Printed on recycled paper
Cover: A Landsat 2 Multispectral Scanner false-color composite image 

of the Malaspina Glacier (piedmont outlet glacier), tidewater Hubbard 

Glacier, and other glaciers in the St. Elias Mountains, Alaska. (Landsat 2 

MSS image 21675-19482; 24 August 1979; Path 67, Row 18 from the 

EROS Data Center, Sioux Falls, S. Dak.). See figure 144, p. K160, for 

annotated version 
Glaciers of North America— 

GLACIERS OF ALASKA 

By BRUCE F. MOLNIA 

With sections on COLUMBIA AND HUBBARD TIDEWATER GLACIERS
 

By ROBERT M. KRIMMEL
 

THE 1986 AND 2002 TEMPORARY CLOSURES OF RUSSELL FIORD BY THE HUBBARD GLACIER 

By BRUCE F. MOLNIA, DENNIS C. TRABANT, ROD S. MARCH, and ROBERT M. KRIMMEL 

GEOSPATIAL INVENTORY AND ANALYSIS OF GLACIERS: A CASE STUDY FOR THE EASTERN 

ALASKA RANGE 

By WILLIAM F. MANLEY 

SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF THE GLACIERS OF THE WORLD 

Edited by RICHARD S. WILLIAMS, Jr., and JANE G. FERRIGNO 

U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 1386–K 

About 5 percent (about 75,000 km2) of Alaska is presently glacierized, including 

11 mountain ranges, 1 large island, an island chain, and 1 archipelago. The total number 

o f g l a c i e r s i n A l a s k a i s e s t i m a t e d a t > 1 0 0 , 0 0 0 , i n c l u d i n g m a n y a c t i v e a n d f o r m e r 

t i d e w a t e r g l a c i e r s . G l a c i e r s i n e v e r y m o u n t a i n ra n g e a n d i s l a n d g r o u p a r e e x p e r i e n c i n g 

s i g n i f i c a n t r e t r e a t , t h i n n i n g , a n d ( o r ) s t a g n a t i o n , e s p e c i a l l y t h o s e a t l o w e r e l e v a t i o n s , a 

process that began by the middle of the 19th century. In southeastern Alaska and western 

Ca n a d a , 2 0 5 g l a c i e r s h a v e a h i s t o r y o f s u r g i n g ; i n t h e s a m e r e g i o n , a t l e a s t 5 3 p r e s e n t 

and 7 former large ice-dammed lakes have produced jökulhlaups (glacier-outburst floods). 

Ice-capped Alaska volcanoes also have the potential for jökulhlaups caused by subglacier 

v o l c a n i c a n d g e o t h e r m a l a c t i v i t y. Sa t e l l i t e r e m o t e s e n s i n g p r o v i d e s t h e o n l y p ra c t i c a l 

m e a n s o f m o n i t o r i n g r e g i o n a l ch a n g e s i n g l a c i e r s i n r e s p o n s e t o s h o r t - a n d l o n g - t e r m 

ch a n g e s i n t h e m a r i t i m e a n d c o n t i n e n t a l c l i m a t e s o f A l a s k a . Ge o s p a t i a l a n a l y s i s i s u s e d 

to define selected glaciological parameters in the eastern part of the Alaska Range. 

UN ITED STATES GOVERN M ENT P RI NTI NG OF F ICE, WASH I NGTON: 2008
 
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

DIRK KEMPTHORNE, Secretary 

U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 

Mark D. Myers, Director 

Any use of trade, product, or firm names in this publication is for 

descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the 

U.S. Government 

Technical editing by Kathie Rankin 

Design, layout, and illustrations by Kirsten C. Healey 

Typesetting and text review by Janice G. Goodell 

Layout review by John M. Watson 

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data 

(Revised for vol. K)
 

Satellite image atlas of glaciers of the world.
 

(U.S. Geological Survey professional paper; 1386)
 

Includes bibliography.
 

Contents: —Ch. B. Antarctica, by Charles Swithinbank; with sections on The “dry valleys” of Victoria Land, by Trevor J. Chinn, 


[and] Landsat images of Antarctica, by Richard S. Williams, Jr., and Jane G. Ferrigno —Ch. C. Greenland, by Anker 

Weidick —Ch. E. Glaciers of Europe —Ch. G. Glaciers of the Middle East and Africa —Ch. H. Glaciers of Irian Jaya, Indonesia, 

and New Zealand —Ch. I. Glaciers of South America —Ch. J. Glaciers of North America —Ch. K. Glaciers of Alaska. 

Supt. of Docs. no.: I 19.16:1386-J 

1. Glaciers—Remote sensing. I. Williams, Richard S. II. Ferrigno, Jane G. III. Series. 

GB2401.72.R42S28 1988 551.3'12 87-600497 

ISBN 0–607–98291-8 

For sale by the U.S. Geological Survey, Information Services
 

Box 25286, Federal Center, 


Denver, CO 80225 

Foreword 

On 23 July 1972, the first Earth Resources Technology Satellite (ERTS 1 

or Landsat 1) was successfully placed in orbit. The success of Landsat inaugurated a new era in satisfying mankind’s desire to better understand the 

dynamic world upon which we live. Space-based observations have become 

an essential means for monitoring global environmental changes. 

The short- and long-term cumulative effects of processes that cause significant changes on the Earth’s surface can be documented and studied by 

repetitive Landsat and other satellite images. Such images provide a permanent historical record of the surface of the planet; they also make possible 

comparative two- and three-dimensional measurements of change over time. 

This Professional Paper demonstrates the importance of the application of 

Landsat images to global studies by using them to determine the 1970’s distribution of glaciers on the planet. As images become available from future 

satellites, the new data will be used to document global changes in glacier 

extent by reference to the baseline Landsat image record of the 1970’s. 

Although many geological processes take centuries or even millennia to 

produce obvious changes on the Earth’s surface, other geological phenomena, such as glaciers and volcanoes, cause noticeable changes over shorter periods. Some of these phenomena can have a worldwide impact and often are 

interrelated. Explosive volcanic eruptions, such as the 1991 Mount Pinatubo, 

Philippines, eruption, can produce dramatic effects on the global climate. 

Natural or culturally induced processes can cause global climatic cooling or 

warming. Glaciers respond to such warming or cooling periods by decreasing 

or increasing in size, which in turn causes sea level to rise or fall. 

As our understanding of the interrelationship of global processes improves 

and our ability to assess changes caused by these processes develops further, 

we will learn how to use indicators of global change, such as glacier variation, 

to manage more wisely the use of our finite land and water resources. This 

USGS Professional Paper series is an excellent example of the way in which 

we can use technology to provide needed earth-science information about 

our planet. The international collaboration represented by this report is also 

an excellent model for the kind of cooperation that scientists will increasingly find necessary in the future in order to solve important earth-science 

problems on a global basis. 

Mark D. Myers, 

Director, 

U.S. Geological Survey 

FOREWORD III 

Preface 

This chapter is the eighth chapter to be released in U.S. Geological Survey 

Professional Paper 1386, Satellite Image Atlas of Glaciers of the World, a series of 11 chapters. In each chapter, remotely sensed images, primarily from 

the Landsat 1, 2, and 3 series of spacecraft, are used to study the glacierized regions of our planet and to monitor glacier changes. Landsat images, 

acquired primarily during the middle to late 1970s, were used by an international team of glaciologists and other scientists to study various geographic 

regions or to discuss glaciological topics. In each geographic region, the 

present areal distribution of glaciers is compared, wherever possible, with 

historical information about their past extent. The atlas provides an accurate 

regional inventory of the areal extent of glacier ice on our planet during the 

1970s as part of a growing international scientific effort to measure global 

environmental change on the Earth’s surface. 

This chapter is divided into three parts: Part I, Background and History; 

Part II, Glaciological Topics; and Part III, Regional Distribution of Alaska Glaciers. Glaciers in Alaska are located on 11 mountain ranges, 1 large island, an 

island chain, and 1 archipelago. The total number of glaciers is estimated to 

be >100,000, <700 of which are named. 

The total glacierized area is about 75,000 km2

: Coast Mountains, 

~10,500 km2; Alexander Archipelago, <150 km2; St. Elias Mountains, 

~11,800 km2; Chugach Mountains, ~21,600 km2; Kenai Mountains, 

~4,600 km2; Kodiak Island, <15 km2; Aleutian Range, ~1,250 km2; Aleutian 

Islands, ~960 km2; Wrangell Mountains, ~8,300 km2; Talkeetna Mountains, 

~800 km2; Alaska Range, ~13,900 km2; Wood River Mountains, <230 km2; Kigluaik Mountains, <3 km2

; and Brooks Range, 723 km2. 

Since the middle of the 19th century, when the “Little Ice Age” began to 

wane, glaciers, especially those at lower elevations, have been retreating and 

thinning, although each of the glacierized areas has had a different response 

in terms of timing, magnitude, and complexity. Most glaciers at lower elevations (<1,500 m) are retreating, except for about a dozen tidewater and 

valley glaciers that are advancing. The melting of glacier ice in Alaska is a 

regional contributor to the continuing rise in eustatic (global) sea level. 

In southeastern Alaska and western Canada >200 surge-type glaciers 

have been documented. Ice-dammed lakes and ice-capped volcanoes have 

been the source of glacier-outburst floods (jökulhlaups). Satellite and aerial 

remote sensing and geospatial analysis of maps and remote sensing data are 

used in this chapter for periodic monitoring and documenting changes in the 

position of termini and area of glaciers in the 14 glacierized areas of Alaska. 

Richard S. Williams, Jr. 

Jane G. Ferrigno 

Editors 

PREFACE V 
About this Volume 

U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1386, Satellite Image Atlas 

of Glaciers of the World, contains 11 chapters designated by the letters A 

through K. Chapter A is a general chapter containing introductory material 

on the Earth’s cryosphere, including a discussion of the physical characteristics, classification, and global distribution of glaciers. The next 10 chapters, 

B through K, are arranged geographically and present glaciological information from Landsat and other sources of data on each of the geographic areas. Chapter B covers Antarctica; Chapter C, Greenland; Chapter D, Iceland; 

Chapter E, Continental Europe (except for the European part of the former 

Soviet Union), including the Alps, the Pyrenees, Norway, Sweden, Svalbard 

(Norway), and Jan Mayen (Norway); Chapter F, Asia, including the European part of the former Soviet Union, China (P.R.C.), India, Nepal, Bhutan, 

Afghanistan, and Pakistan; Chapter G, Turkey, Iran, and Africa; Chapter H, 

Irian Jaya (Indonesia) and New Zealand; Chapter I, South America; and 

Chapter J, North America (excluding Alaska); and Chapter K, Alaska. 

The realization that one element of the Earth’s cryosphere, its glaciers, 

was amenable to global inventorying and monitoring with Landsat images 

led to the decision, in late 1979, to prepare this Professional Paper, in which 

Landsat 1, 2, and 3 multispectral scanner (MSS) and Landsat 2 and 3 return 

beam vidicon (RBV) images would be used to inventory the areal occurrence 

of glacier ice on our planet within the boundaries of the spacecraft’s coverage 

(between about 81° north and south latitudes). Through identification and 

analysis of optimum Landsat images of the glacierized areas of the Earth during the first decade of the Landsat era, a global benchmark or baseline could 

be established for determining the areal extent of glaciers during a relatively 

narrow time interval (1972 to 1982). This global “snapshot” of glacier extent 

could then be used for comparative analysis with previously published maps 

and aerial photographs and with new maps, satellite images, and aerial photographs in order to determine the areal fluctuation of glaciers in response to 

natural or culturally induced changes in the Earth’s climate. 

To accomplish this objective, optimum Landsat images of each of the glacierized regions of our planet were selected from the Landsat image data 

base at the EROS Data Center in Sioux Falls, S. Dak., although some images were also obtained from the Landsat image archives maintained by the 

Canada Centre for Remote Sensing, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, and by the 

European Space Agency in Kiruna, Sweden, and Fucino, Italy. Between 1979 

and 1981, these optimum images were distributed to an international team of 

more than 50 scientists who agreed to write a section of the Professional Paper concerning either a geographic area or a glaciological topic. In addition 

to analyzing images of a specific geographic area, each author was also asked 

to summarize up-to-date information about the glaciers within the area and 

to compare their present areal distribution with historical information (for 

example, from published maps, reports, and photographs) about their past 

extent. Completion of this atlas will provide an accurate regional inventory of 

the areal extent of glaciers on our planet during the 1970s. 

Richard S. Williams, Jr. 

Jane G. Ferrigno 

Editors 

VI ABOUT THIS VOLUME 
CONTENTS: Major Sections
 

Page 

Part 1—Background and History ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ K2 

Part 2—Glaciological Topics--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------52 

Part 3—Descriptions of Alaska’s 14 Glacierized Geographic Regions ------------------------84 

Coast Mountains--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------89 

Alexander Archipelago --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------119 

St. Elias Mountains--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------123 

Chugach Mountains-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------197 

Kenai Mountains------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------314 

Kodiak Island ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------347 

Aleutian Range --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------349 

Aleutian Islands-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------371 

Wrangell Mountains-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------379 

Talkeetna Mountains -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------401 

Alaska Range-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------406 

Wood River Mountains --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------457 

Kigluaik Mountains--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------463 

Brooks Range----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------467 

References Cited -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------487 

Appendices--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------505 

CONTENTS VII 
ACRONYMS 

AAAS American Association for the Advancement of Science 

AAR accumulation area ratio 

AHAP Alaska High-Altitude Aerial Photography 

AGS American Geographical Society 

amsl above mean sea level 

AMS U.S. Army Map Service 

ASTER Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection 

BGN Board on Geographic Names 

BLM U.S. Bureau of Land Management 

B.P. before present 

C&GS U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey 

CMMB Central Medial Moraine Band 

CTD conductivity, temperature, and depth 

DEM digital elevation model 

DLG digital line graph 

DMA U.S. Defense Mapping Agency 

DRG digital raster graphic 

EDC EROS Data Center 

ELA equilibrium line altitude 

ETM+ Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus 

EROS Earth Resources Observation and Science 

ERTS Earth Resources Technology Satellite 

GIS Geographic Information System 

GLIMS Global Land Ice Measurements from Space 

GNIS Geographic Names Information System 

GPS Global Positioning System 

HY Hydrologic Year 

IBC International Boundary Commission 

IGY International Geophysical Year 

IHD International Hydrologic Decade 

InSAR Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar 

INSTAAR Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research 

IPR ice-penetrating radar 

MODIS Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer 

MSS Multispectral Scanner System 

NASA National Aeronautics and Space Administration 

NED National Elevation Dataset 

NGA National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency 

NGS National Geographic Society 

NIMA National Imagery and Mapping Agency 

NOAA National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 

NOS National Ocean Survey 

NPS National Park Service 

NSF National Science Foundation 

RBV Return Beam Vidicon 

RMSE root mean square error 

SAR synthetic aperture radar 

SLAR side-looking airborne radar 

TM Thematic Mapper 

UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization 

USC&GS U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey 

USAF United States Air Force 

USFS United States Forest Service 

USGS U.S. Geological Survey 

USN United States Navy 

UTM Universal Transverse Mercator 

VIII CONTENTS 
CONTENTS
 

Page 

Abstract---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------K1 

Part 1—Background and History ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2 

Introduction----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2 

Figure 1. Map of Alaska showing distribution of glaciers -------------------------------------------------------------- 2 

2. NOAA AVHRR image mosaic of Alaska (1991)---------------------------------------------------------------- 2 

3. Map showing the nominal scene centers of Landsat 1, 2, and 3 MSS and RBV images 

that include Alaskan glaciers, and Landsat MSS image mosaic of part of Alaska--------------------- 5 

4. Section of the 1982 USGS topographic map of Seward, Alaska-------------------------------------------- 7 

5. Landsat 1 MSS image of part of the Bering Glacier and Bagley Ice Valley on 26 February 1974 ------ 8 

Table 1. Optimum Landsat 1, 2, and 3 MSS and RBV images of glaciers of Alaska -------------------------------10 

Figure 6. Landsat ETM+ image of the terminus region of Knik Glacier and adjacent Lake George ------------18 

7. Pair of Landsat 5 MSS images showing changes in the piedmont lobe of 

Malaspina Glacier between 1986 and 1987 -----------------------------------------------------------------18 

8. A Landsat MSS "temporal-change composite image" showing changes between 

1985 and 1986 in the termini of Hubbard, Turner, and Valerie Glaciers----------------------------------------19 

Glacier Names and Place-Names in Alaska -------------------------------------------------------------- 18 

Early Observations of Alaska and its Glaciers --------------------------------------------------------- 20 

Traditional Knowledge ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------20 

Limited Early Descriptions of Glaciers ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------20 

18th and 19th Century Explorations and Observations of Alaska and its Glaciers ------ 20 

Vitus Bering-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------21 

James Cook -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------21 

Jean François de Galaup de La Pérouse ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------21 

Figure 9. Three maps (1797, 1961, 1972) of Lituya Bay-----------------------------------------------------------------22 

Alexandro Malaspina---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------22 

George Vancouver -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------22 

Edward Belcher-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------24 

George Simpson ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------25 

Mikhail Dimitrievich Teben’kov-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------25 

Figure 10. Two maps of the Gulf of Alaska coastal area from Yakutat Bay to Cape Suckling ---------------------24 

William P. Blake-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------25 

Figure 11. Part of Blake's 1868 map of the Stikine River area ----------------------------------------------------------25 

William H. Dall-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------26 

George Davidson ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------27 

Figure 12. 1875 sketch map of the St. Elias Alpine Region--------------------------------------------------------------26 

13. Map showing the glaciers of the Icy Strait-Cross Sound region in 1902 ---------------------------------27 

Charles Erskine Scott Wood ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------27 

John Muir --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------28 

U.S. Military Expeditions---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------28 

Figure 14. 1883 lithograph of an Alaskan glacier -------------------------------------------------------------------------28 

15. 1887 lithograph of the terminus of Miles Glacier ------------------------------------------------------------29 

George Frederick Wright ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------28 

Figure 16. 1886 photograph of the terminus of Norris Glacier ---------------------------------------------------------29 

17. Wright's 1889 sketch map of southeastern Alaska ----------------------------------------------------------30 

New York Times Expedition----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------29 

Israel C. Russell-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------30 

Figure 18. I.C. Russell's 1891 "Sketch Map of the Mount St. Elias Region" -------------------------------------------30 

19. Photographs of USGS field party crossing the Malaspina Glacier in 1891 and 

Russell and field party on their survey of the St. Elias Mountains -------------------------------------31 

Henry Fielding Reid-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------32 

Figure 20. 1893 photograph of the terminus of Muir Glacier -----------------------------------------------------------32 

Alaska-Canada Boundary Surveys -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------33 

National Geographic Society Expeditions -------------------------------------------------------------------------------33 

Duke of Abruzzi-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------34 

Figure 21. Part of a 1897 panoramic photograph of "The Chain of St. Elias and [Mount] Augusta..." -----------34 

CONTENTS IX 
Page 

Postcards---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------35 

Figure 22. Late 19th/early 20th century postcard of the terminus of Taku Glacier ---------------------------------35 

Harriman Alaska Expedition ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------35 

Figure 23. Photograph of John Muir at Cascading Glacier on 20 June 1899------------------------------------------36 

Selected 20th Century Explorations and Observations of Alaska’s Glaciers --------------- 36 

Early USGS Investigations and Photography --------------------------------------------------------------------------36 

Ralph S. Tarr and Lawrence Martin -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------37 

Figure 24. Tarr and Martin's 1914 graphic showing the U.S. Capitol superimposed on Child's Glacier ---------39 

25. Oscar D. von Engeln washing a strip of negatives in Yakutat Bay in 1910 -------------------------------39 

Early Aerial Photography of Glaciers by the U.S. Government------------------------------------------------38 

Figure 26. Cameras developed by James W. Bagley for use in Alaska topographic surveys-----------------------39 

27. 1929 vertical aerial photograph of the North and South Crillon Glaciers -------------------------------40 

28. 1926 photograph of Alaska Aerial Survey Expedition operations in Juneau Harbor ------------------41 

29. Phototriplet obtained with the Bagley 3-lens T-1 camera in 1926-----------------------------------------41 

30. 1929 oblique aerial photograph by Alaska Aerial Survey Expedition of Twin Glaciers ---------------41 

Later Vertical Aerial Photography Programs----------------------------------------------------------------------------42 

Figure 31. Nine-lens vertical aerial photograph of Fairweather Glacier in 1959 ------------------------------------42 

32. AHAP photograph of the Alsek Glacier on 21 June 1978 ---------------------------------------------------44 

William Osgood Field --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------43 

Figure 33. American Geographical Society Glacier Studies Map 64-2-G8 compiled by W.O. Field in 1959 -----45 

34. American Geographical Society Glacier Studies Map 64-3-G7 compiled by W.O. Field in 1964 -----46 

35. Map of Little Jarvis Glacier on 18 September 1957----------------------------------------------------------47 

Bradford Washburn -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------48 

Figure 36. Oblique aerial photograph of the southeastern terminus of Bering Glacier in 1938 -------------------48 

37. Oblique aerial photograph of contorted medial moraines on Malaspina Glacier in 1938 -------------49 

38. Oblique aerial photograph of an array of subparallel medial moraines on 

Barnard Glacier in 1938 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------49 

Austin Post ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------50 

Robert M. Krimmel ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------50 

Ground, Vertical, and Oblique Aerial Photographs by Other USGS Glaciologists --------------------51 

Part 2—Glaciological Topics---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 52 

Tidewater Glaciers------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 52 

Figure 39. Photograph on 15 July 1979 of the terminus of the tidewater Muir Glacier -----------------------------52 

40. Oblique aerial photograph of the central terminus of Bering Glacier on 16 August 1998 -------------53 

Table 2. Glaciological characteristics of existing and former tidewater glaciers of Alaska --------------------56 

Columbia and Hubbard Tidewater Glaciers, by Robert M. Krimmel ----------------------------------------54 

Introduction -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------54 

Figure 41. Map of active and former tidewater glaciers of Alaska-----------------------------------------------------53 

42. Diagram of tidewater glacier cycle ----------------------------------------------------------------------------55 

Table 3. Terminus status of major tidewater glaciers of Alaska in 1999--------------------------------------------57 

Columbia Glacier ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------60 

Figure 43. Two oblique aerial photographs of Columbia Glacier on 22 August 1979 and on 

12 September 1986 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------60 

44. Oblique aerial photograph of Columbia Glacier on 10 January 1993-------------------------------------62 

45. Landsat 3 RBV image of Columbia Glacier on 7 September 1979-----------------------------------------63 

46. Mosaic of five vertical aerial photographs of the lower reach of the Columbia Glacier 

on 2 October 1998 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------65 

Stereophotogrammetry -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------64 

Figure 47. Graph showing changing length of Columbia Glacier between 1976 and 1999-------------------------66 

48. Graph showing the seasonal variation of the length of Columbia Glacier ------------------------------67 

49. Graph showing surface speed of Columbia Glacier at three locations between 

1977 and 1997 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------67 

50. Graph showing average annual speed in meters per day of Columbia Glacier in 

1978 and 1993 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------67 

51. Graph showing seasonal-speed deviations from the normalized speed near the 

terminus of Columbia Glacier --------------------------------------------------------------------------------68 

52. Graph showing the surface altitude of Columbia Glacier in 1950, 1974, 1993, and 1996 --------------69 

X CONTENTS 
Page 

Hubbard Glacier -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------70 

Figure 53. Landsat 5 TM image of Hubbard Glacier on 7 August 1985 ------------------------------------------------71 

54. Map showing advance of Hubbard Glacier terminus between 1965 and 1997 --------------------------72 

55. Oblique aerial photograph of terminus of Hubbard Glacier on 29 August 1984 ------------------------72 

56. Oblique aerial photograph of the Hubbard Glacier ice dam on 12 September 1986 -------------------73 

Surge-Type Glaciers ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 74 

Figure 57. Oblique aerial photograph of the Susitna Glacier on 5 September 1966---------------------------------75 

Glacier-Dammed Lakes and Glacier-Outburst Floods (Jökulhlaups) -------------------------- 76 

Figure 58. AHAP photograph of ice-marginal lake surrounding the terminus of Sheridan Glacier 

and debris-covered terminus of Sherman Glacier on 13 August 1982 ---------------------------------77 

59. AHAP photograph of Kenibuna Lake, Chakachamna Lake, and Shamrock Glacier on 

20 July 1980------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------78 

Jökulhlaups at Bering Glacier-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 79 

Figure 60. 12 September 1986 oblique aerial photograph of jökulhlaup from Berg Lake, and 

photograph showing the exposed lakebed on 11 August 1998 ------------------------------------------80 

61. Oblique aerial photograph of a channel cut through the eastern terminus of the 

Bering Glacier on 29 July 1994 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------81 

Debris-Covered Glaciers---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 81 

Part 3—Descriptions of Alaska’s 14 Glacierized Geographic Regions ------------------------------ 84 

Introduction--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 84 

Analysis of Glacier Activity -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------84 

Evidence of Glacier Retreat Used in This Analysis -------------------------------------------------------------85 

Figure 62. Oblique aerial photograph on 20 August 1977 of a valley glacier (informally called 

Five Stripe Glacier) in the Chugach Mountains----------------------------------------------------------85 

63. Oblique aerial photograph on 3 October 1979 of an unnamed hanging glacier in Glacier Bay-------85 

Evidence of Glacier Advance Used in This Analysis -----------------------------------------------------------86 

Figure 64. 15 July 1978 photograph of part of the terminus of Harriman Glacier -----------------------------------86 

65. 14 July 1994 oblique aerial photograph of a lobe of Bering Glacier overriding an alder forest ------86 

66. Photograph of a late 19th century advance of La Perouse Glacier on 18 June 1899 -------------------86 

67. 12 July 1991 photograph of three sheared tree trunks exposed by retreat of the Bering Glacier----87 

Evidence of Glacier Stagnation Used in This Analysis --------------------------------------------------------86 

Figure 68. Oblique aerial photograph of vegetation growing on the surface of Bering Glacier on 

8 June 1976 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------87 

69. Photograph of a debris-covered ice-cored moraine near the retreating terminus of 

Herbert Glacier on 8 July 1968 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------87 

70. AHAP photograph of large thermokarst pits on Bering Glacier on 27 July 1983 -----------------------88 

Coast Mountains -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 89 

Figure 71. Index map and NOAA AVHRR image mosaic of the Coast Mountains -----------------------------------88 

Portland Canal to Burroughs Bay and the Unuk River-------------------------------------------------------------91 

Figure 72. Part of a Landsat 2 MSS image from the Portland Canal to Burroughs Bay and the 

Unuk River on 10 August 1980--------------------------------------------------------------------------------90 

73. Part of an AHAP photograph of the unnamed, southeasternmost glacier in Alaska on 

12 August 1979 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------91 

74. Part of an AHAP photograph of the retreating Soule Glacier on 14 August 1979 and part of 

the 1955 USGS Ketchikan 1:250,000-scale map showing Soule Glacier -------------------------------92 

75. AHAP photograph of the lower 8 km of the Chickamin Glacier and other nearby glaciers on 

14 August 1979 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 93 

Burroughs Bay and the Unuk River to the Stikine River ----------------------------------------------------------92 

Figure 76. Landsat 2 MSS image mosaic of the Coast Mountains from Burroughs Bay and the Unuk River 

to the Stikine River (10 and 11 August 1980)------------------------------------------------------------- 93 

77. Part of an AHAP photograph of Nelson Glacier on 11 August 1979 --------------------------------------94 

Stikine River to Taku River------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------94 

Figure	 78. Landsat 2 MSS image mosaic of the Coast Mountains from Stikine River to Taku River 

(19 August 1979, 11 August 1980) and an August 1997 space shuttle photograph of 

part of the Stikine Icefield------------------------------------------------------------------------------------95 

79. Part of an AHAP photograph of Popof Glacier, and smaller, unnamed glaciers on 

11 August 1979 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------97 

80. AHAP photograph of Shakes Glacier on 11 August 1979, and an oblique aerial photograph of 

the terminus of Shakes Glacier on 23 August 1990 -------------------------------------------------------98 

CONTENTS XI 
Page 

81. Map of Frederick Sound and Le Conte Bay showing bathymetry and terminus positions of 

Le Conte Glacier ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------99 

82. AHAP photograph of the terminus of Baird Glacier and other nearby glaciers on 

11 August 1979 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------100 

83. Oblique aerial photograph of the terminus of South Sawyer Glacier on 26 August 1960 -----------102 

84. Landsat 5 TM image of the Coast Mountains from just south of Tracy Arm to the Taku River 

on 9 September 1984 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------103 

Taku River to the Canadian Border East of Gilkey Glacier ----------------------------------------------------104 

Figure	 85. Landsat 2 and 3 MSS image mosaic of the Coast Mountains from the Taku River to the 

Canadian border (31 August 1977, 30 July 1978, 19 August 1979) ------------------------------------104 

86. Landsat 5 TM image of the Coast Mountains from east of the Taku River to west of Berners 

Bay on 9 September 1984------------------------------------------------------------------------------------105 

87. AHAP photograph of Taku Inlet and surrounding area on 11 August 1979----------------------------106 

88. Oblique aerial photograph of the northeastern terminus of the advancing Taku Glacier on 

14 September 1968 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------107 

89. Map of the Taku Inlet and River area showing terminus positions of Taku, Norris, and 

Hole-in-the-Wall Glaciers------------------------------------------------------------------------------------108 

90. Oblique aerial photograph of the bulbous terminus of the advancing Hole-in-the-Wall Glacier 

on 28 July 1968 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------109 

91. AHAP photograph of the termini of East and West Twin Glaciers on 11 August 1979 ---------------110 

92. Bagley camera vertical and oblique aerial photographs of East and West Twin Glaciers 

in 1929-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 110 

93. 5 July 1985, 29 May 1986, 27 June 1988, and 2 July 1989 photographs of Mendenhall Glacier 

and environs---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------112 

94. Oblique aerial photograph of the lower reaches of the retreating Herbert Glacier on 

24 August 1963 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------114 

95. AHAP photographic mosaic of Gilkey Glacier and some of its principal tributaries on 

11 August 1979 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------115 

Glaciers North of the Juneau Icefield ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------115 

Figure 96. Part of the 1961 USGS 1:250,000-scale Skagway, Alaska-Canada map---------------------------------116 

97. AHAP photograph of an unnamed glacier west of Chilkat Glacier on 11 August 1979 --------------118 

Summary -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------118 

Alexander Archipelago-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------119 

Figure 98. Index map and NOAA AVHRR image mosaic of the Alexander Archipelago -------------------------119 

Revillagigedo Island --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------119 

Prince of Wales Island -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------120 

Kupreanof Island -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------120 

Baranof Island -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------120 

Figure 99. AHAP photograph of Baranof Island, north of Mount Furuhelm and east of Sitka on 

11 August 1979 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------121 

Chichagof Island--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------120 

Admiralty Island --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------121 

Summary -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------121 

St. Elias Mountains----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------123 

Introduction --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------123 

Figure 100. Index map and NOAA AVHRR image mosaic of the St. Elias Mountains ------------------------------122 

101. Aerial photograph of the summit of Mount St. Elias on 28 July 2001-----------------------------------124 

Southeastern St. Elias Mountains Segment: From the Lynn Canal and Chilkat Inlet 

and River to the Eastern Side of the Alsek River ----------------------------------------------------------------124 

Figure 102. Landsat 2 and 3 MSS image mosaic of the St. Elias Mountains from Lynn Canal to the 

Alsek River (31 August 1977, 30 July 1978, 28 August 1978, 19 August 1979) -----------------------125 

103. AHAP photograph of the area around the Tsirku River on 11 August 1979 ---------------------------126 

104. August 1946 and 31 August 1978 aerial photographs of Davidson Glacier ----------------------------127 

Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve--------------------------------------------------------------------------------128 

Figure 105. Landsat 1 MSS image of Glacier Bay and environs on 12 September 1973, and map 

showing contours of equal snowline altitude------------------------------------------------------------128 

106. Landsat 3 RBV image mosaic of most of Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve on 

12 August 1979 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------131 

Table 4. Accumulation area ratios for glaciers in Glacier Bay and environs ------------------------------------132 

XII CONTENTS 
Page 

Figure 107. Map of the Glacier Bay region showing the retreat of Glacier Bay ice cover between 

1750 and the 1990s, and oblique orbital view of Glacier Bay and environs 

(combined Landsat 7 ETM+ image and USGS NED) ---------------------------------------------------133 

108. Part of a Landsat 1 MSS image of the Glacier Bay region on 12 September 1973---------------------135 

Muir Inlet---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------137 

Figure 109. Landsat MSS images of upper Muir Inlet on 12 September 1973 and 6 September 1986 ------------138 

Adams Inlet ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------138 

Figure 110. AHAP photograph of central Adams Inlet and the area to the north on 11 August 1979 ------------138 

Wachusett Inlet------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------139 

Figure 111. AHAP photograph of upper Wachusett Inlet on 11 August 1979 --------------------------------------- 139 

112. Oblique aerial photograph of Burroughs Glacier on 12 September 1986 ------------------------------140 

113. Oblique aerial photograph of the rapidly retreating Plateau Glacier on 25 August 1968------------140 

Upper Muir Inlet----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------141 

Figure 114. AHAP photographic mosaic of upper Muir Inlet on 11 August 1979 -----------------------------------141 

115. Oblique aerial photograph of the retreating terminus of McBride Glacier on 28 June 1980--------142 

116. Oblique aerial photograph of the terminus of Riggs Glacier on 3 October 1979----------------------142 

117. Oblique aerial photograph of Upper Muir Inlet on 24 August 1963 -------------------------------------143 

118. Oblique aerial photograph of Muir Glacier on 12 September 1986 -------------------------------------143 

Queen Inlet------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------144 

Rendu Inlet------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------144 

Figure 119. AHAP photograph of Rendu Glacier, Romer Glacier, and several unnamed retreating 

glaciers on 11 August 1979 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------144 

Tarr Inlet ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------144 

Figure 120. AHAP photograph of the termini of Margerie and Grand Pacific Glaciers on 

11 August 1979 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------145 

121. Segments of four Landsat MSS images of Margerie Glacier, between 12 September 1973 and 

7 September 1986---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------146 

Johns Hopkins Inlet-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------146 

Figure 122. Oblique aerial photograph of Johns Hopkins Glacier on 12 September 1986 ------------------------147 

123. AHAP photograph of numerous glaciers at the head of Johns Hopkins Inlet on 14 August 1978--147 

124. 11 August 1979 AHAP photographic mosaic of the lower reaches of Lamplugh and 

Reid Glaciers --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------148 

125. Photograph of the summit of Mount Abbe on 27 July 1980 ----------------------------------------------148 

Reid Inlet---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------148 

Hugh Miller, Charpentier, and Geikie Inlets -----------------------------------------------------------------------148 

Figure 126. Photograph by G.K. Gilbert of part of the West Arm of Glacier Bay in June 1899 --------------------149 

127. AHAP photographic mosaic of glaciers on the southwest side of Glacier Bay on 

11 August 1979 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------149 

Glaciers of the Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve Region from West of Glacier Bay 

to the Alsek River ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------149 

Figure 128. Oblique aerial photograph of glaciers flowing into the trench of the Fairweather Fault on 

24 August 1987 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------149 

Brady Glacier --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------150 

Figure 129. AHAP photographic mosaic of the Brady Glacier and Taylor Bay on 12 August 1979---------------150 

130. Oblique aerial photograph of the advancing terminus of Brady Glacier on 

16 September 1966 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------151 

131. Oblique aerial photograph of a retreating and thinning unnamed glacier north of 

Palma Bay on 12 September 1973--------------------------------------------------------------------------151 

Finger and La Perouse Glaciers-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------152 

Figure 132. AHAP photograph of Finger Glacier and La Perouse Glacier on 12 August 1979 --------------------152 

133. Oblique aerial photograph of the eastern terminus of La Perouse Glacier on 

12 September 1986 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------153 

134. Oblique aerial photograph of part of the eastern terminus of La Perouse Glacier on 

18 June 1978 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------153 

135. Two oblique aerial photographs of the eastern lobe terminus of La Perouse Glacier on 

16 September 1966 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------153 

CONTENTS XIII 
Page 

Glaciers of Lituya Bay -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------154 

Figure 136. AHAP photograph showing North Crillon, Lituya, and Cascade Glaciers on 12 August 1979------154 

137. Aerial photograph showing the head of Lituya Bay on 2 August 1999 ---------------------------------155 

138. Photograph of the terminus of Cascade Glacier on 18 July 1979 ---------------------------------------155 

139. Aerial photograph mosaic of Lituya Glacier, Desolation Glacier, and proglacial 

Desolation Lake on 25 June 1998 --------------------------------------------------------------------------156 

Fairweather and Sea Otter Glaciers-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------157 

Figure 140. AHAP photograph of Fairweather Glacier and Sea Otter Glacier on 12 August 1979 ---------------157 

Grand Plateau Glacier -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------157 

Figure 141. Digital X-band radar image of the terminus of Grand Plateau Glacier in 1988------------------------158 

Alsek Glacier---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------157 

Figure 142. Oblique aerial photograph of the terminus of Alsek Glacier on 25 August 1960----------------------158 

143. AHAP photograph of the retreating, thinning terminus of Alsek Glacier on 12 August 1978 ------159 

South-central St. Elias Mountains Segment: From the Western Side of the Alsek River to 

the Western Side of Yakutat Bay-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------159 

Figure 144. Landsat 2 MSS image of the western St. Elias Mountains, including Malaspina Glacier, 

Hubbard Glacier, and other nearby glaciers on 24 August 1979 --------------------------------------160 

145. Oblique aerial photograph of Harlequin Lake and the terminus of Yakutat Glacier on 

12 September 1986 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------161 

Glaciers of the Eastern Yakutat Bay Region --------------------------------------------------------------------------161 

Southern Russell Fiord------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------161 

Hidden Glacier ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------162 

Figure 146. Photograph by G.K. Gilbert of the terminus of Hidden Glacier on 20 June 1899 ---------------------162 

147. Map showing changes in the position of the terminus of Hidden Glacier between 1905 

and 1970--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------162 

Nunatak Fiord -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------162 

Figure 148. AHAP photograph of Nunatak Fiord and the termini of Art Lewis Glacier and 

East and West Nunatak Glaciers ---------------------------------------------------------------------------162 

West Nunatak Glacier----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------162 

East Nunatak Glacier ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------163 

Glaciers of Disenchantment Bay ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------163 

Variegated Glacier -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------164 

Figure 149. AHAP photographic mosaic of Disenchantment Bay and environs on 18 August 1978 -------------164 

150. Landsat 3 RBV image of glaciers north and east of Yakutat on 19 August 1978-----------------------165 

151. Sketch map of Disenchantment Bay showing Malaspina's 1791 survey of Hubbard Glacier ------166 

152. Two oblique aerial photographs of the terminus of Variegated Glacier on 29 August 1964 

and 22 August 1965 showing changes resulting from a surge -----------------------------------------167 

153. Two photographs of Variegated Glacier showing surge features on 4 June 1983 and on 

7 July 1983 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------167 

Hubbard Glacier----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------168 

Figure 154. Photograph by I.C. Russell of the terminus of Hubbard Glacier in 1890-------------------------------168 

The 1986 and 2002 Temporary Closures of Russell Fiord by Hubbard Glacier, 

by Bruce F. Molnia, Dennis C. Trabant, Rod S. March, and Robert M. Krimmel---------------170 

Figure 155. Landsat 5 TM images of the terminus of Hubbard Glacier on 7 August 1985 and 

11 September 1986 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------170 

156. Three graphs of the filling and emptying of Russell Lake during the 1986 and 2002 

closures events -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------171 

157. Oblique aerial photograph of the advancing terminus of Hubbard Glacier on 13 June 2002 -------173 

Southwestern St. Elias Mountains Segment: From the Western Side of Yakutat Bay to the 

Western Bagley Ice Valley, the Western Robinson Mountains, and the Bering Lobe------------174 

Figure 158. Two aerial photographs of the termini of Haenke and Turner Glaciers on 25 August 1969 

and 2 August 1999 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------175 

159. Photograph by I.C. Russell of the tidewater terminus of Turner Glacier in August 1891 -----------176 

Malaspina Glacier System--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------176 

Figure 160. Landsat 1 MSS image of Malaspina Glacier and environs on 12 February 1973 ----------------------177 

161. AHAP photograph of the southern margin of Malaspina Glacier in August 1978 --------------------178 

162. Oblique aerial photograph of part of the terminus of Malaspina Glacier at Sitkagi Bluffs on 

30 July 1999----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------178 

XIV CONTENTS 
Page 

163. Oblique aerial photograph of the medial moraines of the Seward Lobe of Malaspina 

Glacier on 17 September 1972 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------179 

164. Oblique aerial photograph showing the developing Malaspina Lake on 25 August 1969 -----------179 

165. Side-looking airborne radar (SLAR) image of the piedmont lobe of the Malaspina Glacier 

in November 1986 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------181 

Glaciers of Icy Bay ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------183 

Figure 166. Physiographic diagram showing 1974 glacier positions and the pre-1910 position of the 

large terminal moraine of Guyot Glacier -----------------------------------------------------------------184 

167. Oblique aerial photograph showing the retreating glaciers at the head of Icy Bay on 

24 August 1963 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------184 

168. Oblique aerial photographs showing the retreat of Tyndall Glacier on 24 August 1963, 

12 September 1986, and 13 August 1998 ------------------------------------------------------------------185 

169. Oblique aerial photographs showing the slowly retreating Guyot and Yahtse Glaciers in 1938, 

on 25 August 1969, and on 12 September 1986-----------------------------------------------------------186 

170. Photograph of a part of the subglacial channel under the Guyot Remnant on 28 July 1999 -------187 

171. Oblique aerial photograph showing the retreating glacier margins at the head of 

Tsaa Fiord on 22 July 1980 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------187 

Glaciers West of Icy Bay--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------188 

Figure 172. AHAP photograph of White River, Eberly, and Yakataga Glaciers on 18 August 1978---------------188 

173. Oblique aerial photograph of Mount Miller and numerous retreating glaciers on 

12 September 1986 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------189 

Northwestern St. Elias Mountains Segment: From the Canadian Border (long 141° W.) to 

White River, Chitistone River, Tana River, the Eastern Wall of the Valley of Tana Glacier, 

and the Southern Side of the Bagley Ice Valley-------------------------------------------------------------------189 

Figure 174. Oblique aerial photograph of the confluence of the Walsh and Logan Glaciers on 

31 August 1984 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------190 

175. Landsat 3 RBV image of surging glaciers in the northwestern St. Elias Mountains on 

5 July 1980 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------191 

176. AHAP photograph of the confluence of Logan and Chitina Glaciers on 9 July 1978 -----------------192 

177. AHAP photograph of the northern part of the Granite Range showing many of its 

glaciers on 27 July 1982--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------192 

178. Oblique aerial photographs of small valley glaciers in the Granite Range on 10 August 2001------193 

179. AHAP photographic mosaic of numerous valley glaciers along Granite Creek on 

18 August 1978 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------193 

180. Photograph showing a small actively surging glacier in Goat Creek drainage south of 

Barnard Glacier on 14 September 1986 -------------------------------------------------------------------195 

181. Oblique aerial photograph of Barnard Glacier on 31 August 1984--------------------------------------195 

Summary -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------196 

Chugach Mountains ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------197 

Introduction --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------197 

Figure 182. Index map and NOAA AVHRR, and Landsat MSS image mosaic of the Chugach Mountains-------199 

Bering Glacier System Segment---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------202 

Introduction ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------202 

Figure 183. Landsat 2 MSS image of the Bering Glacier System and Icy Bay on 23 September 1977 ------------203 

184. Map of Vitus Lake and the margin of Bering Glacier showing bathymetry of the lake --------------204 

185. Map of the lower reaches of the Bering Glacier -----------------------------------------------------------204 

186. Map and sketch showing the Bering Trough and glacially eroded morphology of the 

continental shelf in the vicinity of Bering Glacier ------------------------------------------------------205 

