Title: Ever-changing Glacial River

Main Text
Glacial rivers are as dynamic as the glaciers that feed them. The channel of the Nisqually River is constantly reworked by water that flows from the Nisqually Glacier. Heavy winter snow and rain, along with spring run-off, rearrange the streambeds annually. In this changing environment, plants along the river struggle to grow and establish themselves.

In the winter when the glacier moves very little, the river runs clear. But in spring the glacier speeds up, and also melts, loading the river with fine rock sediment ground from the glacier's bed, coloring its water milky-white.

Exhibit Panel Description
The main text stretches across the top third of the exhibit panel in a band with a green background. The bottom two-thirds of the panel is filled with a photo of a wide, muddy river rushing around rocky gravel beds. A caption in the upper left corner of the photo reads: "Glacial rivers deposit sediment on the floor of the streambed, creating high spots that divert water and cause the river to wind and "braid" across its bed." A second, smaller photo half overlaps the top green band and the lower main photo at a slight angle on the right of the panel. The smaller photo shows a close-up view of several large smooth rocks with milky-brown water rushing around them. A caption at the top of the smaller photo reads: "Fine particles scoured by the glacier, called "glacial flour", give the water its cloudy appearance in spring and summer." A small box in the lower right corner of the exhibit panel reads "User Fee Project. Your Fee Dollars at Work. Entrance fees were used to produce this exhibit".

Visit This Exhibit Panel
The Carter Falls Trailhead Exhibit Panel is located in a pullout along the road to Paradise across from the Cougar Rock Campground. The panel looks northeast over the Nisqually River. The Paradise Road is open year-round, but closes nightly during the winter.