Why would you want to visit Glacier?

At over a million acres, it's home to 69 species of mammals, 184 mountains, 278 species of birds, 785 lakes, 1132 species of plants, and more! Yet the park itself is named for just one of the things found here. Glaciers.

Names can play a central role in your identity, and that's no surprise. Our names can connect us to the past and reflect the hopes of those who came before us.

The name "Glacier" recognizes the alpine glaciers we have today, evokes the glacially carved landscape of an ice age, and has attracted attention since day one.

Shortly after announcing the creation of the park in 1910, Montana newspapers also began sharing opinions about the evocative name that Congress chose:

"'Glacier Park in Montana' has a chilly sound. To the uninitiated it may indicate that Montana is all glaciers."

"The Independent believes that it is much better to advertise Montana as the place where 49 bushels of oats and 27 bushels of wheat grow to the acre rather than the home of glaciers."

"The railroads may sell some tickets to Glacier Park, and everyone from the east who buys such a ticket will pin his return coupon securely in the inside pocket of his vest after he gets there for fear he might lose it and have to stay."

Today, with 3-million excited people visiting each year, it's easy to scoff at those concerns. But while they might have missed the mark, these predictions highlight the lasting impact of a name.

Over the next couple of weeks, you'll see more posts about the enduring impact of Glaciers themselves: what they are, where you can see one, how they shaped the landscape, and how we're shaping their future.

In the meantime, if you want to learn more about Glaciers check out the park's new page dedicated to them: https://www.nps.gov/glac/learn/nature/glaciersoverview.htm

This photo of rocks lodged in Sperry Glacier was taken on the traditional land of the Amskapi Piikuni, Kootenai, Selis, and Qlispe People in 2019