187. Photograph of the only bedrock outcrop along the perimeter of Bering Glacier on 

13 August 1992 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------206 

188. Side-looking airborne radar image of the Bering Glacier's Piedmont Lobe on 

3 August 1990--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------206 

189. AHAP photograph of the retreating terminus of the Bering Lobe on 18 August 1978 ---------------207 

190. Two oblique aerial photographs of the Central Medial Moraine Band in 1938 and in 

September 1986-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------207 

191. Three oblique aerial photographs of the northwestern terminus of the Steller Lobe of 

Bering Glacier in 1938, on 6 October 1974, and on 12 August 2001 ----------------------------------208 

Pre-20th Century Observations of Bering Glacier --------------------------------------------------------------209 

Figure 192. Part of a late 19th century chart by the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey of the Gulf of Alaska ----209 

CONTENTS XV 
Page 

Figure 193. Map showing positions of the terminus of Bering Glacier between 1900 and 1993------------------210 

194. Oblique aerial photograph of the eastern margin of the Bering Glacier on 12 August 1961 --------211 

195. Oblique aerial photograph showing retreat of the surge-terminus region of Bering Glacier 

on 17 August 1979 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------211 

20th Century Observations of Bering Glacier --------------------------------------------------------------------211 

Berg Lake----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------212 

Surges of the Bering Glacier----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------213 

The 1957–60, 1965–67, and 1993–95 Surges of the Bering Glacier --------------------------------------214 

1957–60 and 1965–67 Surges -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------214 

Figure 196. Oblique aerial photograph showing retreat of the Piedmont Lobe region of Bering Glacier 

on 20 July 1993 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------215 

197. Photograph showing part of a mass of debris-covered stagnant Bering Glacier ice on 

29 July 1990----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------215 

The 1993–95 Surge --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------215 

Figure 198. Oblique aerial photograph of the disintegrating terminus of the Bering Glacier on 

6 October 1993 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------216 

The 1993–94 Phase--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------216 

Figure 199. Oblique aerial photograph of surge-thickened ice of the Bagley Ice Valley on 6 October 1993 ----217 

200. Photograph of fracturing in the Central Medial Moraine Band on 24 July 1994 ----------------------217 

201. Map showing terminus positions of Bering Glacier between 10 July 1993 and 

7 September 1994---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------217 

202. Two aerial photographs of the Tsitus (Arrowhead) Island area on 7 October 1993 and 

9 July 1995 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------218 

Surge-Produced Changes in Vitus Lake -------------------------------------------------------------------------219 

The 1995 Phase ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------219 

Figure 203. Photographs showing two views of changes occurring on the southeast shoreline of 

Vitus Lake on 6 and 9 July 1995-----------------------------------------------------------------------------220 

204. Oblique aerial photographs of fracturing and crevassing that occurred during the 

1993–1994 surge, on 9 May 1994 and 24 July 1994 -------------------------------------------------------221 

The 1994–1995 Jökulhlaup -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------222 

Figure 205. Oblique aerial photograph of a blue-water lake formed on the surface of Bering Glacier 

on 24 July 1994 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------222 

206. Three photographs of the evolution of kettle ponds that formed during the 1994–95 

jökulhlaup on 30 April 1996, 1 May 1996, and 20 July 1996---------------------------------------------223 

207. Vertical aerial photograph of Seal River on 7 September 1994 ------------------------------------------224 

208. Photographs showing multiple views of the sediment plume from the Seal River in 1938, 

on 24 August 1978, on 12 July 1976, and on 22 August 2003 -------------------------------------------224 

Post-Surge Retreat of Bering Glacier-----------------------------------------------------------------------------226 

Figure 209. Two oblique aerial photographs of the continued retreat of Bering Glacier on 6 June 1997 

and 12 August 2001 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------227 

210. Oblique aerial photograph of the post-surge retreat of Bering Glacier on 10 August 1998 ---------227 

211. Oblique aerial photograph of the post-surge retreat of Bering Glacier on 12 August 1998 ---------228 

212. Photograph of an uplifted pyramidal-shaped piece of ice in the calving embayment of Bering 

Glacier in Vitus Lake on 26 September 1997 -------------------------------------------------------------228 

213. Oblique aerial photograph of the terminus of Bering Glacier on 12 August 2001 --------------------229 

Steller Glacier Activity ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------229 

Figure 214. Two oblique aerial photographs of the effects of the surge on the ice-cored lateral moraine 

of the Stellar Lobe on 12 August 2000 and 12 August 2001----------------------------------------------229 

Glaciers of Waxell Ridge----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------229 

Figure 215. Photograph showing view of Mount Steller and a number of retreating, unnamed 

glaciers on 8 August 2001-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 230 

Glaciers of the Southern Side of Juniper Island-----------------------------------------------------------------230 

Figure 216. Oblique aerial photograph of the Juniper Island area on 12 August 2001 -----------------------------230 

Holocene History of Bering Glacier-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------231 

Figure 217. Close-up photograph on 13 August 1992 of an in situ mollusk in the Yakataga Formation--------231 

218. Photograph of part of a peat deposit on the northeast side of Tashalich Arm on 

13 August 1992 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------231 

219. Five sketch maps that depict positions of the terminus of the Bering Glacier during the 

last half of its Holocene history ----------------------------------------------------------------------------232 

XVI CONTENTS 
Page 

Copper River Drainage Segment (Including Glaciers That Drain Directly into the 

Copper River Delta) -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------233 

Martin River Glacier–Martin River–Lower Copper River–Bremner River–West Fork Tana 

River–Tana Glacier Subdivision------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------234 

Ragged Mountains -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------234 

Martin River Glacier ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------234 

Figure 220. Oblique aerial photograph on 31 July 1999 of a pair of small, retreating unnamed glaciers--------235 

Slide Glacier----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------236 

Figure 221. Two oblique aerial photographs of Slide Glacier, with 1964 earthquake-produced 

rock avalanches on 6 October 1974 and 13 August 1990 -----------------------------------------------236 

Johnson Glacier-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------237 

McPherson Glacier ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------237 

Miles Glacier ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------237 

Figure 222. Two photographs of the terminus area of Miles Glacier in Miles Lake on 13 August 1994 

and 12 August 2001 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------238 

Van Cleve Glacier --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------239 

Figure 223. Aerial photograph of the southern part of Van Cleve Lake on 7 September 1994 --------------------239 

Large Glaciers North of Miles Glacier--------------------------------------------------------------------------------239 

Wernicke Glacier-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------239 

Fan Glacier -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------240 

Figure 224. Two aerial photographs of Fan Glacier on 18 August 1978 (AHAP) and 16 August 2000 -----------240 

225. AHAP photograph mosaic of the debris-covered Bremner Glacier on 18 August 1978 -------------241 

Bremner Glacier -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------242 

Tana Glacier------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------242 

Figure 226. AHAP photograph of the terminus of the eastern distributary of Tana Glacier on 

18 August 1978 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------243 

The Bremner River–Upper Copper River–Chitina River–Tana River Subdivision (Located 

East of the Copper River)---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------243 

Figure 227. Photograph by Moffitt showing early 20th century evidence of retreat of an 

unnamed glacier ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------243 

The Western Copper River Delta–Lower Copper River–Tasnuna River Subdivision 

(Located on the West Side of the Copper River) ----------------------------------------------------------------244 

Figure 228. AHAP photographic mosaic of the area between Copper River and Glacier River on 

13 August 1982 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------244 

Saddlebag Glacier--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------244 

Sherman Glacier----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------245 

Figure 229. Three aerial photographs of Sherman Glacier on 24 August 1964, 22 August 1979, and 

29 August 1984 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------246 

Sheridan Glacier --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------247 

Figure 230. Aerial photograph of the terminus of Sheridan Glacier on 22 August 1979 ---------------------------248 

231. Oblique aerial photograph of the ice-marginal lakes in front of Sheridan Glacier on 

17 August 2000 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------248 

Scott Glacier----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------248 

Figure 232. Two aerial photographs of Scott Glacier on 24 July 1987 and 17 August 2000 ------------------------249 

Glaciers Draining into the Tasnuna River --------------------------------------------------------------------------249 

Woodworth Glacier -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------249 

Figure 233. Near-vertical aerial photograph of glacial landforms in front of Woodworth Glacier in 

August 1938----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------249 

234. AHAP photograph of Woodworth Glacier on 25 August 1978 -------------------------------------------250 

Schwan Glacier -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------250 

Figure 235. AHAP photograph of Schwan Glacier on 9 July 1978 -----------------------------------------------------251 

Small Glaciers Between Schwan and Heney Glaciers -------------------------------------------------------250 

Heney Glacier--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------251 

Allen Glacier----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------251 

Figure 236. Two oblique aerial photographs of Allen Glacier on 17 August 2000-----------------------------------252 

Grinnell Glacier-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------252 

Figure 237. Oblique aerial photograph of Grinnell Glacier on 17 August 2000--------------------------------------253 

Childs Glacier--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------253 

CONTENTS XVII 
Page 

Figure 238. Aerial photograph on 13 August 1994 and oblique aerial photographic mosaic of the 

terminus of Childs Glacier on 17 August 2000 -----------------------------------------------------------254 

Goodwin Glacier ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------254 

Cleave Creek Glacier–Upper Copper River–Stephens Glacier–Tonsina Glacier 

Northwestern Subdivision --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------254 

Cleave Creek Glacier---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------255 

Figure 239. Oblique aerial photograph of the retreating terminus of Cleave Creek Glacier on 

8 August 1996--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------255 

Worthington Glacier ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------255 

Tonsina Glacier -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------256 

Figure 240. AHAP photograph of the terminus of Tonsina Glacier on 25 August 1978 ----------------------------257 

Klutina and Stephens Glaciers-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------257 

Figure 241. Oblique aerial photograph of Klutina Glacier on 30 August 2000 --------------------------------------257 

Prince William Sound Segment—Heney Range to the East Side of Valdez Arm Subdivision--258 

Shephard Glacier---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------258 

Glaciers of the Rude River Drainage----------------------------------------------------------------------------------258 

Cordova Glacier ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------258 

Glaciers South of Lowe River -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------258 

Figure 242. Three oblique aerial photographs of unnamed glaciers in the Rude River drainage on 

8 August 2000--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------259 

Wortmanns Glacier -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------259 

Figure 243. AHAP photograph of the terminus of Wortmanns Glacier and other nearby glaciers on 

25 August 1978 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------259 

Bench Glacier ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------259 

Heiden Glacier --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------260 

Deserted Glacier -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------260 

Glaciers North of Lowe River and West of Keystone Canyon --------------------------------------------260 

Valdez Glacier --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------260 

Figure 244. Two photographs showing changes at Valdez and Camicia Glaciers in 1905 and on 

8 August 2000--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------261 

Prince William Sound Segment—The Northern Prince William Sound Subdivision---------------262 

Figure 245. Landsat 3 MSS image of the western Chugach Mountains on 26 August 1978-------------------------262 

Shoup Glacier--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------263 

Figure 246. Two photographs of Shoup Glacier showing the position of its terminus on 13 July 1908 and 

8 August 2000--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------263 

Columbia Glacier---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------264 

Figure 247. AHAP photograph of the terminus of Columbia Glacier on 24 August 1978 --------------------------264 

248. Photographs of the lower Columbia Glacier on 25 and 26 June 1899 ----------------------------------266 

249. Map of the lower 15 km of Columbia Glacier on 25–28 June 1899 --------------------------------------267 

250. Three photographs showing late 19th century features at the terminus of 

Columbia Glacier on 26 June 1899-------------------------------------------------------------------------268 

251. Four oblique aerial photographs show changes in the terminus region of Columbia 

Glacier on 3 September 1966, 15 August 1981, 13 August 1990, and 8 August 2000 ----------------270 

252. Three oblique aerial photographs of features along the margin of Columbia Glacier on 

8 August 2000--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------271 

Meares Glacier ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------271 

Figure 253. Aerial photograph of the terminus of Meares Glacier on 17 August 1999 -----------------------------272 

254. Map of the terminus of Meares Glacier showing fluctuations in its terminus from 

1910 to 2000 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------273 

Pedro and Brilliant Glaciers ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------273 

Ranney and Baby Glaciers-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------274 

Glaciers of College Fiord---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------274 

Figure 255. ASTER image of upper College Fiord on 24 June 2000 ---------------------------------------------------274 

256. View of College Fiord shows five tidewater glaciers located on the west side on 8 August 2000--275 

Cap and Tommy Glaciers ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------276 

Crescent and Amherst Glaciers-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------276 

Figure 257. Photograph of Amherst Glacier on 14 July 1978-----------------------------------------------------------276 

Lafayette Glacier-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------277 

XVIII CONTENTS 
Page 

Glaciers Draining into Coghill Lake-------------------------------------------------------------------------------277 

Williams Glacier --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------277 

Muth Glacier -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------277 

Dartmouth Glacier ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------277 

Bathymetry of College Fiord ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------277 

Glaciers of Yale Arm------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------278 

Yale Glacier ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------278 

Figure 258. View of the retreating Yale Glacier on 15 August 1978----------------------------------------------------280 

Unnamed Glaciers of Yale Arm ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------280 

Glaciers of Harvard Arm -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------280 

Harvard Glacier---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------280 

Figure 259. Map of Harvard Glacier showing fluctuations in the position of its terminus from 1899 to 2000 --280 

260. AHAP photograph of upper Harvard Arm and Harvard Glacier on 25 August 1978------------------282 

261. Photographs showing details of the advancing Harvard Glacier on 14 August 1978 

and 31 August 2000 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------283 

Radcliffe Glacier -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------284 

Baltimore Glacier------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------284 

Smith Glacier ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------285 

Figure 262. Two photographs show changes of Smith Glacier between 15 August 1978 and 8 August 2000 ---286 

Bryn Mawr Glacier ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------285 

Figure 263. Oblique aerial photograph of terminus of Bryn Mawr Glacier on 8 August 2000---------------------287 

Vassar Glacier -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------287 

Figure 264. Photograph of the debris-covered terminus of Vassar Glacier on 15 June 1978----------------------287 

Wellesley Glacier-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------288 

Figure 265. Oblique aerial photograph of the retreating terminus of Wellesley Glacier on 8 August 2000 -----288 

Barnard Glacier---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------288 

Holyoke Glacier --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------289 

Barry Arm and Harriman Fiord -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------289 

Figure 266. AHAP photographic mosaic of Harriman Fiord and Barry Arm on 24 August 1978 -----------------289 

Glaciers of Barry Arm ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------290 

Barry Glacier-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------290 

Figure 267. Map of the lower Harriman Fiord and Barry Arm, showing Cascade, Barry, and 

Coxe Glaciers in 1910----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------291 

268. Oblique aerial photographs showing changes in Cascade, Barry, and Coxe 

Glaciers between 8 August 1981 and 8 August 2000 ----------------------------------------------------292 

Coxe Glacier -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------292 

Cascade Glacier --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------293 

Glaciers of Harriman Fiord -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------293 

Serpentine Glacier-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------293 

Figure 269. Photographs showing changes in Serpentine Glacier between 1899 and 6 September 2000 ------293 

270. Oblique aerial photograph of Serpentine Glacier on 8 August 2000 ------------------------------------294 

Penniman Glaciers, Baker Glacier, and Detached Glacier ----------------------------------------295 

Figure 271. Two photographs showing changes in Baker and Detached Glaciers between 1909 and 

6 September 2000---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------295 

Surprise Glacier -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------296 

Figure 272. Aerial photograph of Surprise Inlet and Surprise and Cataract Glaciers on 8 August 2000 --------296 

Cataract Glacier --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------296 

Figure 273. Two photographs showing changes at Cataract Glacier during the 91-year period from 

1909 to 6 September 2000 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------297 

Roaring Glacier ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------297 

Figure 274. Photograph of the retreating terminus of Roaring Glacier on 12 July 1978 ---------------------------298 

Harriman Glacier-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------297 

Figure 275. Three photographs showing characteristics of Harriman Glacier during its advance 

in the late 20th century on 8 June 1976, 15 July 1978, and 6 September 2000 -----------------------299 

Dirty and Wedge Glaciers------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------300 

Toboggan Glacier ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------300 

Glaciers of Port Wells----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------301 

CONTENTS XIX 
Page 

Bettles and Pigot Glaciers -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------301 

Figure 276. Oblique aerial photograph of Pigot Glacier on 8 August 2000 -------------------------------------------301 

Glaciers of Passage Canal ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------302 

Seth and Billings Glaciers------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------302 

Figure 277. Oblique aerial photograph of the retreating and thinning Billings Glacier on 8 August 2000 ------302 

Northwestern Chugach Mountains Segment—North-Flowing Large Valley Glacier 

Subdivision-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------302 

Figure 278. Landsat 7 ETM+ image of the northwestern part of the Chugach Mountains on 

1 August 2002--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------303 

Matanuska Glacier-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------303 

Figure 279. Oblique aerial photograph of the debris-covered terminus of Matanuska Glacier on 

30 August 2000 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------304 

Nelchina Glacier----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------304 

Figure 280. Oblique aerial photograph of the thinning and retreating terminus of Nelchina Glacier on 

30 August 2000 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------305 

Tazlina Glacier-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------305 

Figure 281. Oblique aerial photograph of Tazlina Glacier on 30 August 2000 ---------------------------------------306 

Northwestern Chugach Mountains Segment—The Turnagain Arm–Western Chugach 

Mountains Subdivision -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------306 

Marcus Baker Glacier--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------306 

Figure 282. Oblique aerial photograph of the debris-covered terminus of Marcus Baker Glacier on 

30 August 2000 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------306 

Knik Glacier ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------306 

Figure 283. Oblique aerial photograph of the northern part of the terminus of Knik Glacier on 

30 August 2000 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------307 

284. Vertical aerial photograph of the southwestern part of the terminus of Knik Glacier on 

17 August 1999 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------307 

285. Oblique aerial photograph of the westernmost part of Knik Glacier and The Gorge on 

30 August 2000 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------308 

Gannett Glacier -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------308 

Figure 286. Aerial photograph of the retreating and thinning terminus of Gannett Glacier on 

17 August 1999 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------309 

Colony Glacier-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------308 

Figure 287. Aerial photographs of Colony Glacier and the surrounding area on 25 August 1978 and on 

15 August 2000 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------309 

Lake George Glacier----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------310 

Glaciers West of Knik Glacier, Upper Lake George, and Lake George Glacier -------------------310 

Figure 288. Oblique aerial photograph of Hunter Creek Glacier on 30 August 2000 -------------------------------310 

Glaciers of the Eagle River and Crow Creek Drainages-----------------------------------------------------311 

Eagle Glacier-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------311 

Figure 289. Oblique aerial photograph of Eagle Glacier on 30 August 2000 -----------------------------------------311 

Eklutna Glacier -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------312 

Figure 290. Oblique aerial photograph of Eklutna Glacier on 30 August 2000 --------------------------------------312 

Twentymile Glacier -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------312 

Figure 291. Oblique aerial photograph of the terminus of Twentymile Glacier on 18 July 1978------------------313 

Summary -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------313 

Kenai Mountains -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------314 

Introduction --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------314 

Figure 292. Index map and NOAA AVHRR image mosaic of the glacierized Kenai Mountains-------------------314 

293. Landsat 1 MSS image of the Harding and Sargent Icefields on 17 August 1973, and 

Landsat MSS image mosaic of the Kenai Mountains----------------------------------------------------316 

294. Graph showing lifespans of cross-dated, glacially overridden subfossil trees -----------------------318 

Unnamed Ice Field North of the Sargent Icefield-------------------------------------------------------------------318 

Portage Glacier -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------318 

Figure 295. Landsat 7 ETM+ image showing an unnamed ice field north of Sargent Icefield on 

26 September 1999, and oblique aerial photograph of Portage Glacier and the lake 

formed by its retreat on 8 August 2000--------------------------------------------------------------------319 

Whittier Glacier -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------320 

XX CONTENTS 
Page 

Glaciers of Blackstone Bay------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------320 

Figure 296. Two aerial photographs of several glaciers in the Blackstone Bay area on 8 August 1981 

and on 12 August 1984 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------321 

297. Oblique aerial photograph of the terminus of Lawrence Glacier on 15 July 2000 --------------------322 

298. Oblique aerial photograph of Tebenkof Glacier on 15 July 2000 ----------------------------------------322 

Glaciers of the Western Side and South of Kings Bay ------------------------------------------------------------322 

Figure 299. Oblique aerial photograph of Taylor and Cotterell Glaciers on 3 September 1966 ------------------323 

300. Two aerial photographs showing changes in Claremont Glacier between 

3 September 1966 and 15 July 2000 -----------------------------------------------------------------------324 

Glaciers of Upper Kings River -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------325 

Wolverine Glacier --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------325 

Figure 301. Oblique aerial photograph showing Wolverine Glacier on 3 September 1996 and 

sketch map of retreat of terminus between 1713 and 2000 --------------------------------------------325 

Glaciers of Snow River ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------326 

Trail Glacier-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------326 

Glaciers of Placer River---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------326 

Sargent Icefield ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------327 

Figure 302. Landsat 7 ETM+ image showing the Sargent Icefield on 26 September 1999 -------------------------327 

Glaciers on the Eastern Side of Kings Bay-----------------------------------------------------------------------------328 

Figure 303. Three photographs showing changes in the terminus of Falling Glacier, in 1924, on 

3 September 1966, and on 15 July 2000--------------------------------------------------------------------328 

304. Oblique aerial photograph of the termini of Applegate and Langdon Glaciers on 

3 September 1966---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------329 

Glaciers of Port Nellie Juan---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------329 

Figure 305. Oblique aerial photograph of Nellie Juan Glacier on 3 September 1966-------------------------------330 

Glaciers of Icy Bay ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------331 

Figure 306. Oblique aerial photograph of Chenaga and Tigertail Glaciers on 15 July 2000 -----------------------331 

307. Two photographs showing late 20th century changes in Nassau Fiord between 

3 September 1966 and on 15 July 2000 --------------------------------------------------------------------332 

308. Two photographs showing the late 20th century position of Tiger Glacier between 

3 September 1966 and 15 July 2000--------------------------------------------------------------------------333 

Glaciers of Port Bainbridge ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------333 

Figure 309. Oblique aerial photograph of Bainbridge Glacier on 15 July 2000 --------------------------------------333 

Glaciers of the Puget Bay Region ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------333 

Glaciers of Johnstone Bay ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------334 

Figure 310. Three aerial photographs of Excelsior Glacier showing changes between 

3 September 1966 and 15 July 2000 ------------------------------------------------------------------------334 

Glaciers of Day Harbor----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------336 

Figure 311. Two aerial photographs of Ellsworth Glacier showing changes between 

3 September 1966 and 15 July 2000 ------------------------------------------------------------------------336 

Glaciers of Nellie Juan River -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------337 

Glaciers of Resurrection Peninsula ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------337 

Harding Icefield ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------337 

Figure 312. Landsat 7 ETM+ image showing the Harding Icefield and the unnamed ice field to the 

southwest on 9 August 2000--------------------------------------------------------------------------------338 

Figure 313. AHAP photograph of Bear Glacier on 14 August 1984----------------------------------------------------339 

Table 5. Changes in outlet glaciers of the Harding Icefield: 1950s to middle 1990s ----------------------------340 

Glaciers of Lower Resurrection Bay--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------340 

Glaciers of Aialik Bay ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------340 

Figure 314. Oblique aerial photograph of the terminus of Aialik Glacier on 15 July 2000 -------------------------341 

315. Oblique aerial photograph of the terminus of Pederson Glacier on 15 July 2000 --------------------341 

316. Oblique aerial photograph of the terminus of Holgate Glacier on 15 July 2000 ----------------------341 

Glaciers of Harris Bay -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------342 

Figure 317. Part of a mosaic of 1963 and 1953 maps and a 15 July 2000 oblique aerial photograph 

showing changes at Northwestern Glacier during the late 20th century ----------------------------342 

318. Oblique aerial photograph of the terminus of Ogive Glacier on 15 July 2000 ------------------------343 

319. Oblique aerial photograph showing the terminus of Anchor Glacier on 15 July 2000 --------------343 

CONTENTS XXI 
Page 

320. Oblique aerial photograph of Southwestern Glacier, a former tributary to Northwestern 

Glacier, on 15 July 2000--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------343 

Glaciers of Nuka Bay-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------343 

Figure 321. 1963 map and 15 July 2000 oblique aerial photograph showing changes at McCarty Glacier ------344 

Glaciers of the Western Harding Icefield -------------------------------------------------------------------------------344 

Unnamed Ice Field Southwest of Harding Icefield-----------------------------------------------------------------345 

Figure 322. AHAP photograph of the lower Tustumena Glacier and the terminus of Truuli Glacier on 

14 August 1984 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------345 

Glaciers of the Islands of Prince William Sound --------------------------------------------------------------------346 

Figure 323. AHAP photograph of central Montague Island on 13 August 1982 -------------------------------------346 

Summary -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------346 

Kodiak Island------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------347 

Figure 324. Index map and NOAA AVHRR image mosaic of Kodiak Island showing glacierized areas---------347 

325. Landsat 2 MSS image mosaic of the glacierized mountains on Kodiak Island on 

18–19 July 1977 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------348 

326. AHAP photograph of south-central Kodiak Island on 25 July 1979-------------------------------------349 

Summary -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------349 

Aleutian Range----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------349 

Introduction --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------349 

Figure 327. Index map and NOAA AVHRR image mosaic of the Aleutian Range -----------------------------------350 

Glaciers of the Neacola and Chigmit Mountains -------------------------------------------------------------------351 

Glaciers of the Neacola Mountains------------------------------------------------------------------------------------351 

Figure 328. Part of a Landsat 7 ETM+ image mosaic of Lake Clark National Park and environs on 

6 September 1999---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------353 

329. Oblique aerial photograph of the Neacola Mountains on 4 September 1966--------------------------353 

330. Oblique aerial photograph of the terminus of Shamrock Glacier on 8 September 2000 ------------353 

331. Two oblique aerial photographs of the two retreating termini of Blockade Glacier on 

8 September 2000---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------354 

332. Three oblique aerial photographs of Lake Clark Pass showing changes of Tanaina Glacier, 

an unnamed glacier, and Summit Lake on 25 August 1963, in August 1970, and on 

8 September 2000 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------354 

Glaciers of the Chigmit Mountains -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------355 

Figure 333. Map and two oblique aerial photographs showing Double Glacier on 8 September 2000 ----------356 

Glaciers of Redoubt Volcano ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------357 

Figure 334. Oblique aerial photograph of the summit and upper 1,500 m of Redoubt Volcano on 

29 July 1978----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------357 

Glaciers of Iliamna Volcano-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------358 

Figure 335. Oblique aerial photograph of Iliamna Volcano on 8 August 2000 ---------------------------------------358 

336. Two oblique aerial photographs of Tuxedni Glacier on 8 August 2000---------------------------------358 

337. Two aerial photographs of the terminus and lower reaches of Red Glacier on 

26 August 1978 and on 8 August 2000 ---------------------------------------------------------------------359 

338. Oblique aerial photograph of the Iliamna Volcano and glaciers on its southwest side on 

8 August 2000--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------359 

339. Oblique aerial photograph of Iliamna Volcano and three glaciers on 8 August 2000 ----------------359 

Glaciers West and South of Redoubt and Iliamna Volcanoes --------------------------------------------360 

Figure 340. Oblique aerial photograph of shrinking and disappearing cirque glaciers in the 

southwestern Chigmit Mountains on 8 August 2000----------------------------------------------------360 

Glaciers of the Kamishak Bay–Big River Area -----------------------------------------------------------------------360 

Figure 341. Landsat 7 ETM+ image of the Kamishak Bay-Big River area on 16 August 2000 ---------------------360 

342. Photograph of small cirque and cliff glaciers west of Kamishak Bay in July 1923 -------------------362 

Glaciers of the Ninagiak River–Puale Bay Area ---------------------------------------------------------------------362 

Figure 343. Landsat images of Katmai National Park and Preserve and environs on 10 October 1977 and 

on 16 August 2000 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------363 

Glaciers of the Icy Peak–Mount Kialagvik–Mount Chiginagak Area --------------------------------------365 

Figure 344. 1919 panorama of unnamed cirque and mountain glaciers that descend from the 

north side of Icy Peak----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------365 

345. Oblique aerial photograph of the glacier-covered summit of Mount Chiginagak 

in August 1960-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------365 

Glaciers of the Aniakchak Crater Area ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------366 

XXII CONTENTS 
Page 

Figure 346. Landsat 7 ETM+ image of the central Alaska Peninsula on 31 October 1999, and oblique 

aerial photograph of the Aniakchak caldera in 1977----------------------------------------------------366 

Glaciers of the Mount Veniaminof–Stepovak Bay Area----------------------------------------------------------367 

Figure 347. Landsat image on 24 March 1976 and oblique aerial photograph on 23 January 1984 of 

Mount Veniaminof--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------368 

Glaciers of Pavlof Volcano–Frosty Peak Area------------------------------------------------------------------------367 

Figure 348. Part of an annotated Landsat 2 MSS image of the southern Aleutian Range on 6 August 1979 ----369 

Summary -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------369 

Figure 349. Part of the provisional 1:63,360-scale topographic map of the Cold Bay, Alaska 

A-3 quadrangle ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------370 

Aleutian Islands --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------371 

Introduction --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------371 

Figure 350. Index map and NOAA AVHRR image mosaic of the glacierized Aleutian Islands--------------------373 

Unimak Island -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------373 

Figure 351. Annotated space shuttle photographs of the glacierized volcanoes of Unimak Island and 

environs in September 1992 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------374 

352. Two oblique aerial photographs of Shishaldin Volcano and enirons, Unimak Island, in 

1932 and on 21 September 1990 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------375 

Akutan Island ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------373 

Unalaska Island ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------373 

Figure 353. Oblique aerial photograph of the summit region of Makushin Volcano in August 1982-------------375 

Umnak Island ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------376 

Figure 354. Landsat 2 MSS image of glaciers on Umnak Island on 2 September 1977 -----------------------------376 

Herbert Island -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------377 

Figure 355. International Space Station photograph on 1 January 2001 of part of the Aleutian Islands 

and oblique color aerial photograph of the summit crater of Herbert Island on 

27 September 1996 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------377 

Atka Island ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------378 

Figure 356. Part of a Landsat 2 MSS image of Korovin Volcano and Mount Kliuchef, Atka Island, on 

23 September 1977 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------378 

Great Sitkin Island ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------378 

Tanaga Island ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------378 

Gareloi Island ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------378 

Kiska Island --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------378 

Summary -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------378 

Wrangell Mountains ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------379 

Introduction --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------379 

Figure 357. Index map and NOAA AVHRR image mosaic of the glacierized Wrangell Mountains ---------------379 

358. Landsat 1 MSS image of the Wrangell Mountains on 18 August 1972, and contour map of 

equal snowline altitude--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------380 

Table 6. Wrangell Mountains accumulation area ratios ------------------------------------------------------------381 

Figure 359. Part of a 1:750,000-scale map of the Mount Wrangell District, Alaska ---------------------------------382 

360. Oblique aerial photograph of a rock glacier on the west side of Bonanza Peak in 1961-------------382 

Glaciers of the Regal Mountain – Frederika Mountain Area and the Eastern Wrangell 

Mountains --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------383 

Figure 361. Oblique aerial photograph of the retreating terminus of Chisana Glacier on 30 August 2000------383 

362. Oblique aerial photograph of an unnamed surging glacier in the Bow Pass area on 

30 August 2000 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------384 

363. Two oblique aerial photographs of parts of Middle Fork Glacier on 30 August 2000 ----------------384 

364. Two 20th century views (in 1905 and 1966) of Hole-in-the-Wall Glacier -------------------------------385 

365. Map, Landsat 7 ETM+ image on 10 September 2001, and oblique aerial photograph of 

Nizina Glacier on 30 August 2000 --------------------------------------------------------------------------386 

366. Oblique aerial photograph of the central Rohn Glacier adjacent to Chimney Mountain on 

30 August 2000 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------388 

Glaciers of Mount Blackburn and the Southeastern Wrangell Mountains -----------------------------388 

Figure 367. Map, Landsat image on 10 September 2001, and two oblique aerial photographs on 

30 August 1999 and 30 August 2000, of the Kennicott Glacier-----------------------------------------389 

368. An early 20th century photograph of typical small cirque and mountain glaciers in 1919 ----------391 

CONTENTS XXIII 
Page 

Kennicott Glacier --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------389 

Figure 369. Oblique aerial photograph of the northeast tributary and the main trunk of the 

Kuskulana Glacier on 31 August 1984---------------------------------------------------------------------392 

Glaciers of Mount Wrangell ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------393 

Figure 370. Radar image and oblique aerial photograph in 1981 of Mount Wrangell------------------------------ 393 

Glaciers Descending from Mount Wrangell’s Summit Caldera -------------------------------------------394 

Figure 371. Oblique aerial photograph of the pitted and hummocky terminus of Long Glacier on 

30 August 2000 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------394 

372. Maps, Landsat 7 ETM+ image on 10 September 2001, and aerial photographs on 

26 August 1981 and 30 August 2000 of Nabesna Glacier -----------------------------------------------394 

Mount Drum --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------398 

Figure 373. Map and oblique aerial photograph on 30 August 2000 of the glaciers of Mount Drum -------------398 

Mount Sanford-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------398 

Figure 374. Landsat 7 ETM+ image of Sanford Glacier on 10 September 2001 -------------------------------------400 

Glaciers of Mount Jarvis and Mount Gordon and the Ice Fields Plateau--------------------------------398 

Summary -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------401 

Talkeetna Mountains -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------401 

Figure 375. Index map and NOAA AVHRR image mosaic of the Talkeetna Mountains----------------------------401 

376. Landsat 3 MSS image mosaic showing the Talkeetna Mountains on 27 August 1978----------------402 

377. Two aerial photographs of glaciers at the head of the Sheep River on 3 August 1983 

and 31 August 2000 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------403 

378. Two aerial photographs of Chickaloon Glacier and its surrounding area on 3 August 1983 

and 31 August 2000 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------404 

379. Oblique aerial photograph of Talkeetna Glacier and its surrounding area on 

31 August 2000 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------405 

380. Oblique aerial photograph of several large rock glaciers on 31 August 2000 -------------------------405 

Summary -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------405 

Alaska Range-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------406 

Introduction --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------406 

Figure 381. Index map of the Alaska Range showing glacierized areas ----------------------------------------------406 

382. NOAA AVHRR image mosaic of the Alaska Range in summer 1995 ------------------------------------406 

The Mentasta and Nutzotin Mountains Segment between the Canadian Border and 

Mentasta Pass---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------408 

The Mount Kimball-Mount Gakona Segment between Mentasta Pass and the Delta River ----409 

Figure 383. AHAP photograph of glaciers southeast of Needle Peak on 26 August 1981--------------------------409 

384. Two oblique aerial photographs of small glaciers and rock glaciers in the Nutzotin 

Mountains on 30 August 2000 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------409 

Figure 385. Oblique aerial photograph of the icefall of Gerstle Glacier on 22 August 1960 -----------------------410 

386. AHAP photograph of the termini of Gulkana, West Gulkana, and College Glaciers on 

24 August 1981 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------411 

Gulkana Glacier-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------412 

Figure 387. Four photographs showing changes in Gulkana Glacier between 31 August 1967, 1975, 

11 July 1993, and 18 August 1999---------------------------------------------------------------------------412 

West Gulkana Glacier --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------415 

Jarvis Glacier -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------416 

The Mount Hayes-Mount Deborah Segment between Delta River and Broad Pass ----------------416 

Figure 388. Landsat 3 RBV image of Black Rapids Glacier and other glaciers in the Alaska Range on 

8 August 1981--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------417 

389. Three photographs of the terminus of Susitna Glacier in pre-1915, August 1941, and 

mid-1970s --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 418 

390. Oblique aerial photograph of the terminus of an unnamed glacier on 14 September 1999 ---------419 

391. Oblique aerial photograph of the terminus of an unnamed rock glacier on 

14 September 1999 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------419 

Black Rapids Glacier ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------419 

Figure 392. Vertical aerial photograph of part of Black Rapids Glacier on 18 August 1999 -----------------------421 

Rock Avalanches onto Glaciers Resulting from the 3 November 2002 Earthquake 

(M 7.9) on the Denali Fault-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------421 

Figure 393. Map and photograph of the results of the 3 November 2002 earthquake ------------------------------422 

XXIV CONTENTS 
Page 

394. Oblique aerial photographs of the 3 November 2002 rock avalanches on McGinnis and 

Black Rapids Glaciers ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------423 

Geospatial Inventory and Analysis of Glaciers: A Case Study for the Eastern 

Alaska Range, by William F. Manley------------------------------------------------------------------------------------424 

Abstract-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------424 

Introduction ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------425 

Figure 395. Two maps of glaciers and terrain in the eastern Alaska Range------------------------------------------426 

Methods ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------426 

Figure 396. Flow diagram for processing the original cartographic source material ------------------------------428 

397. Close-ups of selected GIS processing steps and results--------------------------------------------------429 

Table 7. Results of the spatial analysis of 279 glaciers in the eastern Alaska Range ---------------------------430 

Error Analysis -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------431 

Figure 398. Comparison of GIS results for area and length with the 19-glacier inventory ------------------------432 

Results ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------433 

Figure 399. Shaded-relief maps of the glaciers color-coded for selected GIS results ------------------------------434 

400. Frequency distribution of glaciers by area -----------------------------------------------------------------435 

401. Polar diagram of glacier area versus aspect----------------------------------------------------------------436 

402. Plots of four geospatial measurements versus glacier area ---------------------------------------------437 

403. Area-altitude distribution integrated for all glacier ice in the region compared with 

curves for selected glaciers---------------------------------------------------------------------------------438 

Discussion-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------438 

Acknowledgments-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------439 

The Mount McKinley-Mount Foraker Segment between Broad Pass and Rainy Pass-------------440 

Figure 404. Landsat 3 and 5 MSS image mosaic of Mount McKinley area and environs, Alaska Range, 

between 24 August 1979 and 11 September 1984--------------------------------------------------------440 

405. Landsat 1 MSS image of Mount McKinley and Denali National Park and Preserve on 

31 August 1977 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------441 

406. Three views of Mount McKinley: 1923 photograph, computer-generated view using 

Landsat images and DEM data, and oblique aerial photograph in October 1965-------------------443 

407. Oblique aerial photograph of Muldrow Glacier on 13 September 1986--------------------------------443 

408. Oblique aerial photograph of Tokositna Glacier on 30 August 1984------------------------------------444 

409. Oblique aerial photograph of the terminus area of Straightaway Glacier on 

14 September 1999 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------444 

410. Oblique aerial photograph of the terminus area of Foraker Glacier on 14 September 1999--------444 

411. Oblique aerial photograph of the upper part of Yentna Glacier on 31 August 1967 ------------------445 

412. Oblique aerial photograph of the upper part of Lacuna Glacier on 31 August 1967------------------446 

413. Two 1910 photographs showing two unnamed glaciers at the head of Hidden Creek---------------446 

414. Two oblique aerial photographs of Ruth Glacier on 4 September 1966 and on 

14 September 1999 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------447 

Tokositna Glacier --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------448 

Polychrome Glacier-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------448 

Muldrow Glacier----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------448 

Kichatna Mountains-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------449 

Figure 415. Two views of cirque and small valley glaciers in the Kichatna Mountains in 1902 and 

24 August 1979 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------449 

The Mount Gerdine-Mount Spurr Segment between Rainy Pass and Merrill Pass------------------450 

Figure 416. Landsat 2 image of the Tordrillo Mountains, southwestern Alaska Range on 2 August 1978 ------450 

417. AHAP photograph of the lower part and terminus of Hayes Glacier on 20 July 1982, 

and oblique aerial photograph of Trimble Glacier on 8 September 2000 ----------------------------451 

418. Two oblique aerial photographs of the terminus of Triumvirate Glacier on 8 September 2000 ----452 

419. Two oblique aerial photographs of Capps Glacier on 8 September 2000 ------------------------------452 

420. Three oblique aerial photographs of Kidazqeni Glacier in September 1966, on 

2 September 1970, and on 22 September 1992 -----------------------------------------------------------453 

421. Two oblique aerial photographs of Barrier Glacier on 4 September 1966 and 

8 September 2000---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------454 

422. Oblique aerial photograph west of the South Branch of Trimble Glacier on 

8 September 2000---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------456 

423. AHAP photograph of the lower part of an unnamed glacier on 26 August 1978 ----------------------456 

Summary -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------457 

CONTENTS XXV 
Page 

Wood River Mountains -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------457 

Figure 424. Index map and NOAA AVHRR image mosaic of the Wood River Mountains--------------------------458 

425. Landsat MSS composite image showing the northern Wood River Mountains and the 

adjacent Kuskokwim Mountains on 28 July 1978 -------------------------------------------------------459 

426. Map showing elevations and locations of glaciers in the central Wood River Mountains ----------460 

427. AHAP photograph of Mount Waskey and environs on 15 August 1984 --------------------------------461 

428. Photograph of the glacier-covered summit of the Mount Waskey massif in July 1999 --------------462 

429. Oblique aerial photograph of Chikuminuk Glacier on 6 September 1957 -----------------------------462 

Summary -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------463 

Kigluaik Mountains----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------463 

Figure 430. Index map and NOAA AVHRR image mosaic of the Kigluaik Mountains, the only 

glacierized part of the Seward Peninsula-----------------------------------------------------------------464 

431. Landsat 2 MSS image of much of the Seward Peninsula, including the Kigluaik Mountains, 

on 26 June 1977 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------465 

432. Photograph by A.H. Brooks of a small retreating cirque glacier in summer 1900 --------------------466 

433. AHAP photograph of the Mount Osborn area on 1 August 1985 ----------------------------------------466 

434. Photograph of the Grand Union Glacier in summer 1983 ------------------------------------------------467 

Summary -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------467 

Brooks Range ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------467 

Introduction --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------467 

Figure 435. Index map and NOAA AVHRR image mosaic of the Brooks Range ------------------------------------469 

436. Three photographs of Okpilak Glacier, Romanzof Mountains, in June 1907 -------------------------469 

Romanzof Mountains-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------470 

Figure 437. Landsat 2 MSS image of the Brooks Range on 5 August 1981 -------------------------------------------471 

438. Landsat 3 MSS image of the Franklin and Romanzof Mountains on 29 August 1978 ----------------472 

439. AHAP photograph of the eastern Romanzof Mountains showing Okpilak Glacier and 

other glaciers on 24 August 1982---------------------------------------------------------------------------473 

440. AHAP photograph of the eastern Romanzof Mountains showing multiple glaciers on 

24 August 1982 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------474 

441. Topographic map of McCall Glacier-------------------------------------------------------------------------475 

Franklin Mountains ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------476 

Figure 442. AHAP photographic mosaic of the central Franklin Mountains on 24 August 1982-----------------477 

Philip Smith and Endicott Mountains ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------478 

Schwatka Mountains -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------479 

Summary -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------479 

Summary and Conclusions -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------480 

Acknowledgments -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------486 

References Cited-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------487 

Appendix A---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------505 

Appendix B---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------507 

Appendix C---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------508 

Appendix D --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------522 

XXVI CONTENTS 
SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD

GLACIERS OF NORTH AMERICA—

GLACIERS OF ALASKA

By BRUCE F. MOLNIA1

Abstract

Glaciers cover about 75,000 km2 of Alaska, about 5 percent of the State. The glaciers are 

situated on 11 mountain ranges, 1 large island, an island chain, and 1 archipelago and range in 

elevation from more than 6,000 m to below sea level. Alaska’s glaciers extend geographically 

from the far southeast at lat 55°19'N., long 130°05'W., about 100 kilometers east of Ketchikan, 

to the far southwest at Kiska Island at lat 52°05'N., long 177°35'E., in the Aleutian Islands, and 

as far north as lat 69°20'N., long 143°45'W., in the Brooks Range. 

During the “Little Ice Age,” Alaska’s glaciers expanded significantly. The total area and volume of glaciers in Alaska continue to decrease, as they have been doing since the 18th century.

Of the 153 1:250,000-scale topographic maps that cover the State of Alaska, 63 sheets show 

glaciers. Although the number of extant glaciers has never been systematically counted and is 

thus unknown, the total probably is greater than 100,000. Only about 600 glaciers (about 1 percent) have been officially named by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names (BGN). There are 

about 60 active and former tidewater glaciers in Alaska. Within the glacierized mountain ranges 

of southeastern Alaska and western Canada, 205 glaciers (75 percent in Alaska) have a history of 

surging. In the same region, at least 53 present and 7 former large ice-dammed lakes have produced jökulhlaups (glacier-outburst floods). Ice-capped volcanoes on mainland Alaska and in 

the Aleutian Islands have a potential for jökulhlaups caused by subglacier volcanic and geothermal activity. Because of the size of the area covered by glaciers and the lack of large-scale maps 

of the glacierized areas, satellite imagery and other satellite remote-sensing data are the only 

practical means of monitoring regional changes in the area and volume of Alaska’s glaciers in 

response to short- and long-term changes in the maritime and continental climates of the State.

