| Lyell Glacier | |
| Type: | Mountain glacier |
| Location: | Yosemite National Park, Tuolumne County, California, United States |
| Map: | USA California#USA |
| Label Position: | right |
| Map Size: | 225 |
| Coordinates: | 37.7431°N -119.2692°W |
| Coordinates Ref: | [1] |
| Length: | 0.5miles estimated |
| Terminus: | Talus |
| Status: | Retreating |
Lyell Glacier is in the Sierra Nevada of California. The glacier was discovered by John Muir in 1871,[2] and was the largest glacier in Yosemite National Park. It lies on the northern slopes of Mount Lyell.[3]
The glacier has retreated since the end of the Little Ice Age in the mid-19th century. During the mid-20th Century, the glacier split into two smaller glaciers occupying the high cirques of Mount Lyell. Since 1883, the glacier area has retreated up to 70 percent.[4] Another glacier, the Maclure Glacier on nearby Mount Maclure, has also retreated significantly.
According to a study in 2013, today the Lyell is no longer a glacier, having lost any movement and thus it should be considered an ice field.[5] [6]