box Canyon along Stevens Canyon Road

Amenities

1 listed

Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits

Title: Glacial Scars

Main Text
This spot was once buried beneath hundreds of feet of moving ice. The evidence lies at your feet: bedrock polished by sediment-laden water on the underside of the glacier. As the glacier flowed across the rock, debris frozen into the ice created a pattern of scratch marks. Similar glacial features are visible along the trail across the road - evidence of the glacier's passage. 

The Cowlitz Glacier that once covered this area has retreated three miles up canyon. 

Exhibit Panel Description
A single photo of a glacier spilling down a mountain fills the exhibit panel. The glacier splits around a large outcrop built of layers of lava rock. The main text stretches across the top third of the photo. On the right side is a smaller photo showing a detail of a smooth rock surface covered with diagonal scratches. A caption reads: "Bedrock scratched and polished by glacial ice." A small box in the lower left corner of the panel reads "User Fee Project. Your Fee Dollars at Work. Entrance fees were used to produce this exhibit".

Visit This Exhibit Panel
This is one of three exhibit panels located at Box Canyon at the main canyon viewing area on the southeast side of the canyon. From the Paradise Road wye, Box Canyon is 8.7 miles east along Stevens Canyon Road, or 10.3 miles if heading west from the Stevens Canyon Entrance. Stevens Canyon Road is open to vehicles during the summer season only, typically June-September.