A review of the literature for each of the 11 mountain ranges, the large island, the island 

chain, and the archipelago was conducted to determine both the individual and the regional 

status of Alaskan glaciers and to characterize changes in thickness and terminus position of 

representative glaciers in each mountain range or island group. In many areas, observations 

used for determining changes date from the late 18th or early 19th century. Temperature records at all Alaskan meteorological recording stations document a 20th century warming 

trend. Therefore, characterizing the response of Alaska’s glaciers to changing climate helps to 

quantify potential sea-level rise from past, present, and future melting of glacier ice (deglaciation of the 14 glacierized regions of Alaska), understand present and future hydrological changes, and define impacts on ecosystems that are responding to deglacierization.

Many different types of data were scrutinized to determine baselines and to assess the magnitude of glacier change. These data include the following: published descriptions of glaciers 

(1794–2000), especially the comprehensive research by Field (1975a) and his colleagues in the 

Alaska part of Mountain Glaciers of the Northern Hemisphere, aerial photography (since 

1926), ground photography (since 1884), airborne radar (1981–91), satellite radar (1978–98), 

space photography (1984–94), multispectral satellite imagery (since1972), aerial reconnaissance and field observations made by many scientists during the past several decades, and 

various types of proxy data. The published and unpublished data available for each glacierized 

region and individual glacier varied significantly. Geospatial analysis of digitized U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) topographic maps is used to statistically define selected glaciological parameters in the eastern part of the Alaska Range.

The analysis determined that every mountain range and island group investigated can be 

characterized by significant glacier retreat, thinning, and (or) stagnation, especially those glaciers that end at lower elevations. At some locations, glaciers completely disappeared during 

the 20th century. In other areas, retreat that started as early as the early 18th century has continued into the 21st century. Ironically, in several areas, retreat is resulting in an increase in the 

total number of glaciers; even though individual glaciers are separating, the volume and area of 

ice continue to decrease.

1

 U.S. Geological Survey, 926A National Center, Reston, VA 20192 U.S.A.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K1
The key findings from the comprehensive analysis are the following: 

•	 Alexander Archipelago, Aleutian Islands, and Kodiak Island: Every insular glacier examined showed evidence of thinning and retreat. Some glaciers have disappeared 

since being mapped in the middle 20th century.

•	 Coast Mountains, St. Elias Mountains, Chugach Mountains, Kenai Mountains, 

Wrangell Mountains, Alaska Range, and the Aleutian Range: More than 95 percent of the glaciers ending below an elevation of approximately 1,500 m are retreating 

and (or) thinning. Of those glaciers that are advancing, many have tidewater termini. 

The two largest Alaskan glaciers, Bering and Malaspina, are losing several cubic kilometers of ice each year to melting and calving.

•	 Talkeetna Mountains, Wood River Mountains, Kigluaik Mountains, and the 

Brooks Range: Every glacier scrutinized showed evidence of retreat. Of 109 glaciers in 

the Wood River Mountains, all are or were retreating; some have disappeared since they 

were first mapped, photographed, or imaged.

In spite of the significant changes at lower elevations, not every Alaskan glacier is thinning 

and retreating. In several ranges, no changes were noted in glaciers situated at higher 

elevations. 

Glaciers that were surging or had recently advanced by surging were also noted. This type of 

glacier advances by redistributing existing glacier ice over a larger area rather than by increased 

accumulation. Consequently, following a surge, more ice surface area is exposed to ablation.

Part 1—Background and History

Introduction 

Alaska, with an area of 1,530,693 km2, is the northernmost and westernmost of the 50 United States. Because the Aleutian Islands extend across the 

International Date Line, it is also the easternmost State. Alaska is bounded 

by the Arctic Ocean and the Beaufort Sea to the north, the Pacific Ocean 

and the Gulf of Alaska to the south, Canada’s Yukon Territory and British 

Columbia to the east, and the Bering Sea and the Chukchi Sea to the west. 

Glaciers are a major feature of much of Alaska’s landscape, occurring in more 

than a dozen geographic regions of the State. Glaciers in Alaska extend from 

as far southeast as lat 55°19'N., long 130°05'W., about 100 km east of Ketchikan, to as far southwest as Kiska Island at lat 52°05'N., long 177°35'E., in the 

Aleutian Islands, to as far north as lat 69°20'N., long 143°45'W., in the Brooks 

Range. Glaciers cover about 75,000 km2

 (Post and Meier, 1980), or about 

5 percent, of Alaska, occurring on 11 different mountain groups and several 

islands (figs. 1, 2). Of the 153 1:250,000-scale topographic quadrangle maps 

that cover the State of Alaska, glaciers are shown on 60 of the 68 topographic 

quadrangle maps of regions known to be glacierized (that is, to have present-day glaciers) (appendix A). In the text, where 1:63,360-scale maps of 

glaciers are discussed, information on these topographic quadrangle maps 

are given in appendix B. The total number of separate glaciers is unknown, 

having never been systematically counted, but probably exceeds 100,000 

(Molnia, 2001, p. 5). More than 600 glaciers have been officially named by the 

BGN (appendix C).2

No comprehensive, detailed glacier inventory has been compiled for Alaska. Estimates of the total glacier area have been made by several scientists: 

Gilbert (1904) estimated an area of 52,000 km2, Post and Mayo (1971) estimated 73,800 km2

, Post and Meier (1980) estimated an area of 74,700 km2, 

and Molnia (2001) estimated 75,110 km2. The significant retreat of Alaska 

glaciers during the last two decades of the 20th century would necessitate 

a further reduction in this estimate of glacier area. The difference between 

Gilbert’s total and the later estimates is not owing to an expansion of glacier 

area in subsequent years but rather reflects an increase in geographic/cartographic knowledge and improvements in the quality of data and techniques 

2

 Glacier place-names approved by the BGN are shown in standard font; glacier place-names not approved are shown in italicized font. Formal place-names of glaciers approved by the BGN will be used wherever possible. However, in order to provide information about unnamed glaciers, such glaciers will be described in terms of adjacent geographic features.

Figure 1.—Map of Alaska showing distribution of glaciers (shown in green).

Figure 2.—NOAA Advanced Very High 

Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) image 

mosaic of Alaska in 1991; National Oceanic 

and Atmospheric Administration image 

mosaic from Michael Fleming, Alaska 

Science Center, U.S. Geological Survey, 

Anchorage, Alaska.

K2 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Gulf of Alaska

Cook Inlet

Wood River

Mountains

Aleutian Islands

A l e u t i a n R a n g e

Seward 

Peninsula

Brooks Range

Kigluaik

Mountains

A l a s k a

R a n g e

Kodiak

Island

Talkeetna 

Mountains

Saint Elias Mountains

Coast Mountains

Kayak 

Island

Beaufort Sea

ARCTIC OCEAN

65°N

55°

180°W 160° 140° 120°

CANADA

Kenai

Mountains

St. Lawrence

Island

Chugach Mountains

Wrangell

Mountains

Endicott Mts.

Schwatka

Mts.

Philip Smith Mts.

Franklin

Mts.

Romanzof

 Mts.

Chukchi 

Sea

Bering Sea

0 500 KILOMETERS

Unimak

Island

Akun I.

Unalaska I. 

Umnak I.

Akutan I.

Alexander Archipelago

Herbert I. 

Umnak I.

Atka I.

Great Sitkan I.

A l e u t i a n I s l a n d s

Tanaga I.

Agattu I. Kiska I.

Adak I.

Kanaga I.

Attu I.

0 100 KILOMETERS

Gareloi I. 

Amchitka I.

175°E 180° 175°W 170°W

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K3
used to produce those estimates. In recent years, some glacier changes have 

been quite dramatic. Although a few glaciers are advancing, many are in retreat, especially those situated at lower elevations.

The most easily and frequently measured glacier-fluctuation parameter 

is the geographic position of the terminus. Modern maps, charts, satellite 

images, vertical and oblique aerial photographs, ground photographs, and 

field surveys are all used to determine terminus position. Charts from early 

navigators and explorers and “traditional knowledge” stories from the oral 

histories of Alaska’s indigenous peoples also yield information about the 

past extent of glaciers. Proxy methods, such as tree coring, yield approximate dates for terminus position up to several millennia ago. Together, these 

methods play an important role in determining the location and changes in 

the position of the termini of Alaskan glaciers over time.

The primary purpose of this chapter is to summarize the areal extent and 

distribution of Alaska’s glaciers from the 1970s to the early 1980s in order to 

present an improved baseline based on Landsat MSS images that can be used 

now and by future researchers to document change in the number, length, 

and area of Alaska’s glaciers. In addition, descriptions of the results of scientific investigations that provide specific information about individual glaciers 

and glaciers within glacierized regions are presented to improve the overall 

understanding of the timing and magnitude of change.

The primary image data set used for establishing a baseline is the set of 90 

Landsat MSS false-color composite images compiled by the author from the 

Landsat image archive of the USGS Earth Resources Observation Systems 

(EROS) Data Center (EDC) in Sioux Falls, S. Dak. The data set consists of 

individual false-color composite Landsat images for each path-row nominal 

scene center in the glacierized regions of Alaska (fig. 3A). Each image was 

prepared from digital data collected by Landsat Multispectral Scanner (MSS) 

sensors between 23 July 1972, the launch of the first Earth Resources Technology Satellite (ERTS–1, later renamed Landsat 1), and 1981. The digital 

MSS data were collected by sensors on the Landsat 1, 2, and 3 satellites. 

An image mosaic of most of Alaska was compiled by using many of these 

images (fig. 3B). The data set is supplemented by additional data and information about the areal extent and distribution of Alaska’s glaciers derived 

from 18th- to 21st-century exploration, 19th- and 21st-century field-based 

scientific investigations, 19th- to 21st-century ground-based photography, 

and 20th-century aerial and space photography, digital satellite imagery, and 

airborne- and spaceborne-radar imagery to temporally extend the baseline 

both forward and backward in time. The work of Field (1975a) and his collaborators is the primary source for most of the quantitative area and length 

measurements of named and unnamed glaciers discussed in the individual 

glacierized geographic regions of this chapter.

In addition to all of the available imagery and photography, an important resource to develop the baseline and to assess change in Alaska’s glaciers is the 

1:250,000-scale (1×3°) map coverage of the State (appendix A). These maps 

are the same ones used by Field (1975a) in his landmark study of Alaska’s 

glaciers. These maps, which are of variable accuracy and quality, were published between 1949 and 1979 by the USGS; they were compiled from data 

collected by the USGS; the U.S. Army Map Service (AMS) and its successor 

agency, the U.S. Defense Mapping Agency (DMA) [later the National Imagery 

and Mapping Agency (NIMA) and now the National Geospatial-Intelligence 

Agency (NGA)]; the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey (C&GS) [now the National Ocean Service (NOS)]; and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). More detailed 1:63,360-scale (15-minute) maps exist 

for each glacierized quadrangle, although many are still provisional (appendix 

B). Many of the 1:250,000-scale maps have undergone limited revisions. In 

more than a dozen instances, these revisions have included the use of a purple pattern overprinted on glacial features to indicate glacier change, either 

K4 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
PATH 75

PATH 80 

PATH 85

PATH 90

PATH 70 

PATH 65

PATH 60 

ROW 20

ROW 15

ROW 10 B

B

A B

C

A

A B

C D

B

C D

C D

C D

A B

C

A B

B

D

C D

B

B D

A

D

A

D

A

C D

D

C D

B

D

B

D

B

C

A

B

C

A

A

C D

A B

Juneau

Whitehorse

Fairbanks

0 500 KILOMETERS

170°W 160° 150° 140° 130° 120°

55°

60°

65°

70°N

50°N 45°N

Excellent image (0 to ≤5 percent cloud cover)

Good image (>5 to ≤10 percent cloud cover)

Nominal scene center for a Landsat 

image outside the area of glaciers

Fair to poor image (>10 to <100 percent cloud cover) 

Usable Landsat 3 return beam vidicon (RBV) scenes.

A, B, C, and D refer to usable RBV subscenes

EXPLANATION OF SYMBOLS

Evaluation of image usability for glaciologic, geologic, 

and cartographic applications. Symbols defined as follows:

ROW 25

A

Figure 3.—A, Map showing the location of nominal 

scene centers for optimum Landsat 1, 2, and 3 MSS 

and RBV images that include Alaskan glaciers. 

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K5
Figure 3.—B, Landsat MSS false-color infrared image mosaic of part of Alaska, 

showing most of the glacierized areas in Alaska except for the southeastern 

panhandle of the state and the westernmost part of the Aleutian Islands (see 

fig. 2), including many of the active and former tidewater glaciers. Image 

mosaic compiled by the former Branch of Alaskan Geology, U.S. Geological 

Survey, in 1978.

K6 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
advance or recession of its terminus (fig. 4, appendix A). Commercial vendors 

have released paper compilations (DeLorme Mapping, 1992, 1998, 2001) and 

CD-ROMs (Scarp Exploration, Inc., 1998–2003) of all of the USGS 1:250,000-

scale topographic maps of Alaska. The DeLorme atlases are printed at a scale 

of 1:300,000; both commercial sources are particularly useful because of accompanying place-name indexes (lacking on USGS maps).

These abundant and diverse data clearly document the fact that the glaciers of Alaska are undergoing changes in length and area. In addition to longterm changes, calving-terminus glaciers may recede a kilometer or more in 

a single year; surge-type glaciers may advance several kilometers during a 

surge event. Such changes are of sufficient magnitude to be seen easily at the 

picture element (pixel) resolution (79 m) of Landsat MSS images. In many 

instances, Landsat may be the only permanent record of these changes. 

In less than a century, major ocean inlets, such as Glacier Bay and Icy Bay, 

have been formed by glacier recession. The rapidly receding Columbia Glacier 

(and production of icebergs from its calving terminus, a recognized hazard to 

maritime shipping) has caused dramatic changes in this tidewater glacier (see 

separate sections on Columbia and Hubbard Tidewater Glaciers and the 1986 

and 2002 Temporary Closures of Russell Fiord by the Hubbard Glacier in this 

chapter). Major lakes have formed and drained catastrophically (undergone 

outburst flooding [jökulhlaups]) owing to changes in their impounding ice 

Figure 4.—Section of the USGS (1982) 

(selective revisions) 1:250,000-scale topographic map of Seward, Alaska (1951), 

showing the use of a purple-pattern overprint to indicate areas of selected glacier 

“advance or recession, visible as of the 

date of photography” (appendix A). The 

original surveys for the 1951 map (USGS, 

1951) were done in 1945 and based on 

1942 and 1945 vertical aerial photography. 

The map shown was revised in 1982 from 

vertical aerial photographs acquired in 

1978. In this area east of Wolverine Glacier, 

all the outlet glaciers from the northern 

Sargent Icefield show recession.

0 10 KILOMETERS

SA RG E NT

60°15'N

148°30’W

60°30’N

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K7
dams. Glaciers, such as the Taku Glacier, have gone from being tourist attractions, accessible by oceangoing ships, to becoming impossible to reach other 

than in shallow-draft kayaks. Additionally, changing climate has affected the 

area and volume of nearly all of Alaska’s glaciers, impacting the storage and 

release of freshwater and producing a discernible change in global eustatic 

sea level (Meier, 1984; National Research Council, 1984; Meier and Dyurgerov, 

2002; Meier and Wahr, 2002; Arendt and others, 2002).

Today, more than two-thirds of Alaska’s glaciers are located within 200 km 

of the shore of the Pacific Ocean in or on the Coast Mountains, the Alexander Archipelago, the St. Elias Mountains, the Chugach Mountains, the Kenai 

Mountains, Kodiak Island, the Aleutian Range, and the Aleutian Islands. The 

remaining glaciers are distributed in several interior mountain groups, including the Wrangell Mountains, the Talkeetna Mountains, the Alaska Range, 

10 0 10 20 30 KILOMETERS

APPROXIMATE SCALE

143°W 142° 141°

144°W

61°N

61°N

60°

B a g l e y

I c e V a l l e y

B e r i n g

G l a c i e r

Figure 5.—Landsat 1 black-and-white multispectral scanner (MSS) image of all but the 

very easternmost segment of the 200-kmlong Bering Glacier and Bagley Ice Valley. 

The Landsat image (1583–20124, band 7; 

26 February 1974; Path 69, Row 18) is from 

the USGS, EROS Data Center, Sioux Falls, 

S. Dak.

K8 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
the Wood River Mountains, the Kigluaik Mountains of the Seward Peninsula, 

and the Brooks Range (fig. 1). The glaciers of each of these 14 glacierized 

geographic regions are discussed in separate sections that follow. Each section contains one or more Landsat MSS false-color composite images and 

an index map (Field, 1975a) selected to provide a geographic reference for 

detailed information about the glaciers in each region.

Other sections provide a summary of early observations of Alaska’s glaciers, pre-International Geophysical Year (IGY) 20th-century investigations 

of Alaska’s glaciers, the photographic record of Alaska’s glaciers, the naming 

of Alaska’s glaciers, tidewater and surge-type Alaskan glaciers, and glacieroutburst floods (jökulhlaups). Table 1 presents a list of the optimum Landsat 

1, 2, and 3 MSS and Return Beam Vidicon (RBV) imagery of Alaska’s glaciers. 

A map showing the location of Landsat MSS nominal scene centers for images that include Alaska’s glaciers is shown in figure 3A.

Landsat images, combined with ground and aerial observations and previously published work, provide an excellent source of data and information 

necessary to define the geographic distribution and areal extent of and the 

changes occurring in the glaciers of Alaska. The synoptic scale of Landsat 

(generally 1:250,000 to 1:1,000,000 scale) is required to conveniently show 

the major glacierized regions. For example, Bering Glacier—including its 

source, the Bagley Ice Valley (fig. 5)—is nearly 200 km long. About 100 

1:40,000-scale aerial photographs or about 50 1:63,360-scale topographic 

maps or two 1:250,000-scale topographic maps are necessary to portray the 

glacier in its entirety; it can be seen on one Landsat MSS image. Because 

the Landsat MSS sensor has a pixel size of 79 m (6,241 m2

), an individual 

glacier must have an area of more than 20,000 m2 to be recognized under 

optimum conditions (for example, minimum snowcover, not in shadow, 

and so on). One square kilometer in area is a more realistic minimum area 

for the MSS sensor. On a 1:250,000-scale Landsat image, a glacier 1 km2 in 

area would encompass 16 mm2 (4×4 mm). Glaciers of this size occur in 12 of 

the 14 glacierized geographic regions of Alaska listed above. One of the two 

exceptions is the tiny remnant glaciers in the Kigluaik Mountains. Because 

most of Alaska’s glaciers are outlet glaciers from ice fields and ice caps that 

cover larger areas, these snow-covered source features are generally more 

easily seen, even at a scale of 1:1,000,000. For selected locations, Landsat 

Thematic Mapper (TM) data from Landsat 4 and 5 and Landsat Enhanced 

Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) data from Landsat 7 are also available. Landsat TM and ETM+, which have pixel sizes of about 30 m (900 m2

) and 15 m 

(225 m2), respectively, can show glaciers and glaciological features too small 

to be identified on MSS images (fig. 6).

Some of Alaska’s glaciers have experienced rapid changes of sufficient 

magnitude that they can be seen on Landsat images acquired only a few 

months or years apart. For instance, comparing early 1970s Landsat MSS 

images of the terminus of Bering Glacier with those obtained in the 1980s 

clearly shows significant retreat of the terminus following a 1967 surge. Between 1986 and 1987, the position of features on the Malaspina Glacier near 

the terminus changed by several kilometers. These changes were recorded 

on Landsat (fig. 7). Smaller changes can also be detected. During 1985 and 

1986, changes in the terminus position of the advancing Hubbard and Turner 

Glaciers were monitored and measured by comparison of features on a sequential, geospatially registered, “temporal-change composite image” (composite of 1985 and 1986 Landsat MSS images) (fig. 8).

Landsat is a useful tool for glacier monitoring. Some surge-type glaciers 

can be identified by their distorted medial moraines, and the active phase 

of surge-type glaciers has been documented with Landsat. Features such 

as snowlines, medial and lateral moraines, ice-dammed lakes, sediment and 

iceberg plumes, and recent and “Little Ice Age” terminal moraines can be 

delineated on Landsat imagery.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K9
Table 1.— Optimum Landsat 1, 2, and 3 Multispectral scanner (MSS) and Return Beam Vidicon (RBV) images of glaciers of Alaska

[USGS-GSP is the U.S. Geological Survey Glacier Studies Project; see figure 3 for explanation of symbols in the Code column]

Path-Row

Nominal scene 

center 

(lat., long)

Landsat identification 

number Date

Solar elevation 

angle (in 

degrees)

Code Cloud cover 

(in percent) Remarks

58–21 55o45'N.

129o40'W.

21288–18435 2Aug78 45 0 Coast Mountains; Soule, Through, Chickamin, and 

Gracey Creek Glaciers.

58–21 55o45'N.

129o40'W.

22368–19000 17Jul81 50 0 Coast Mountains; Soule, Through, Chickamin, and 

Gracey Creek Glaciers.

59–20 57o08'N.

130o15'W.

5866–17552 01Sep77 31 0 Southwestern corner of image shows LeConte 

Glacier. Many Canadian glaciers are on this image.

59–21 55o45'N.

131o06'W.

5848–17574 14Aug77 36 0 Ketchikan and the southern end of southeastern 

Alaska; from Leconte Glacier to Through and 

Soule Glaciers about 100 km northwest of 

Ketchikan.

59–21 55o45'N.

131o06'W.

22027–19085 10Aug80 45 0 Coast Mountains; glaciers NNE of Bradfield Canal, 

Cone Mountain.

60–20 57o08'N.

131o41'W.

1772–19162 03Sep74 37 0 Glaciers of southeastern Alaska east and north of 

Petersburg; major glaciers are South Sawyer, 

Dawes, Baird, Patterson, and LeConte.

60–20 57o08'N.

131o41'W.

22028–19141 11Aug80 44 5 Coast Mountains; Shakes, LeConte, Patterson, 

Baird, Dawes and South Sawyer Glaciers.

60–21 55o45'N.

132o32'W.

1790–19160 21Sep74 32 0 Minor glaciers 50 km east of Wrangell.

60–21 55o45'N.

132o32'W.

1358–19275 16Jul73 51 5 Coast Mountains; glaciers east of Bradfield Canal 

between Burroughs Bay and Stikine River, Cone 

Mountain and Mount Cloud.

61–19 58o31'N.

132o13'W.

1791–19205 22Sep74 29 0 Glaciers 50 km east of Juneau; Wright and Sawyer 

Glaciers.

61–19 58o31'N.

132o13'W.

2931–18565 10Aug77 41 0 Coast Mountains; southeastern Juneau Icefield; 

Wright, Norris, Taku, Sawyer and South Sawyer 

Glaciers.

61–20 57o08'N.

133o07'W.

2931–18571 10Aug77 42 0 Southeast from Sawyer Glacier to LeConte Glacier.

61–20 57o08'N.

133o07'W.

2967–18550 15Sep77 31 20 Coast Mountains; Sawyer, South Sawyer, Baird, and 

Dawes Glaciers.

62–19 58o31'N.

133o39'W.

1738–19284 31Jul74 46 20 Glaciers north and east of Juneau.

62–19 58o31'N.

133o39'W.

21670–19195 19Aug79 40 5 Coast Mountains; Juneau Icefield, Taku, Mendenhall, Sawyer, and South Sawyer Glaciers.

62–19 58o31'N.

133o39'W.

20572–19180 16Aug76 41 0 Juneau Icefield; archived by the Canada Centre for 

Remote Sensing, Ottawa.

62–20 57o08'N.

134o33'W.

1738–19291 31Jul74 47 10 Alexander Archipelago; small glaciers on Mount 

Ada and flanks of Patterson Bay.

62–20 57o08'N.

134o33'W.

22390–19221 08Aug81 44 0 Alexander Archipelago; small glaciers on Mount 

Ada and flanks of Patterson Bay.

63–18 59o54'N.

134o07'W.

1775–19324 06Sep74 34 10 Glaciers near Skagway.

63–19 58o31'N.

135o05'W.

1775–19330 06Sep74 35 10 Brady Glacier, eastern Glacier Bay National Park 

and Preserve, Juneau Icefield.

63–19 58o31'N.

135o05'W.

1667–19365 21May74 48 0 Coast Mountains; Juneau Icefield; Mendenhall, 

Herbert, Eagle, Meade, and Davidson Glaciers.

63–20 57o08'N.

135o59'W.

1775–19333 06Sep74 36 10 Alexander Archipelago.

63–20 57o08'N.

135o59'W.

2897–19102 07Jul77 49 10 Alexander Archipelago; glaciers on Mount 

Furuhelm.

64–18 59o54'N.

135o33'W.

30183–19375 04Sep78 34 0 Glaciers near Skagway.

64–18 59o54'N.

135o33'W.

30147–19373 30Jul78 45 5 Coast and St. Elias Mountains; Meade and Davidson 

Glaciers.

64–18 59o54'N.

135o33'W.

30525–19364–C 12Aug79 42 0 Landsat 3 RBV image of northeastern Glacier Bay 

National Park and Preserve; archived by 

USGS-GSP.

64–18 59o54'N.

135o33'W.

30525–19364–D 12Aug79 42 0 Landsat 3 RBV image of glaciers near Haines; 

archived by USGS-GSP.

K10 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Table 1.— Optimum Landsat 1, 2, and 3 Multispectral scanner (MSS) and Return Beam Vidicon (RBV) images of glaciers of Alaska—Continued

Path-Row

Nominal scene 

center 

(lat., long)

Landsat identification 

number Date

Solar elevation 

angle (in 

degrees)

Code Cloud cover 

(in percent) Remarks

64–19 58o31'N.

136o31'W.

1416–19480 12Sep73 33 0 Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve; major 

glaciers in this image are Grand Plateau, 

Fairweather, La Perouse, Brady, Johns Hopkins, 

Margerie, Ferris, Grand Pacific, Carrol, Muir, 

Riggs, McBride, and Casement.

64–19 58o31'N.

136o31'W.

30147–19375 30Jul78 46 0 Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve.

64–19 58o31'N.

136o31'W.

1057–19542 18Sep72 31 0

64–19 58o31'N.

136o31'W.

30525–19370–A 12Aug79 43 0 Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve; Landsat 3 

RBV image; archived by USGS-GSP.

64–19 58o31'N.

136o31'W.

30525–19370–B 12Aug79 43 10 Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve; Landsat 3 

RBV image; archived by USGS-GSP.

65–18 59o54'N.

136o59'W.

5854–18301 20Aug77 33 0 Glaciers 50 km east of Yakutat.

65–19 58o31'N.

137o57'W.

1417–19534 13Sep73 33 0 Southeast from Yakutat Glacier to Brady Glacier.

65–19 58o31'N.

137o57'W.

2952–19124 31Aug77 35 5 Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve; Brady 

Glacier to Alsek Glacier.

65–19 58o31'N.

137o57'W.

30922–19315–B 12Sep80 32 5 Landsat 3 RBV image of all the major glaciers of 

Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve; archived 

by USGS-GSP.

66–18 59o54'N.

138o25'W.

21314–19297 28Aug78 36 0 Southeast from Hubbard Glacier to Grand Plateau 

Glacier.

66–18 59o54'N.

138o25'W.

30167–19491–D 19Aug78 39 0 Landsat 3 RBV image of glaciers east of Yakutat; 

Alaska glaciers: Chamberlain, Yakutat, Novatak, 

and Alsek Glaciers, Canada glaciers: Battle, Vern 

Ritchie, Tweedsmuir, Grand Pacific, and Melbern 

Glaciers. Archived by USGS-GSP.

67–18 59o54'N.

139o51'W.

2955–19292 03Sep77 33 0 Icy Bay east to Yakutat Glacier; major glaciers are 

Guyot, Yahtse, Tyndall, Agassiz, Seward, 

Malaspina, Marvine, Turner, Hubbard, Art Lewis, 

Nunatak, and Yakutat.

67–18 59o54'N.

139o51'W.

21675–19482 24Aug79 38 0 Tyndall Glacier east to Nunatak Glacier; major 

glaciers are Tyndall, Agassiz, Malaspina, Seward, 

Hubbard, Yakutat, and Novatak.

67–18 59o54'N.

139o51'W.

31194–19494–

A, B, C, D

11Jun81 50 0–10 Landsat 3 RBV images; archived by USGS-GSP.

68–17 61o16'N.

140o14'W.

2956–19343 04Sep77 32 0 Alaska glaciers: Russell, Hawkins, Barnard, 

Anderson, lower Chitina, Walsh, and Logan. 

Canada glaciers: Klutlan, Brabazon, Steel, Donjek 

and Kluane.

68–17 61o16'N.

140o14'W.

21676–19534 25Aug79 36 0 St .Elias and Chugach Mountains; Chitina, Logan, 

Barnard, Hawkins, and Klutlan Glaciers.

68–17 61o16'N.

140o14'W.

30853–19510–

C, D

05Jul80 48 0 Landsat 3 RBV images of Russell, Klutlan, Hawkins, 

Barnard, Anderson, Walsh, Chitina, and Logan 

Glaciers; archived by USGS-GSP.

68–18 59o54'N.

141o17'W.

2956–19350 04Sep77 33 0 A major part of Bering Glacier, the Bagley Ice Valley, 

Tana, Jefferies, Yahtse, Guyat, Tyndall, Columbus, 

Seward, Agassiz, and Malaspina Glaciers.

68–18 59o54'N.

141o17'W.

1708–20035 01Jul74 50 0 St. Elias and Chugach Mountains; Malaspina, 

eastern Bering, Tana, and Logan Glaciers.

69–16 62o38'N.

140o33'W.

21677–19590 26Aug79 35 0 Nutzotin Mountains (southeastern part of Alaska 

Range); Carl and Nelson Creeks Glaciers, and 

glaciers on Mount Allen and northeastern part of 

Wrangell Mountains.

69–17 61o16'N.

141o40'W.

21677–19593 26Aug79 36 10 Glaciers to the north, east, and south of McCarthy; 

major glaciers are Kennicott, Root, Regal, Rohn, 

Nizina, Chisana, Russell, Klutlan, Anderson, 

Walsh, Logan, Jefferies, and Barnard.

69–17 61o16'N.

141o40'W.

1709–20090 02Jul74 49 10 Wrangell, St. Elias, and Nutzotin Mountains; Carl 

and Nelson Creeks Glaciers, Nabesna, Chisana, 

Kennicott, Root, Barnard, Hawkins, Chitina, and 

Logan Glaciers. 

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K11
Table 1.— Optimum Landsat 1, 2, and 3 Multispectral scanner (MSS) and Return Beam Vidicon (RBV) images of glaciers of Alaska—Continued

Path-Row

Nominal scene 

center 

(lat., long)

Landsat identification 

number Date

Solar elevation 

angle (in 

degrees)

Code Cloud cover 

(in percent) Remarks

69–17 61o16'N.

141o40'W.

30908–19542–B 29Aug80 35 15 Landsat 3 RBV image of Klutlan Glacier; archived 

by USGS-GSP.

69–17 61o16'N.

141o40'W.

30908–19542–C 29Aug80 35 10 Landsat 3 RBV images of Breman and Tana 

Glaciers; archived by USGS-GSP.

69–17 61o16'N.

141o40'W.

30908–19542–D 29Aug80 35 0 Landsat 3 RBV image of Hawkins, Barnard, 

Anderson, Walsh, Logan, Chitina Glaciers; 

archived by USGS-GSP.

69–18 59o54'N.

142o43'W.

2975–19394 23Sep77 26 0 Bagley Ice Valley, and Bering, Guyot, Yahtse, Turner, 

Jefferies, Tana, Bremmer, Fan, Martin River and 

Steller Glaciers.

70–16 62o38'N.

141o59'W.

2958–19453 06Sep77 30 0 Glaciers 100 km southwest and south of Northway.

70–16 62o38'N.

141o59'W.

21624–20035 04Jul79 47 10 Wrangell Mountains; Nabesna, Chisana, and Copper 

Glaciers. 

70–17 61o16'N.

143o06'W.

1422–20212 18Sep73 29 0 Glaciers of Mount Wrangell; Cooper, Nebesna, 

Chisana, Russell, Rohn, Regal, Root, Kennicott, 

Kaskulana, Long, Tana, Bremmer, Fan, and 

Wernicke Glaciers.

70–17 61o16'N.

143o06'W.

1692–20152 15Jun74 49 10 St. Elias, Wrangell, and Chugach Mountains; 

Kennicott, Root, Copper, Nabesna, and Chisana 

Glaciers.

70–17 61o16'N.

143o06'W.

30309–20001–A 30Aug80 34 0 Landsat 3 RBV image of Mount Wrangell; archived 

by USGS-GSP.

70–17 61o16'N.

143o06'W.

30309–20001–B 30Aug80 34 0 Landsat 3 RBV image of Kennicott, Root, Rega, 

Rohn, Russell, Barnard, and Hawkins Glaciers; 

archived by USGS-GSP.

70–17 61o16'N.

143o06'W.

30309–20001–C 30Aug80 34 20 Landsat 3 RBV image of Wernicke, Miles, Allen, and 

Schwan Glaciers; archived by USGS-GSP.

70–17 61o16'N.

143o06'W.

30309–20001–D 30Aug80 34 0 Landsat 3 RBV image of Bremmer and Tana 

Glaciers and Bagley Ice Valley; archived by 

USGS-GSP.

70–18 59o54'N.

144o09'W.

2976–19452 24Sep77 25 5 Sherman, Sheridan, Scott, Woodworth, Schwan, 

Allen, Childs, Miles, Wernicke, Fan, Bering, 

Steller, and Martin River Glaciers.

71–15 63o59'N.

142o11'W.

22399–20114 17Aug81 37 50 Alaska Range, Mount Kimball area.

71–16 62o38'N.

143o25'W.

2941–19521 20Aug77 36 0 Glaciers of the eastern Alaska Range and northern 

Wrangell Mountains.

71–16 62o38'N.

143o25'W.

30532–20155 19Aug79 38 35 Metasta and northeastern Wrangell Mountains; 

Chisana, Nabesna, and Copper Glaciers. 

71–16 62o38'N.

143o25'W.

31270–20135–A 26Aug81 35 0 Landsat 3 RBV image of glaciers of the eastern 

Alaska Range; archived by USGS-GSP.

71–16 62o38'N.

143o25'W.

31270–20135–D 26Aug81 35 0 Landsat 3 RBV image of glaciers on the northern 

side of Mount Wrangell, Nabesna Glacier; 

archived by USGS-GSP.

71–17 61o16'N.

144o32'W.

2941–19524 20Aug77 37 0 Mount Wrangell and the Copper and Chitina Rivers. 

Major glaciers are Long, Kaskulana, Kennecott, 

Root, Fan, Wernicke, Miles, Allen, Schwan, 

Woodworth, Valdez, and Tonsina.

71–17 61o16'N.

144o32'W.

31270–20141–B 26Aug81 36 0 Landsat 3 RBV image of glaciers on the southern 

side of Mount Wrangell; archived by USGS-GSP.

71–17 61o16'N.

144o32'W.

31270–20141–C 26Aug81 36 0 Landsat 3 RBV image of glaciers to the north, east, 

and south of Valdez; archived by USGS-GSP.

71–18 59o54'N.

145o35'W.

2941–19530 20Aug77 37 0 Glaciers east and west of the Copper River delta.

71–18 59o54'N.

145o35'W.

1387–20281 14Aug73 42 0 Chugach Mountains; Scott and Sheridan Glaciers, 

Steller Lobe; Copper River and Bering Glacier 

sediment plumes.

72–15 63o59'N.

143o37'W.

2942–19573 21Aug77 34 15 Glaciers on the northern side of the eastern Alaska 

Range.

72–15 63o59'N.

143o37'W.

2582–20131 26Aug76 33 5 Glaciers on the northern side of the eastern Alaska 

Range.

K12 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Table 1.— Optimum Landsat 1, 2, and 3 Multispectral scanner (MSS) and Return Beam Vidicon (RBV) images of glaciers of Alaska—Continued

Path-Row

Nominal scene 

center 

(lat., long)

Landsat identification 

number Date

Solar elevation 

angle (in 

degrees)

Code Cloud cover 

(in percent) Remarks

72–15 63o59'N.

143o37'W.

2202–22020 5Aug80 40 10 Northeastern Alaska Range, Mount Gakona area.

72–16 62o38'N.

144o51'W.

2942–19575 21Aug77 35 0 Southeastern Alaska Range and western portion of 

Mount Wrangell; Canwell, Castner, Gerstle, 

Johnson, Robertson, and Gakona Glaciers.

72–16 62o38'N.

144o51'W.

2510–20154 15Jun76 48 5 Southeastern Alaska Range, western Wrangell 

Mountains; Long, Kluvesna, Sanford, and Copper 

Glaciers.

72–16 62o38'N.

144o51'W.

30551–20212–A 07Sep79 31 0 Landsat 3 RBV image of eastern Alaska Range; 

archived by USGS-GSP.

72–16 62o38'N.

144o51'W.

30173–20225–D 25Aug78 35 0 Landsat 3 RBV image of Mounts Drum, Stanford, 

and Wrangell; archived by USGS-GSP.

72–17 61o16'N.

145o59'W.

30109–20233 30Sep78 24 10 Chugach Mountains; glaciers from College Fiord to 

the Copper River; Columbia, Yale, Harvard, 

Nelchina, Tazlina, Valdez, Tonsina, Wortman, 

Woodworth, Schwan, Allen, Childs, Sheridan, and 

Scott Glaciers.

72–17 61o16'N.

145o59'W.

30551–20215 07Aug79 32 5 Chugach Mountains; glaciers from College Fiord to 

the Copper River; Columbia, Yale, Harvard, 

Nelchina, Tazlina, Valdez, Tonsina, Wortman, 

Woodworth, Schwan, Allen, Childs, Sheridan, and 

Scott Glaciers.

72–17 61o16'N.

145o59'W.

30551–20215–A 07Sep79 32 0 Landsat 3 RBV image of Nelchina and Tuzlina 

Glaciers; archived by USGS-GSP.

72–17 61o16'N.

145o59'W.

30551–20215–D 07Sep79 32 10 Landsat 3 RBV image of Valdez, Tonsina, Wortmanns, Woodworth, Schwan, Sheridan, and Scott 

Glaciers; archived by USGS-GSP.

72–18 59o54'N.

147o02'W.

1406–20334 02Sep73 35 5 Eastern Sargent Icefield.

73–15 63o59'N.

145o03'W.

2925–20041 04Aug77 39 10 Glaciers of the central and eastern Alaska Range; 

Hayes, Trident, Black Rapids, Susitna, Canwell, 

Johnson, and Gakona Glaciers.

73–15 63o59'N.

145o03'W.

2583–20190 27Aug76 33 0 Northeastern Alaska Range; Hayes, Trident, and 

Gerstle Glaciers.

73–15 63o59'N.

145o03'W.

31200–20230–C 17Jun81 47 0 Landsat 3 RBV image of central Alaska Range; 

Susitna, Hayes, Trident and Black Rapids 

Glaciers; archived by USGS-GSP.

73–15 63o59'N.

145o03'W.

31200–20230–D 17Jun81 47 0 Landsat 3 RBV image of eastern Alaska Range; 

Canwell, Fels, Castner, Gerstle, Johnson, 

Robertson, Chistochina, and Gakona Glaciers; 

archived by USGS-GSP.

73–16 62o38'N.

146o17'W.

2169–20275 10Jul75 47 10 Central and eastern Alaska Range; West Fork, 

Hayes, Susitna, Black Rapids, and Gakona 

Glaciers.

73–16 62o38'N.

146o17'W.

2943–20033 22Aug77 35 50 Talkeetna Mountains and Alaska Range; Susitna, 

West Fork, Maclaren, and Eureka Glaciers. 

73–17 61o16'N.

147o25'W.

31074–20290 26Aug78 36 5 Chugach Mountains and Prince William Sound; 

Spencer, Twentymile, Harriman, Surprise, Lake 

George, Colony, Knik, Marcus Baker, Matanuska, 

Nelchina, Tazlina, Valdez, Shoup, Columbia, 

Meares, Yale, and Harvard Glaciers.

73–17 61o16'N.

147o25'W.

31272–20254–B 28Aug81 36 0 Landsat 3 RBV image of Nelchina, Tazlina, 

Stephens, Klutina, Tonsima, Valdez, Shoup, and 

Columbia Glaciers; archived by USGS-GSP.

73–17 61o16'N.

147o25'W.

30912–20171–C 02Sep80 33 0 Landsat 3 RBV image of Twentymile, Lake George, 

Colony, Knik, Marcus Baker, Harvard, Yak, Barry, 

Surprise, and Harriman Glaciers; archived by 

USGS-GSP.

73–17 61o16'N.

147o25'W.

30552–20273–D 08Sep79 32 5 Landsat 3 RBV image of Meares, Columbia, Shoup, 

and Valdez Glaciers; archived by USGS-GSP.

73–18 59o54'N.

148o28'W.

1389–20394 16Aug73 41 10 Harding and Sargent Icefields, Skelak, Bear, 

Ellsworth, Excelsior, Chenega, Princeton, and 

Spencer Glaciers.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K13
Table 1.— Optimum Landsat 1, 2, and 3 Multispectral scanner (MSS) and Return Beam Vidicon (RBV) images of glaciers of Alaska—Continued

Path-Row

Nominal scene 

center 

(lat., long)

Landsat identification 

number Date

Solar elevation 

angle (in 

degrees)

Code Cloud cover 

(in percent) Remarks

73–18 59o54'N.

148o28'W.

2907–20062 17Jul77 46 0 Chugach and Kenai Mountains; Exit Glacier to 

McCarty, Holgate, Aialik, Northwest, and Bear 

Glaciers.

73–18 59o54'N.

148o28'W.

30912–20174–A 02Sep80 34 0 Landsat 3 RBV image of glaciers north and south of 

Kings Bay, Sargent Icefield; archived by USGSGSP.

73–18 59o54'N.

148o28'W.

30912–20174–C 02Sep80 34 0 Landsat 3 RBV image of eastern Harding Icefield; 

archived by USGS-GSP.

74–15 63o59'N.

146o29'W.

2944–20085 23Aug77 34 0 Central Alaska Range; Yanert, Gillam, Hayes, 

Trident, Black Rapids, Maclaren, Susitna, and 

West Fork Glaciers.

74–15 63o59'N.

146o29'W.

21286–20130 31Jul78 41 5 Alaska Range; Black Rapids, Susitna, West Fork, 

Gillam and Yanert Glaciers.

74–15 63o59'N.

146o29'W.

31273–20304–D 29Aug81 33 0 Landsat 3 RBV image of central Alaska Range; 

archived by USGS-GSP.

74–16 62o38'N.

143o43'W.

30175–20342 27Aug78 35 10 Glaciers of the Talkeetna Mountains.

74–17 61o16'N.

148o51'W.

30175–20345 27Aug78 36 0 Glaciers of the northern Kenai Peninsula and 

western Chugach Mountains; Spencer, Lake 

George, Colony, Knik, Marcus Baker, Matanuska, 

Nelchina, Tazlina, Yale, and Harvard Glaciers.

74–17 61o16'N.

148o51'W.

30553–20331 09Sep79 32 0 Chugach Mountains; Knik Arm, Turnagain Arm and 

College Fiord; Knik, Lake George, Portage, 

Spencer, and Meares Glaciers.

74–17 61o16'N.

148o51'W.

30553–20331–B 09Sep79 31 10 Landsat 3 RBV image of glaciers of the northwestern Chugach Mountains; archived by USGS-GSP.

74–17 61o16'N.

148o51'W.

30553–20331–D 09Sep79 31 0 Landsat 3 RBV image of glaciers north and south of 

Whittier; archived by USGS-GSP.

74–18 59o54'N.

149o54'W.

