As California Glaciers Disappear, People Will See Ice-Free Peaks Exposed for the First Time in Millennia

For as long as there have been people in what is now California, the granite peaks of the Sierra Nevada have held masses of ice, according to new research that shows the glaciers have probably existed since the last Ice Age more than 11,000 years ago.

The remnants of these glaciers, which have already shrunk dramatically since the late 1800s, are retreating year after year, and are projected to melt completely this century as global temperatures continue to rise.