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Geological Formations

Lyell Glacier

Erosional and Karst Formations

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Lyell Glacier lies on the northern slopes of Mount Lyell in the Sierra Nevada of California, within Yosemite National Park. Discovered by John Muir in 1871, it was once the park's largest glacier, but it has retreated by up to 70 percent since 1883 and split into two smaller ice masses occupying separate cirques on Mount Lyell during the mid-20th century. A 2013 study found it no longer moves and should be considered an ice field rather than a true glacier.

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