1390–20452 17Aug73 41 0 Glaciers of the southern Kenai Peninsula and the 

Harding and Sargent Icefields; Yalik, Grewingk, 

Portlack, Dixon, Dinglestadt, Chernof, Tustumena, Skilak, Bear, Ellsworth, and Excelsior 

Glaciers.

74–18 59o54'N.

149o54'W.

30553–20334–B 09Sep79 33 0 Landsat 3 RBV image of glaciers of the Sargent 

Icefield; archived by USGS-GSP.

74–20 57o08'N.

151o46'W.

2908–20125 18Jul77 47 0 Northeastern end of Kodiak Island with Mount 

Glotoff and Koniag Peak and Koniag Glacier.

75–11 69o17'N.

141o38'W.

2927–20135 06Aug77 35 0 Eastern Brooks Range, Romanzof Mountains.

75–12 67o59'N.

143o28'W.

30158–20387 10Aug78 15 Brooks Range.

75–15 63o59'N.

147o55'W.

2945–20143 24Aug77 34 0 Alaska Range; Susitna, West Fork, Yanert, and 

Gillam Glaciers.

75–16 62o38'N.

149o09'W.

5864–19254 30Aug77 29 0 Eastern Denali National Park and Preserve, 

Talkeetna Mountains, Kahiltna, Tokositna, Ruth, 

Eldridge, and Muldrow Glaciers.

75–16 62o38'N.

149o09'W.

2531–20322 06Jul76 47 5 Alaska Range and Talkeetna Mountains; Ruth, 

Tokositna, Kahiltna, Muldrow and West Fork 

Glaciers.

75–16 62o38'N.

149o09'W.

30554–20383–A 10Sep79 30 20 Landsat 3 RBV image of eastern Denali National 

Park and Preserve; archived by USGS-GSP.

75–17 61o16'N.

150o17'W.

1049–20505 10Sep72 31 20 Parts of glaciers east and west of Anchorage.

75–17 61o16'N.

150o17'W.

22043–20390 26Aug80 36 5 Chugach Mountains; Knik and Turnagain Arms; 

Knik, Lake George, Capps, Triumvirate and 

Blockade Glaciers.

75–18 59o54'N.

151o20'W.

21323–20215 06Sep78 33 10 Glaciers of southern Kenai Peninsula; Yulik, 

Grewingk, Portlock, Dixon, Dinglestadt, Chernof, 

Fustumena, Skilak, and Bear Glaciers. 

75–18 59o54'N.

151o20'W.

22043–20393 26Aug80 37 0 Kenai Mountains and Aleutian Range; Harding 

Icefield, Tustumena, Dinglestadt, McCarty, 

Double, Lateral and Red Glaciers.

K14 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Table 1.— Optimum Landsat 1, 2, and 3 Multispectral scanner (MSS) and Return Beam Vidicon (RBV) images of glaciers of Alaska—Continued

Path-Row

Nominal scene 

center 

(lat., long)

Landsat identification 

number Date

Solar elevation 

angle (in 

degrees)

Code Cloud cover 

(in percent) Remarks

75–19 58o31'N.

152o18'W.

2891–20190 01Jul77 49 10 Kodiak Island and Aleutian Range; Spotted and 

Fourpeaked Glaciers.

75–20 57o08'N.

155o12'W.

2909–20183 19Jul77 47 10 Kodiak Island; Koniag Glacier. 

76–11 69o17'N.

143o04'W.

30177–20435 29Aug78 29 0 Glaciers of the Romanzof Mountains of the Brooks 

Range; McCall Glacier.

76–11 69o17'N.

143o04'W.

22386–20384 04Aug81 36 0 Brooks Range, Romanzof Mountains.

76–12 67o59'N.

144o54'W.

22386–20391 04Aug81 37 5 Brooks Range, Phillip Smith Mountains.

76–15 63o59'N.

149o21'W.

5865–19305 31Aug77 28 80 Central part of Alaska Range.

76–15 63o59'N.

149o21'W.

30537–20441 24Aug79 35 0 Alaska Range; small glaciers on Mount Pendleton 

that drain to form the Toklat River.

76–16 62E38'N. 30537– 24Aug79 0 Alaska Range.

76–16 62o38'N.

150o35'W.

30555–20442 11Sep79 30 0 Alaska Range; Eldridge, Ruth, Tokositna, Kahiltna, 

Yentna, and Dall Glaciers.

76–16 62o38'N.

150o35'W.

30555–20441–A 11Sep79 30 0 Landsat 3 RBV image of Denali National Park and 

Preserve; Heron, Foraker, Straightaway, Peters, 

and Muldrow Glaciers; archived by USGS-GSP.

76–16 62o38'N.

150o35'W.

30555–20441–B 11Sep79 30 0 Landsat 3 RBV image of Denali National Park and 

Preserve; Eldridge Glacier; archived by USGSGSP

76–16 62o38'N.

150o35'W.

30555–20441–C 11Sep79 30 0 Landst 3 RBV image of Denali National Park and 

Preserve; Chedotlothna, Surprise, Dall, Yentna, 

Lacuna, Kahiltna, and Tokositna Glaciers; 

archived by USGS-GSP.

76–17 61o16'N.

151o43'W.

21288–20253 02Aug78 42 0 Tordrilla and Chigmit Mountains; Double, 

Blockade, Capps, Triumvirate, Trimble, Hayes, 

North Twin, and Barrier Glaciers.

76–17 61o16'N.

151o43'W.

2586–20365 30Aug76 34 20 Alaska Range; Hayes, Trimble, Triumvirate, Capps, 

Shamrock, Blockade, and Tanaina Glaciers. 

76–17 61o16'N.

151o43'W.

30555–20444–A 11Sep79 31 0 Landsat 3 RBV image of Triumvirate, Trimble, and 

Hayes Glaciers; archived by USGS-GSP.

76–17 61o16'N.

151o43'W.

30915–20342–C 05Sep80 32 10 Landsat 3 RBV image of Double, Blockade, and 

Shamrock Glaciers; archived by USGS-GSP.

76–18 59o54'N.

152o46'W.

21288–20255 02Aug78 43 0 Illiamna and Redoubt Volcanoes; Red, Lateral, and 

Tuxedni Glaciers.

76–18 59o54'N.

152o46'W.

1734–20485 27Jul74 46 10 Alaska and Aleutian Ranges; Double and Tuxedni 

Glaciers. 

76–18 59o54'N.

152o46'W.

30915–20345–A 05Sep80 33 10 Landsat 3 RBV image of Illiamna and Redoubt 

Volcanoes; archived by USGS-GSP.

76–19 58o31'N.

153o44'W.

1428–20563 24Sep73 29 0 Katmai National Park and Preserve; Serpent 

Tongue, Hook, Hallo, and Spotted Glaciers.

76–19 58o31'N.

153o44'W.

1734–20491 27Jul74 47 5 Katmai National Park and Preserve; Fourpeaked, 

Spotted, Hallo, Hook, and Serpent Tongue 

Glaciers.

76–20 57o08'N.

154o38'W.

1734–20494 27Jul74 48 0 Katmai National Park and Preserve.

77–11 69o17'N.

144o30'W.

5848–19364 14Aug77 0 Brooks Range, Romanzof Mountains.

77–11 69o17'N.

144o30'W.

22387–20443 05Aug81 36 0 Brooks Range, Romanzof Mountains.

77–11 69o17'N.

144o30'W.

30502–20481–B 20Jul79 40 10 Landsat 3 RBV image of Romanzof Mountains, 

Brooks Range, McCall Glacier; archived by 

USGS-GSP.

77–12 67o59'N.

146o20'W.

22387–2044X 05Aug81 37 0 Brooks Range, Phillip Smith Mountains.

77–12 67o59'N.

146o20'W.

2605–20400 18Sep76 22 5 Brooks Range, Phillip Smith Mountains.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K15
Table 1.— Optimum Landsat 1, 2, and 3 Multispectral scanner (MSS) and Return Beam Vidicon (RBV) images of glaciers of Alaska—Continued

Path-Row

Nominal scene 

center 

(lat., long)

Landsat identification 

number Date

Solar elevation 

angle (in 

degrees)

Code Cloud cover 

(in percent) Remarks

77–15 63o59'N.

150o47'W.

21289–20303 03Aug78 40 10 Denali National Park and Preserve; Muldrow 

Glacier.

77–15 63o59'N.

150o47'W.

22405–20460 23Aug81 35 60 Denali National Park and Preserve; Muldrow 

Glacier.

77–16 62o38'N.

152o01'W.

5865–19312 31Aug77 29 10 Denali National Park and Preserve; Dall, Yentna, 

Lacuna, Kahiltna, Tokositna, Ruth, Muldrow, and 

Peters Glaciers.

77–16 62o38'N.

152o01'W.

21487–20392 17Feb79 12 0 Denali National Park and Preserve; Ruth, Tokositna, and Kahiltna Glaciers.

77–16 62o38'N.

152o01'W.

30556–20500–B 12Sep79 29 5 Denali National Park and Preserve; Ruth, Eldridge, 

and Muldrow Glaciers.

77–17 61o16'N.

153o09'W.

1033–21022 25Aug75 37 10 Double, Blockade, Capps, Triumvirate, Trimble, and 

Hayes Glaciers.

77–17 61o16'N.

153o09'W.

21613–20441 23Jun79 49 5 Alaska and Aleutian Ranges; Hayes, Trimble, 

Triumvirate, Capps, Shamrock, Blockade, and 

Tanaina Glaciers.

77–17 61o16'N.

153o09'W.

30880–20413–B 01Aug80 43 0 Landsat 3 RBV image of Capps, Triumvirate, 

Trimble, and Hayes Glaciers; archived by 

USGS-GSP.

77–17 61o16'N.

153o09'W.

30880–20413–D 01Aug80 43 10 Landsat 3 RBV image of Double, Blockade, and 

Shamrock Glaciers; archived by USGS-GSP.

77–18 59o54'N.

154o12'W.

21289–20314 03Aug78 43 20 Laterol and Tuxedni Glaciers.

77–18 59o54'N.

154o12'W.

21613–20443 23Jun79 50 5 Aleutian Range; Tuxedni Glacier.

77–19 58o31'N.

155o10'W.

2983–20253 01Oct77 24 10 Katmai National Park and Preserve; Hallo, Hook, 

and Serpent Tongue Glaciers.

77–19 58o31'N.

155o10'W.

2533–20450 8Jul76 49 10 Katmai National Park and Preserve; Hallo, Hook, 

and Serpent Tongue Glaciers.

77–20 57o08'N.

156o04'W.

30448–20525 27May79 50 0 Aleutian Range; Alaska Peninsula.

78–11 69o17'N.

145o56'W.

5848–19364 14Aug77 31 0 Brooks Range, Romanzof Mountains; McCall 

Glacier.

78–11 69o17'N.

145o56'W.

2570–20462 14Aug76 33 10 Brooks Range, Romanzof Mountains; McCall 

Glacier.

78–11 69o17'N.

145o56'W.

30485–20540–B 03Jul79 43 10 Landsat 3 RBV image of Romanzof Mountains; 

McCall Glacier; archived by USGS-GSP.

78–12 67o59'N.

147o46'W.

5848–19371 14Aug77 31 0 Brooks Range, Phillip Smith Mountains.

78–12 67o59'N.

147o46'W.

22028–20541 11Aug80 36 5 Brooks Range, Phillip Smith Mountains.

78–15 63o59'N.

152o13'W.

1882–20574 03Sep74 32 5 Denali National Park and Preserve; Heron, Foraker, 

and Straightaway Glaciers.

78–16 62o38'N.

153o27'W.

1772–20580 03Sep74 33 0 Western Denali National Park and Preserve; 

Kichatna Mountains.

78–16 62o38'N.

153o27'W.

30557–20554–B 13Sep79 29 10 Landsat 3 RBV image of western Denali National 

Park and Preserve; archived by USGS-GSP.

78–17 61o16'N.

154o35'W.

1772–20583 03Sep74 34 0 Glacier northeast of Lake Clark.

78–19 58o31'N.

156o36'W.

1772–20592 03Sep74 36 30 Katmai National Park and Preserve; McNeal River 

glaciers.

78–19 58o31'N.

156o36'W.

21488–20462 18Feb79 16 0 Katmai National Park and Preserve; McNeal River 

glaciers.

78–20 57o08'N.

157o30'W.

2534–20511 09Jul76 50 0 Alaska Peninsula, Aniakchak Crater, Mount 

Chiginagak.

78–21 55o45'N.

158o21'W.

2192–20581 02Aug75 47 10 Alaska Peninsula, Mount Veniaminof.

79–11 69o17'N.

147o23'W.

1773–21014 4Sep74 27 0 Brooks Range.

79–12 67o59'N.

149o12'W.

1773–21020 4Sep74 28 0 Brooks Range.

K16 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Table 1.— Optimum Landsat 1, 2, and 3 Multispectral scanner (MSS) and Return Beam Vidicon (RBV) images of glaciers of Alaska—Continued

Path-Row

Nominal scene 

center 

(lat., long)

Landsat identification 

number Date

Solar elevation 

angle (in 

degrees)

Code Cloud cover 

(in percent) Remarks

79–20 57o08'N.

158o56'W.

1449–21133 15Oct73 22 20 Alaska Peninsula, Aniakchak Crater.

79–21 55o45'N.

159o47'W.

2427–21091 24Mar76 31 10 Alaska Peninsula, Mount Veniaminof, winter snow 

obscures the glaciers.

79–21 55o45'N.

159o47'W.

22191–21025 21Jan81 11 5 Alaska Peninsula, Mount Veniaminof.

80–11 69o17'N.

148o49'W.

1774–21072 5Sep74 26 0 Brooks Range.

80–12 67o59'N.

150o38'W.

1774–21074 5Sep74 28 0 Brooks Range.

80–18 59o54'N.

158o30'W.

2950–20441 29Aug77 35 0 Wood River Mountains.

80–18 59o54'N.

158o30'W.

30145–21091 28Jul78 45 5 Wood River Mountains.

80–21 55o45'N.

161o13'W.

21688–21044 06Sep79 37 0 Alaska Peninsula, Povlof Volcano.

81–12 67o59'N.

151o37'W.

1775–21133 6Sep74 27 0 Brooks Range.

81–17 61o16'N.

158o26'W.

21347–20570 30Sep78 23 0 Wood River Mountains.

81–17 61o16'N.

158o26'W.

30146–21143 29Jul78 — — — Wood River Mountains.

81–18 59o54'N.

159o29'W.

2591–21055 04Sep76 33 10 Wood River Mountains.

81–18 59o54'N.

159o29'W.

2285–21130 03Nov75 13 0 Wood River Mountains.

81–21 55o45'N.

162o13'W.

2825–20574 26Apr77 42 0 Alaska Peninsula, Povlof Volcano.

81–22 54o22'N.

163o01'W.

2591–21073 04Sep76 37 50 Unimak Island, Shishaldin Volcano.

81–22 54o22'N.

163o01'W.

2825–20581 26Apr77 43 5 Unimak Island, Shishaldin Volcano.

82–22 67o59'N.

153o29'W.

22410–21133 20Aug81 30 0 Brooks Range, Endicott Mountains.

82–22 54o22'N.

164o53'W.

1056–21331 17Sep72 35 10 Unimak Island, Pogromni and Shishaldin Volcanoes.

83–12 67o59'N.

154o55'W.

2557–21155 01Aug76 38 0 Brooks Range, Endicott Mountains.

83–12 67o59'N.

154o55'W.

22015–21224 29Jul80 39 75 Brooks Range, Endicott Mountains.

83–22 54o22'N.

166o19'W.

2413–21240 10Mar76 27 0 Northern part of Unalaska Island; Makushin 

Volcano, winter snow obscures glaciers. 

83–23 52o58'N.

167o04'W.

2413–21243 10Mar76 28 0 Southern part of Unalaska Island and Umnak 

Island, Umnak Volcano, winter snow obscures 

glaciers.

84–12 67o59'N.

156o22'W.

22412–21245 30Aug81 29 0 Brooks Range, Phillip Smith Mountains.

84–23 52o58'N.

168o30'W.

2954–21090 02Sep77 38 30 Southern part of Unalaska Island and Umnak 

Island; glaciers on Okmok Volcano and Mounts 

Recheshnoi and Vsevidof.

85–23 52o58'N.

169o56'W.

2307–21374 25Nov75 13 0 Southwestern part of Umnak Island with glaciers 

on Mounts Recheshnoi and Vsevidof.

87–24 51o34'N.

173o21'W.

2975–21252 23Sep77 32 5 Atka Island; glacier on Kovin Volcano.

88–14 65o20'N.

165o13'W.

1710–21565 03Jul74 46 0 Seward Peninsula.

88–14 65o20'N.

165o13'W.

2886–21315 26Jun77 45 0 Seward Peninsula.

89–12 67o59'N.

163o32'W.

22417–21533 04Sep81 28 0 Brooks Range.

89–12 67o59'N.

163o32'W.

1387–22090 14Aug73 — — — Brooks Range.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K17
148°30'W

61°22'N

0 5 KILOMETERS

APPROXIMATE SCALE

Knik Glacier

Lake George

Figure 6.—Landsat 7 Enhanced Thematic 

Mapper Plus (ETM+) false-color composite image of the terminus region of Knik 

Glacier and adjacent Lake George, east 

of Anchorage in the Chugach Mountains. 

With this band combination, snow appears 

light blue, glaciers appear darker blue, 

and healthy vegetation is bright green. 

The Landsat image (L7068017009921250; 

bands 5, 4, 2) is from the USGS, EROS Data 

Center, Sioux Falls, S. Dak.

0 10 KILOMETERS

140°30'W

60°N

APPROXIMATE SCALE

A

B

140°30'W

60°N

0 10 KILOMETERS

APPROXIMATE SCALE

Figure 7.—Pair of Landsat 5 MSS subscene 

false-color composite images showing 

changes in the piedmont lobe of Malaspina 

Glacier resulting from a 1986 surge of the 

eastern side of the glacier. The images were 

acquired on 11 September 1986 (A) and 29 

August 1987 (B). Between the dates of the 

two images, folded loop moraines on the 

eastern side of the glacier were displaced 

as much as 5 km. The Landsat images 

(50924–19513; 11 September 1986; Path 62, 

Row 18; and 51276–19572; 29 August 1987; 

Path 62, Row 18) are from the USGS, EROS 

Data Center, Sioux Falls, S. Dak.

K18 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD

Glacier Names and Place-Names in Alaska 

The names of Alaska’s glaciers and other place-names have diverse origins (appendix C), including at least four European languages and numerous dialects of the languages of the indigenous peoples of Alaska. Beginning 

in the 18th century, when Russian, English, Spanish, and French explorers 

and merchants began interacting with the indigenous peoples, they recorded many of the names of geographic features, frequently transliterating or 

translating them into European languages. Additionally, the Europeans provided new place-names for many geographic features, many of which are still 

in use.
U.S. involvement in the naming of Alaska’s geographic features predates 

its purchase of Alaska in 1867 from Russia. U.S. whalers hunting in the Arctic 

Ocean applied names to many northern geographic features. Additionally, official pre-purchase expeditions, such as the 1854–55 U.S. Navy (USN) North 

Pacific Exploring Expedition, provided new geographic-feature names. In 

order to track and authenticate Alaskan place-names, a formal system of 

legitimizing named features evolved in the 19th century, leading to Marcus 

Baker’s Geographic Dictionary of Alaska (Baker, 1902), which contained 

2,000 identified names. A second edition four years later contained about 

9,300 names and 3,300 cross references and was released as USGS Bulletin 

299 (Baker, 1906).

In 1967, the most recent version of a USGS Alaskan geographic dictionary—Dictionary of Alaska Place Names—was released as USGS Professional Paper 567 (Orth, 1967). Containing more than 20,000 names, it was 

reprinted with minor revisions in 1971 (Orth, 1971). In 1991, The Denali 

Press (Schorr, 1991) released a compendium of about 1,300 additional place 

names—Alaska Place Names—based on BGN decisions made between 

January 1966 and December 1990. More than 25 new glacier names were 

included. 

Today, most BGN databases have been computerized. The Alaska Dictionary Database and the USGS Geographic Names Information System

(GNIS) serve as the central repositories for approved Alaskan place-names. 

“The Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) is the Federal standard 

for geographic nomenclature. The U.S. Geological Survey developed the 

GNIS for the U.S. Board on Geographic Names as the official repository of domestic geographic names data.” The USGS GNIS is available on the Internet 

at the following URL: http://geonames.usgs.gov/. The Alaska Dictionary Database is currently available to the general public only through Orth (1967). 

Even though more than 600 glacier names have been officially approved as of 

March 1998 (appendix C), the great majority of Alaska’s glaciers, perhaps as 

many as 99 percent of extant glaciers, are still unnamed.

Many names that were given to glaciers by early expeditions and USGS 

field parties were never formally adopted. Neither of the glacier names that 

Schwatka uses for the two glaciers depicted in his 1885 book, Baird Glacier

and Saussure Glacier (Schwatka, 1885, p. 73, 77), for example, were adopted as official names. Both are shown without names on the latest USGS 

map of the area. Similarly, the names of some glaciers have changed several 

139°30'W

60°N 0 10 KILOMETERS

Figure 8.—A Landsat MSS “temporalchange composite image” showing differences occurring between 1985 and 1986 in 

the termini of Hubbard (center) and Turner 

(lower left) Glaciers and the Valerie Glacier, 

a tributary to the Hubbard Glacier. All are 

located in the upper end of Disenchantment 

Bay. This image was produced by digital 

addition of two geographically registered 

Landsat MSS images and determination 

of differences in brightness values for 

individual pixels. Differences, including 

the 1986 advance of the terminus to block 

Russell Fiord (lower right), are shown in 

green. Unpublished 1986 analysis by Bruce 

F. Molnia and Matthew Schwaller.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K19
times. For instance, the LeConte Glacier, named in 1887 by the U.S. Navy 

for University of California geologist Joseph LeConte, was previously called 

Hutli Glacier and Thunder Glacier. Similarly, Taku Glacier originally was 

called Schulze Glacier and Foster Glacier.

Early Observations of Alaska and its Glaciers

Traditional Knowledge

Alaska’s indigenous peoples were cognizant of the presence of glaciers. In 

many areas, local peoples, such as the Tlingit, lived near glaciers and developed a history and culture that took into account the influence that glaciers 

played in their daily activities. For example, the famous anthropologist de 

Laguna (1972) gives several accounts of native villages being destroyed by 

the advance of glaciers. Similarly, after John Muir visited Glacier Bay in 1879, 

he wrote that the Indians who guided him during his exploration would not 

go near the face of the tidewater glaciers. They told him that ice rising out of 

the water had capsized canoes and drowned their occupants. This account 

is the earliest reported description of submarine calving from the termini of 

glaciers by a scientist (Muir, 1895) (see also Vancouver, 1798). 

Limited Early Descriptions of Glaciers

Only a very few early explorers, mostly from expeditions carried out during the second half of the 19th century, mentioned glaciers in their reports or 

provided technical information about the extent and distribution of Alaska’s 

glaciers. Several factors can be offered to explain this situation: (1) most of 

the early explorers had no personal knowledge or understanding of glaciers 

or the concept of glacierization, and (2) most were searching for a “Northwest Passage” or for expanding economic trading spheres for their countries 

and were not focused on descriptions of geographical features. 

An additional factor may be the vocabulary commonly used in Europe during the period of early exploration. An 1855 discussion of glaciers by Wilhelm 

Wittich states that “The term glacier is frequently considered as being synonymous with that of snow-mountain, and both terms are sometimes used 

without discrimination” (Wittich, 1869). However, even without using the 

correct terminology, explorers did describe glaciers. For example, although 

Vancouver (1798) never used the word glacier, he did use phrases such as 

“an immense body of compact perpendicular ice, extending from shore to 

shore...” to describe Brady Glacier in Taylor Bay and “From the shores of 

this basin a compact body of ice extending some distance nearly all round” 

(Vancouver, 1798, p. 416–417) to describe Taku Glacier. Obviously, Vancouver had an understanding of glaciers, even if not of modern glaciological 

terminology.

What follows is a summary of the accomplishments of selected explorers who conducted 18th through 20th century sea and land expeditions that 

provided descriptions of the glaciers of Alaska or contributed to Alaska’s 

geographic information. Qualitative information provided by these explorers 

can be used to extend the record of historic changes in Alaska’s glaciers.

18th and 19th Century Explorations and 

Observations of Alaska and its Glaciers

The 18th and 19th centuries saw a number of European expeditions to 

Alaska. Some were focused on exploration, some on exploitation, some on 

adventure, and some on scientific investigation. Together, these explorers, 

scientists, and adventurers provided descriptions of glaciers or contributed 

to Alaska’s geographic information. Appendix D provides a chronological list 

of many of those explorers and expeditions, their nationality, and date(s) 

of exploration. For a number of locations, this mostly qualitative informaK20 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
tion can be used to draw conclusions about the location and size and even 

the processes active at selected Alaska glaciers. Much of the information for 

appendix D was compiled from Davidson (1901, 1904), Baker (1902, 1906), 

Hulley (1953), Sherwood (1965), Orth (1967), Henry (1984), and Molnia and 

Post (1995). Following is a brief summary of selected explorers/expeditions 

who visited Alaska during the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries and their 

contributions to our earliest knowledge of glaciers in Alaska.

Vitus Bering

The first documented European expedition to explore Alaska, conducted 

in 1741 for Russia, consisted of two ships, the St. Peter, captained by Vitus Bering, with Sven Waxell as second-in-command and Georg W. Steller as 

naturalist, and the St. Paul, captained by Alexie Chirikof. Soon after leaving 

Kamchatka, the ships lost contact with each other and remained separated 

for the remainder of their respective voyages. The St. Peter sailed as far east 

as the vicinity of the St. Elias Mountains, sighting land on the western side 

of Yakutat Bay and Mount St. Elias in mid-July 1741. Although the St. Peter

sailed within a few kilometers of the largest glaciers in continental North 

America, no written information exists about any glaciers from any of the 

expedition’s members. 

On 20 July 1741, Steller and members of the crew landed on Kayak Island 

(Waxell, 1952). Attempting to return to Kamchatka, Captain Bering sailed 

along the Aleutian Islands before most of the crew fell ill with scurvy, and the 

ship suffered permanent damage. On 5 November 1741, to prevent its sinking, the St. Peter was run aground on an island off the coast of Russia, now 

called Bering Island. Although Captain Bering died without reaching home, 

his expedition produced the first information and descriptions of the Pacific 

Ocean coast of Alaska. Captain Chirikof sailed as far east as the Alexander 

Archipelago, perhaps to what is now known as Sitka on the western coast of 

Baranov Island, before safely returning to Russia.

James Cook

Beginning in May l778, Captain James Cook, in command of the HMS 

Resolution, and Captain Charles Clerke, in command of the HMS Discovery, 

sailed westward along the North American shoreline of the Pacific Ocean 

looking for a passage to the Atlantic Ocean. After naming Mount Edgecumbe 

(on Baranof Island), Cook observed snow-covered Mount Fairweather (in 

Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve). Cook later explored Prince William 

Sound and Cook Inlet from 12 May through 25 June 1778. The expedition 

then proceeded through the Bering Strait into the Arctic Ocean, where it 

was turned back by pack ice on 28 August 1778. Many sketches of coastal 

features, including the St. Elias Mountains and the Chugach Mountains, were 

made by William Bligh, sailing master of HMS Resolution, but there are no 

known descriptions of glaciers from that voyage.

Jean François de Galaup de La Pérouse

In July 1786, Jean François de Galaup de La Pérouse led two ships, the 

Boussole and the Astrolabe, in an expedition to the coast of the St. Elias 

Mountains. In Lituya Bay, a T-shaped fiord with numerous glaciers at its head, 

he set up a scientific observatory on Cenotaph Island. He clearly had knowledge of glaciers because his log describes their locations and characteristics 

(La Pérouse, 1798–99). His map of Lituya Bay (fig. 9A) accurately depicts 

water depths within the bay and the location of five glaciers at the upper 

ends of the bay. La Pérouse’s narrative describes how several members of 

the expedition attempted to climb one of the glaciers at the head of the western arm of the bay. He stated that “With unspeakable fatigue they advanced 

2 leagues, being obliged at extreme risk of life to leap over clefts of great 

depth; but they could only perceive one continued mass of ice and snow, of 

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K21
which the summit of Mount Fairweather must have been the termination” 

(La Pérouse, 1798–99, p. 374). Drawings by expedition members Lieutenant de frégate Blondela and Gaspard Duche de Vancy show Cascade Glacier 

at the head of Lituya Bay. The details of La Pérouse’s descriptions and map 

provide a qualitative source of data to estimate changes in the positions of 

glacier termini in Lituya Bay (figs. 9B, 9C) and sediment accumulation for a 

period that now exceeds 200 years (Jordan, 1962; Molnia, 1979).

Alexandro Malaspina

In 1791, a Spanish scientific expedition reached Alaska with the purpose of 

collecting natural history materials and information, preparing maps, and investigating the political state of Spanish possessions in the New World (Beddall, 1979). The expedition, which carried three naturalists, consisted of two 

ships, the Descubierta and the Atrevida, under the leadership of Alexandro 

Malaspina. On 2 June 1791, they reached Sitka and then proceeded north to 

Yakutat Bay which they explored in detail and named Disenchantment Bay 

(Bahia del Desengano). While they were in Yakutat Bay, a description of a 

glacier, now known as the Malaspina Glacier, was prepared. The expedition 

also studied Icy Bay and Prince William Sound.

George Vancouver

In 1793, Captain George Vancouver of the British Navy, commanding the 

sloop HMS Discovery, explored the southeastern corner of Alaska from the 

vicinity of Portland Inlet north to the vicinity of Cape Caamano at the northern end of Clarence and Sumner Straits. Captain Vancouver named the cape 

Figure 9.—Three maps of Lituya Bay: 1797, 

1961, and 1972. A, La Pérouse’s 1797 map; 

B, Part of the USGS (1961) 1:63,360-scale 

topographic map (appendix B) of the same 

area. (Mt. Fairweather, C–5, Alaska; compiled photogrammetrically from vertical aerial photographs acquired in 1948 and 1958, 

field annotated in 1961). C, 1972 sketch 

map by Austin Post, U.S. Geological Survey. 

The La Pérouse map shows the presence of 

five named glaciers (green asterisks) at the 

head of the bay. The USGS and Post maps 

show only three. In the interval of time between the three maps, the pairs of glaciers 

at the heads of each arm of the bay have coalesced and each has advanced more than 3 

km. By 1972, however, Cascade Glacier had 

retreated to a stable position on the beach 

(table 3). Compare with figures 136 and 137 

to see continuing changes.

K22 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
after Don Jacinto Caamano, a Spaniard commissioned by the Viceroy of Mexico in 1792 to explore the southeastern Alaskan coast. In 1794, Vancouver 

returned to Alaska, exploring the coast from Chirikof Island, west of Kodiak, 

to Kodiak, to Cook Inlet, to Prince William Sound, to the mouth of Glacier 

Bay, and south to Port Conclusion on the east coast of Baranof Island. During 

this expedition, Lieutenant James Whitbey frequently went ashore in a small 

launch and made detailed investigations of many coastal features.

During Captain Vancouver’s l794 exploration of College Fiord in Prince 

William Sound, a correlation was made between the frightening thunderous 

roars that were frequently heard and the falling of blocks of frozen snow off 

the faces of “snow cliffs.” This instance is the first recorded observation of 

glacier calving in Alaska. Captain Vancouver described Icy Bay (Vancouver, 

B

C

137°30’W 58°40’N

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K23
1798). Many sketches of coastal features, including Mount St. Elias and Icy 

Bay, were made by Thomas Heddington, a midshipman.

Edward Belcher

In 1837, Sir Edward Belcher, aboard HMS Sulphur, journeyed to Alaska 

in order to fix the geographic coordinates and determine the height of Mount 

St. Elias (Belcher, 1843). In the vicinity of Cape Suckling, the expedition 

made what is probably the first observation of the surge of an Alaskan glacier. 

Belcher described a surface composed of rectangular prisms of severely shattered ice lightly mantled with morainic debris in the area of Bering Glacier’s 

present terminus. Years later, Belcher (1862) had become more familiar with 

glaciers and icebergs but still did not understand what he had observed in 

1837 or its dynamics. After severe thought over a period of many years, he 

presented an explanation for and a description of the icebergs that he saw 

near Icy Bay and tried to relate them to the pyramids observed in 1837. He 

stated that “the apparently descending ice, from the mountains to the base, 

was in irregular broken masses, which tumbled in confusion. The motion was 

clearly continuous” (Belcher, 1862, p. 186–187). 

60°N

60°N

143°W 142° 141° 140°

Robinson

Mountains

A

B

Figure 10.—Maps of the Gulf of Alaska 

coastal area from Yakutat Bay on the east 

to the Cape Suckling area on the west. 

A, Teben’kov’s 1849 map shows the margin 

of the Malaspina Glacier as a snow-covered 

plateau surrounded by forest and marsh. 

The “Icy Bay” shown west of long 141°W. 

is not the present Icy Bay. In the intervening years the embayment was filled. To the 

west of Icy Bay, the Robinson Mountains 

are shown as snow-covered. B, The same 

area portrayed on the 1975 U.S. Air Force 

Operational Navigation Chart (ONC) D–11.

K24 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
George Simpson

 In 1841, George Simpson, Governor of the Hudson Bay Company, visited 

many of the settlements in Russian America, observing the local geography 

as well as their economic situations. In September 1841, he sailed through 

Stephens Passage, where he observed “The valleys were lined with glaciers 

down to the water’s edge; and the pieces that had broken off during the season had filled the channels and straits with fields and masses of ice, through 

which the vessel could scarcely force her way” (Simpson, 1847, v. 1, p. 213). 

Mikhail Dimitrievich Teben’kov

Between l848 and l850, a series of charts and maps appeared that were 

prepared by cartographers Kosima Trentiev and M.M. Kadin for Admiral 

Mikhail Dimitrievich Teben’kov, Director of the Russian American Company 

and Governor of the Russian American colonies. These charts and maps, 

published as the Atlas of the Northwest Coast of America (Teben’kov, 

1852), clearly show the location of many coastal features, including glaciers. 

The observations of more than 50 pilots and Russian explorers (appendix D) 

were consolidated into these charts and maps (fig. 10). 

William P. Blake

In l863, the Russian Navy invited Professor William P. Blake of Yale University to accompany Commander Vladimir Bassarguine on the corvette 

Rynda on an exploration expedition to Russian America. After arriving at 

Sitka, Blake accompanied a party for the first exploration of the Stikine River 

valley. Blake described “four large glaciers and several smaller ones” (Blake, 

1867, p. 96) within 60 to 70 miles of the mouth of the river. His observations 

were published as early as July 1863 in California newspapers and, in 1867, 

as Glaciers of Alaska, Russian America (Blake, 1867), the first summary 

of Alaska’s glaciers. His 1868 map and report to Secretary of State William 

Seward (Blake, 1868) includes several sketches of glacier terminus morphology and descriptions of individual glacial moraines. The map shows the terminus position of four glaciers, including Popof Glacier (fig. 11).

Figure 11.—Part of Blake’s 1868 map of the 

Stikine (Stickeen) River area showing the 

terminus of Popoff [Popof] Glacier. Farther 

upstream, off this section of the map, three 

other glaciers are depicted, all located on 

what is now the Canadian side of the border. Blake uses the terms “moraine” and 

“old moraine” to describe sedimentary 

deposits in front of two of the Canadian 

glaciers.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K25
William H. Dall

Beginning in 1865, William H. Dall began a lifelong investigation of the 

resources of Alaska, including its glaciers. His reports mention the effects of 

past and present glaciation and the geology of the region. In his 1870 description of the resources and geography of Alaska, Dall (1870), notes several glaciers of the Coast Mountains, including the Davidson Glacier and those near 

the Taku River, and mentions Icy Bay, named “for the glaciers which surround it” (Dall, 1870, p. 252). On 21 April 1883, Dall presented a summary of 

his observations about the glaciation of Alaska to the Philosophical Society of 

Washington (Dall, 1884). In the interior of Alaska, he observed ice lenses in 

permafrost and took time to clearly differentiate between ice of glacial origin 

and permafrost ice. Dall described the distribution of glaciers as “confined 

to the region of the Alaska range and the ranges parallel with it south of the 

Yukon Valley, but particularly to the coast mountains bordering on the Gulf 

of Alaska and the Alexander Archipelago, of which the St. Elias Alps form the 

most conspicuous uplift” (Dall, 1884, p. 35). Dall recognized “that the extent 

of Alaskan glaciers is generally diminished from its former state, and is probably still diminishing” (Dall, 1884, p. 35).

Figure 12.—Sketch map of the Saint Elias 

Alpine Region [sic, mountains] produced 

by the U.S. Coast Survey in 1875. Shown 

and named is Grand Plateau Glacier. 

Shown but not named are La Perouse 

and the Crillon Glaciers and three glaciers 

north of Dry Bay. The Malaspina Glacier 

is shown as a flat area in front of a mountain chain that includes Mount Saint Elias, 

Mount Cook, and Mount Vancouver. In 

front of the Malaspina Glacier is a “Plateau 

bare of Vegetation.” 

K26 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
George Davidson

Following the purchase of Alaska from Russia in 1867, George Davidson was directed by the Superintendent of the United States Coast Survey 

[USCS, later the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey (USC&GS), and now the 

National Ocean Survey (NOS)] to “gather whatever information I could of 

the resources of that terra incognita” (Lewis, 1954, p. 42). This directive 

began investigations of the coastline and continental margin of Alaska that 

continue to the present. These types of investigations produced figure 12, 

an 1875 Sketch of the St. Elias Alpine Region (United States Coast Survey, 1878), combining topography and shoreline glacier positions compiled 

during an 1874 survey directed by Dall with data and observations from the 

charts of Vancouver, La Pérouse, and Teben’kov. The sketch map shows the 

La Perouse and Grand Plateau Glaciers and describes the area covered by 

the Malaspina Glacier as a “plateau bare of vegetation” (United States Coast 

Survey, 1878, pl. 22).

Davidson maintained a keen and continuing interest in Alaska into the 

20th century. In 1901, he published a detailed examination of Bering’s 1741 

voyage (Davidson, 1901). More importantly, in 1904, Davidson completed his 

summary of The Glaciers of Alaska That Are Shown on Russian Charts or 

Mentioned in Older Narratives (Davidson, 1904). This summary contains 

11 plates depicting the early mapped glacier positions, one of which is shown 

in figure 13.

Charles Erskine Scott Wood

In 1877, Lieutenant Charles Erskine Scott Wood journeyed to Alaska in an 

attempt to climb Mount St. Elias. His indigenous guides refused to undertake 

Figure 13.—Map showing the glaciers of 

the Icy Strait-Cross Sound region compiled 

in 1902 by George Davidson from data published by the Russian-American Company 

and other 19th century sources (Davidson, 

1904, Plate VIII). Comparing this map to 

earlier maps, shows very clearly that the 

delineation of landforms in general and 

glaciers in particular was becoming much 

more accurate.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K27
an ocean canoe trip and led him to the Mount Fairweather area instead. From 

there, Wood saw Glacier Bay in the distance from the divide (Wood, 1882). 

John Muir

 In 1879, John Muir, a naturalist and travel writer, visited Alaska for the 

first time. He was accompanied by Samuel Hall Young, a Presbyterian missionary. Together, they performed the first detailed investigation of Glacier 

Bay and Muir Glacier. Muir returned in l88l (Muir, 1893, 1895) and l899 (Muir, 

1902) and noted many changes in the bay and its glaciers. He also explored 

numerous glaciers in other parts of southern Alaska.

U.S. Military Expeditions

In 1883, a U. S. Army expedition led by Lieutenant Frederick Schwatka 

(1885) explored the northern part of the Alaska panhandle in the vicinity 

of the Chilkoot Pass while on its way north to the headwaters of the Yukon 

River. The expedition transported a camera and exposed glass photographic 

plates, capturing images of several glaciers north of Skagway. These photographs are likely the earliest of Alaskan glaciers. Schwatka described and 

mapped an “immense glacier” at the head of the Nourse River and “the southern terminal spur of a large glacier” between the Nourse and the Dayay Rivers. He named these the Baird and Saussure Glaciers (fig. 14) and prepared 

lithographs of each (Schwatka, 1885).

In 1885, Lieutenant Henry T. Allen of the Second U. S. Cavalry led a 1,500-

mile (2,414-km) expedition to the Copper, Tanana, Koyukuk, and Yukon 

Rivers to make a reconnaissance of the Copper and Tanana River valleys of 

Alaska (Allen, 1887). His report contains lithographs of the termini of the 

Childs and Miles Glaciers (fig. 15) based on his photographs and narrative, 

which describe Childs and Miles Glaciers and several other glaciers in the 

Copper River Valley.

George Frederick Wright

In 1886, G. Frederick Wright, a professor at Oberlin Theological Seminary 

and an Assistant of the USGS, conducted a month-long investigation of Muir 

Glacier and Glacier Bay (Wright, 1887, 1889). Among his findings is an estimate of the annual sediment budget of the Muir Glacier. Wright also made 

observations on the glaciers of the Stikine River and many other parts of 

the Coast Mountains (fig. 16). Wright’s The Ice Age in North America and 

its Bearings upon the Antiquity of Man (Wright, 1889) contains a map 

Figure 14.—1883 lithograph produced 

from one of the first photographs taken of 

an Alaskan glacier. Although it is labeled 

“Finger of Saussure Glaciers,” this name 

was never adopted. The glacier, which 

is underfit in its valley, appears to have a 

retreating terminus. It is probably an unnamed glacier on the east side of Mount 

Hoffman, Coast Mountains. Lithograph 

from Schwatka (1885). Photograph by 

Charles A. Homan, U.S. Engineers.

K28 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
of southeastern Alaska that systematically depicts the location of known 

Alaskan glaciers between Dixon Entrance [54°30’N.] and Mount St. Elias 

[60°20’N.] (fig. 17). Wright quoted H.W. Elliot as stating that “counting great 

and small, there can not be less than five thousand glaciers between Dixon’s 

Entrance and the extremity of the Alaskan Peninsula” (Wright, 1889, p. 30).

New York Times Expedition

In 1886, a New York Times expedition led by Frederick Schwatka attempted to reach Mount St. Elias. Schwatka was accompanied by William 

Libbey, Jr., of the College of New Jersey and Lieutenant Heywood W. Seton 

Karr, a former British Army officer and mountaineer. Seton Karr applied 

the name “Bering Glacier” to an “ice-plain” that he observed west of Icy Bay 

(Seton Karr, 1887). Libbey (1886) named the Guyot and Aggasiz Glaciers 

and also recognized that the majority of the glaciers that he saw were retreating. “Today we find in the glaciers which gleam on the mountain sides 

of these channels only the relics of their former greatness. The history of the 

great Muir Glacier at the head of Glacier Bay is but silent witness of the fact 

that these ice masses are rapidly retreating to their mountain fastnesses, for 

it has retreated many miles towards its sources since it was first discovered” 

(Libbey, 1886, p. 281–282). This expedition was responsible for providing 

the first written description of the complex glacier systems now known as 

the Bering, Guyot, and Malaspina Glaciers.

Figure 16.—1886 photograph by W.H. 

Partridge of the terminus of Norris Glacier, 

Coast Mountains. This image was published in Wright (1889).

Figure 15.—1887 lithograph produced from 

one of the few surviving photographs taken by Lt. Allen’s Copper River Expedition of 

1885 (Allen, 1887). Shown is the terminus 

of Miles Glacier.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K29
Israel C. Russell

Israel C. Russell, a USGS geologist, led two expeditions in 1890 (Russell, 

1891, 1892) and l89l (Russell 1893, 1894) to climb Mount St. Elias and to explore the geology and topography of Yakutat Bay (fig. 18), Malaspina Glacier, 

and Icy Bay. The expeditions were jointly funded by the USGS and the National Geographic Society (NGS). [Editors’ note: I.C. Russell was the first recipient of a research grant from the NGS. The NGS’s Committee for Research 

and Exploration has since (as of 2004) made more than 7,500 such awards.] 

The observations made on the expeditions resulted in many publications, 

including maps and a description of the glaciers of Mount St. Elias (Russell, 

1891, 1892). A large area was mapped, Mount Logan was discovered, and 

the heights of Mount St. Elias and several other peaks were determined. The 

Figure 17.—Wright’s 1889 sketch map of 

southeastern Alaska showing the location 

of glaciers in the region [ symbols] (Wright, 

1889, p. 26). This sketch is the earliest attempt at a systematic mapping of the glaciers of southeastern Alaska.

Figure 18.—Israel C. Russell’s 1891 

“Sketch Map of the Mount St. Elias Region” 

(Russell, 1893, Plate IV). By 1891, the “Icy 

Bay” shown on figure 10 had all but disappeared, and the Malaspina Glacier and 

Guyot Glacier were united into one continuous ice mass.

K30 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
height of Mount St. Elias, thought to be 18,008 ft, was calculated to be 18,100 

±100 ft. The ascent failed owing to severe weather. Russell Fiord, later 

named for him, was also explored in detail. Russell’s expeditions produced 

more than 150 photographs (fig. 19), including the earliest photographs of 

the positions of the termini of the Turner and Hubbard Glaciers. Many of 

these photographs were published in 1892 and in 1893 (Russell, 1892, 1893), 

and some were used by other investigators, such as Tarr and Martin (1914), 

to assist them in determining change in glaciers. 

Figure 19.—A, 1891 Israel C. Russell photograph of a USGS field party crossing the 

Malaspina Glacier, St. Elias Mountains, 

during their unsuccessful attempt to climb 

Mount St. Elias. Samovar Hills is in the middle 

background. Photograph Russell 520 from 

the USGS Photographic Library, Denver, 

Colo. B, Israel C. Russell and members of his 

survey team in the St. Elias Mountains. Israel 

C. Russell was the first recipient of a fieldresearch grant from the National Geographic 

Society in 1890 (USGS Photographic Library 

photograph Russell 568).

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K31
Henry Fielding Reid

Henry Fielding Reid was affiliated with the Case School of Applied Science in Cleveland (now Case Western Reserve University) and with Johns 

Hopkins University in Baltimore. In 1890 and 1892, he conducted two expeditions to Glacier Bay to study Muir Glacier. He made numerous photographs 

and described how to document the location of a glacier’s terminus: 

(1) All photographs at the end of a glacier are useful; particularly if the magnetic 

bearings of the camera, and the approximate distance from the glacier are given. 

(2) Select two stations, one on each side of the valley, commanding a view of the 

glacier’s end. Photograph the end from these two stations... Mark the station, describe them carefully... so that they can easily be found by later observers... This 

will be the beginning of a systematic record of the glacier. From these photographs it will be possible to make a map of the glacier’s end if we know: the distance between the stations; the angle at each station between the other and some 

points in the photograph and the focal length of the lens (Reid, 1895, p. 286–287). 

In a pair of publications (Reid 1892, 1896), he described the morphology 

of the bay, its geology, glaciers, and glacial deposits, changes between his 

two visits, moulins, Glacier Bay’s tides, and its water chemistry. H.P. Cushing of Western Reserve University (Cleveland), a member of the first Reid 

expedition, published the first geological map of the region in 1895 (Cushing, 

1896). A preliminary version showing the geology of the Muir Glacier Basin 

was included in Reid (1892). During the same time period, other photographers came to Glacier Bay and also recorded the position of the terminus of 

Muir Glacier (fig. 20).

Starting in 1895, Reid began to compile summaries of the global variations 

of glaciers, including glaciers of Alaska. 

The great interest which the physical study of living glaciers has to the geologist is 

the light it may throw on the causes producing, and the conditions prevailing during 

the Ice Age. One of the habits of living glaciers bearing most directly on the Ice Age is 

the variation continually occurring in their length, thickness, and velocity of motion... 

but it is only within about twenty years that anything like systematic work has been 

done in getting together records which enable us, in some cases, to exhibit roughly 

the variations in the extent of certain glaciers for three hundred years, during which 

period there has been quite a number of advances and retreats... (Reid, 1895, p. 278). 

On an almost annual basis, he continued to compile and report these 

changes in a series of articles, frequently titled Variations in Glaciers, until 

the advent of World War I (for example, Reid, 1897, 1898, 1899, 1900, 1904, 

1909, 1913a, 1913b, 1915). He last visited Glacier Bay in 1931.

[Editors’ note: According to Mark F. Meier (written commun., 2004), Reid 

was the first scientist to carry out true glaciological studies in Alaska. One 

of his many significant achievements was the mapping, using planetablemapping techniques, of the large, heavily crevassed Muir Glacier from its 

terminus to its head. He also published many “cutting-edge” scientific papers, including an exposition on the “kinematic theory” of glacier flow. Reid 

Figure 20.—1893 photograph by Frank 

LaRoche (standing) (T.J. Richardson, sitting) of the terminus of Muir Glacier, Saint 

Elias Mountains. Morse Glacier can be 

seen in the left background. The photograph is from the National Snow and Ice 

Data Center (NSIDC), Boulder, Colo.

K32 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
was the U.S. representative on the International Commission on Glaciers. 

He clearly was the most prominent U.S. glaciologist until the emergence of 

a new generation of glaciologists, such as Robert P. Sharp and others in the 

post-World War II years. Unfortunately for the science of glaciology, the 1906 

Earthquake in San Francisco diverted his attention to the science of seismology, where he published a seminal paper on the “elastic-rebound theory” of 

earthquakes.]

Alaska-Canada Boundary Surveys

The boundary survey work done by the Americans and Canadians from 

approximately 1893 to 1920 to delineate the boundary between Canada 

and Alaska is an invaluable source of glacier photographs.3 The settlement 

of the border involved a tremendous amount of hard work and sacrifice on 

the part of the boundary survey parties. The Anglo-Russian Treaty of 1825 

fixed the boundary between British and Russian possessions in 1867; after 

Canada took over the British possessions in 1870 and 1871, the boundary 

description given in the treaty continued unchanged. The vague language 

of the 1825 treaty with regard to the Alaska panhandle led to U.S.–Canadian 

disagreement over the boundary description in that area. In 1892, the parties 

agreed to a joint survey of the disputed area by the Alaska Boundary Commission, which was made up of both Americans and Canadians. An unproductive field season in 1893 caused by poor weather was followed by a very 

successful season in 1894 and then a wrap-up of the work in 1895. In 1899, a 

Joint High Commission was still unable to settle the boundary dispute, and 

the differences culminated in the 1903 Alaska Boundary Tribunal. The sixmember tribunal voted in favor of the United States, resulting in the Atlas of 

Award, which was published in 1904. Joint surveys by the United States and 

Canada, under the auspices of the International Boundary Commission, then 

followed from 1904 through 1928 to demarcate the boundary as indicated in 

the Atlas.

The surveys were performed by using a 5-year-old photo-topographic 

method developed for mountain work. A series of photographs were taken 

from a triangulated camera station covering a full 360 degrees. Camera stations established high in the Coast Mountains afforded clear views of the 

mountains, valleys, and glaciers farther inland. The result was a superb set of 

photographs of glaciers in the Coast Mountains dating from the 1890s. Several people are credited with much of the glacier photography: A.J. Brabazon, 

J.A. Flemer, James L. Gibbons, James G. Gibbons, Otto Klotz, William Ogilvie, 

J.J. McArthur, and A.C. Talbot. Otto Klotz, a Canadian, was one of the first to 

recognize that photography could be a useful tool for surveying and documenting the position of glaciers and for determining changes in glacier position with time. In 1894, he conducted a photo-topographic survey of the terminus of Baird Glacier (Klotz, 1895). He also realized that “Probably nowhere 

on the earth are better opportunities afforded for the study of living and dead 

glaciers than on the north-west continental shore of America” (Klotz, 1899, p. 

534). He instructed future investigators to leave “readily recognizable marks 

near the ice-front...for the determination of smaller fluctuations of the glaciers” and to develop consistency in future photographic surveys so that the 

“study of the motion of glaciers will then be reduced to an exact science” 

(Klotz, 1899, p. 534). 

National Geographic Society Expeditions

Starting in the 1890s, the NGS served as a focal point both for organizing and funding studies of Alaskan glaciers and for reporting their results 

in its magazine. In addition to Russell’s descriptions of Mount St. Elias, the 

3

 The editors appreciate the scholarly contribution to this section by C Suzanne Brown, formerly with 

the USGS, in using her extensive knowledge of the history of these surveys. 

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K33
Malaspina Glacier, and Yakutat Bay (Russell, 1891, 1892, 1893), the NGS presented the results of the Frederick Schwatka and C.W. Hayes explorations 

of the Copper River and the area north of the St. Elias Mountains (Hayes, 

1892; Schwatka, 1885); H.F. Reid’s descriptions of Glacier Bay and Muir Glacier (Reid, 1892); G.K. Gilbert’s summary of the glaciers of Alaska (Gilbert, 

1903); Henry Gannett’s description of Alaskan glaciers, including those in 

Prince William Sound (Gannett, 1899); E.R. Skidmore’s descriptions of the 

glaciers of the Stikine River area and the exploration of Alaska and its glaciers (Skidmore, 1894, 1896, 1899); C.L. Andrews, Fremont Morse, and G.K. 

Gilbert’s studies of Muir Glacier during the first decade of the 20th century 

(Andrews and Gilbert, 1903; Morse, 1908); W. C. Mendenhall’s exploration 

of the glaciers of the Wrangell Mountains (Mendenhall, 1903a, b); studies of 

the glaciers of the Mount McKinley region by W.A. Dickey, A.H. Brooks, and 

Robert Muldrow (Dickey, 1897; Brooks and Reaburn, 1903; Muldrow, 1901); 

W.H. Osgood’s descriptions of the glaciers of the Lake Clark region (Osgood, 

1904); and Ferdinand Westdahl’s photographs of glaciers in the Aleutian 

Islands (Westdahl, 1903); A.H. Brooks’ studies of the geography of Alaska 

(Brooks, 1902, 1904, 1906a, b, 1911, 1914); and the work by Ralph Tarr and 

Lawrence Martin for the NGS (Martin, 1911; Tarr and Martin, 1910, 1914).

Duke of Abruzzi

In 1897, Prince Luigi Amedeo Di Savoia, Duke of Abruzzi, successfully led 

an expedition to the summit of Mount St. Elias and named many of the glacial features that were seen during the ascent. His narrator, Filippo de Filippi 

(1899), provided a description of a “huge glacier” observable from the summit. 

Not realizing that this glacier was part of the already named Bering Glacier, the 

Duke named the new discovery Columbus Glacier after Christopher Columbus: “This glacier, of even greater extent than the Seward, forms a vast snowlevel showing no fissures on its surface” (de Filippi, 1899, p. 158).

 One of the most significant products of the expedition were a number of 

foldout panoramic photographs of the surrounding region (fig. 21). Aside 

from those made by Israel C. Russell, these photographs were among the 

Figure 21.—Part of a 1897 panoramic photograph of “The Chain of Saint Elias and 

[Mount] Augusta seen from the Eastern 

Side of Seward Glacier, near its Outflow 

into Malaspina Glacier,” made by members 

of the first successful expedition to the 

summit of Mount St. Elias led by the Prince 

Luigi Amedeo Di Savoia, Duke of Abruzzi. 

Photograph from de Filippi (1899).

K34 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
first photographs of the St. Elias Mountains ever made and the first of the 

large valley glaciers located at the base of Mount Logan. 

Postcards

Toward the end of the 19th century and the early years of the 20th, a new 

industry developed: printing picture postcards of Alaska, many of which featured glacier termini. Many postcard photographs included enough of the 

geography around the glacier termini to qualitatively determine the location 

of the glacier at the time the photograph was exposed. Copyright dates in the 

captions and postmarks on the cards permit some accuracy in determining 

the date of the photograph. The glaciers of Glacier Bay, and Miles, Childs, 

Hubbard, Mendenhall, and Taku Glaciers (fig. 22) were frequently depicted.

Harriman Alaska Expedition

The Harriman Alaska Expedition of l899, privately funded by Edward 

Henry Harriman, a wealthy financier and railroad executive, “was originally 

planned as a summer cruise for the pleasure and recreation of my family 

and a few friends. ...Our comfort and safety required a large vessel and crew. 

...We decided, therefore, ...to include some guests who...would gather useful information and distribute it for the benefit of others” (Harriman, 1902, 

p. xxi-xxiii). So was born one of the most prolific multidisciplinary scientific 

explorations of Alaska. Twelve separate volumes of scientific observations 

were published as a result of the Harriman-funded investigations. Harriman chartered the steamer George W. Elder and invited about two dozen 

distinguished scientists to participate. Scientific disciplines covered by the 

expedition included ethnology, zoology, botany, geography, and geology. 

The expedition sailed from Seattle on 3l May l899, covered more than 9,000 

miles (14,500 km), and visited more than 50 locations. Glacierized areas 

studied included Lynn Canal, Davidson Glacier, Glacier Bay, La Perouse 

Glacier, Lituya Bay, Yakutat Bay (fig. 23), and Prince William Sound. The 

expedition returned to Seattle on 30 July l899. The five geologists aboard 

the George W. Elder were William H. Dall, John Muir, Benjamin K. Emerson 

of Amherst College, Charles Palache of Harvard University, and Grove Karl 

Gilbert of the USGS. Edward S. Curtis, the expedition’s official photographer, (who was later known for his photographs of Native Americans), took 

1,000 photographs. Volumes 1 and 3 of the Harriman Alaska Expedition, 

which summarize the geological, glaciological, and glacial findings of the 

expedition, were published by Burroughs and others (1902) and Gilbert 

Figure 22.—Late 19th/early 20th century 

postcard of the terminus of Taku Glacier, 

Coast Mountains. This photograph of 

the Taku Glacier is one of the earliest in 

existence.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K35
(1904), respectively. As noted by Meier and Post (1980), Gilbert’s contributions to the science of glaciology were significant.

Selected 20th Century Explorations and 

Observations of Alaska’s Glaciers

Early USGS Investigations and Photography 

Many late 19th and early 20th century USGS geologists carried cameras 

as a standard part of their field equipment. Although many studies were not 

primarily focused on glaciers, many of the photographs serve to provide a 50- 

to 75-yr extension back in time from the Landsat baseline period (1972–81). 

Between 1898 and 1924, for example, Alfred H. Brooks took more than 1,300 

photographs: Tanana Glacier in 1899, the Kigluaik Mountains in 1900, the 

Tordrillo, Kichatna, and Talkeetna Mountains in 1902, Miles and Childs Glaciers in the Chugach Mountains in 1909 and 1910, Davidson Glacier in 1912, 

and the glaciers of Glacier Bay and Prince William Sound in 1924.

Similarly, in an Alaska career that spanned more than 35 years (1903–39), 

Fred H. Moffit took nearly 2,000 photographs: Resurrection Bay and its glaciers and Turnagain Arm with Portage and Twentymile Glaciers in 1904; the 

glaciers of the Wrangell, Skolai, and Chugach Mountains, including Kluvesna, 

Kennicott, Childs, Miles, Russell, Frederica, and Valdez Glaciers in 1905; 

Gulkana Glacier in 1910; Kuskulana, Kennicott, and Chitina Glaciers in 1919; 

Kennicott Glacier in 1922; the glaciers of Prince William Sound, including 

McCarty, Chenega, and Columbia Glaciers in 1924; the glaciers of Prince 

William Sound, including Port Nellie Juan, Taylor, Cottrell, Columbia, Kings, 

Falling, and Contact Glaciers in 1925; Chitistone, Russell, Frederica, Nizina, 

and Rohn Glaciers in 1927; Kennicott Glacier in 1928, Muldrow Glacier in 

Figure 23.—20 June 1899 photograph 

of Cascading Glacier, descending from 

Mount Draper on the south wall of Nunatak 

Fiord, Saint Elias Mountains. John Muir 

is pictured at left. Photograph by USGS 

geologist Grove Karl Gilbert while he was 

a participant on the Harriman Expedition. 

Photograph Gilbert 303 from the USGS 

Photographic Library, Denver, Colo.

K36 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
1930; Black Rapids Glacier in 1937; and Black Rapids, Jarvis, and Gerstle 

Glaciers in 1939. Other USGS geologists who took photographs of glaciers in 

Alaska included Stephen Capps (1908–36), Ernest Leffingwell (1906–14), 

Alfred G. Maddren (1906–17), Walter C. Mendenhall (1898–1902), John B. 

Mertie (1911–42), and Sidney Paige (1905 to about 1908). Many of these 

photographs, a good number of which are archived in the USGS Photographic Library in Denver, Colo., are used in later sections of this report to visually 

document historic glacier changes throughout the State of Alaska.

In 1905, 1908, and 1909, the USGS investigated the glaciers of Prince William Sound and the southern part of the Kenai Peninsula. Valdez, Shoup, 

Columbia, and Meares Glaciers were investigated by U.S. Grant and Sidney 

Paige in 1905. In 1908, Valdez, Shoup, Columbia, and Barry Glaciers, as well as 

the glaciers of Port Nellie Juan, Icy Bay, Port Bainbridge, and Thumb Cove of 

Resurrection Bay were investigated by U.S. Grant and D. F. Higgins. In 1909, 

Grant and Higgins visited and mapped all of the glaciers of the northern shore 

of Prince William Sound from Port Valdez westward to and including Blackstone Bay and most of the glaciers of the southern shore of the Kenai Peninsula (Grant and Higgins, 1911a, b, 1913). As a result, “All of the tidewater 

glaciers and many near tidewater were seen and some notes, photographs, 

and maps were made of all of the tidewater glaciers and many of the others” 

(Grant and Higgins, 1913, p. 7). The results contain many maps and plates 

that can be compared with later USGS and American Geographical Society 

(AGS) maps to document changes in the position of glacier termini.

Of the more than 235 photographs they took, many were published in the 

1913 summary of their observations (Grant and Higgins, 1913). Like so many 

other of their contemporaries, Grant and Higgins realized the significance of 

systematic, sequential photography of glaciers. “In any study of the positions 

of glacier fronts, dated photographs are of prime importance, for they furnish 

accurate records and can be obtained when there is no time for detailed observation. If the photographs are taken from easily recognized stations which can 

be occupied in later years their value is still greater” (Grant and Higgins, 1913, 

p. 10). Realizing that documented photographs “will be of so great value in the 

study of future fluctuations of these ice streams” (Grant and Higgins, 1913, p. 

10), they presented systematic lists of photographs available for each glacier 

studied. In addition to their photographs made in 1908–09, they included photographs by F.C. Schrader in 1898, G.K. Gilbert and W.C. Mendenhall in 1899, 

A.C. Spencer in 1900, and Sidney Paige in 1905 (Grant and Higgins, 1913).

Ralph S. Tarr and Lawrence Martin

Ralph S. Tarr of Cornell University and Lawrence Martin of the University 

of Wisconsin were involved in more than half a dozen expeditions to study 

the glaciers of southeastern and south-central Alaska, concentrating on the 

areas of Yakutat Bay, Malaspina Glacier, the Copper River, Cook Inlet, the 

Alaska Peninsula, Controller Bay, and Prince William Sound. Before his death 

in 1912, Tarr conducted investigations in 1905 and 1906 for the USGS and in 

1909 and 1911 for the NGS. In 1904, Martin also worked with the USGS. His 

1905 investigations were funded by the AGS. In 1909, 1910 (Martin, 1911), 

and 1913, his studies were funded by the NGS. Investigations in 1905, 1909 

(Tarr and Martin, 1910), and 1911 were performed together. 

The rationale they presented for studying Alaska glaciers is still relevant 

nearly 100 years later: “Alaska offered the best field in the world for these 

investigations, its glaciers being the largest in the world except those of the 

polar regions. There are thousands of them and only a few of them even have 

been named” (Tarr and Martin, 1914, p. vii).

Alaskan Glacier Studies, completed by Martin after Tarr’s death in 1912 

and published in 1914 (Tarr and Martin, 1914) by the NGS, is their magnum 

opus. The 498-page volume is the most comprehensive treatment of Alaska’s 

glaciers released before the comprehensive research by William O. Field and 

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K37
his colleagues in the 1970s (Field, 1975a). Containing 172 numbered plates, 

many with multiple photographs, 72 text illustrations, a frontispiece, and 10 

folded maps in a rear pocket, Alaskan Glacier Studies is among the best 

illustrated glacier books ever produced. A number of other scientific publications (for example, Bean, 1911) and a unique 1:80,000-scale relief model of 

the Malaspina Glacier region (Martin, 1909) also resulted from their work. 

Tarr and Martin (1914) used several innovative graphic approaches to illustrate the physical appearance and size of many Alaskan glaciers, such as 

superimposing a map of the greater Boston area on a map of the Malaspina 

Glacier to show the large area that the glacier covered; superimposing the 

street plan of the greater Washington, D.C. area on a map of the Columbia 

Glacier to show the area covered by the glacier; combining a scaled image 

of the U.S. Capitol (fig. 24) and other well-known buildings with the vertical 

front of a glacier to show the height of the ice terminus, and showing the 

Hubbard Glacier with three European Alps glaciers superimposed to document its great area and length (Tarr and Martin, 1914, p. 102).

Several thousand photographs resulted from the expeditions. During expeditions after the 1905 expedition, many of the photographs were made by 

Oscar D. von Engeln, a professional photographer who became a geologist 

as a result of his involvement in these expeditions (fig. 25). Later, following Tarr’s death, von Engeln became Professor of Geomorphology at Cornell 

University. In 1910, von Engeln published an article in National Geographic 

Magazine providing tips to maximize success in obtaining photographs in 

Alaska’s glacier-covered areas (von Engeln, 1910).

Early Aerial Photography of Glaciers by the 

U.S. Government

Between 1907 and 1916, James W. Bagley, a USGS topographer, experimented with the use of panoramic cameras for mapping large areas (Bagley, 

1917). He used several such cameras in his topographic surveys of Alaska 

(fig. 26A). Before World War I, Bagley was commissioned by the U.S. Army 

and assigned the task of developing a multiple-lens camera for mapping surveys from aircraft. This type of multiple-lens camera “is regarded primarily 

as an instrument which makes use of the principles of plane-table surveying 

for constructing a map rather than an instrument for picturing the surface of 

the earth” (Sargent and Moffit, 1929, p. 144). It was this type of camera, referred to as a Bagley T-1 Camera, that would be used for the first systematic 

aerial photographic survey of Alaska (fig. 26B).

Two U.S. Government aerial photographic expeditions in 1926 and 1929 

produced the first vertical aerial photographs of Alaska glaciers (fig. 27). 

According to R.H. Sargent, Chief Topographer for the Alaska Branch of 

the USGS and the USGS representative on both expeditions, “It is doubtful whether many exploratory expeditions of late years have contributed so 

much of financial and scientific value as these two aerial surveys” (Sargent, 

1930, p. 145). During the fiscal year 1924–25, funds were identified to pay for 

a 1926 effort to obtain aerial photographs of 10,000 square miles of Alaska. 

This survey would “test this new method in regions where large areas are 

particularly adapted to its success and the common methods are difficult to 

apply because the country is remote and many parts of it are, at present 

almost inaccessible” (Sargent and Moffit, 1929, p. 144). 

In response to a request from the USGS, the Department of the Navy organized the Alaskan Aerial Survey Expedition in 1926. Under the command 

of Lt. Ben Wyatt, USN, the 112-man expedition consisted of the tender Gannet, four open-cockpit Loening Amphibian biplanes, and a 140-ft-[43-m-] long 

barge completely equipped to perform all necessary photographic and filmprocessing operations (fig. 28). Sargent was responsible for selecting the specific areas to be flown, preparing flight lines, and inspecting and transmitting 

film to the USGS in Washington, D.C. Photographs at a scale of approximately 

K38 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Figure 24.—An example of Tarr and Martin’s 

innovative approach to making information about glaciers understandable to the 

lay public by depicting part of the terminus 

of the Childs Glacier with the U.S. Capitol 

superimposed for scale (Tarr and Martin, 

1914, Plate CXLVIII, p. 416).

Figure 25.—Oscar D. von Engeln, photographer on the 1910 NGS Alaska Expedition 

led by Lawrence Martin, washing a strip 

of negatives in Yakutat Bay sea water, surrounded by icebergs. Photograph from 

Cornell University archives. Original photograph in National Geographic Society 

archives, Washington, D.C. (Bendavid-Val 

and others, 1999).

Figure 26.—Cameras developed by James W. Bagley, a USGS 

topographer, for use in Alaskan topographic surveys. A, Bagley 

panoramic camera used by USGS topographers in many 

Alaskan surveys prior to the First World War. 1926 photograph 

by R.H. Sargent (see USGS, 1929) from USGS Photographic 

Library, Denver, Colo.; B, Bagley 3-lens T–1 camera used in 

systematic Alaskan aerial photographic surveys in 1926 and 

1929 by the USGS-U.S. Navy Alaska Aerial Survey Expedition. 

Photograph Moffitt 729 from the USGS Photographic Library, 

Denver, Colo.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K39
1:20,000 were obtained from an altitude of 10,000 ft [3,050 m] [Editors’ note: 

6-in (15 cm) focal-length lens] on flight lines of 3.5 miles (5.6 km). In all, 5,760 

three-image aerial photographs (a total of 17,280 negatives) were exposed 

with the Bagley T-1 cameras during the expedition. According to Sargent and 

Moffit (1929), each triplet includes “a central picture which represents the 

ground directly under the airplane and two side pictures which represent adjoining areas on each side of the central picture. A set of three pictures thus 

taken represents an area of about 11 square miles when the plane flies at the 

preferred elevation of 10,000 ft (3,050 m)” (Sargent and Moffit, 1929, p. 160) 

(fig. 29). The Bagley T-1 camera was the forerunner of the Trimetrogon camera that was used extensively by the USN in support of the USGS mapping 

program in Antarctica in 1946–47 (USN Operation Highjump) and by the 

U.S. Air Force in the late 1940s for the USGS mapping program in Alaska. 

Among the areas photographed were Admiralty, Annette, Dall, Duke, 

Etolin, Gravina, Heceta, Kosciusko, Kuiu, Kupreanof, Long, Mitkof, Prince 

of Wales, Revillagigedo, Sikkwan, Tuxekan, Woronkofski, Wrangell and Zarembo Islands; the Cleveland and Lindenberg Peninsulas; and the area of the 

Chickamin River. Glaciers are present on Admiralty and Kupreanof Islands 

and in the headwaters of the Chickamin River.

The 1926 expedition was considered to be so successful that a similar mission was conducted in 1929. Photographing glaciers was one of the highest 

priorities of this expedition. “It was my purpose to have the fronts of all large 

glaciers in the region photographed, both by the mapping and the oblique cameras, so as to record the positions of the fronts of the glaciers in 1929. These 

vertical photographs reveal the phenomenon of glacier flow in a manner never 

before recorded in the United States. It is believed that there is a wealth of 

scientific information for the glaciologists in these pictures” (Sargent, 1930, p. 

145). The 1929 expedition (fig. 30) produced approximately 7,600 three-image photographs, covering approximately 12,750 mi2

 (33,023 km2) of Alaska.

An additional 692 oblique aerial photographs were also taken. Film was 

exposed at an altitude of 10,900 ft (3,325 m) producing a picture of an area 

more than 6 mi (9.7 km) wide and about 21⁄2 miles [4 km] in the direction of 

the flight. Additional Alaskan Aerial Survey Expedition missions by the Navy 

Department acquired photographs of Alaskan glaciers in 1932 and 1934. The 

1934 missions photographed Finger Glacier, La Perouse Glacier, Malaspina 

Glacier, Icy Bay, and Bering Glacier.

Figure 27.—Vertical aerial photograph of 

North Crillon Glacier (darker surface) flowing into an arm of Lituya Bay and South 

Crillon Glacier (lighter surface) flowing 

into both Lituya Bay and Crillon Lake, 

Fairweather Range, Saint Elias Mountains. 

It is an example of the type of aerial photography produced by the 1926 and 1929 

USGS-US Navy Alaska Aerial Survey 

Expedition using the Bagley T–1 camera. 

This photograph was taken in 1929 and is 

Alaska 177 from the USGS Photographic 

Library, Denver, Colo.

K40 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Figure 28.—1926 photograph of Alaska 

Aerial Survey Expedition operations in 

Juneau Harbor, showing the stern of the 

tender Gannet; one of the open-cockpit 

Loening Amphibian biplanes used to obtain 

aerial photography; and the stern of the 140-

ft-long barge used for photographic and 

film-processing operations. Photograph 

Alaska 363 from the USGS Photographic 

Library, Denver, Colo.

Figure 29.—Phototriplet obtained with 

the Bagley 3-lens T–1 camera on the 1926 

Alaska Aerial Survey Expedition (USGS, 

1929). This triplet shows a recently deglacierized cirque and valley in the Alexander 

Archipelago. Photograph Alaska 175 is 

from the USGS Photographic Library, 

Denver, Colo.

Figure 30.—1929 oblique aerial photograph 

by the Alaska Aerial Survey Expedition of 

Twin Glaciers, Coast Mountains, northeast 

of Juneau. The photograph was made from 

the oblique camera in plane 3. Photograph 

Alaska 188 is from the USGS Photographic 

Library, Denver, Colo.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K41
Later Vertical Aerial Photography Programs

Between 1941 and the late 1950s, several U.S. Government aerial photographic programs produced systematic vertical aerial coverage of many 

parts of Alaska. Glaciers of the Gulf of Alaska region were photographed 

with a 9-lens mapping camera (fig. 31) in 1941 and again in 1959 and with 

the Trimetrogon camera system in 1948. Glaciers in much of the southeastern part of Alaska were photographed with a single-lens vertical camera 

in a series of U.S. Air Force photographic missions between 1948 and the 

middle 1950s, all designated by the prefix “SEA.” Since the early 1950s, 

Federal, State of Alaska agencies, and private companies have conducted 

many vertical photographic missions of Alaska that included glacierized 

areas. For example, during the 1993–95 surge of Bering Glacier, the USGS, 

the Bureau of Land Management, and the Department of the Interior’s 

Figure 31.—1959 nine-lens vertical aerial 

photograph of Fairweather Glacier, St. Elias 

Mountains. The nine-lens camera, designed 

by Oliver Reading in the early 1930s, was a 

state-of-the art aerial camera used by the 

U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey for three 

decades. The nine-lens system was used to 

minimize internal distortion in the photography. This camera system was used several other times to photograph the glaciers 

in southern Alaska. Looking closely at the 

photograph, it is possible to see the central 

octogon-shaped image, surrounded by 

eight joined polygons.

K42 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Office of Aircraft Services flew nearly a dozen individual missions to monitor the changes in the terminus region and lower reaches of the glacier.

The most significant aerial photographic program for Alaska began in 

1978, when a number of Federal and State of Alaska agencies pooled their 

resources and initiated an integrated and standardized program, the Alaska 

High-Altitude Aerial Photography (AHAP) Program to develop a uniform 

aerial photographic database of Alaska. The purpose of the program was to 

cover the entire State of Alaska with “a set of unified and coordinated photographs” (Brooks, 1988). By 1986, the last year of data acquisition, 90 percent 

of Alaska was imaged with both black-and-white and color-infrared vertical 

aerial photography. The aerial photographs were acquired by a NASA U–2C 

high-altitude aircraft from 65,000 ft. Black-and-white aerial photography is 

at a scale of approximately 1:120,000; color-infrared aerial photography is 

at a scale of approximately 1:65,000. A black-and-white aerial photograph 

covers an area of about 250 mi2 (648 km2); a color-infrared aerial photograph 

covers an area of about 64 mi2 (166 km2) (fig. 32). Many of these photographs 

are used in the later sections of this report to document glaciers throughout 

Alaska.4

William Osgood Field

William O. Field 5 made his first visit to Glacier Bay in 1926. It was the 

first of many scientific visits to Alaska that would continue for the next six 

decades. The primary purpose of the 1926 trip was to see how the glaciers 

in Glacier Bay had changed since last reported by H.F. Reid in 1890 and 

1892, H.P. Cushing in 1891, and G.K. Gilbert in 1899 (Field, 1926). Field 

recorded the glacier terminus positions throughout Glacier Bay, including 

the spectacular find that Johns Hopkins Glacier had retreated 6 to 7 miles 

from where it had last been seen in 1912. In 1931, Field visited glaciers 

in Prince William Sound to reoccupy photo-survey stations established by 

Lawrence Martin in 1909, 1910, and 1911, by Grant and Higgins in 1905, 

1909, and 1910, and by Gilbert and Gannett during the 1899 Harriman Expedition. In 1935, Field returned to both Glacier Bay and Prince William 

Sound, the beginning of systematic repeated measurements and photographs of glacier termini in both places. His last field trip to Glacier Bay was 

in 1982 and to Prince William Sound in 1976, but his son J.O. Field and C 

S. Brown reoccupied his photo stations in Glacier Bay in 1989, 1994, 1997, 

and 2000 to continue his legacy. Many of Field’s photo stations were revisited in 2003 and 2004 by a joint USGS-U.S. National Park Service (NPS) 

expedition led by the author. His photographs and observations comprise 

the largest ground-based photographic data base on the changes in Alaska 

glaciers in existence. Field also established numerous survey/photographic 

stations that were reoccupied, often in successive years. The result was 

numerous publications documenting glacier variations (for example, Field, 

1942, 1948; for a complete list, see Field’s (2004) appendix B) and a series 

of maps that systematically depicts changes in the positions of individual 

glaciers (figs. 33, 34). Field was unique in that he personally knew many of 

the pioneer scientists/explorers who visited Alaska around the turn of the 

20th century. A link to these pioneers and to their early work in glaciology 

(Field, 2004), Field collected many of their photographs, which, together 

with all of his photographs and other materials, are housed in the Archives 

of the Alaska and Polar Regions Department in the Elmer E. Rasmuson 

4

 The AHAP aerial photographs are archived at the USGS EDC in Sioux Falls, SD and at the GeoData 

Center, Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, AK (http://www.gi.alaska.edu/services/geodata/). AHAP photographs are archived at the GeoData Center by flight line and frame number (for example, 

L185F4825). The 3-digit L number could not be found for a few photographs; LXXX is used to indicate missing data. 5

 The editors appreciate the contribution to this section by C Suzanne Brown, formerly with the USGS. 

Her long professional association with William O. Field, her extensive knowledge of his published and unpublished work on Alaska’s glaciers, and her recently published, richly illustrated, oral biography of him 

(Field, 2004) have been of enormous help.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K43
Figure 32.—NASA high-altitude, false-color infrared vertical 

aerial photograph (Kodak SO–193 film with a Wratten 12 filter) of Alsek River and part of the terminus of Alsek Glacier, 

southeast of Yakutat, Alaska. The photograph (1:65,000-

scale) was acquired by a National Aeronautics and Space 

Administration Ames U–2C aircraft on 21 June 1978 from an 

altitude of 19,800 m, with an RC–10 camera having a 305-mm 

(12 in) focal length, in support of the interagency Alaska HighAltitude Aerial Photograph Program (AHAP). The spectral 

range of the film-filter combination is 0.51 to 0.90 μm. Aerial 

photograph is from the USGS EROS Data Center, Accession 

No. 578002618 ROLL, frame 4898; or AHAP photograph no. 

L170F4898 from the GeoData Center, Geophysical Institute, 

University of Alaska, Fairbanks, Alaska. 

K44 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Library at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. He also bequeathed funds to 

the University of Alaska: (1) to fund the cataloging of his extensive archive 

of photographs (more than 100,000) and (2) to establish an endowment 

to support continued research on changes in the glaciers of Glacier Bay 

National Park and Preserve.

In 1940, Field began working for the American Geographical Society 

(AGS) in New York City (Morrison, 1995). According to Mel Marcus, “As glaciology developed [in America] in the 1950s culminating in the International 

Geophysical Year (IGY) in 1957–58, Field’s office was an informal, de facto 

headquarters for the discipline” (Field, 2004). In 1956, the Technical Panel 

on Glaciology of the International Geophysical Year (IGY), chaired by Field, 

recommended that “one of the most useful contributions of the IGY to glaciology would be the preparation of precise maps, on large scales, of selected 

small glaciers” (American Geographical Society, 1960). The rationale for 

the project was that “the maps would form a permanent record of the condition of these glaciers so that at a future date they could be resurveyed and 

compared” (American Geographical Society, 1960). With funding from the 

National Science Foundation (NSF), Field selected a number of “simple unbranched” valley glaciers ranging from 5 to 8 km in length. Logistical planning 

was provided by Austin Post. The AGS Glacier Mapping Project ultimately 

produced 1:10,000-scale maps using photogrammetric and field methods for 

Lemon Creek, Polychrome, West Gulkana, Worthington, Little Jarvis (fig. 35), 

Salmon Creek (given the official name of Bear Lake Glacier in 1959), Kilbuck 

(now known as Chikuminuk Glacier, although Kilbuck Glacier is still recognized as an official variation), and McCall Glaciers in Alaska and Blue Glacier in 

Washington. The map of Little Jarvis Glacier (fig. 35) is an example of an AGS 

map produced during the IGY. In the 1980s, Lemon Creek and West Gulkana 

Figure 33.—American Geographic Society 

Glacier Studies Map 64–2–G8 compiled by 

W.O. Field in 1959, showing the chronology 

of changes in the position of glacier termini 

in Nunatak Fiord, St. Elias Mountains, between 1899 and 1959.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K45
Glaciers were resurveyed by teams led by Mel Marcus (Marcus and Reynolds, 

1988; Marcus and others, 1995). Between 1993 and 1996, all eight Alaska 

glaciers mapped by the AGS were remapped by Sapiano and others (1998) 

using airborne surface-elevation, laser-altimeter profiling augmented with 

global-positioning system (GPS) methods. Elevation, volume, and terminous 

changes were determined for each glacier. The results of this remapping are 

presented in later sections of this report. In 1975, Field published Mountain 

Figure 34.—American Geographical Society 

Glacier Studies Map 64–3–G7 compiled by 

W.O. Field in 1964, showing the chronology 

of changes in the position of glacier termini 

in Yale Arm, Prince William Sound, between 

1910 and 1964.

K46 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Figure 35.—Copyrighted map of Little Jarvis Glacier, Alaska, 

produced by the American Geographical Society (1960) as 

part of its Glacier Mapping Project 1960, as a contribution 

to the International Geophysical Year 1957–58. It is based 

on 18 September 1957 vertical aerial photographs. Used 

with permission. In addition to the Little Jarvis Glacier, 

seven other glaciers in Alaska—Lemon Creek, Polychrome, 

West Gulkana, Worthington, Bear Lake, Chikuminuk, and 

McCall Glaciers—were mapped as well as Blue Glacier in 

Washington. All maps were produced at 1:10,000 scale.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K47
Glaciers of the Northern Hemisphere, a three-volume set complete with an 

atlas of maps (Field, 1975a). This work is the most comprehensive summary 

of the glaciers of Alaska and other glaciers of the Northern Hemisphere; the 

regional maps in the atlas by Field (1975a) are reproduced in each geographic 

section of this chapter.

Bradford Washburn

In the early l930s, Bradford Washburn began photographic reconnaissances of Alaska mountains as a prelude to many of his climbing expeditions. 

His black-and-white photographs are famous for their artistic quality, documentation of glacial and fluvioglacial processes, and historic record of the 

position of termini and margins of many Alaskan glaciers. Washburn’s negatives and prints are archived at the Elmer E. Rasmuson Library, University 

of Alaska (Fairbanks), and at the Museum of Science (Boston). Many of his 

photographs are included in this chapter. A comparison of his large-format 

(23×23 cm) oblique aerial photographs with those taken later by Austin Post 

and Robert M. Krimmel, two other superb aerial photographers of Alaska’s 

glaciers, visually document many changes. Many of his photographs include 

some of the earliest aerial observations of glaciers in the Fairweather Range, 

St. Elias Mountains, Chugach Mountains, and Alaska Range. In 1933 and 1934, 

Washburn photographed the glaciers of the Fairweather Range between Finger Glacier and Malaspina Glacier. In 1937, he photographed Lituya Bay and 

Fairweather Glacier; in 1938, he photographed the area between Yakutat Bay 

and Bering Glacier (fig. 36), including the Malaspina Glacier (fig. 37) and 

the Barnard Glacier (fig. 38) north of the Chitina River. In 1935, much of 

his aerial photography was north of the Alaskan border in Canada’s Yukon 

Territory, but he did conduct a dog-team survey of Alaska’s Art Lewis and 

Nunatak Glaciers. In 1941, he photographed the Susitna Glacier. Support 

for these photographic expeditions was provided by the NGS. Washburn returned to Alaska many times thereafter, continuing to photograph glaciers 

at a number of locations. In 1966, he rephotographed the Malaspina Glacier 

and conducted a photographic survey of the Mount Hubbard-Mount Kennedy area for the NGS (Washburn, 1971a, b) that was the basis for a superb 

Figure 36.—1938 oblique aerial photograph of the southeastern terminus of 

Bering Glacier, Chugach Mountains, looking west-northwest. Photograph courtesy 

of Bradford Washburn, Museum of Science 

(Boston, Mass.). This image is the earliest 

known aerial photograph of the Bering 

Glacier.

K48 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Figure 37.—Oblique aerial photograph 

of contorted medial moraines (“marble-cake”) of Malaspina Glacier, Saint 

Elias Mountains, taken in August 1938. 

Photograph (negative no. 5742) courtesy 

of Bradford Washburn, Museum of Science 

(Boston, Mass.).

Figure 38.—Oblique aerial photograph of an array of subparallel medial moraines on the Barnard Glacier and tributary glaciers, Saint Elias Mountains, 

taken in August 1938. Photograph (negative no. 1355) courtesy of Bradford 

Washburn, Museum of Science (Boston, Mass.). Compare also with 

figure 181.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K49
map (Williams and Ferrigno, 2002, fig. 5). A recently published biography of 

Washburn documents his extensive use of photography in his Alaskan expeditions (Sfraga, 2004).

Austin Post

From 1960 through 1983, Austin Post, first with the University of Washington and later with the USGS, conducted annual photographic missions 

to document changes in glaciers. Post received his introduction to “organized aerial photography of glaciers in western North America” (Post and 

LaChapelle, 1971, p. i; 2000, p. xii), from Richard C. Hubley of the University of Washington. In 1955, Hubley conducted a photo reconnaissance of 

the North Cascade Mountains. During the IGY, Post was involved in planning 

the logistics of the AGS Glacier Mapping Project, which included obtaining 

black-and-white aerial photography of the glaciers to be mapped.

Beginning in 1960, Post began a systematic aerial photographic effort, 

the Program for Aerial Photographic Surveying of Glaciers in Western 

North America. The first 3 years of the program were funded by the NSF 

and administered by the Department of Meteorology and Climatology, University of Washington. The primary focus of the program was the glaciers 

of southeastern and south-central Alaska. However, glaciers in the Alaska 

Range, the Alaska Peninsula, and the Wrangell Mountains, as well as glacierized mountain ranges of the Western United States and Canada, were also 

photographed. After the end of the 1963 collection year, the program was 

nearly terminated. However, the value of photographing Alaskan glaciers annually was confirmed by the numerous photographs (see fig. 229C) made in 

the years immediately following the Great Alaska Earthquake of [27 March] 

1964. Post writes that “After the quake, Mark F. Meier, Director of the U.S. 

Geological Survey’s Glaciology Project Office in Tacoma, Washington wanted 

me to continue the photography and record changes resulting from the shaking. Again, so many interesting things were observed that Mark continued 

this program the next year, and two years later, after a monumental effort, 

actually obtained for me a professional position with the Survey” (Post, 1995, 

p. 19).

During the first decade of the program, Post used aircraft of opportunity, 

flying with William R. Fairchild and many well-known Alaskan bush pilots. 

Beginning in the early 1970s, many photo missions were conducted in cooperation with Robert M. Krimmel, USGS glaciologist and pilot; Krimmel frequently piloted the aircraft. Typically, both vertical and oblique photographs 

were made on each flight. In all, about 100,000 negatives were exposed. 

Many of these aerial photographs are used in the geographic-area sections 

of this report to document glacier changes throughout the State of Alaska. 

Post’s aerial photographs are archived at the GeoData Center, Geophysical 

Institute, University of Alaska, Fairbanks [http://www.gi.alaska.edu/]. The 

reader is also referred to Post and LaChapelle’s (1971, 2000) superbly illustrated book on Glacier Ice, an excellent compilation of large-format blackand-white photographs of glaciers in Alaska and other glacierized regions on 

Earth.

Robert M. Krimmel

Robert M. Krimmel, who has already been mentioned in the previous 

section as one of the pilots of aircraft used by Austin Post to acquire aerial 

photographs of glaciers in Alaska, the western United States and western 

Canada, also has a distinguished two-decade record (1984–90) of acquiring 

large-format (23×23 cm) black-and-white oblique aerial photographs of glaciers in Alaska, the United States, and Canada. Many of his superb photographs, which he took in 1984, 1986, 1988, and 1990, are reproduced in this 

chapter.

K50 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Ground, Vertical, and Oblique Aerial Photographs by 

Other USGS Glaciologists

Three other USGS glaciologists have also been active in long-term photographic documentation of Alaska’s glaciers: Lawrence C. Mayo (Fairbanks, 

Alaska), Dennis C. Trabant (Fairbanks, Alaska), and Bruce F. Molnia (Reston, Va). Mayo and Trabant have extensive archives of ground photographs 

of Alaskan glaciers from several decades of field work in Alaska, especially annual mass-balance studies of Wolverine, Black Rapids, and Gulkana Glaciers, 

and rapid recession of the Columbia Glacier. In addition, Molnia’s multiyear 

investigations of Bering Glacier have produced a large volume of ground and 

oblique aerial photography.

For 36 years (beginning in 1968), Molnia photographed and imaged, on 

the ground and from the air, glaciers of the Coast, St. Elias, and Chugach 

Mountains (initially using a 35-mm single-lens, reflex camera and later a digital camera). Beginning in 1974, as part of a U.S. Government assessment of 

the impact of oil and gas activities in the Gulf of Alaska region, he began aerial 

and ground-based glacier photography that has produced more than 15,000 

small-format (35-mm) color photographs. Areas of geographic emphasis include Bering and Malaspina Glaciers, Icy and Glacier Bays, and the Juneau 

Ice Field. Many of these small-format color, oblique aerial photographs are 

used in the geographic-area sections of this report. Alaska’s Glaciers (Molnia, 1982, 1993, 2001), a summary of the distribution and history of investigation of many of Alaska’s glaciers, contains small-format color photographs 

of about 100 Alaskan glaciers. In the late 20th century and early part of the 

21st century, Molnia added digital imagery to the documentation of Alaska’s 

glaciers. In 2003, in a partnership between the USGS, Alpha DVD, and the 

Alaska Geographic Society, Glaciers: Alaska’s Rivers of Ice, a DVD about 

glaciers and glacier terminology, was published (Alpha DVD, 2003).

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K51
Part 2—Glaciological Topics

Tidewater Glaciers

Of the tens of thousands of glaciers in Alaska, only about 0.1 percent end 

in the ocean, in the glacial-marine environment (Molnia, 1983a). These glaciers are known as tidewater glaciers, a term introduced by Russell (1893) 

and defined as “glaciers which enter the ocean and calve off to form bergs.” A 

similar definition, a “glacier that terminates in the sea, where it usually ends 

in an ice cliff from which icebergs are discharged,” is given in the Glossary of 

Geology (Jackson, 1997, p. 665). According to Mark F. Meier (written commun., 2004) all of Alaska’s tidewater glaciers are grounded at their beds (a 

criterion included in the Meier and Post, 1987, definition of a tidewater glacier). Meier also noted that tidewater glaciers are not to be confused with 

“floating glaciers,” such as ice tongues and ice shelves. A discussion of “ice 

walls” (grounded glacier ice) and “ice fronts” (floating glacier ice) is given 

by Swithinbank (1988, p. B4, http://pubs.usgs.gov/prof/p1386b/). Today the 

ocean-terminating tidewater glaciers are termed marine tidewater glaciers to 

distinguish them from an even larger group of lacustrine-terminating calving 

glaciers.

Calving is defined as the “breaking away of a mass or block of ice from 

a glacier” (Jackson, 1997, p. 92). In tidewater glaciers, the rate of calving 

controls the glacier’s length much more than climate. “Calving glaciers” lose 

most of their mass by calving rather than by surface melting. Typically, the 

terminus of a marine tidewater calving glacier has a steep, near-vertical to 

vertical face characterized by significant fracturing and the presence of seracs (fig. 39). Rapid calving often produces amphitheater-shaped embayments, some many hundreds of meters in diameter in the face (fig. 40). In 

some glaciers, the rate of calving and the volume of ice calved are so 

great, that no open water can be seen in front of the glacier margin.

Tidewater glaciers can exhibit rapid changes in terms of the 

speed of advance and retreat of their termini and the flow of glacier 

ice. Hubbard Glacier, which retreated through much of the “Little 

Ice Age,” has been advancing for more than 100 years. Molnia and 

Post (1995) reported that, between 1967 and 1993, Bering Glacier 

had retreated as much as 10.7 km (an average of approximately 

450 m a−1, with a maximum retreat of 2,600 m between 1977 and 

1978).

From a detailed analysis of topographic maps and aerial photography, Viens (1995) determined that there were 51 Alaskan 

tidewater glaciers and 9 former tidewater glaciers (fig. 41). Some 

of the tidewater glaciers, like the Columbia Glacier, produce large 

quantities of icebergs. Some, like Muir Glacier, no longer make contact with the sea at present. The 60 present and former tidewater 

glaciers have a combined area of about 27,000 km2, approximately 

36 percent of the glacierized area of Alaska. Table 2 is a compilation 

of information presented by Viens (1995) on the length, total area, 

accumulation area, ablation area, and accumulation area ratio (the 

accumulation area divided by the total area of the glacier at the end 

of the balance year or AAR) of each of the 60 tidewater glaciers that 

he characterized. Even though some tidewater glaciers may have 

AARs (see tables 2 and 3) of greater than 0.93, they still are retreating because of calving. Details about the behavior of individual tidewater glaciers will be described by geographic region in the sections 

that follow.

Figure 39.—15 July 1979 photograph of 

the 60-m-high terminus of Muir Glacier, St. 

Elias Mountains, which was a calving tidewater glacier at that time. The steep vertical 

face characterized by significant fracturing 

and the presence of seracs is typical of 

tidewater calving glaciers. Photograph by 

Bruce F. Molnia, U.S. Geological Survey.

K52 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Figure 40.—Oblique aerial photograph 

of the central terminus of Bering Glacier 

in Vitus Lake, Chugach Mountains, on 16 

August 1998. The amphitheater-shaped 

embayment produced by the rapid calving retreat of the terminus is about 2 km in 

diameter. Photograph by Bruce F. Molnia, 

U.S. Geological Survey.

LeConte Glacier

Dawes Glacier

BAIRD GLACIER

S.Sawyer Glacier

La Perouse G. Sawyer Glacier

North Crillon G.

Lituya G.

BRADY G.

Johns Hopkins G.

Grand Pacific G. 

Margerie G.

McBride G.

Riggs G. 

Muir G. 

CARROLL G. 

Reid Glacier 

Hoonah Glacier 

Kashoto Glacier 

Lamplugh Glacier 

Gilman Glacier 

EAST 

NUNATAK G. 

Turner G.

MALASPINA G.

Hubbard G.

Tsaa G.

Guyot G.

Yahtse G.

Tyndall G.

BERING G.

Moraine/Apron G.

Grotto G. 

Shoup Glacier

Columbia Glacier Meares Glacier

Yale Glacier

Harvard Glacier 

St. Elias 

Mountains

Group

Kenai Mountains 

Group

Bryn Mawr Glacier

Smith Glacier

Wellesley Glacier Cascade G.

Barry G.

Coxe G.

Surprise G.

Blackstone Glacier

Harriman Glacier

SERPENTINE GLACIER

Beloit Glacier Nellie Juan Glacier Chenega Glacier Tiger Glacier

BAINBRIDGE G.

Aialik G. 

Holgate Glacier 

Northwestern Glacier

Anchor Glacier

Ogive Glacier

McCarty Glacier 

Chugach Mountains 

Group

Disenchantment Bay 

Group

Alsek Range 

Group

Fairweather

Range

Group

Coast 

Mountains 

Group

Gulf of Alaska

0 400 KILOMETERS

155°W 150° 145° 140° 135° 130°

55°

60°N

CANADA

UNITED STATES

TAKU G. 

Brit

Y

i

u

sh

ko

Columbia

n

Northwest Territories

120°

CANADA

UNITED STATES

65°N

Area of figure

140

160

°

°

180°W

0 500 KILOMETERS

Figure 41.—Map of active and former tidewater glaciers of Alaska compiled by 

the editors using glaciers selected by Viens (1995). G indicates glacier. Glacier 

names in italics have not been approved by the U.S. Board on Geographic 

Names. Glaciers shown in capital letters were previously classified as tidewater glaciers (tables 2, 3). 

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K53
Columbia and Hubbard Tidewater Glaciers 

By ROBERT M. KRIMMEL6

Introduction 

Glaciers that flow into the ocean are known as tidewater glaciers. Figure 41 

shows the active and former tidewater glaciers found in Alaska, according 

to Viens (1995) and Krimmel (tables 2, 3). Some tidewater glaciers, including Columbia Glacier, produce large numbers of icebergs by calving; others 

barely reach the sea. In Alaska, all tidewater glaciers are grounded on their 

beds. Loss of mass by calving may exceed the loss of mass by melting by 

several orders of magnitude in some of the larger and more active tidewater 

glaciers. Nearly all tidewater glaciers in Alaska have undergone large-scale 

asynchronous advance and retreat (fig. 42A–D). Apparently, this behavior is 

not related directly to climatic variations. 

The primary influence on the stability of tidewater glaciers was first suggested by Post (1975) as the water depth at the calving face; calving speed 

is related directly to water depth—slow in shallow water and faster in deep 

water. According to Mark F. Meier (written commun., 2004), the validity of 

this relatively simple concept has been questioned by Van der Veen (1996, 

1997b) who suggests that the relationship is more complex. Advancing tidewater glaciers end on a terminal-moraine shoal consisting of unconsolidated 

material that nearly fills the fjord at the glacier front. Measured water depths 

near the calving faces of stable and advancing glaciers have been found to be 

generally less than about 80 m, in comparison with several hundred meters 

of water in the fjord beyond the shoal (Brown and others, 1982). 

On a time scale of hundreds of years, tidewater glaciers advance by moving their submarine terminal moraines down the fjord (fig. 42B). The moraine 

is not simply pushed. The moraine is advanced by glacial erosion of material 

on the upstream side and redeposition on the downstream side. The deposition produces a series of foreset beds. Foreset bedding has been observed 

by subbottom sounder profiling (Meier and others, 1978), which supports 

this theory of moraine advance. The rate of advance of the terminal moraine 

is slow (rarely more than a few tens of meters per year) in deep fjords and is 

controlled by the amount of morainal material that must be moved to maintain relatively shallow water at the calving face. An advance generally continues until the glacier becomes increasingly sensitive to external influences, 

including climate variations, that may cause it to retreat from its moraine 

shoal (fig. 42C). 

Drastic retreat of a tidewater glacier normally begins when a small recession from the shoal causes its terminus to recede into deeper water behind 

the crest of the terminal moraine (fig. 42D) (Meier and Post, 1987). Because 

calving speed may be directly related to the water depth at the terminus 

(Brown and others, 1982), a retreat into deeper water stimulates an increase in calving speed. Instability develops when the calving speed becomes 

greater than the ice speed and the retreating calving front moves into even 

deeper water. Drastic retreat ends when the terminus recedes into shallow 

water, normally at the head of the fjord (fig. 42A). The rate of retreat can be 

a kilometer or more per year—many times faster than the rate of advance. 

In most cases, as tidewater glaciers drastically retreat, the AAR increases as 

the ice in the ablation area is discharged as icebergs. Thus, tidewater glaciers 

ending near the heads of fjords frequently have high AAR’s, whether they are 

advancing or retreating. Readvance, following a drastic retreat, begins when 

there is enough morainal material at the calving face to maintain a terminal 

moraine shoal as the calving face advances into the fjord (fig. 42B, C). Calving speed is then less than the ice-flow speed. 

6

 U.S. Geological Survey, 1201 Pacific Avenue–Suite 600, Tacoma, WA 98402

K54 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Glacier

Glacier

Glacier

Glacier

Icebergs

Icebergs

Icebergs

Icebergs

Terminal moraine

Terminal moraine

Terminal 

moraine

Bedrock

Bedrock

Bedrock

Bedrock

ELA

ELA

ELA

ELA

A

B

C

D

SL

SL

SL

SL

RETRACTED STABLE POSITION

ADVANCING

EXTENDED POSITION

RETREATING 

Figure 42.—Tidewater-glacier cycle (from Trabant 

and others, 1990). Cross sections in A through D

show four phases in the cycle. A shows the beginning and end of the cycle, when the glacier is located 

at the head of the fjord. B illustrates the advancing 

glacier moving the terminal moraine down fjord; 

and C the fully extended phase. D shows the retreating phase of the cycle, in which icebergs are much 

larger than those calved in the other three phases. 

The stable equilibrium line altitude (ELA) indicates 

that the tidewater-glacier cycle is relatively independent of climate change. Eustatic sea level (SL) 

is also stable.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K55
Table 2.—Glaciological characteristics of existing (1–51) and former (52–60) tidewater glaciers of Alaska

[Data in this table are from Viens (1995); * informal name proposed by Viens (1995). AAR, Accumulation area ratio.]

Glacier name length 

(km)

Total area2 

(km2)

Accumulation area3

(km2)

Ablation area 

(km2)

AAR

1. McCarty 19.3 111 88 23 0.79

2. Northwestern 12.1 60 54 6 0.89

3. Anchor* 4.8 7 5 2 0.77

4. Ogive* 6.8 9 6 2 0.73

5. Holgate 12.9 69 63 6 0.92

6. Aialik 12.9 70 62 8 0.88

7. Chenega 24.1 369 346 23 0.94

8. Tiger 11.3 56 50 6 0.89

9. Nellie Juan 14.5 56 51 5 0.91

10. Blackstone 12.1 32 29 2 0.92

11. Beloit 10.1 25 24 1 0.95

12. Harriman 12.9 60 48 13 0.79

13. Surprise 12.1 80 64 16 0.80

14. Barry 26.5 95 70 25 0.74

15. Cascade 8.0 15 14 2 0.89

16. Coxe 11.3 20 15 5 0.74

17. Smith 9.7 20 16 4 0.81

18. Bryn Mawr 7.6 26 22 4 0.84

19. Wellesley 7.2 16 12 4 0.78

20. Harvard 39.4 524 423 101 0.81

21. Yale 32.2 194 153 41 0.79

22. Meares 25.7 142 121 20 0.86

23. Columbia 59.5 1,121 753 368 0.67

24. Shoup 29.0 156 95 62 0.61

25. Grotto-Moraine Apron 9.7 42 33 9 0.78

26. Grotto-Moraine Apron included in 25

27. Grotto-Moraine Apron included in 25

28. Tsaa 20.9 150 144 70 0.96

29. Guyot-Yahtse 64.4 1,432 1,368 64 0.96

30. Guyot-Yahtse included in 29

31. Tyndall 23.3 154 129 25 0.84

32. Turner 31.8 186 150 36 0.81

33. Hubbard 114.2 3,865 3,699 166 0.96

34. Lituya 20.9 103 78 25 0.76

35. North Crillon 20.1 71 57 13 0.81

36. La Perouse 25.7 147 98 49 0.67

37. Margerie 33.8 174 143 31 0.82

38. Grand Pacific 60.3 654 459 195 0.70

39. Reid 16.9 49 31 18 0.64

40. Lamplugh 32.2 171 145 25 0.85

41. Gilman 12.1 35 31 4 0.88

42. Johns Hopkins 22.5 316 283 33 0.90

43 Kashoto 4.7 5 5 <1 0.94

44. Hoonah 6.9 12 10 1 0.88

K56 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Table 2.—Glaciological characteristics of existing (1–51) and former (52–60) tidewater glaciers of Alaska

Glacier name length (km) Total area2 (km2) Accumulation area3

(km2)

Ablation area 

(km2)

AAR

45. Muir 26.5 148 112 37 0.75

46. Riggs 24.9 126 91 35 0.72

47. McBride 24.1 143 84 59 0.59

48. Sawyer 37.4 399 289 110 0.72

49. South Sawyer 49.9 683 530 153 0.78

50. Dawes 37.0 653 450 203 0.69

51. LeConte 36.2 472 438 34 0.93

52. Bainbridge 16.0 56 39 17 0.70

53. Serpentine 10.0 30 21 9 0.70

54. Bering 191.0 5,173 3,213 1,961 0.62

55. Malaspina 108.0 5,008 2,575 2,433 0.51

56. Nunatak 34.0 312 182 131 0.58

57. Brady 51.0 590 382 208 0.65

58. Carroll 49.0 527 387 140 0.73

59. Taku 60.0 831 728 102 0.88

60. Baird 50.0 784 527 257 0.67

1. Multiple appearances of the same name (that is, Grotto-Moraine Apron and Guyot-Yahtse) indicate a single glacier with more than one tidewater face.

2. Total area of the 60 tidewater glaciers is 26,834 km2

 or approximately 35 percent of the glacierized area of Alaska.

3. Total accumulation area of the 60 tidewater glaciers is 19,821 km2

. 4. The average AAR for these 60 glaciers is 0.74.

Table 3.—Terminus status of major tidewater glaciers of Alaska in 1999 (with status in 2004 added for selected glaciers)

[See figure 41, this volume. na, not available.]

Glacier Lat. (N)1 Long.(W)1 Area 

(km2) 1

Median ELA 

(m amsl) 1,2

Terminus position1,3 Status of terminus in 1999

(from Robert M. Krimmel, except where noted)

Terminus status 

in 20043,6

Kenai Mountains Group

McCarty 59o50' 150o13' 111 991 Advance rate 

decreased between 

1985 and 1995

Very slow advance since 1960 in shallow 

water at head of McCarty Fiord

Ret.

Northwestern 59o52' 150o5' 60 976 R Stable at head of Northwestern Fiord Ret.

Anchor1 59o46' 150o5' 7 991 na Stable1 Slowly Ret.

Ogive1 59o47' 150o5' 9 1,204 na Stable1 Slowly Ret.

Holgate 59o52' 149o54' 69 610 R Stable at head of Holgate Arm Slowly Ret.

Aialik 59o53' 149o49' 70 732 R Stable at head of Aialik Bay –

Bainbridge5 60o7' 148o27' 565 5645 R4, FTW5 Stable5 –

Tiger 60o11' 148o30' 56 518 R Stable at head of Icy Fiord –

Chenega 60o17' 148o28' 369 534 R Stable at head of Nassau Fiord Slowly Ret.

Nellie Juan 60o26' 148o25' 56 396 I Drastic retreat in narrow inlet, Derickson 

Bay

–

Blackstone 60o39' 148o44' 32 503 R Stable at head of Blackstone Bay Slowly Ret.

Beloit 60o38' 148o43' 25 473 R Stable at head of Blackstone Bay Slowly Ret.

Chugach Mountains Group

Harriman 60o56' 148o31' 60 427 I Extended position on moraine exposed at 

low tide in Harriman Fiord

Slowly Adv.

Surprise 61o3' 148o29' 80 854 R Stable at head of Surprise Inlet Slowly Ret.

Cascade 61o8' 148o12' 15 945 I Stable on beach, Harriman Fiord Slowly Ret.

Coxe1 61o8' 148o3' 20 1,006 R Stable1 Slowly Ret.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K57
Table 3.—Terminus status of major tidewater glaciers of Alaska in 1999 (with status in 2004 added for selected glaciers)

Glacier Lat. (N)1 Long.(W)1 Area 

(km2) 1

Median ELA 

(m amsl) 1,2

Terminus position1,3 Status of terminus in 1999

(from Robert M. Krimmel, except where noted)

Terminus status 

in 20043,6

Serpentine5 61o7' 148o17' 305 8545 R4, FTW5 Slow retreat5 –

Barry 61o12' 148o2' 95 1,021 R Stable at head of Barrry Arm –

Wellesley 61o7' 147o56' 16 1,037 na Stable on beach, College Fiord Rapidly Ret.

Bryn Mawr 61o17' 147o48' 26 1,006 na Stable on beach, College Fiord Slowly Ret.

Smith 61o15' 147o50' 20 976 na Stable on beach, College Fiord Slowly Ret.

Harvard 61o23' 147o23' 524 1,098 I Slow advance on terminal moraine shoal, 

College Fiord

–

Yale 61o18' 147o27' 194 1,098 R Drastic retreat, or stable at head of Yale 

Arm

Slowly Ret.

Meares 61o13' 147o27' 142 1,052 I Slow advance on terminal moraine shoal 

at head of Unakwik Inlet

Same as 1999

Columbia 61o15' 146o54' 1,121 899 I Drastic retreat, fore bay, Columbia Bay Same as 1999

Shoup 61o14' 146o28' 156 1,037 I Drastic retreat in tidal basin, Shoup Bay Same as 1999

Bering5 60o30' 142o24' 5,1735 1,0375 R4, FTW5 Drastic retreat5 Same as 1999

St. Elias Mountains Group

Grotto 60o3' 141o33' 42 701 R Stable on beach, Tsaa Fiord Slowly Ret.

Moraine/Apron R Stable on beach, Tsaa Fiord Slowly Ret.

Tsaa 60o7' 141o37' 150 625 R Stable at head of Tsaa Fiord Slowly Ret.

Guyot 60o13' 141o22' 1,432 747 R Stable at head of Icy Bay Ret.

Yahtse R Stable at head of Icy Bay Ret.

Tyndall 60o13' 141o5' 154 915 R Stable at head of Taan Fiord –

Malaspina5 60o6' 140o30' 5,0085 8235 R4, FTW5 Stable5 Rapidly Ret.

Disenchantment Bay Group

Turner 60o5' 139o45' 186 854 na Advances to terminal moraine shoal 

during surges 

At shoal

Hubbard 60o10' 139o30' 3,865 915 I Slow advance on terminal moraine shoal, 

Disenchantment Bay

Same as 1999

East Nunatak4

(Nunatak5)

59o42' 138o3' 3125 1,0525 R4, FTW5 Stable at head of Nunatak Fiord, no 

longer calves icebergs

Ret.

Fairweather Range Group

Lituya 58o44' 137o26' 103 1,052 I Stable on terminal moraine shoal, Lituya 

Bay

Adv.

North Crillon 58o40' 137o19' 71 991 I Stable on terminal moraine shoal, Lituya 

Bay

Adv.

La Perouse 58o32' 137o13' 147 960 na Stable on open beach in Gulf of Alaska Same as 1999

Reid 58o46' 136o48' 49 732 R Stable at head of fiord, Reid Inlet Slowly Ret.

Lamplugh 58o48' 136o52' 171 701 R Stable on beach, Johns Hopkins Inlet Same as 1999

Gilman 58o48' 137o3' 35 838 na Stable on beach, Johns Hopkins Inlet Adv.

Johns Hopkins 58o47' 137o12' 316 747 I Advancing on terminal moraine shoal, 

Johns Hopkins Inlet

Same as 1999

Margerie 58o58' 137o14' 174 1,067 na Stable on beach, Tarr Inlet Same as 1999

Grand Pacific 59o6' 137o27' 654 1,189 I Slow advance on terminal moraine shoal 

at head of Tarr Inlet

Rapidly Ret., 

stagnant ice

Kashoto1 58o52' 137o2' 5 762 na Stable1 Ret.

Hoonah1 58o50' 137o4' 12 793 na Stable1 Ret.

Brady5 58o33' 137o45' 5905 6105 R4, FTW5 Stable1 Ret.

K58 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Table 3.—Terminus status of major tidewater glaciers of Alaska in 1999 (with status in 2004 added for selected glaciers)

Glacier Lat. (N)1 Long.(W)1 Area 

(km2) 1

Median ELA 

(m amsl) 1,2

Terminus position1,3 Status of terminus in 1999

(from Robert M. Krimmel, except where noted)

Terminus status 

in 20043,6

Alsek Range Group

Muir 59o10' 136o28' 148 960 R Stable at head of fiord, Muir Inlet, no 

longer calves icebergs

400 m inland 

from 

shoreline, 

stagnant ice

Riggs 59o8' 136o14' 126 960 R Stable on beach, Muir Inlet Ret.

McBride 59o10' 136o5' 143 1,189 I Stable at head of tidal inlet, Muir Inlet Rapidly Ret.

Carroll5 59o11' 136o40' 5275 9915 R4, FTW5 Stable5 Debriscovered, 

stagnant ice

Coast Mountains Group

Taku4,5 58o36' 134o9' 8315 8995 R4, FTW5 Stable on river bar/terminal moraine, 

Taku Inlet, no longer calves icebergs. 

Viens5 indicated that it had been advancing at a decreased rate

Same as 1999

Sawyer 57o53' 132o55' 399 1,372 R Retreat in narrow inlet, Tracy Arm Same as 1999

South Sawyer 57o45' 132o43' 683 1,372 I Stable in narrow inlet, sharp bend, Tracy 

Arm

Same as 1999

Dawes 57o27' 132o30' 653 1,402 I Drastic retreat in narrow, deep inlet, Endicott ArmSame as 1999

LeConte 56o54' 132o22' 472 915 R Drastic retreat in narrow, deep inlet, 

LeConte Bay

Same as 1999

Baird5 57o15' 132o21' 7845 1,2345 R4, FTW5 Stable5 Same as 1999

1

 Viens (1995, table A1).

2

 Meters above mean sea level.

3

 R, Retracted; I, Intermediate; Ret., Retreating; Adv., Advancing.

4

 From Robert M. Krimmel (written commun., 1999).

5

 Classified by Viens (1995, table A2) as a former tidewater (FTW) calving glacier.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K59
Examples of tidewater glacier instability abound in Alaska. During the 20th 

century, most of the glaciers in Glacier Bay ended a drastic retreat of nearly 

100 km that began about 200 years ago. Johns Hopkins Glacier, in western 

Glacier Bay, began a slow readvance early in the 20th century, while Muir Glacier in eastern Glacier Bay continued its retreat through the present. Glaciers 

in Icy Bay began a retreat from an extended position early in the 20th century 

and had retreated 30 km by late in the century. Hubbard Glacier has generally 

advanced during the 20th century; it advanced rapidly across a major fjord 

in May 1986 and created an ice-dammed lake that drained catastrophically 

(jökulhlaup), but harmlessly, in October 1986. A similar event occurred in 

the summer of 2002 (see section on “The 1986 and 2002 Temporary Closures 

of Russell Fiord by the Hubbard Glacier” in this chapter). Columbia Glacier 

began a rapid retreat during 1982 that continued into the 21st century. Columbia Glacier, the most intensively studied tidewater glacier in the world, is 

of particular interest because its discharge of icebergs into shipping lanes of 

Prince William Sound constitutes a hazard to navigation. 

Columbia Glacier 

The Columbia Glacier (about lat 61oN., long 147oW.) (figs. 43–46) is a 

calving glacier that terminates in an embayment (forebay) of Prince William 

Sound, near Valdez, Alaska; it has an area of about 1,000 km2. The glacier is 

currently undergoing a rapid retreat from what had been a stable position 

for more than two centuries prior to 1980 (Vancouver, 1798). Ice mass is lost 

from the Columbia Glacier predominately through the calving of icebergs 

from its tidewater terminus. Some of the icebergs float into the shipping 

lanes that are used by oil tankers traveling to or from the port of Valdez, the 

Figure 43.—Two oblique aerial photographs of the Columbia Glacier, 

Chugach Mountains. A, By 22 August 

1979, large embayments formed in the 

terminus, and the glacier had receded 

from Heather Island (foreground), where 

a stagnant ice mass still remained. 

B, By 12 September 1986 there had been 

more than 2 km of retreat. The moraine 

shoal, where the water was no deeper 

than 21 m, is marked by stranded icebergs, 

which tend to keep the concentrated brash 

ice contained in the forebay between the 

terminus and moraine. Water depth in the 

forebay is 200 to 300 m. The rapid retreat 

will continue for several decades and will 

not end until the fjord head is reached in 

the east branch (right side). Photograph 

Nos. 79–L2–028 and 86–R2–256 by Austin 

Post, and Robert M. Krimmel, respectively, 

U.S. Geological Survey. Caption courtesy of Robert M. Krimmel, U.S. Geological 

Survey.

K60 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
southern terminus of the Trans-Alaska [oil] Pipeline. Although the glacier 

terminates in tidewater, Columbia Glacier is grounded on its bed because the 

ice thickness overcomes buoyancy. In places, the glacier bed lies as much as 

550 m below sea level (Meier and others, 1994). Flotation of the glacier may 

take place for brief periods in localized areas near the calving face.

The retreat of Columbia Glacier is interesting because it provides an opportunity for glaciologists to study the processes involved in iceberg calving 

and movement (Meier, 1994, 1997; Kamb and others, 1994), the ice dynamics 

of a rapidly changing system, a modern-day analog of suspected past rapid 

glacier retreats, and the processes associated with marine-based ice-sheet 

disintegration (for example, the marine-based part of the Antarctic ice sheet 

in West Antarctica) (see Swithinbank, 1988). Iceberg production during this 

retreat is important to shipping interests because icebergs are a navigation 

hazard. The tourist industry is interested because calving glaciers and icebergs are natural attractions in Prince William Sound.

A large part of the scientific studies of Columbia Glacier has been documenting the changes associated with its retreat (Rasmussen and Meier, 

1982, 1985; Sikonia, 1982; Bindschadler and Rasmussen, 1983; Brown and 

others, 1982, 1986; Meier and others, 1985, 1994; Walters and Dunlap, 1987; 

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K61
Rasmussen, 1989). This documentation has been done at a variety of temporal and spatial scales. For instance, ice displacement at a few places has been 

measured by using automated, laser-ranging devices with centimeter accuracy at a 10-minute frequency (Walters and Dunlap, 1987; Meier and others, 

1994). [Editors’ note: According to Mark F. Meier (written commun., 2004), 

the results of these studies showed the short-term response of the glacier 

to daily melt cycles, precipitation events, and even the changing pressure 

on the subglacier water system caused by ocean tides and thereby defined 

glacier-sliding processes.] At the synoptic scale, Landsat imagery has been 

used to observe the extent of iceberg plumes emanating from the glacier 

(fig. 45). Geodetic surveying is labor intensive and focuses on very specific 

Figure 44.—Oblique aerial photograph 

of Columbia Glacier on 10 January 1993, 

from about 7,000 m in altitude, looking approximately north, with the iceberg-filled 

forebay in the foreground. At the time of 

the photograph, the glacier was undergoing a rapid retreat; the accelerated retreat 

produced the large number of icebergs 

(see fig. 42D). Photograph No. 93–V1–39 

by Robert M. Krimmel, U.S. Geological 

Survey.

K62 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Yale Glacier

Prince William Sound

Columbia Glacier

0 10 KILOMETERS

APPROXIMATE SCALE

147°W

61°N

Valdez

Columbia Bay

Valdez Arm

Harvard Glacier

Figure 45.—Landsat 3 RBV image of Columbia Glacier and a part of Prince 

William Sound. The plume of icebergs caused by calving can be seen extending from Columbia Bay into Valdez Arm and Prince William Sound. Landsat 3 

RBV image (30551–20215–C; 7 September 1979; Path 72, Row 17), originally 

published by Krimmel and Meier (1989), is from the USGS, EROS Data Center, 

Sioux Falls, S. Dak.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K63
goals. Satellite images do not offer sufficient detail for many purposes and 

are dependent on weather (cloud cover) and orbit (frequency of imaging). 

The most practical method for documenting the changes at Columbia Glacier 

has proven to be repetitive aerial photography (Meier and others, 1985).

Oblique and vertical aerial photography has been used routinely to study 

Columbia Glacier since 1960, when Austin Post (USGS) began near-annual 

observations of Columbia Glacier as part of broad-coverage aerial surveys 

of Alaskan glaciers. Post documented glacier conditions with a large-format 

(9-in [23-cm] film) metric camera that could be mounted to acquire either 

oblique or vertical aerial photography. By the early 1970s, Post had become 

aware that Columbia Glacier was the only major tidewater glacier in Alaska 

that was neither retreating nor advancing. As mentioned previously, the tidewater glaciers of Glacier Bay had been undergoing a major retreat during the 

last two centuries; Hubbard Glacier was advancing slowly, and the glaciers 

in Icy Bay had retreated rapidly since about 1930. Post (1975) published a 

report that described changes in the terminus of Columbia Glacier and suggested that the increasing size and frequency of seasonal embayments in the 

terminus might be a precursor to a more rapid retreat. Summer and fall retreats of the terminus from a terminal-moraine shoal, where the water was 

mostly less than about 20 m deep, were normally offset by the subsequent 

winter and spring advances. But what if the winter and spring readvances 

did not occur? In 1976, the USGS systematically began to obtain aerial photographs of the lower reach of Columbia Glacier to document the changes. 

This photography enabled accurate monitoring and mapping of the retreat 

(fig. 46) (Krimmel, 1987, 2001).

Repeated stereo aerial photography covered the lowest 20 km of the glacier at a spatial scale that allowed a single frame to span the entire width of 

the glacier and include off-glacier geodetic ground-control points along both 

edges of the flight line (fig. 46). A 6-in (15.3 cm) focal-length lens, metric 

camera, with 9-in (23 cm) film, flown at 7,000 m in altitude yielded the required coverage with six overlapping frames. (The overlap was at least 60 

percent to achieve stereoscopy.) The temporal scale was designed so that 

ice features were preserved from one survey flight to the next. Thus, seasonal changes of the terminus position and ice speed were documented. By 

2000, photography of the lower reach had been acquired 120 times. Flight 

frequency was controlled by scientific requirements, weather, logistics, and 

project funding. The shortest interval between flights was 3 days; the longest 

was 330 days. On 20 flights, coverage was extended to include areas beyond 

the lower reach of the glacier.

Stereophotogrammetry

Analytical stereophotogrammetric techniques were used to analyze the 

vertical aerial photographs of Columbia Glacier.

Terminus position. Normally a well-defined ice cliff is formed where glacier ice calves into a lake or the ocean, and the terminus can be identified 

easily at many points along the ice-water contact. At times, the Columbia 

Glacier ice cliff is so low that it is difficult to define the contact between water 

and glacier; in those areas the position was estimated. 

K64 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
60 km

56 km

1998

1999

1997

1995 1994

1993

1992

1991

1990

1988

1987

1985

1983

1981

52 km

Terminal moraine

shoal shoal

Figure 46.—Reduced-scale mosaic of five 

vertical aerial photographs of the lower 

reach of the Columbia Glacier on 2 October 

1998 from an altitude of about 7,000 m. 

North is approximately at the top; the terminus of the glacier is about 4 km wide. 

Superimposed on the mosaic are plots 

of selected terminus positions from 1981 

to 1999. Also shown by symbol are three 

locations where the velocity of the glacier 

surface was determined. Glacier surface 

speeds are shown in figure 49. The scale of 

the original U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) 

aerial photographs is about 1:46,000 at sea 

level. The current scale is approximately 

1:100,000. USGS Columbia Glacier aerial 

photographs are referenced as: 10–2–98; 

23,000 feet; Frames 1–3 through 1–7. 

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K65
The width-averaged (one-dimensional) terminus position in terms of glacier length is plotted in figure 47. The glacier length plot shows that the major recession began about 1982 (slowly at first) and then increased to a rate 

of about 0.7 km a −1 until 1995, when the recession rate decreased until 1998. 

In the last years of the 20th century, there was a marked increase in the rate 

of retreat (Pfeffer and others, 2000). During the end of 1998, the retreat rate 

increased to nearly 1.0 km a−1, and in 2004 it had decreased to 0.6–0.7 km a–1 

(Mark F. Meier, written commun., 2004).

The persistent change in the terminus position is seasonal. The glacier 

terminus is extended during the winter and spring, and the terminus retreats 

in summer and fall. This seasonal cycle of change in glacier length is shown 

in figure 48.

Ice speed. The highly crevassed lower reach of Columbia Glacier lends itself to measurements by aerial-stereophotogrammetric methods (fig. 49). An 

individual crevasse or local pattern of crevasses retains its unique geometric 

identity for days, in some cases for months, and in some rare areas for several 

years. These intervals allow sufficient time for photographic-identification 

of features and measurement by means of stereophotogrammetic methods. 

Displacements of these features can be converted to speeds by dividing the 

displacement by the time interval. Such measurements can be made over the 

entire lower reach of Columbia Glacier if the time interval between survey 

flights is short enough that the features or crevasse patterns on the aerial 

photographs remain identifiable.

Before the Columbia Glacier began to retreat, features or crevasse patterns 

could be followed over the entire lower reach for periods of up to 4 months. 

By the middle 1980s, the ice speed and rate of deformation had increased to 

such an extent that features within a few kilometers of the terminus could be 

reidentified only within intervals of a few weeks or less. In the spring of 1997, 

five aerial photography sets obtained at intervals of 10 to 20 days allowed 

detailed spatial and temporal speed measurements to be made.

The glacier speed has increased severalfold since the retreat began. Before the retreat, the maximum annual ice speed averaged about 5 m d−1, the 

seasonal maximum speed being about 7 m d−1. The speed increased differentially in the lower reaches of the glacier, the greatest increase occurring near 

the terminus (fig. 49). As the retreat progressed, speed near the terminus 

increased to more than 20 m d−1 averaged annually (fig. 50) and reached 

30 m d−1 during the seasonal speed maximum. The seasonal speed variation 

1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000

52

53

54

55

56

57

58

59

60

61

62

63

64

65

66

67

Year 

Columbia Glacier length, in kilometers

Figure 47.—The changing length of 

Columbia Glacier between 1976 and 1999. 

Each dot represents an aerial survey. When 

the recessional trend is removed, the seasonal variations shown in figure 48 become 

evident.

K66 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
-1.5

-1.2

-0.9

-0.6

-0.3

0.0

0.3

79

Length deviation, in kilometers

Jan Feb Mar Apr May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec

93

93

93 93

93

93

79

77

77 77 77

77

77 82

82

82

82

92

92

92

88

88

83 80 80

80

90

84

91

91

84

83

83

86 84

85

79

80 89

85 94

94

78 91

91

87 83

85 84

87

78

78

90 85 84

88

90

86

83 89

84

76

81

85 84

76

81

78

78

80

83

81

79

76

88

81

86 78

86

83

77

81

Figure 48.—The seasonal variation of the 

length of Columbia Glacier. Deviations 

from the normalized length (best fit curve) 

are plotted against the time of year. The numerals indicate the survey year (76=1976).

1976 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998

0

5

10

15

20

25

Year

Speed, in meters d-1

52 KM

56 KM

60 KM

Figure 49.—Surface speed of Columbia 

Glacier at three locations, 52 km (black), 56 

km (blue), and 60 km (red), from the origin 

(head) of the glacier on different aerial survey dates from 1977 to 1997. The location 

where the velocities were determined is 

shown on figure 46.

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70

0

5

10

15

20

25

1993

1978

Distance from head of glacier, in kilometers

Speed, in meters per day

Figure 50.—Average annual speed in meters per day along the length of Columbia 

Glacier in 1978 and 1993. The fourfold 

increase in speed near the terminus is 

evident.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K67
-4

-3

-2

-1

0

1

2

3

4

Jan Feb Mar Apr May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec

Speed deviation, in meters per day

94

94

94

94

94

94

96

96

96

96

96

91

91

91

91

86

86

86

90

90

93

93

93

92

92

92 84

84 84

84

84

95

95

83

83

83

83

83

83

83 83

85

95

87

87

82 88

88

93

86

88

89

85 94

Figure 51.—The seasonal-speed deviations 

from the normalized speed (best fit curve) 

near the terminus of Columbia Glacier. 

Speed is highest in early spring and lowest 

in early fall. The numerals indicate the year 

(84=1984).

K68 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD

near the terminus is shown in figure 51, where deviations from the normalized speed (the long-term trend removed) are plotted against the time of 

year. Speed is highest in early spring and lowest in early fall.

Ice displacement also has been measured very precisely, with a temporal 

resolution of less than 1 hour for several multiple-week periods at a few locations. Ice speed fluctuated daily, the highest speed occurring about 8:00 p.m. 

and the lowest at about 8:00 a.m. In addition, speed reached high extremes 

near the end of rain or wind storms. High glacier speed seemed to correlate 

with measured or assumed high basal-water pressure or volume of water in 

storage at the bed, depending on the time scales of the fluctuations (Meier 

and others, 1994; Kamb and others, 1994). Within 1.5 km of the terminus, the 

stage of the tide also affected ice speed. When there was little or no surface 

water input by melt or precipitation, glacier speed had an inverse relation to 

tide stage. The increased pressure of high tide against the ice cliff slowed the 

glacier slightly (Krimmel and Vaughn, 1987; Walters and Dunlap, 1987) and 

overwhelmed any speed increase that may have occurred because of a local 

increase in basal pressure owing to high tide.

Forebay of Columbia Glacier. As Columbia Glacier has retreated, the 

fjord has lengthened. Except for a narrow band along each side of the glacier, 

the glacier bed has been below sea level throughout the area of the retreat. 

Thus, fjord expansion is nearly equal in area to glacier retreat. As the glacier 

has retreated, the surface of the newly opened fjord, presently known as the 

forebay, usually has been covered with a floating mass of icebergs, brash ice, 

and frozen fresh-water ice. This “freeze-welded” sheet has covered almost 

all of the forebay most of the time during the retreat (fig. 44). The southern 

limit of the forebay is the terminal moraine shoal, which was the stable position of the terminus of Columbia Glacier before the beginning of the retreat. 

Maximum water depth over the moraine was 27 m at high tide in the middle 

1980s. The northern end of the forebay is the glacier terminus. The forebay 

ice mass is continuously replenished by newly calved ice and moves toward 

the terminal moraine at a rate of about 100 m d−1. The ice mass in the forebay 

undergoes little transverse mixing. As a result, the relatively debris-laden 

icebergs calved from the medial moraine retain their transverse position as 

they move through the forebay (fig. 44). 

Beginning in late 1995, the floating ice mass in the forebay occasionally 

thinned enough so that boats could approach the glacier terminus. Shipborne bathymetric measurements indicate that the maximum fjord water 

depth was about 360 m and that submarine topographic features were up to 

100 m in relief (Post, 1997).
Ice-surface altitude. The surface altitude of points on stereophotogrammetric models is measured easily. It is more difficult to obtain a consistent 

area-averaged ice-surface altitude. Ice surface relief is typically 20 to 30 m. 

This roughness must be smoothed to give meaningful measurements of 

changes in ice-surface altitude. The surface altitude has been reduced during retreat. 

The lower part of Columbia Glacier has thinned at a rate of about 20 m a−1. 

The magnitude of thinning decreases up glacier, reaching approximately 

zero about 26 km from the head of the glacier (fig. 52). 

Calving. Calving is the breaking off of ice from the terminus of a glacier. If 

the terminus position of a calving glacier is stable, the calving rate is equal to 

the ice speed. If the terminus is retreating, the calving rate is equal to the ice 

speed plus the retreat rate. Calving is rarely observed directly on aerial photographs. It is normally measured by the difference between the observed glacier speed and the change in terminus position. Calving can also be measured 

directly between two observation dates by delineating the area of ice that is 

present near the terminus on the first date but is missing on the second date. 

By measuring the area of “ice to be-calved” and the average altitude of its top 

surface, and by estimating the ice thickness, one can determine a calving volume. Applying this analysis to Columbia Glacier indicates that the calving rate 

has increased by a factor of 5 or more since the retreat began and that, during 

the retreat, it has often been as high as 5 km3 a−1. During the years 2001–03, 

the calf-ice discharge approached 10 km3 a−1 (O’Neel and others, 2005).

Discussion. The high ice-surface velocities measured at Columbia Glacier 

rival those measured at glaciers during surges (Kamb and others, 1985). However, the condition of Columbia Glacier is unlike that of a typical surging glacier 

in two ways. First, high ice speed at a surging glacier occurs during a shorter period; a typical large surging glacier has one or more short periods of high speed 

lasting a few months and a period of several decades when speeds are “normal” 

(50–200 m a−1). The high ice speed of Columbia Glacier has been sustained 

for more than a decade. Second, a surge usually begins upglacier, well above 

the terminus (often in the accumulation zone), and it propagates downglacier. No propagation of a speed pulse downglacier has occurred at Columbia 

Glacier. The only longitudinal effect is that ice drawdown and ice speedup are 

progressing upglacier (Meier and others, 1985; Pfeffer, 2007). Thus, the term 

“surge” should not be applied to the flow regime of Columbia Glacier.

The seasonal velocity variations of Columbia Glacier—fast in the early 

spring and slow in the fall—are consistent with those of many other glaciers 

and can be explained as seasonal variations in the basal-water pressure at 

the glacier-bed interface (Kamb and others, 1994). The dominant mechanism 

of movement of Columbia Glacier must be basal sliding (Rasmussen, 1989; 

Kamb and others, 1994), for which Bindschadler (1978) has devised a general 

3,000

2,000

1,000

0

–1,000

Altitude, in meters above sea level

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70

Distance from head of glacier, in kilometers

Bed

1950

1993 1974

1996

Figure 52.—Surface altitude of Columbia 

Glacier in 1950, 1974, 1993, and 1996, with 

an estimated width-averaged bed. The lower part of the glacier has thinned at a rate of 

about 20 m a−1.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K69
ice-flow law, although some of its parameters remain in doubt. A qualitative 

description of the basal-sliding process depends on basal-water pressure and 

storage of water. Basal-water pressure is controlled by a channel network at 

the bed, which may be opened (allowing for water passage) or closed (resulting in water storage). During the summer, sufficient water is available from 

ice melt and rain to keep many basal channels open despite their tendency to 

be closed by ice deformation. Basal-water pressure in the summer is therefore low. In the fall, surface melting is reduced, and precipitation is increasingly dominated by snow; basal-water pressure is at an annual minimum as 

the water input diminishes. Basal sliding and deformation gradually disrupt 

the channel system. Once the channels are disrupted, no more water can pass 

under the glacier, and residual water draining from the glacier surface, intraglacier conduits, and the surrounding subglacier basin is stored. Basal-water 

pressure increases throughout the winter and well into the spring. Ultimately, 

however, water pressure becomes high enough to force channels to open and 

remain open owing to the high volume of water moving through and under the 

glacier. Glacier speed is a direct function of basal-water thickness and pressure. Consistent with this explanation, short-term measurements show that 

speed has a strong diurnal variation that is directly related to diurnal water 

input (Kamb and others, 1994) and summer precipitation events.

Although the cause of seasonal ice-speed variations is agreed upon generally, the cause of decadal-scale increases in speed is not understood. One hypothesis is that a feedback exists, in which decreasing ice thickness causes 

reduced effective pressure at the bed, which in turn allows increased sliding; 

this process reduces the ice thickness, and further reduces effective pressure 

(Meier and Post, 1987; Meier, 1994). Another hypothesis is that a change in 

the bulk characteristics of the glacier ice results in lower tensional strength 

and increased speed. How the process of calving works, how it is related to 

changes in speed, and, perhaps, how calving influences speed are open questions (van der Veen, 1995, 1996, 1997b) and were discussed in a workshop 

focusing on these questions (Van der Veen, 1997a).

Hubbard Glacier 

Hubbard Glacier (about lat 60oN., long 139o30’W.) (fig. 53) is the largest 

tidewater glacier in Alaska and has been generally advancing (figs. 54, 55, 

56) since it was first mapped by the International Boundary Commission 

(IBC) in 1895 (Davidson, 1903). The advance has accelerated during the 

20th century at the following average advance rates: 1895–1948, 16 m a−1; 

1948–62, 18 m a−1; 1962–72, 30 m a−1; 1972–83, 38 m a−1; and 1983–88, 

47 m a−1 (Trabant and others, 1990). This slow advance led Post and Mayo 

(1971) to predict that Hubbard Glacier would dam Russell Fiord by 1990. 

The overall advance is persistent but varies locally over the 10-km width of 

the terminal ice cliff. Hubbard Glacier often exhibits short-lived pulses characterized by much higher advance rates. Although these pulses usually occur 

in the spring, it is not known whether they occur every spring or how much 

of the terminus they affect. In 1986, one such pulse was directed across the 

mouth of Russell Fiord and resulted in a temporary closure. The advancing ice was protected by a ridge of moraine material that the glacier pushed 

ahead of itself, and calving was thus effectively reduced. By the end of May, 

the entrance to the fjord was closed (fig. 56). When the closure (fig. 56) was 

completed, the level of the “lake” in Russell Fiord began rising from spring 

snowmelt and precipitation runoff. A far-reaching concern was the possible overflow from the south end of Russell Lake and the effect that such 

an overflow would have on the productive fishery in the Situk River basin. 

Overflow would have occurred when the lake level reached 40 m, but, on 7 

October 1986, at a water level of 25 m, the ice dam failed, and Russell Lake

drained catastrophically (jökulhlaup) but harmlessly into Disenchantment 

Bay (Mayo, 1988b). Temporary closure occurred again in 2002. For a further 

K70 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
discussion of the closures, see the section on “The 1986 and 2002 Temporary 

Closures of Russell Fiord by the Hubbard Glacier” in the following discussion 

of the St. Elias Mountains. 

Although the closure of Russell Fiord is unique to present-day inhabitants 

of the area, it is known to have occurred in the past. Native legends refer to 

events that may have been the result of closure. The channel of the Situk 

River on the southern end of Russell Fiord is larger than necessary, so that it 

can handle the discharge when the fjord is not open to Disenchantment Bay. 

139°W

60°N

APPROXIMATE SCALE

0 10 KILOMETERS

Yakutat Bay

Hubbard

Gla

cier

Situk River

Russell Fiord

Disenchan mt ent

Bay

Gulf of Alaska

Figure 53.—Digitally enhanced Landsat 5 

TM image of Hubbard Glacier. Hubbard 

Glacier has been generally advancing since 

1895. The Landsat 5 TM image (50620–

18008; bands 2, 3, 4; 7 August 1985; Path 

62, Row 18) is from the USGS, EROS Data 

Center, Sioux Falls, S. Dak. (Also available 

in EROS Data Center Image Gallery: No. 

E–564–99CT.)

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K71
60°04'N 139°22'W

60°04'N 139°32'W

60°N 139°32'W

Explanation

22 Aug 1965

23 Aug 1978

18 June 1983

11 Sept 1986

27 June 1992

21 May 1997

Hubbard Glacier terminus positions:

Shoreline as of 23 August 1978

Hubbard Glacier

Gilbert Point

Russell Fiord ("Lake")

Osier 

Island

1986 "ice dam"

Haenke 

Island

Disenchantment 

Bay

1983

1978

1965

1986

1992

1997

Figure 54.—Advance of Hubbard Glacier 

terminus between 1965 and 1997. (Modified 

from Trabant and others, 2003.)

Figure 55.—29 August 1984 oblique aerial 

photograph of the terminus of the 112-kmlong Hubbard Glacier, North America’s largest tidewater glacier. This slowly advancing 

glacier closed the entrance to Russell Fiord 

in the spring of 1986 (see fig. 56) and again 

in 2002 (see fig. 157). On the date of this 

aerial photograph, the entrance to Russell 

Fiord (lower right) was about 500 m wide. 

Osier Island, in the entrance to the fjord, 

is about 500 m long. The Hubbard Glacier 

flows down the valley on the right from the 

St. Elias Mountains into Disenchantment 

Bay; the Valerie Glacier tributary merges 

into it from the left. Photograph No. 84–R1–

082 by Robert M. Krimmel, U.S. Geological 

Survey.

K72 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD

Under those conditions, Russell Lake, when full, drains via the Situk River to 

the south directly into the Gulf of Alaska. Moraines of Hubbard Glacier exist 

far beyond the position required for closure.

The general flow of Hubbard Glacier is regulated by its mass balance, 

which is largely controlled by the local climate and calving losses. Year-to-year 
changes of the AAR are an index to the climatically controlled accumulation 

and ablation components of mass balance. In many years since 1963, observations of the glacier near the end of the melt season have shown that the 

line separating the accumulation area from the ablation area (the equilibrium 

line) is normally at about 1,000 m in altitude. This equilibrium line altitude 

(ELA) gives Hubbard Glacier the extremely high AAR of 0.95, which demonstrates that the glacier’s mass balance is very positive. As a result, Hubbard 

Glacier can easily sustain its calving and melt losses and increase its thickness 

while the terminus and its submarine terminal moraine advance farther into 

Disenchantment Bay. Furthermore, Hubbard Glacier is not currently sensitive to small climate changes. The equilibrium line lies on a steep, narrow part 

of the outlet glacier, where a 200-m increase in the ELA changes the AAR to 

0.91 and a 200-m decrease in the ELA changes the AAR to 0.96. Changes in 

the ELA likely have been smaller than ±200 m for decades. For instance, the 

1987–88 balance year resulted in a 50-m lowering of the ELA. This relatively 

small change was the response to winter precipitation that was about twice the 

1951–80 normal amount, followed by a summer of near-normal temperatures, 

both of which suggest near-normal ablation (Trabant and others, 1990). 

The accumulated ice mass must go somewhere. It is estimated that there 

is an ice flux of 6.8 km3

 a−1 through the cross section at the equilibrium line of 

Hubbard Glacier. This ice either is melted in the ablation zone (0.3 km3 a−1), 

Figure 56.—Oblique aerial photograph 

of the Hubbard Glacier ice dam on 12 

September 1986, as it blocked the entrance 

to Russell Fiord (middle right center) at 

Gilbert Point (lower center). Osier Island 

is almost completely covered. A push moraine that formed as the glacier approached 

Gilbert Point reduced calving. The dam 

width is about 0.5 km. The ice dam, which 

formed in May 1986, created “Russell Lake.” 

The ice dam failed because of calving and 

increased water pressure in Russell Fiord 

on 8 October 1986, releasing 5.3 km3

 of water in less than 1 day. The maximum water 

discharge was estimated by Mayo (1988b) 

to be 104,500 m3

 s−1. Variegated Glacier (upper right) underwent a major surge in 1983. 

Photograph No. 86–R2–124 by Robert M. 

Krimmel, U.S. Geological Survey.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K73
increases the volume of the lower glacier by advance and increased thickness (0.05 km3

 a−1), or calves (6.45 km3 a−1). 

Surface-ice speeds of Hubbard Glacier measured in the ablation zone and 

near the equilibrium line are about 8 m d−1 near the terminus, 5 m d−1 in the 

central ablation area, and 12 m d−1 near the equilibrium line (Krimmel and 

Sikonia, 1986). Ice thickness also has been measured; the maximum thickness is about 700 m in the central ablation zone. The bed of the glacier is 

about 400 m below sea level at that location (Mayo, 1988a). 

Hubbard Glacier also exhibits seasonal terminus changes. The glacier 

tends to advance in the winter and spring and retreat in the summer and fall 

(Krimmel and Trabant, 1992). These fluctuations may be caused by seasonal 

changes in calving rate or speed or by a combination of the two.

Alaska’s tidewater glaciers (tables 2, 3; fig. 41), although large for North 

America, are relatively small in comparison with the large outlet glaciers from 

the ice sheets in the Antarctic and Greenland (Swithinbank, 1988; Weidick, 

1995). Research on the Alaska glaciers is important, however, because the 

results of frequent and detailed observations on smaller glacier systems can 

be applied to the larger systems. Tidewater glaciers are unique in that the 

cycle of changing glacier size is indirectly related to climate (Post, 1975). 

The cycle for a specific tidewater glacier may be radically different from the 

cycle of land-terminating glaciers in the same region that is caused by climate change.

Surge-Type Glaciers

Most glaciers have relatively constant average annual flow rates. A small 

percentage exhibit substantial variations and major flow irregularities. When 

the average annual flow is relatively constant, variations that occur are generally predictable on a seasonal basis; longer period changes occur as the 

glacier responds to changes in mass balance. When the average annual flow 

is variable, some glaciers have dramatic annual velocity changes, often characterized by brief velocity increases of at least an order of magnitude. These 

glaciers are called surge-type glaciers. Surges involve large volumes of ice 

displacement and often are characterized by rapid advance of the glacier terminus. The first observed surge to be widely reported by the media in the 

United States occurred in 1937. The terminus of Black Rapids Glacier in the 

eastern Alaska Range advanced more than 5 km in less than a year (Time 

Magazine, 1937; Moffit, 1942). The terms “galloping glacier” and “runaway 

glacier” were widely used by the media to report this occurrence.

The first, and seminal treatise on surge-type glaciers was by Post (1960), 

followed by Meier and Post (1969) and Raymond (1987). Post (1969, p. 229) 

offered the following definition for a surge-type glacier: “one which periodically (15–100+ years) discharges an ice reservoir by means of a sudden, brief, 

large-scale ice displacement, which moves 10 to 100 or more times faster 

than the glacier’s normal flow rate between surges.” He continued “Glacier 

surges are not unique events which might result from exceptional conditions 

such as earthquakes, avalanches, or local increases in snow accumulation. 

These movements apparently are due to some remarkable instability which 

occurs at periodic intervals in certain glaciers.” This comment about earthquakes and avalanches was in response to a theory of earthquake-induced 

glacier advance proposed by Tarr and Martin (1910) to explain changes that 

they observed in glaciers of the Yakutat Bay Region following the 1899 Yakutat Earthquake. Post (1965) concluded that the Great Alaska Earthquake of 

1964 had not produced snow-and-ice avalanches or short-lived glacier advances in the Coast, St. Elias, Chugach, and Wrangell Mountains or in the 

K74 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Alaska Range. Post (1965) coined the term “surge” because “advance” is frequently technically incorrect in that affected glaciers do not always advance 

beyond their former limits. The term “surge” is here used to describe sudden, 

large-scale, short-lived glacier movements that may or may not be associated 

with a terminal advance. Surge-type glaciers typically undergo alternating 

phases of short periods of active rapid flow, usually lasting from less than 1 to 

3 years (surge), followed by much longer periods of slow flow lasting from 10 

to 100 years (quiescence). The quiescent stage of a surge-type glacier may 

have seasonal velocity variations. Some glaciers, called “pulsing glaciers” 

(Mayo, 1978), exhibit frequent weak surges.

Surge-type glaciers have been observed in many parts of the world (for 

example, in the Pamirs, Tajikistan (Krimmel and others, 1976); and Svalbard (Liestøl, 1993, p. E127–E151), but one of the greatest concentrations 

of surge-type glaciers occurs in western North America, especially in the 

St. Elias, eastern Chugach, and eastern Wrangell Mountains, in parts of the 

Alaska Range, and in the Icefield Ranges adjacent to the U.S.- Canadian border (Post, 1969). In the regions that support surge-type glaciers, most glaciers do not surge. Post (1969) noted only 204 surge-type glaciers out of the 

several thousand western North American glaciers that he examined. About 

75 percent of these surge-type glaciers were in Alaska. Clarke and others 

(1986) noted that only 6.4 percent (151 of 2,356) glaciers they examined in 

the St. Elias Mountains of Canada were of the surge type. However, more recent information has indicated that there are only 136 surge-type glaciers in 

the St. Elias Mountains of Canada (see also Clarke and Holdsworth, 2002b). 

Most of the surge-type glaciers included in these studies were recognized 

from the air or from aerial photographs on the basis of their contorted medial moraines (Post, 1972) (fig. 57). Differential flow velocities and irregular 

flow conditions contort medial moraines and thus produce easily identifiable 

Figure 57.—Oblique aerial photograph of 

the Susitna Glacier, Alaska Range, showing contorted medial moraines indicative 

of a surging glacier. The glacier is approximately 3.5 km wide in the foreground. The 

5 September 1966 photograph no. 667–40 

is by Austin Post, U.S. Geological Survey.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K75
evidence of surging. Surge-type glaciers can also be recognized on Landsat 

images by their contorted medial moraines (see fig. 404). 

Meier and Post (1969) identified 12 characteristics of surge-type glaciers: 

(1) All surge-type glaciers surge repeatedly, (2) Most surges are uniformly periodic, 

and the length of a surge cycle appears to be constant for a single glacier, (3) All 

surges take place in a relatively short period of time and are followed by a longer quiescent phase, (4) The time required for a complete surge cycle has no relation to the 

length, area, or speed of the glacier, (5) Total horizontal displacements of ice during 

the active phase are typically only a few kilometers but can be less than 1 km, (6) 

Most surges do not result in advance of the terminus, (7) An ice reservoir and an ice 

receiving area can be defined for all surges, (8) No abrupt bedrock sills, depressions, 

or ice dams are evident in most surging glaciers, (9) All sizes and kinds of glaciers 

surge, including glaciers in almost all climatic zones, (10) In western North America, 

surge-type glaciers occur only in certain restricted areas, (11) Western North American surge-type glaciers can be divided into three categories: type I, large to moderate 

length valley glaciers with very high speeds, large resulting displacements, and largescale lowering of the ice reservoir; type II, large to moderate length valley glaciers with 

much smaller displacements and moderate lowering of the ice reservoir; and type 

III, small, steep glaciers with moderate lowering of the ice reservoir, (12) Whether 

there is a complete transition of glacier behavior from surge to normal is not known.

From the analysis of the characteristics of the 2,356 glaciers that they examined, Clarke and others (1986) determined that (1) long glaciers have a higher 

probability of being surge type than short glaciers do; (2) surge-type glaciers 

tend to have a higher overall elevation than normal glaciers do; and (3) surgetype glaciers have greater slopes in the accumulation zone and lesser slopes in 

the ablation zone. Later, Clarke (1991) concluded that surge-type glaciers tend 

to be longer and wider and to have lower overall slope than normal glaciers.

Water plays an important role in surging. Kamb and others (1985) found 

that high subglacial water pressures occur during rapid surge displacement. 

Variegated Glacier, a surge-type glacier, has been studied by many scientists 

(Balise and Raymond, 1985; Harrison and others, 1986; Humphrey and others, 1986; McMeeking and Johnson, 1986; Raymond and Malone, 1986; Raymond and others, 1987; Raymond and Harrison, 1987, 1988), who examined 

various aspects of basal-water pressure and storage of water. Kamb (1987) 

proposed that the mechanism for surge onset was based on the blockage of 

the linked-cavity network configuration of a glacier’s basal water conduit system. Harrison and Post (2003) summarized the current state of knowledge 

about surge-type glaciers, with specific reference to Alaskan glaciers.

Sturm (1987) called the dry or water-filled depressions on glaciers that 

measure from a few meters to 100 m in diameter “potholes,” Post and 

LaChapelle (1971, figs. 77, 78) called such depressions “lacunas.” Sturm 

(1987) determined that fields of “potholes” usually are found on the surfaces 

of surge-type glaciers rather than on those of non-surge-type glaciers. After 

examining photographs of several thousand glaciers, Sturm determined that 

21 of the 26 glaciers observed to have “potholes” were surge-type glaciers 

and that most “pothole” fields were found near the equilibrium line.

Glacier-Dammed Lakes and Glacier-Outburst 

Floods (Jökulhlaups)

Many Alaskan glaciers end in ice-marginal lakes formed by terminal or 

recessional moraines (fig. 58). Other glaciers form lakes by blocking or having distributaries that extend into adjacent valleys (fig. 59). (see also section on Columbia and Hubbard Tidewater Glaciers by Robert M. Krimmel in 

this volume.) Many Alaskan communities are located on rivers fed by glacial 

meltwater. Catastrophic flooding (jökulhlaups) caused by (1) drainage of 

ice-dammed lakes, (2) drainage of ice-marginal lakes, (3) release of water 

stored subglacially, englacially, or supraglacially, sometimes through surgerelated processes, or (4) melting glaciers located around the summit craters 

of erupting volcanoes are a significant hazard. Annually, floods in Alaska 

cause many millions of dollars of damages (Lamke, 1991). Information about 

K76 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
the flooding history of Alaskan glaciers is presented in some of the sections 

that follow. 

Stone (1963a) summarized the characteristics of 53 present and 7 former 

large ice-dammed lakes in an 1,285×160-km area of south-central and southeastern Alaska and adjacent Canada. His purpose was to call attention to “one 

of the world’s greatest concentrations of lakes dammed by glacial [glacier] 

ice” (Stone, 1963a, p. 332). He defined these lakes as “impounded by glacial 

[glacier] ice touching the water, a minimum of 1⁄4 to 1⁄2 mile [0.4–0.8 km] wide 

and 1⁄2 to 11⁄2 mile [0.8–1.6 km] long, and with water supplied from one or 

two streams or glaciers in addition to the water from the damming glacier,” 

(Stone, 1963a, p. 332). He noted that 11 of the 16 larger lakes have histories of regular or irregular emptying and that at least 6 ice-dammed lakes 

threaten transportation routes in Alaska. Three of the six lakes are located in 

Canada, but their floodwaters flow into the Pacific Ocean through Alaska via 

the Taku and Stikine Rivers. These six are (1) Lake George (Knik Glacier) 

(Stone, 1963a); (2) Hidden Creek Lake (Kennicott Glacier) (Anderson and 

Sherman Glacier

Sheridan

Glacier

N

Sherman Glacier

Figure 58.—13 August 1982 AHAP false-color infrared vertical aerial photograph of the 

ice-marginal lake surrounding the terminus 

of Sheridan Glacier, Chugach Mountains, 

formed by the 20th century retreat of the 

glacier’s terminus. The boundary between 

the darker red and lighter red vegetation 

surrounding the southern side of the lake 

marks the location of Sheridan Glacier’s 

“Little Ice Age” end moraine. Note the icebergs in the ice-marginal lake. The debriscovered terminus of the Sherman Glacier 

is visible on the upper right of the photograph. Photograph No. L115F1516 from 

GeoData Center, Geophysical Institute, 

University of Alaska, Fairbanks, Alaska.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K77
others, 2003); (3) Lower Skolai Lake (Nizina Glacier); (4) Tulsequah Lake 

(Tulsequah Glacier, Canada); (5) Flood Lake (Flood Glacier, Canada) (Ommanney, 2002a, fig. 21, p. J54); and (6) Great Lake (Great Glacier, Canada). 

From an analysis of topographic maps and aerial photographs, Post and 

Mayo (1971) determined that there were 750 glacier-dammed lakes larger 

than 0.1 km2 in south-central Alaska, southeastern Alaska, and adjacent 

Canada. They noted that additional glacier-dammed lakes are located in the 

Aleutian Islands, the Alaska Peninsula, Kodiak Island, and the Brooks Range. 

However, they did not include these lakes in their total. They presented maps 

showing the location of glacier-dammed lakes, glacier-clad volcanoes, and 

other areas subject to jökulhlaups and also gave information on the location 

and area of the lakes, the areas impacted, the type of hazards involved, individual histories of flooding for specific glacier-dammed lakes, and other available data about the glacier-dammed lakes.

Post and Mayo (1971) presented seven mechanisms through which glacier-dammed lakes form subglacial, englacial, or supraglacial channels that 

Chakachamna 

Lake

Kenibuna

Lake Shamrock Glacier

N

Neacola River

Flow

Figure 59.—20 July 1980 AHAP false-color 

infrared vertical aerial photograph of 

Kenibuna Lake, west of Shamrock Glacier, 

Chigmit Mountains, Aleutian Range, 

formed by damming of the Neacola River’s 

valley. Chakachamna Lake, located to the 

east of Shamrock Glacier, is formed by the 

blockage of the eastern extension of this 

valley by Barrier Glacier. Recent retreat 

of Shamrock Glacier has resulted in the 

formation of an ice-marginal lake behind 

the glacier’s “Little Ice Age” end moraine. 

Note the icebergs in the ice-marginal lake. 

Photograph No. L108F6633 is from GeoData 

Center, Geophysical Institute, University of 

Alaska, Fairbanks, Alaska.

K78 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
facilitate the release of water: (1) slow plastic yielding of the ice owing to hydrostatic pressure differences between the lake and the less dense ice (Glen, 

1954); (2) raising of the ice dam by floating (Thorarinsson, 1939); (3) crack 

progression under combined shear stress owing to glacier flow and high hydrostatic pressure (Nichols and Miller, 1952); (4) drainage through small, 

preëxisting channels at the ice-rock interface or between crystals in the 

ice; (5) water overflowing the ice dam, generally along the margin (Liestøl, 

1956); (6) subglacial melting by volcanic heat (Tryggvason, 1960); and 

(7) weakening of the dam by earthquakes (Tryggvason, 1960). All of these 

mechanisms are applicable to Alaskan glacier-dammed lakes. [Editors’ note: 

Other related research on the physics of the failure of ice-dammed lakes and 

associated jökulhlaups include work on Lake Donjek (Donjek Glacier) (Collins and Clarke, 1977; Clarke and Mathews, 1981), work on ice-dammed lakes 

in Iceland (Björnsson, 1976, 1977), and theoretical work by Nye (1976) on 

Flood Lake in the Coast Mountains of British Columbia, Canada (Clarke and 

Waldron, 1984) (see also Clarke and Holdsworth, 2002a).]

Jökulhlaups at Bering Glacier

In the latter part of the 20th century (1981–84), jökulhlaups occurred 

from Berg Lakes on the western margin of the Steller Glacier in the Chugach 

Mountains. A second major outburst flood took place in 1986. The flooding 

of the river drainage west of the Bering Glacier was recorded on 12 September 1986 (fig. 60). In 1994, Bering Glacier in the Chugach Mountains experienced two jökulhlaups that significantly impacted local fauna and flora and 

modified the topography of adjacent land surfaces and the bathymetry of 

ice-marginal lakes. The glacier-outburst floods, both ice-margin, were of two 

different types: the catastrophic draining of an ice-dammed lake in May 1994 

and the draining of surge-trapped water and sediment from an ice-margin 

outburst flood in July 1994 (Molnia, 1998).

The May 1994 flood resulted from the development of an approximately 

500-m-long subglacial channel through and the subsequent failure of an ice 

dam at the northwestern margin of the Bering Glacier. The breaching of this 

tongue of ice lowered the surface level of 9×6-km Berg Lakes by more than 

100 m (fig. 60B). An estimated 5.5 billion cubic meters of water escaped Berg 

Lakes and drained through Bering River during the ensuing 72-hour flood, 

completely inundating the Bering River valley from wall to wall. Because May 

is the time of moose calving and significant avian nesting activity—especially 

Dusky Canada Geese (Branta canadensis occidentalis) and Trumpeter 

Swans (Olor buccinator)—the outburst flood had a major impact on the 

local ecosystem. Post and Mayo (1971) previously stated that “lowering of 

the ice dam if continued will almost certainly lead to the release of immense 

floods in the near future. The Bering River flood plain and area surrounding 

Bering Lake are endangered by this increasingly critical situation” (cf. Post 

and Mayo, 1971, Sheet 3).

The July 1994 flood (fig. 61), which occurred on the southeastern margin 

of Bering Glacier approximately 45 km east of the May 1994 event, continued 

intermittently for more than a year. This flood event had estimated peak discharges in excess of 100,000 m3

 s−1; it deposited about 0.3 km3 of sediment 

and ice into the ice-margin lake system on the southeastern side of Bering 

Glacier. Buried ice-blocks continue to melt, initiating the formation of kettleholes and changing the surface morphology.

The 1994 floods were not unique. Bering Glacier has experienced similar 

flooding several times this century. Ice-dam failures at Berg Lakes have produced at least two similar floods in the last three decades. A 1967 aerial photograph taken by Post shows that a surge-terminating flood was occurring at 

about the same location that the 1994 eastern margin flood occurred. Bering 

Glacier floods have caused significant changes to the local environment.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K79
Jaeger and Nittrouer (1999a) examined Gulf of Alaska marine sediments 

looking for evidence of jökulhlaups from Bering Glacier. In a 250-cm-long 

core collected at the head of Bering Trough, they identified six laminated, 

high-porosity beds from 1994, 1953(±4), 1938(±6), 1917(±8), 1899(±10), 

and 1874(±13). They correlated five of these beds with 20th century floods 

associated with surges reported by Molnia and Post (1995) that occurred in 

1994, 1957–60, 1938–40, 1920, and 1900. No bed was identified that correlated with an observed jökulhlaup in 1967 that marked the end of the 1965–67 

surge. Their 1874 bed probably correlates with a surge that has no remaining 

surficial evidence.

Figure 60.—Photographs of jökulhlaups 

at Bering Glacier. A, 12 September 1986 

oblique aerial photograph showing inundation of the Bering River and environs 

caused by a jökulhlaup from Berg Lakes.

Photograph No. 86–R2–236 by Robert 

M. Krimmel, U.S. Geological Survey. 

B, Photograph looking across the basin of 

Berg Lakes, Bering Glacier, on 11 August 

1998 showing the exposed lakebed produced by the catastrophic drainage of the 

lake in May 1994. The lake level was lowered 

by more than 100 m, and the jökulhlaup 

consisted of an estimated 5.5 billion m3 of 

water. Photograph by Bruce F. Molnia, U.S. 

Geological Survey.

K80 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Debris-Covered Glaciers

Hundreds—probably thousands(?)—of Alaskan glaciers are partially, if 

not completely, covered by supraglacial sediment ranging in thickness from 

a few millimeters to many meters. Glaciers with large concentrations of supraglacial sediment are called “debris-covered glaciers.” Debris on glaciers is 

the result of a variety of mass-wasting, ice-transport, hydrologic, and eolian 

(including tephra) sediment-transport processes. The debris often has a significant influence on the rate of ablation of the ice located underneath, and 

most debris-covered glaciers have their greatest amount of debris, in area 

and (or) in thickness, in their ablation areas. However, some glaciers, especially those where the debris cover is the result of mass-wasting processes, 

may have their debris cover on either the accumulation areas or the ablation 

areas of the glacier (or both). On some glaciers, the thickness of supraglacial 

debris can exceed 15 m. Mature forests, often with trees more than 50 cm in 

breast-height diameter (BHD), grow on the debris-covered termini of more 

than a dozen glaciers in south-central Alaska, including Bering, Malaspina, 

Fairweather, and Yakataga Glaciers. 

The origin of glacier debris varies from glacier to glacier and from geographic region to geographic region. With respect to mass-wasting processes, supraglacial debris on Alaskan glaciers can result from avalanching of 

snow, ice, and rock from adjacent valley walls; from rock avalanches caused 

by earthquakes, high-precipitation rainfall events, and other triggering processes; from solifluction from adjacent surfaces; and from frost wedging. The 

March 1964 Good Friday earthquake caused more than 100 rock avalanches 

onto glaciers in the Chugach and St. Elias Mountains (Post, 1967a) (see also 

figs. 58, 228, 229). Similarly, the 2 November 2002 M7.9 earthquake along the 

Denali Fault generated several large rock avalanches on a number of glaciers 

in the Alaska Range (see fig. 394). Typically, debris formed by mass-wasting 

processes is distinguishable by its angular character. Often, however, supraglacial debris transported by mass-wasting processes is reworked by glaciological and fluvioglacial processes.

With respect to ice-transport processes, most debris on Alaskan glaciers 

results from concentration in the ablation area of sediment transported 

downglacier as englacial debris or as medial and lateral moraines. Debris produced in this fashion is also often reworked by aeolian and fluvial 

processes.

Figure 61.—Oblique color aerial photograph of the channel cut through the 

eastern terminus of the Bering Glacier by 

a jökulhlaup that initially discharged at the 

face of the glacier (the point marked by the 

“X” on the photograph). At the time this 29 

July 1994 photograph was taken, less than 

24 hours after the start of the jökulhlaup, 

the point of discharge had retreated nearly 

0.8 km. Photograph by Bruce F. Molnia, U.S. 

Geological Survey.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K81
With respect to sedimentological processes, debris on Alaskan glaciers can 

also result from transport of sediment onto the glacier’s surface by glacieroutburst floods (jökulhlaups) resulting from the failure of ice-dammed lakes 

in tributary valleys and from upglacier, ice-marginal lakes; from subglacial 

geothermal and (or) volcanic activity; from eolian transport of adjacent 

sand, silt, and clay, especially from the outwash plain; from the fall of volcanic tephra; and from lahar-type deposits originating from the summits or 

along drainage systems of glacier-covered volcanoes.

At many glaciers, ablation moraine produced by a combination of processes is reworked by meltwater and results in both winnowing and stratification 

of the deposits. Following initial deposition, much of a glacier’s supraglacial 

debris is subject to secondary reworking.

Many Alaskan glaciers include a stagnant-ice zone characterized by thick 

accumulations of surface debris. One of the first of these glaciers to be studied in detail was the Martin River Glacier, located in the Chugach Mountains 

east of the Copper River. There, the evolution of a sequence of thermokarst 

landforms, including water-filled, sinkhole-like lakes, was documented by 

Reid and Clayton (1963) and Clayton (1964). Many glaciers with thermokarst 

lakes are the sites of high-discharge jökulhlaups. The evolution and growth 

of these lakes during the melting of the ice beneath the sediment are the 

focus of much recent research (Nakawo and others, 2000).

Stagnant, debris-covered ice goes through a geomorphological process 

that results in the final melting of buried ice, generally during a period of 

several decades to centuries, and the formation of a hummocky topography 

frequently referred to as “kame-and-kettle” topography. During the ablation process, local differences in the thickness of the insulating debris cover, 

combined with redistribution of sediment, result in differential ablation of 

the underlying ice and the formation of thermokarst pits, many of which support supraglacial lakes and ponds. As these lakes and ponds evolve, they frequently drain and cause flooding downstream from the glacier’s terminus. 

Richardson and Reynolds (2000) studied processes leading to ice-cored 

moraine degradation for three natural dams in Perú and Nepal. They noted 

that potentially hazardous lakes form on the snouts of debris-covered glaciers and that this occurrence may separate a stagnant-ice body from the 

upper reaches of the glacier to form an ice-cored, end-moraine complex. 

They described a process that ultimately results in a jökulhlaup. Degradation 

through ablation beneath the debris cover by localized thermokarst development and by associated loss of ice mass leads to lake expansion, typically 

along glacier crevasses and other internal glacier structures. Once exposed, 

the ice undergoes accelerated wastage through the combined effects of solar radiation and mechanical failure caused by the rheological response of 

the ice to deepening ice depressions. Continuing degradation reduces the 

lake “freeboard” and weakens the moraine dam, thereby setting the stage for 

catastrophic failure of the dam.

Debris-covered ice melts at a slower rate than bare glacier ice under similar conditions. If the protective debris cover is sufficiently thick, the ablation 

rate approaches zero, as it does at the terminus region of Sherman Glacier 

(see figs. 58, 229). On the other hand, a thin debris cover may act as a heat 

sink and cause the rate of the melting of the ice to increase immediately below. Although no studies of Alaskan glaciers were found comparing ablation 

rates for adjacent bare and debris-covered ice, investigations have been conducted on temperate glaciers at several locations. [Editors’ note: According 

to Mark F. Meier (written commun., 2004), Driedger’s (1981) research on 

the effect of tephra fall on the melting of ice and snow on Mount St. Helens, 

Wash., concluded that the “breakeven point” between accelerated melting 

and insulation occurred at a thickness of 2.5 cm.]

Kayastha and others (2000) studied the ablation of bare and debris-covered ice on Khumbu Glacier, Nepal, from 21 May to 1 June 1999 to determine 

K82 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
how the sediment cover affected the relationship between the positive degree-day factor and the ablation rate. They found that, with a debris cover 

ranging in thickness from 0 to 5 cm, ice ablation was at its maximum with a 

debris cover of 0.3 cm and that debris thicker than 5 cm retarded ablation. 

Ice ablation from net solar radiation was measured at several depths on the 

glacier. On a bare ice surface, ablation was 16.9 mm d−1. Under 10- and 40-cmthick debris layers, ablation was 11.1 and 5.3 mm d−1, respectively. Similarly, 

Takeuchi and others (2000) measured ablation and heat balance in debriscovered and debris-free areas of the ablation zone at Khumbu Glacier during 

the same period of time. They found that ablation rates on the debris-free ice 

ranged from 1.4 to 4.7 cm d−1 and were inversely correlated with the albedo. 

Melting of debris-covered ice decreased sharply with increasing thickness. 

Debris with a thickness of 10 cm slowed melting to about 40 percent of the 

rate of bare ice at the same low albedo. The primary cause of melt reduction 

was the insulating effect of the debris cover. Interestingly, they also found 

that the heat stored in the debris layer during daytime was released to the atmosphere during nighttime and warmed the air rather than being conducted 

downward to melt ice.

As part of ongoing annual mass balance measurements on Lyman Glacier 

and Columbia Glacier, North Cascades, Wash., Pelto (2000) measured ablation of ice on adjacent clean and debris-covered sections of each glacier. For 

Columbia Glacier, between 1986 and 1998, the annual ice ablation was 3.3 m 

water equivalent for clean glacier ice and 2.3 m water equivalent for debriscovered areas. For Lyman Glacier from 1986 to 1999, the average annual 

ablation on the clean glacier ice was 3.4 m; under the debris cover, average 

annual ablation was 2.6 m water equivalent.

Finally, debris-covered glaciers pose a problem for monitoring glacier 

change by means of remote sensing techniques, especially those using medium- to low- resolution multispectral instruments. A debris-covered surface 

of a glacier has a spectral reflectance similar to that of adjacent bedrock or 

sediment bodies. Often, the glacier’s debris cover and the adjacent ice-marginal sediment are derived from the same bedrock and therefore have the 

same composition. Given the lower spatial resolution of large picture elements (pixels), the ability to discriminate between supraglacial, moraine, 

and outwash deposits on the basis of morphological characteristics is also 

greatly diminished. 

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K83
Part 3—Descriptions of Alaska’s 

14 Glacierized Geographic Regions

Introduction

As stated in the introduction to this volume, the primary purpose of this 

compilation is to provide a baseline that summarizes the areal extent and 

geographic distribution of Alaskan glaciers during the decade marking the 

advent of the Landsat series of satellites. The first satellite in the series, 

ERTS–1 (later renamed Landsat 1), was launched on 23 July 1972. By 2004, 

there had been seven satellites in the series; six successfully reached orbit 

and became operational for varying lengths of time. It is hoped that this baseline will be used now and by future researchers to document change in the 

number, length, and area of Alaska’s glaciers. Because of the large geographic 

area involved, Alaska has been divided into 14 glacierized regions:

Coast Mountains

Alexander Archipelago

St. Elias Mountains

Chugach Mountains

Kenai Mountains

Kodiak Island

Aleutian Range

Aleutian Islands

Wrangell Mountains

Talkeetna Mountains

Alaska Range 

Wood River Mountains

Kigluaik Mountains

Brooks Range

Landsat MSS imagery collected between 1972 and 1983 has been used to 

define 14 glacierized geographic regions in Alaska. Each geographic region 

is treated separately. Oblique and vertical aerial and ground photographs 

acquired during the period of the baseline and baseline-contemporary field 

observations are used to supplement the information derived from analysis 

of remotely sensed data. Of particular value are the high-altitude false-color 

infrared vertical aerial photographs of Alaska’s glaciers acquired by a NASA 

U–2 aircraft between 1978 and 1986. Many of the AHAP photographs are 

used as figures throughout or cited in the text.

Pre-baseline ancillary information, such as historic ground and aerial photography and maps, and descriptive narratives of early explorers are included 

wherever possible to extend the baseline back to the 18th and 19th centuries 

or earlier if possible. These pre-baseline qualitative and quantitative data are 

used to characterize the activity of Alaskan glaciers before the acquisition of 

Landsat MSS images and to extend the documentation of long-term trends 

and changes.

Recent information about changes that have occurred in Alaska’s glaciers 

after the period of the baseline is also presented if it is available. Many of 

these later data were acquired by increased picture element (pixel) resolution satellite sensors that did not exist at the time of the Landsat MSS 

image baseline—for example, Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM), Landsat 7 

Enhanced Thematic Mapper (ETM+), Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection (ASTER), and satellite Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) 

imagery.

Analysis of Glacier Activity

Wherever possible, information used to produce and enhance the baseline 

is also used to determine the activity of individual glaciers and is included 

K84 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
in the description of each of the 14 glacierized geographic regions and subregions. The terminus of a glacier may be advancing, retreating, or stationary. A stationary terminus generally represents a glacier that is in dynamic 

equilibrium, where the rate of glacier flow equals the rate of melting (that is, 

the glacier has a mass balance that is in equilibrium; accumulation is equal to 

ablation). Thus, the position of the terminus does not change. A stationary 

terminus may also be stagnant. In a stagnant state, glacier ice is typically detached from its source area and is no longer in motion. Frequently, stagnant 

ice develops a thick cover of glacial debris that insulates it from significant 

melting. In many such cases, the glacier-ice surface is subsequently covered 

by vegetation.

Evidence of Glacier Retreat Used in This Analysis 

A number of glacial-geology criteria are used to determine recent glacier 

activity. Indicators of retreat usually involve exposure of deglacierized terrain, often with specific sedimentary and geomorphic features. Among the 

most common indicators are trimlines, abandoned lateral moraines, and 

abandoned medial moraines, although the latter are very rarely preserved.

Figure 62 shows a number of retreat characteristics displayed by a valley 

glacier in the Chugach Mountains, informally known as Five Stripe Glacier. In addition to the characteristics already mentioned, vegetation-free 

bedrock surrounding an ice-margin is another criterion useful to document 

recent retreat. Figure 63 shows additional criteria such as vegetation along 

the break-in-slope at the lower end of the central U-shaped valley, which 

suggests that the glacier has not recently extended beyond that point. The 

absence of vegetation on the floor or walls of the hanging valley indicates 

that the entire surface was covered by glacier ice not too long ago and has 

only recently been deglacierized. A distinctive trimline on the right side of 

the valley and the color change near the top on the left side of the valley offer 

Figure 62.—Oblique color aerial photograph additional evidence of recent retreat.

on 20 August 1977 of a valley glacier in the 

Chugach Mountains, informally called Five 

Stripe Glacier. The well-defined trimlines on 

the valley walls on both sides of the terminus, 

a layer of lateral moraine paralleling the left 

margin of the glacier and extending both above 

and downvalley of the terminus, and several 

exposed medial moraines elevated above the 

ice surface and extending beyond the ice 

margin are all evidence of recent thinning and 

retreat. As most of these sedimentary features 

are ephemeral, these changes have had to occur in a very short period of time. Photograph 

by Bruce F. Molnia, U.S. Geological Survey.

Figure 63.—Oblique color aerial photograph on 3 October 1979 of an unnamed hanging 

glacier in Glacier Bay, Saint Elias Mountains, which displays additional criteria that can 

be used to document recent glacier recession. Vegetation along the break in slope at 

the lower end of the central “U”-shaped valley suggests that the glacier has not extended beyond that point recently. The absence of vegetation on the floor or walls of the 

hanging valley suggests that the entire surface was recently covered by glacier ice. The 

distinctive trimline on the right side of the valley and the color change on the left side of 

the valley near the top are additional evidence of recent, rapid retreat. Photograph by 

Bruce F. Molnia, U.S. Geological Survey.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K85
Evidence of Glacier Advance Used in This Analysis 

The formation of push moraines (fig. 64) and the overriding of vegetation 

by advancing ice (fig. 65) are two primary indicators of glacier advance. As a 

glacier advances, it generally displaces, flows over, or flows around anything 

in its path. As it advances over unconsolidated sediment, it may push both 

forward and upward to form a push moraine. Generally, push moraines are 

from 1 to 2 m high. However, they may reach a height of 5 m or more. During the 1993–95 surge of Bering Glacier, numerous push moraines developed 

along more than 15 km of the margin of the glacier. Many were spatulate in 

shape and showed evidence of an upward thrusting of the advancing terminus. If an advancing glacier encounters a forest, it sometimes uproots or 

shears off the trees and then overrides them (fig. 66). Glaciers that produce 

large quantities of fluvioglacial sediment may bury vegetation in outwash deposits to a uniform height and then override this sediment and shear trees at 

the top of the sediment. Subsequent erosion may expose the trunks in their 

in situ growth position (fig. 67).

Evidence of Glacier Stagnation Used in This Analysis 

Sediment-covered stagnant ice may persist for decades or even several 

hundred years. Many of Alaska’s glaciers, such as Bering, Yakataga, Fairweather, Malaspina, and Muldrow Glaciers, have vegetation, including trees 

more than 100 years old growing on their debris-covered stagnant ice surFigure 64.—15 July 1978 photograph of 

part of the terminus of Harriman Glacier, 

Chugach Mountains, showing a recently 

formed 1-m-high push moraine. Photograph 

by Bruce F. Molnia, U.S. Geological Survey.

Figure 65.—14 July 1994 oblique aerial 

photograph of a lobe of Bering Glacier, 

Chugach Mountains, which was overriding 

an alder (Alnus sp.) forest as it advanced 

during the 1993–95 surge. The trimline above 

the advancing terminus and the very young 

vegetation suggest that a thicker ice mass 

recently existed in this area. Photograph by 

Bruce F. Molnia, U.S. Geological Survey.

Figure 66.—Photograph of the results of 

late 19th century advance of La Perouse 

Glacier that sheared and overrode the 

trees located along its western margin. 

Subsequent retreat left the vegetation as an 

integral part of the push moraine. 18 June 

1899 photograph by Grove Karl Gilbert, 

USGS. Photograph Gilbert 333 from the 

USGS Photographic Library, Denver, Colo.

K86 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
faces (fig. 68). Others, such as Herbert Glacier, have large debris-covered 

ice-cored moraines (fig. 69). Typically, large circular depressions known as 

thermokarst pits will form on these sediment-covered stagnant bodies of ice. 

Figure 67.—12 July 1991 photograph of 

three sheared tree trunks exposed by erosion following the recent retreat of the 

margin of Bering Glacier. These trunks are 

in growth position. Photograph by Bruce F. 

Molnia, U.S. Geological Survey.

Figure 68.—Oblique color aerial photograph of vegetation growing on the surface 

of sediment-covered stagnant ice, Bering 

Glacier, Chugach Mountains, on 8 June 

1976. The height of the ice face is about 

15 m. On the Malaspina Glacier, mature 

spruce trees more than 100 years old, exist 

in a similar setting. Photograph by Bruce F. 

Molnia, U.S. Geological Survey.

Figure 69.—8 July 1968 photograph of a 

debris-covered, ice-cored moraine that 

lies adjacent to the retreating terminus of 

the Herbert Glacier, Coast Mountains. This 

ice-cored moraine was emplaced about 

40 years prior to the time of the photograph. Photograph by Bruce F. Molnia, U.S. 

Geological Survey.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K87
As the pits expand by melting, vegetation will be displaced from the surface 

and fall into the thermokarst pits (fig. 70).

N

Edwards River

Campbell

River

Mt.

Campbell

Nichawak

Mtn.

Bering Glacier

Central Medial Moraine Band

Ice margin

Figure 70.—27 July 1983 AHAP false-color 

infrared vertical aerial photograph of large 

circular depressions, termed thermokarst 

pits, that are developing on the sedimentcovered stagnant ice surface of Bering 

Glacier’s Central Medial Moraine Band. The 

Central Medial Moraine Band separates 

the active Bering Lobe from the active 

Steller Lobe. Vegetation-covered ice is red 

in color, whereas debris-covered ice is blue 

gray. The largest depressions are more 

than 400 m in diameter. AHAP photograph 

no. L118F4494 from the GeoData Center, 

Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska, 

Fairbanks, Alaska.

Figure 71.—A, Index map of the Coast Mountains of 

Alaska and Canada showing location of glaciers discussed in the text; index map modified from Field 

(1975a)

K88 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Coast Mountains

The Coast Mountains, which form the mainland portion of southeastern 

Alaska, extend for about 700 km from Portland Canal in the south to Mount 

Foster north-northwest of Skagway. From east to west, the glacierized area of 

the Coast Mountains is as much as 130 km wide (fig. 71). Included in the Coast 

Mountains are a number of individual ranges: Peabody Mountains, Rousseau 

Range, Halleck Range, Seward Mountains, Lincoln Mountains, Buddington 

Range, Kakuhan Range, Chilkoot Range, Sawtooth Range, and Takshanuk 

Mountains, all of which support glaciers. To the 

south, the glaciers are small and sparsely distributed. They increase in area and number to the north. 

The greatest concentration of Coast Mountain glaciers are in two ice fields, the Stikine Icefield and 

the Juneau Icefield. [Editors’ note: Ice field is used 

throughout the text in its glaciological sense with 

reference to “an extensive mass of land ice covering a mountain region consisting of many interconnected alpine and other types of glaciers, covering 

all but the highest peaks and ridges” (Jackson, 1997, 

p. 316). The UNESCO (1970) definition is slightly 

different. “Ice masses of sheet or blanket type of a 

thickness not sufficient to obscure the subsurface 

topography.” In this volume, icefield is standardized 

and used as a compound word in formal geographic 

place-names, that is, approved by BGN—(for example, Sargent Icefield). Most Alaskan “icefields” 

and associated outlet glaciers are true ice fields.] 

The total area of glaciers in the Coast Mountains 

is 10,500 km2 (Post and Meier, 1980, p. 45). Unless 

otherwise noted, lengths and areas presented here 

are those given by Field (1975c), who used primarily 

C O A S T

M O U N T A I N S

Area of figure

B

Figure 71.—B, Enlargement of NOAA 

Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) image mosaic of the Coast 

Mountains in summer 1995. National 

Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 

image mosaic from Mike Fleming, USGS, 

EROS Data Center, Alaska Science Center, 

Anchorage, Alaska.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K89
USGS 1:250,000-scale topographic maps (appendix A) for his quantitative 

measurements. These maps were generally compiled from aerial photography acquired and ground surveys performed between 1948 and 1964 and vary 

in the accuracy of the cartographic representation of the glaciers.

Much diverse information is available to monitor changes in the glaciers 

of this area. Baird Glacier (in the central Coast Mountains at lat 57o13'N., 

long 132o26'W.) is typical of the area. It was covered by early (1977, 1979, 

1980) and later (post-1980) Landsat imagery and aerial photography (1929, 

1948, 1967, 1979) and has also been surveyed and mapped many times. It 

was first surveyed by the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey in 1887 

(USC&GS, 1891). It was then mapped by the IBC in 1894, during which time 

O.J. Klotz (1895, 1899) performed “a photo-topographic survey of the front 

of the glacier for the study of its motion,” (Klotz, 1899, p. 523). It was visited by USGS field parties in 1904, 1922, 1923, and 1924, mapped again by 

the USC&GS in 1924, visited by an AGS field party in 1941 (Field, 1942), 

and then topographically mapped by the USGS between 1948 and 1961. 

Burroughs

Bay

Unuk River

Portland Canal

Southeasternmost 

glacier

Mt. Reid

Soule

Glacier

Behm

Canal

REVILLAGIGEDO 

ISLAND

Chickamin

Glacier

Unnamed 

Glacier

10 0 10 20 30 KILOMETERS

APPROXIMATE SCALE

CANADA ALASKA

Mt. Cloud

56°N

131°W

Figure 72.—Part of an annotated Landsat 

2 MSS false-color composite image showing the Portland Canal to Burroughs Bay 

and Unuk River segment of the Coast 

Mountains and Revillagigedo Island. The 

locations of numerous Coast Mountain 

glaciers, up to 22 km in length, and the only 

glacier on Revillagigedo Island are shown. 

Landsat image (22027–19085; 10 Aug 1980; 

Path 59, Row 21) is from the USGS, EROS 

Data Center, Sioux Falls, S. Dak.

K90 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Additional studies, such as tree-ring investigations, were carried out by 

Donald Lawrence (Lawrence, 1950). 

Portland Canal to Burroughs Bay and the Unuk River

Landsat MSS images that cover the Coast Mountains from Portland Canal 

to Burroughs Bay and the Unuk River have the following Path/Row coordinates: 58/21 and 59/21 (fig. 3A, table 1). This region contains several hundred glaciers, including the southeasternmost glaciers in Alaska (figs. 72, 

73). Only about a dozen glaciers are named. Most glaciers are small (generally less than 2 km long) and show evidence of recent retreat (fig. 73). Soule 

Glacier, one of the larger glaciers in the region, has an area of about 66 km2

(Field, 1975c, p. 99). Its terminus retreated about a kilometer in the 31 years 

between 1948, when aerial photography was acquired for mapping, and 14 

August 1979, when it was photographed by the AHAP program (figs. 74A, B). 

It was still retreating when it was photographed from the space shuttle in 

August 1989 (see NASA Space Shuttle photograph no. STS028–073–039 acquired in August 1989).

Similarly, 26-km-long Chickamin Glacier, the largest glacier in the region, 

has an area of about 140 km2 (Field, 1975c, p. 99). It retreated about 1 km 

and formed an ice-marginal lake in the 24 years between 1955, when it was 

mapped (USGS Bradfield Canal 1:250,000-scale map, appendix A), and 14 

August 1979, when an AHAP false-color infrared vertical aerial photograph 

Portland

Canal

Southeasternmost

glacier in Alaska

N

Figure 73.—Part of a 12 August 1979 AHAP 

false-color vertical aerial photograph of 

the unnamed southeasternmost glacier 

in Alaska. This 1.5-km-long glacier shows 

evidence of recent retreat and is fringed 

by vegetation-free exposed bedrock that 

appears grey. AHAP photograph no. 

L185F4825 from the GeoData Center, 

Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska, 

Fairbanks, Alaska.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K91
was acquired (fig. 75). Field (1975a) reported that, during the first twothirds of the 20th century (1902–1964), Chickamin Glacier retreated more 

than 2.7 km, an annual rate of approximately 44 m a−1. Elsewhere in this 

region, Through Glacier (approximately 8 km) and Gracey Creek Glacier 

(approximately 5.25 km) exceed 5 km in length. All of the larger glaciers are 

located in the northern part of this region in the higher elevations, and all 

show evidence of recent retreat. Texas Glacier (8 km long in Alaska, with an 

area of about 12 km2) (Field, 1975c, p. 99) and Hummel, Ferguson, Casey, 

and Hidden Glaciers, all located east and southeast of Chickamin Glacier, are 

mapped with vegetation-free zones around their perimeters.

Burroughs Bay and the Unuk River to the Stikine River

Landsat MSS images that cover the Coast Mountains from Burroughs Bay 

and the Unuk River to the Stikine River have the following Path/Row coordinates: 58/21, 59/21, and 60/20 (fig. 3A, table 1). This region contains several 

hundred glaciers, only one of which (Nelson Glacier) is named (figs. 76, 77). 

Most are small (generally less than 2 km long) and show evidence of recent 

retreat. Several areas between Bradfield River and Cone Mountain, generally above 1,500 m in elevation, host significant accumulations of glacier ice. 

The largest of these accumulations is a small ice field centered about 11 km 

southeast of Cone Mountain. About a dozen individual distributary glaciers 

descend from the ice field, some to elevations as low as approximately 500 m. 

A similar accumulation of ice occurs east of Mount Cloud.

Five-kilometer-long Nelson Glacier, located about 25 km east of Wrangell, 

heads between Marsha Peak (1,380 m ) and Mount Waters (1,330 m). It and 

the many smaller unnamed glaciers adjacent to it show significant evidence 

of recent retreat. Nelson Glacier retreated about 1 km and formed an icemarginal lake in the 31 years between 1948 and 14 August 1979, the dates 

that aerial photography was acquired (fig. 77).

N

Soule

Glacier

No Name 

Lake

S e w a r d M o u n t a i n s S e w a r d M o u n t a i n s

A B

130°15'W

55°50'N

Figure 74.—A, Part of a 14 August 1979 

AHAP false-color vertical aerial photograph of the lower 7 km of the retreating 

Soule Glacier, located between the Lincoln 

Mountains to the northeast and the Seward 

Mountains to the west. Trimline development and the formation of two small 

ice-marginal lakes indicate recent downwasting. Tributary hanging glaciers that 

previously descended from the Seward 

Mountains have also recently retreated. 

AHAP photograph no. L183F5093 from 

the GeoData Center, Geophysical Institute, 

University of Alaska, Fairbanks, Alaska. 

B, Part of USGS Ketchikan map (1955) 

showing the Soule Glacier and environs. 

On the 1948 aerial photographs used for the 

map, Soule Glacier was nearly a kilometer 

longer than shown on the 1979 AHAP photograph. USGS Alaska Topographic Series, 

1:250,000-scale, Ketchikan, Alaska-Canada 

(appendix A).

K92 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Greenpoint Glacier

Through Glacier

Chickamin Glacier

Chickamin River

Mt. Wilson

Hummel Gl.

N

Figure 75.—14 August 1979 AHAP 

false-color vertical aerial photograph of 

the lower 8 km of the Chickamin Glacier 

and adjacent Through, Greenpoint, and 

Hummel Glaciers. Many other small unnamed glaciers occur on the flanks of 

Mount Wilson. Exposed bedrock around 

many of the smaller glaciers documents 

recent retreat. All of the named glaciers 

and most of the unnamed glaciers are 

retreating. When photographed in 1948, 

Greenpoint Glacier made contact with 

Through Glacier and Through Glacier 

made contact with Chickamin Glacier. The 

heavy black lines show the approximate 

extent of glacier termini in 1948. AHAP photograph no. L183F5097 from the GeoData 

Center, Geophysical Institute, University 

of Alaska, Fairbanks, Alaska.

Cone Mountain

Burroughs

Bay

Unuk River

Nelson

Glacier

Wrangell

E. Fork Bradfield River

10 0 10 20 30 KILOMETERS

APPROXIMATE SCALE

Bradfield Canal

Mt. Cloud

ALASKA

CANADA

Mt. Waters

Marsha 

Peak

132°W

56°30'N

S t i k i n e

R i v e r

Figure 76.—Annotated Landsat 2 MSS 

false-color composite image mosaic showing the Coast Mountains from Burroughs 

Bay and Unuk River to the Stikine River. 

The image mosaic depicts Nelson 

Glacier, a small icefield southeast of Cone 

Mountain, and another concentration of 

ice east of Mount Cloud. Landsat images 

22028–19141; 11 August 1980; Path 60, Row 

20 (north) and 22027–19085; 10 August 

1980; Path 59, Row 21 (south) are from 

the USGS, EROS Data Center, Sioux Falls, 

S. Dak.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K93
Stikine River to Taku River

Landsat MSS images that cover the Coast Mountains from the Stikine 

River to the Taku River have the following Path/Row coordinates: 59/20, 

60/20, 61/19, 61/20, and 62/19 (fig. 3A, table 1). Between the Stikine River 

and the Whiting River, the glaciers increase in number, size, and organization (fig. 78A). The southernmost tidewater glaciers in Alaska are found here 

(fig. 41). Most glaciers in this region are distributaries of the Stikine Icefield, 

which extends from north of the Stikine River to south of the Taku River. 

The Stikine Icefield straddles the crest of the Coast Mountains along the 

U.S.-Canadian Border and has a length of approximately 190 km. This region 

contains several hundred glaciers, about a dozen of which are named. More 

than a dozen glaciers are 15 km in length or longer. Several of the larger glaciers originate in Canada at elevations above 2,000 m and flow westward to 

sea level. The word “Stikine” is the Tlingit name for Great River. Much of the 

southern Stikine Icefield is shown in an August 1997 photograph taken from 

the space shuttle (fig. 78B).

The southernmost glaciers in this region—Popof, Summit, and Shakes 

Glaciers—occur just north of the Stikine River. Nine-kilometer-long Popof 

Glacier, which has an area of about 18 km2 (Field, 1975c, p. 108) and is located near the mouth of the Stikine River, was one of the first named glaciers 

Mt. Waters

Nelson Glacier

Marsha Peak

Aaron Creek

N

Figure 77.—Part of an 11 August 1979 AHAP 

false-color vertical aerial photograph of 

5-km-long Nelson Glacier and adjacent 

smaller, unnamed glaciers, many snow 

covered. Vegetation-free, recently exposed 

bedrock around Nelson Glacier and many 

of the smaller glaciers documents recent 

retreat. AHAP photograph no. L189F4363 

from the GeoData Center, Geophysical 

Institute, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, 

Alaska.

K94 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
10 0 10 20 30 KILOMETERS

APPROXIMATE SCALE

Taku River

Wright Glacier

Whiting

River

Sawyer Gl.

S. Sawyer Gl.

Dawes Gl.

Baird Glacier

Frederick Sound

Le Conte

Glacier

Great Gl.

Stikine River

Scott 

Glacier

Popof

Glacier

Shakes 

Glacier Summit

Glacier

Sheridan 

Glacier

Petersburg

S t i k i n e

I

c

e f i

e l d

ALASKA

CANADA

Cone Mt. Cone Mt.

133°W

58°N

57°

A

Figure 78.—A, Annotated Landsat 2 MSS 

false-color composite image mosaic of 

the Coast Mountains from the Stikine 

River to the Taku River. Visible are the 

Stikine Icefield and several outlet glaciers 

including Le Conte, Baird, Dawes, Sawyer, 

South Sawyer, and Wright Glaciers. Also 

visible are parts of the adjacent islands of 

the northeastern Alexander Archipelago. 

Landsat images (21670–19195; 19 August 

1979; Path 62, Row 19 (north) and 22028–

19141; 11 August 1980; Path 60, Row 20 

(south) are from the USGS, EROS Data 

Center, Sioux Falls, S. Dak.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K95
in Alaska. The name first appeared on the Russian Rynda Survey in 1863, 

although, at that time, it was spelled with two “f”s (fig. 11). Thirteen years 

later, Canadian surveyor Joseph Hunter called it First Glacier. Since it was 

first surveyed more than 125 years ago, its terminus has retreated about 

3 km. In the 31 years between 1948 and 11 August 1979, the dates when 

aerial photography was acquired (fig. 79), the two lobes of ice that joined to 

form the glacier’s 1948 terminus separated and the northern lobe retreated 

approximately 0.5 km.

Eighteen-kilometer-long Shakes Glacier, with an area of about 56 km2

(Field, 1975c, p. 109), is another glacier that shows significant change in the 

31 years between aerial photographic flights. When it was photographed in 

1948, its terminus dammed the northern end of Shakes Lake and created a 

small impoundment. When it was photographed on 11 August 1979 by the 

AHAP Program (fig. 80A), the terminus was calving large icebergs and had 

retreated about 0.7 km. In the 11 years that followed, the glacier retreated 

another 0.7 km, according to a 23 August 1990 oblique aerial photograph 

(fig. 80B).

Le Conte Glacier, “long known to the Indians as Hutli or the Thunderer, because of the noise produced by ice falling from its face” (Russell, 1897, p.78), 

has a length of 36 km, an area of 472 km2 (Viens, 1995; tables 2, 3), ice speeds 

near the terminus of up to 23 m d−1, and an AAR of 0.93. Le Conte Glacier was 

photographed on 11 August 1979 by the AHAP Program (L189F4355). It is 

the southernmost tidewater glacier in North America and probably in the 

Stikine River

Baird Glacier N. Baird Glacier

Le Conte Gl.

Popof Glacier

Shakes Glacier

Sheridan and 

Sherman Peaks

Missionary Range

K U P R E A N O F

I S L A N D

N

B

Figure 78.—B, August 1997 Space Shuttle 

photograph of the southern part of the 

Stikine Icefield, including Popof, Shakes, 

LeConte, Baird, and North Baird Glaciers, 

some of the largest in the southern Coast 

Mountains. Also shown is the south-central part of Alexander Archipelago including Missionary Range and Sherman and 

Sheridan Peaks, the sites of the only reported glaciers on Kupreanof Island. Space 

shuttle photograph No. STS085–709–028 is 

from the National Aeronautics and Space 

Administration.

K96 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
entire Northern Hemisphere. Its 1.5-km-wide terminus sits at the head of Le 

Conte Bay in water depths of about 260 m. At the end of the 20th century, 

Le Conte Glacier had an extremely active calving terminus, producing large 

quantities of icebergs from a 50-m-high face. Between 1887, when it was 

first charted, and 1963, Le Conte Glacier retreated 3.7 km (Post and Motyka, 

1995). This retreat was followed by a period of terminus stability from 1963 

to 1994 (fig. 81). In the later years of the 20th century, the terminus began to 

actively retreat. Between 1994 and 1998, the glacier retreated 2 km, much of 

it by submarine calving (Echelmeyer and Motyka, 1997; Hunter and others, 

2001; Connor and others, 1999; White and others, 1999).

Hunter and others (2001) reported that, since 1998, the glacier has entered a phase of temporary stability at a constriction in the fjord. They concluded that surface-ice speeds indicate that sliding dominates ice flow in 

the glacier’s lower reaches. Between 1998 and 2000, they performed oceanographic monitoring in the ice-proximal basin at the glacier’s stable face, including repeat bathymetric surveys, conductivity, temperature, and depth 

(CTD) casts, and near-surface velocity measurements. They measured suspended sediment concentrations near the ice margin of up to 55 mg l−1. At 

a distance of 10.5 km from the terminus, these concentrations decline to 

20 mg l−1. Near-surface water-column velocity measurements range from 12 

to 52 cm s−1 within 0.25 to 0.5 km of the ice margin, where flow was generally 

away from the ice margin in a radial pattern. They estimated discharge to 

Stikine River

Summit Glacier

Popof Glacier

Mt.

Basargin

N

Figure 79.—Part of an 11 August 1979 AHAP 

false-color vertical aerial photograph of 

8-km-long Popof Glacier, the upper reaches 

of Summit Glacier, and about a half-dozen 

smaller unnamed glaciers, many snow 

covered. Popof Glacier and almost all of 

the unnamed glaciers show evidence of 

recent retreat documented by trimline and 

vegetation-free, recently exposed bedrock. 

When photographed in 1948, the two lobes 

of Popof Glacier, which flow around Mount 

Basargin, were joined. AHAP photograph 

no. L189F4358 from the GeoData Center, 

Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska, 

Fairbanks, Alaska.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K97
Shakes Glacier

Shakes 

Lake

N

A

1948

1979

B

Figure 80.—A, An 11 August 1979 AHAP 

false-color vertical aerial photograph of 

11-km-long Shakes Glacier and about a 

dozen smaller unnamed glaciers, many 

snow covered. Shakes Glacier and all 

of the unnamed glaciers are retreating. 

Icebergs as large as 0.7 km across have recently calved. The trimline on the east side 

of Shakes Glacier and the empty hanging 

valleys on the west side of the lower part 

of the glacier document recent retreat and 

thinning. AHAP photograph no. L188F4225 

from the GeoData Center, Geophysical 

Institute, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, 

Alaska. B, 23 August 1990 annotated 

USGS oblique aerial photograph of the 

terminus of Shakes Glacier. The right side 

of the glacier has a conspicuous trimline, 

indicative of recent rapid thinning. Many 

of the tributary glacier termini also show 

evidence of recent retreat. The heavy black 

lines show the approximate locations of 

the terminus in 1948 and 1979. There was 

about 0.7 km of retreat during each time interval. Photograph no. 90–R1–8 by Robert 

M. Krimmel, U.S. Geological Survey. 

K98 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
be 6,088 m3

 s−1. Depths in the LeConte Bay exceed 260 m along the 1.4-kmwide terminus. Sediment accumulation is restricted to a small basin near 

the ice margin where approximately 7×106 m3 of sediment has accumulated 

between the end of 1998 and 2000. Extrapolated across the entire glacier, 

this amount equates to approximately 5 mm a−1 of denudation.

Patterson Glacier, with an area of about 104 km2 (Field, 1975c, p. 109), has 

been observed since 1879, the year that William Dall named this 23-km-long 

glacier (Field, 1975c, p. 109) for the then Superintendent of the Coast Survey. Patterson Glacier was photographed on 11 August 1979 by the AHAP 

Program (L189F4353). Near the end of the 19th century, the terminus bifurcated, flowing to both the east and the west, and was slowly advancing 

and knocking down trees (USC&GS, 1891). Klotz (1899) visited it in 1894 

and documented that the slope of the first 16 km of the glacier was 4o25'. 

When Field next reported on the glacier, nearly 50 years later in 1941 (Field, 

1942), it had retreated about 600 m. In the 7 years that followed, it retreated 

another 600 m (Field, 1975a); another 700 m of retreat occurred between 

1948 and 1964 and another 200 m through 1968. In the 31 years between 

1948 and 1979, the dates when aerial photography was acquired, the glacier 

retreated about 1 km. The photography displays several indicators of recent 

thinning such as trimlines, ice-marginal lakes, and vegetation-free bedrock 

near the terminus. In all, Patterson Glacier retreated more than 3 km during 

the 20th century, forming an ice-dammed lake to the east. Continued retreat 

has resulted in the draining of the basin. 

Baird Glacier is unique in the Coast Mountains because it had been advancing at least since the late 19th century. The 50-km-long glacier (fig. 82) 

has an area of about 784 km2 (Viens, 1995) (tables 2, 3) and terminates at an 

outwash plain-delta that it built into the head of Thomas Bay. Since it was 

132°30’W

56°45’N

200

200

100

250

150

250

100

100

130

100

Junior Peak Le Conte 

Glacier

Summit Glacier

Simpson Peak

Le

Conte

Bay

1963/93

1948

1929

1904/13

1887

Thunder Point 

Moraine

700–200YBP

Older Holocene 

advance?

Entrance Reef Moraine 

1500+ YBP?

Surveyed by the USGS R/V Growler, 1979

0 1 2 3 KILOMETERS

Wilks Peak

EXPLANATION

Depth contours, in meters 100

Positions of older margins of glaciers

Frederick Sound

Figure 81.—Map of Frederick Sound and 

Le Conte Bay showing bathymetry and terminus positions of Le Conte Glacier for the 

past several thousand years. Water depths 

shown for Le Conte Bay are as of 1979. By 

the end of the 20th century, the glacier retreated nearly an additional 2 km. Map is 

adapted from Post and Motyka (1995).

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K99
first mapped in 1887, the glacier had been slowly advancing, but it is now 

slowly retreating. From 1887 to 1941, the advance totaled about 1 km (Field, 

1942). From 1941 through the end of the 20th century, the glacier also advanced about 1 km. The recent advance was accompanied by a gradual thinning. Between 1887 and 1948, the outwash plain-delta at the head of Thomas 

Bay has lengthened by more than 2 km. As late as the 18th century and early 

19th century, descriptions of Baird Glacier mention icebergs in Thomas Bay 

(Field, 1975a). It is likely that Baird Glacier had a tidewater terminus before 

1887. Rapid accumulation of sediment built a sedimentary apron in front of 

the glacier margin, infilling the head of the bay. Lengthening of the sedimentary apron into Thomas Bay at a rate that exceeded the rate of advance of the 

glacier margin would explain the transition from a tidewater calving margin 

to a terrestrial terminus.

While the terminus of Baird was advancing, several of its tributaries were 

significantly downwasting. Two glaciers, Oasis Glacier and Witches Cauldron, have retreated and thinned to the point that ice from the trunk of Baird 

Glacier flows into both valleys; the ice extends about 8 km into the Witches 

Cauldron valley. Oasis Glacier and Witches Cauldron were photographed on 

11 August 1979 by the AHAP Program (L188F4232). Most of the unnamed 

valley glaciers located north and west of Baird Glacier are also retreating and 

thinning. These glaciers were also photographed on 11 August 1979 by the 

AHAP Program (L188F4237).

Endicott Arm is a 48-km-long southeast-trending fjord that penetrates 

the Coast Mountains from Stephens Passage. Dawes and North Dawes Glaciers are located in two arms at its head. The glaciers were photographed 

on 11 August 1979 by the AHAP Program (L188F4240). Dawes Glacier 

was originally named Young Glacier by John Muir, who visited it in 1880 

(Muir, 1915). It has an area of about 653 km2, is 37 km long, and has a rapidly 

Baird Glacier

North Baird Glacier

Thomas 

Bay

Dome Peak

Buddington Range Buddington Range

Preble 

Peak

N

Figure 82.—11 August 1979 AHAP false-color vertical aerial photograph of the terminus of 35-km-long Baird Glacier, its primary 

tributary North Baird Glacier, and a number 

of smaller unnamed glaciers, many snow 

covered. Although Baird Glacier displays 

several indicators of recent thinning, especially the beginning of trimline development, the terminus was slowly advancing. 

Many of the small tributary glaciers, adjacent to both Baird and North Baird Glacier, 

are characterized by the appearance of 

vegetation-free bedrock. AHAP photograph 

no. L189F4349 from the GeoData Center, 

Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska, 

Fairbanks, Alaska.

K100 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
retreating tidewater calving terminus (Viens, 1995) (tables, 2, 3). In the 78 

years between 1889, when it was mapped by the USC&GS (1891), and 1967, 

when it was photographed by the USGS, the terminus retreated about 6.8 

km, an average of almost 90 m a−1. 

North Dawes Glacier, with a length of about 16 km and an area of about 

50 km2 (Field, 1975c, p. 111), was a tidewater calving glacier when Muir observed it in 1890. By 1923, its terminus had retreated about 525 m and was 

located on land (Buddington and Chapin, 1929). Between 1929 and 1961, 

another 1.8 km of terminus retreat occurred. D.B. Lawrence (reported by 

Field, 1975a) suggested that, before about 1790, the termini of Dawes and 

North Dawes Glaciers combined to form a single large glacier at the head 

of Endicott Arm, at least 10 km more advanced than their 1979 positions as 

shown on a 11 August 1979 AHAP photograph (L188F4240). 

Fords Terror, a T-shaped 12-km-long tributary fjord of Endicott Arm, was 

so named by an 1889 USN surveying party because it was “very narrow at one 

point. Floating ice from glaciers, with falling tide, jamming in this contracted 

throat makes it a dangerous place” (reported by Orth, 1967). Several kilometers up valley from the head of the eastern end of the T are two glaciers—

Brown and South Brown Glaciers—that have a history of very rapid retreat 

in the late 19th and 20th centuries. When Muir visited them in 1880, the two 

glaciers were joined and their combined terminus, called Brown Glacier, was 

a tidewater calving glacier. Thirteen years later, in 1893, the terminus was 

first mapped by the Boundary Survey. By 1909, when the Boundary Survey 

resurveyed the terminus, the terminus had moved onto land and had retreated about 2.5 km from its 1893 position. In 1923, when USGS geologist A.F. 

Buddington examined Brown Glacier, he called its retreat “the most conspicuous case of glacial retreat seen by the writer on the mainland” (Buddington 

and Chapin, 1929, p. 31–32). 

In 1935, Field (1937) photographed the glacier and documented that the 

terminus was about 3 km from the shoreline and about 5.5 km from its 1890s 

position. In the 75 years between 1893 and 1968, the date of the latest position determined by Field (1975a), the glacier had retreated nearly 10 km, an 

average retreat rate of 125 m a−1. In 1948, it had a length of about 9 km and an 

area of about 18 km2 (Field, 1975c, p. 111). Today, only debris-covered remnants remain. South Brown Glacier separated from Brown Glacier between 

1923 and 1929. It, too, retreated rapidly, losing about 2 km of length between 

1929 and 1948. By 2000, only a small debris-covered mass remained. Retreat 

since 1948 approached 10 km. 

Four-kilometer-long Sumdum Glacier is the largest and only named glacier 

between Endicott Arm and Tracy Arm. When it was first photographed by 

the Boundary Commission in 1893, it was a land-terminating glacier located 

at the forest edge but near sea level. It was little changed when Buddington 

observed it in 1923. However, by 1948, it had retreated nearly a kilometer 

and had a terminus elevation of about 335 m (Field, 1975a). The name “Sumdum” which is derived from the Tlingit word for the booming sound made 

when icebergs calve from the glacier, suggests that, at some time before 

1893, Sumdum Glacier was an active tidewater calving glacier.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K101
Named for former Secretary of the Navy Benjamin Tracy (1889–93), 

45-km-long Tracy Arm has two tidewater glaciers at its head. The two—

South Sawyer Glacier (fig. 83) and Sawyer Glacier (fig. 84), both of which 

arise in Canada—may have been joined as recently as about 1880. At the end 

of the 20th century, their termini were about 7.5 km apart. Sawyer Glacier 

has a length of 37 km and an area of 399 km2 (Viens, 1995) (tables 2, 3). 

South Sawyer Glacier has a length of 50 km and an area of 683 km2 (Viens, 

1995) (tables 2, 3). In the 68 years between 1899 and 1967, South Sawyer 

Glacier retreated about 3.5 km, and Sawyer Glacier lost nearly 1 km. This 

retreat was interrupted by long periods of stability. In 2001, the terminus 

positions of both Sawyer Glacier and South Sawyer Glacier showed evidence 

of thinning and retreat. All of the other cirque and former valley glaciers in 

Tracy Arm showed significant evidence of retreat. 

North of Tracy Arm and south of Whiting River are a number of unnamed 

glaciers, most of which are generally less than 5 km in length and drain into 

the Whiting River. No information is available about the recent status of these 

glaciers.

Between the Whiting and Taku Rivers, Speel Glacier, with a length of 15 

km and an area of 42 km2 (Field, 1975c, p. 113), and Wright Glacier are the 

only two named glaciers. Field (1975a) stated that Speel Glacier retreated 

about 3 km from its recent “Little Ice Age” maximum position and that a little 

more than 1 km of retreat occurred in the 20 years between 1948 and 1968. 

Wright Glacier has a length of 33 km and an area of 148 km2 (Field, 1975c, 

p. 113). Between 1891 and the early 1960s, it retreated more than 4 km, 

forming an ice-marginal lake. A comparison of the positions of both glaciers 

on the Taku River map (USGS, 1960; appendix A) and a 9 September 1984 

Landsat TM image of the northern part of the Stikine River to the Taku River 

region (fig. 84) shows that both glaciers have undergone significant retreat 

during the baseline period.

Figure 83.—26 August 1960 oblique aerial photograph of the terminus of South 

Sawyer Glacier, showing evidence of recent 

calving and the development of a calving 

embayment on the right (east) side of the 

terminus. The left (west) side of the glacier 

has a conspicuous trimline, indicative of 

recent rapid thinning. Many of the tributary 

glacier termini also show evidence of recent retreat. Photograph no. R18 by Austin 

Post, U.S. Geological Survey.

K102 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Speel Gl.

Sa w y e r Gl a c i e r

Wri ght Gl a c i e r

Ta

ku Ri v e r

Whiting

Ri v e r

Speel Arm

Tr a c y A r m

Speel Gl. 58°W

133°W

S. Sa w y e r Gl a c i e r

Figure 84.—Annotated Landsat 5 TM quarter-scene, false-color composite 

image acquired on 9 September 1984 of the Coast Mountains from just south 

of Tracy Arm to the Taku River, including the Sawyer, South Sawyer, Speel, 

and Wright Glaciers. Approximate scale 1:500,000. Non-standard Landsat 

image by the USGS, EROS Data Center, Sioux Falls, S. Dak.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K103
Taku River to the Canadian Border East of Gilkey Glacier

Landsat MSS images that cover the Coast Mountains region from the 

Taku River to the Canadian border have the following Path/Row coordinates: 

61/19, 62/19, 63/18, 63/19, 64/18, 64/19, 65/18, and 65/19 (fig. 3A, table 1). A 

mosaic of three of these scenes covers the entire area (fig. 85). For comparison, a 9 September 1984 Landsat TM image of the southern part of the Taku 

River to the Canadian border region (fig. 86) is also presented. The dominant 

glacier feature in this region is the Juneau Icefield, one of the largest ice fields 

GLACIER BAY NATIONAL PARK

AND PRESERVE

Ly n

n

C a n a l

J u n e a u

I c e f i e l d

Taku Inlet

Taku Gl.

Taku River

Norris Gl.

Juneau

Mendenhall Gl.

Herbert Gl.

Eagle Gl. Eagle Gl.

Gilkey Glacier

Antler Gl. Bucher Gl.

Thiel Gl.

Hole-in-the-Wall 

Glacier

Dead

Branch

Lemon Creek

Glacier

Tulsequah Gl.

L el wellyn Gl.

Field Gl.

ADMIRALTY

 ISLAND

Devil's

Paw

C h i l k a t R i v e r

Davidson Gl.

Nourse R. Taiya R.

Chilkat Gl.

Ferebee Gl.

Chilkoot River

Meade Glacier

Meade Glacier

Irene 

Glacier

Denver

Glacier

Lace R.

Glacier Bay

Ferebee River

Laughton

Gl.

10 0 10 20 30 KILOMETERS

APPROXIMATE SCALE

CANADA

ALASKA

59°N

135°W

Figure 85.—Annotated Landsat 2 and 3 

MSS false-color composite image mosaic of the Coast Mountains from the 

Taku River northwest to the Canadian 

Border. The major glaciologic feature 

is the Juneau Icefield. Many outlet 

glaciers of the Juneau Icefield are visible such as Taku, Norris, Mendenhall, 

and Gilkey Glaciers. Also visible are 

many glaciers at the head of Chilkoot 

and Chilkat Inlets, only a few of which 

are named. Landsat images (30147–

19373; 30 July 1978; Path 64, Row 18; 

2952–19124; 31 August 1977; Path 65, 

Row 19; and 21670–19195; 19 August 

1979; Path 62, Row 19) are from the 

USGS, EROS Data Center, Sioux Falls, 

S. Dak. 

K104 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Ta

ku

Inlet

Juneau

Taku

Glacier

Norris Glacier

Taku

River Lemon

Creek Gl.

Mendenhall Glacier

L

y

n

n

C

a

n

a

l

Juneau 

Icefield

Herbert Gl.

Eagle Gl.

G i l k e y

G l a c i e

Antler Gl. r

Berners

Bay

Thiel Gl.

Hole-in-the-Wall Gl.

Dead

Branch

E.Tw ni Gl.

W.Twin Gl.

Bucher Gl.

135°W

58°30'N

Figure 86.—Annotated Landsat 5 TM quarter-scene, false-color composite 

image acquired on 9 September 1984 of the Coast Mountains from east of 

the Taku River to west of Berners Bay. Outlet glaciers from the Juneau Icefield 

include the Twin, Hole-in-the-Wall, Taku, Norris, Lemon Creek, Mendenhall, 

Herbert, Eagle, Gilkey, and Bucher Glaciers. According to Robert M. Krimmel 

(written commun.) “All of the various tidewater and non-tidewater glaciers 

that flow from the ice field, except the Taku Glacier, have been in a general 

recession since before 1900.” Miller (1963) attributes this difference in activity to the relative greater area of the Taku Glacier that is above the snowline 

(larger accumulation area); thus, it has maintained a positive mass balance 

and advanced. The other glaciers in the area, at lower altitudes and with 

smaller accumulation areas, have negative mass balances. Approximate 

scale 1:500,000. Landsat image L5057019008425350 is courtesy of Robert M. 

Krimmel, U.S. Geological Survey, and is from the USGS, EROS Data Center, 

Sioux Falls, S. Dak.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K105
in Alaska. It is located along the crest of the Coast Mountains between the 

Taku River and Devil’s Paw to the south, Lynn Canal to the west, and the Antler-Gilkey River drainages to the north. Like the Stikine Icefield, a portion of 

the Juneau Icefield is located in British Columbia, but most of the 1,215- mi2

(1,955 km2) ice field is located in Alaska (Molnia, 2001, p. 62). Large glaciers 

that drain the Juneau Icefield are the Taku, Norris, Hole-in-the-Wall, Mendenhall, Herbert, Eagle, Gilkey, and Antler Glaciers on the Alaskan side of the 

ice field and the Llewellyn and Tulsequah Glaciers on the Canadian side. The 

ice field, which was known as the “home of the spirits” to the Tlingits, has 

about 40 major and 100 minor glaciers (Miller and others, 1987).

East of Lynn Canal and north of the Gilkey River, a significant number of 

large glaciers—including the Field, Meade, Laughton, and Denver Glaciers—

drain the central névé or interconnected outlying névés on the crest of the 

Coast Mountains. Field (1975a, p. 85), however, classified these areas as 

being separate from the limits of the Juneau Icefield. Coast Mountains glaciers also exist west of Lynn Canal in the mountains that are drained by the 

Taiya, Ferebee, and Chilkat Rivers. Ferebee, Chilkat, and Irene Glaciers are 

the only named glaciers, but several large unnamed glaciers exist along the 

Nourse River and in the Chilkat and Chilkoot River drainages.

 Most of the glaciers on the Alaskan side of the Juneau Icefield are retreating. One major exception is 60-km-long Taku Glacier, which has an area of 

about 831 km2 (Viens, 1995) (tables 2, 3) (figs. 87, 88). It was advancing 

during the Landsat baseline period, was stable for about a decade, and, at the 

beginning of the 21st century, began to readvance. Taku Glacier is the primary outlet glacier from the Juneau Icefield. Taku Glacier was known by the 

Tlingits as “Klumma Klutt or Klumu Gutta,” a Tlingit name meaning “Spirits 

House.” It was also previously named Schulze Glacier and Foster Glacier. 

Muir (1893) said of Taku Glacier: “To see this one glacier is well worth a trip 

to Alaska.” During much of the 20th century, Taku Glacier was advancing 

across Taku Inlet at a rate of nearly 100 m a−1 and knocking down trees in 

forests along both of its margins (fig. 88). It also was overriding moraines 

Taku Glacier

Norris 

Glacier

Grizzly Bar

Hole-in-the-Wall-Glacier

Brassiere Hills

Taku Inlet

N

Ta k u

R i v e r

Taku Point

Figure 87.—11 August 1979 AHAP false color vertical aerial photograph of Taku Inlet 

and the lower portions of Taku and Norris 

Glaciers. Also shown is Hole-in-the-Wall 

Glacier. As recently as about 1750, Taku 

Glacier was more than 3.5 km beyond its 

late 20th century position. At that time, it 

dammed Taku River at Taku Point. A large 

ice-dammed lake extended northeast into 

Canada. Many ice-free cirques and areas 

of vegetation-free bedrock southeast of the 

Taku Inlet show that many small glaciers in 

this area are actively thinning and retreating. AHAP photograph no. L188F4260 from 

the GeoData Center, Geophysical Institute, 

University of Alaska, Fairbanks, Alaska.

K106 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
and outwash of Norris Glacier located to its southwest. At the end of the 19th 

century, when the recent advance of Taku Glacier began, it was a tidewater 

calving glacier with depths in its fjord exceeding 100 m. When the terminus 

was photographed by the Alaska Aerial Survey Expedition in the late 1920s, 

it was still tidewater. Sediment produced by the advancing glacier began filling upper Taku Inlet, so that, by the mid-1930s, ships that previously had had 

access to the terminus of the glacier could not enter the inlet. About 1937, 

Taku Glacier’s advancing terminus began forming a push moraine that protected the terminus and restricted calving. Advance continued until about 

1988. During the last few years of the 20th century, the terminus position 

appeared to be stable. A map prepared by Post and Motyka (1995) showing 

the location of the terminus of Taku Glacier for the previous 250 years is 

presented as figure 89.

Nolan and others (1995) used radio-echosounding and seismic-reflection 

techniques to measure Taku Glacier’s ice thickness and bed morphology. 

Maximum ice thickness was about 1,477 m, and minimum bed elevation was 

about 600 m below sea level. They determined that the sub-sea-level basin 

that underlies the glacier extends about 50 km up-glacier. Future retreat of 

the glacier would expose a deep fjord basin extending well into the Coast 

Mountains. Along one transect near the Brassiere Hills, 5.5 km up-glacier 

from the terminus, the maximum ice thickness was 558 m, and the maximum 

depth of the bed was 212 m below sea level. Even more importantly, Nolan 

and others (1995) compared the surface elevation in 1989, the date of the 

survey, with the 1948 surface elevation determined from photogrammetry. 

They stated that the glacier had thickened by “10–25 m over the past 40 

years,” but measurement of the differences between the 1948 and1989 surface elevations (Nolan and others, 1995, fig. 4 ) showed thickening of more 

than 100 m on the northeastern side of the transect. Regardless of the actual 

amount of thickening, a positive mass balance so close to the glacier’s terminus is significant. Geodetic airborne laser altimetry studies performed by 

K.A. Echelmeyer in 1999 indicated that Taku Glacier was thickening (Shad 

Figure 88.—14 September 1968 oblique 

aerial photograph of the northeastern 

terminus of the then-rapidly advancing 

Taku Glacier as it advanced into the adjacent spruce forest and bulldozed trees. 

Photograph by Austin Post, U.S. Geological 

Survey.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K107
O’Neel, Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks, personal commun., 7 January 2000).

Motyka and others (2001) reported that, between late 2000 and the summer of 2001, Taku Glacier has begun to readvance at a rate of 30 cm d–1. The 

advance has caused striking deformation of adjacent proglacial sediments. 

Compression by the advancing ice has caused the outward propagation of 

at least two prominent bulges: the more distal (width 35 m, height 3 m) at 

a rate of about 10 cm d–1 and the more proximal (width 80 m, height 4.5 m) 

at a rate of 15 cm d–1. There are no visible thrust faults in the sediments, 

but shear must be occurring as part of bulge propagation. Although the glacier’s terminus region remained stationary during the 1990s, it continued to 

thicken, with surface elevation rising at an average rate of 1.4 m a–1. Previous 

work showed that Taku Glacier is actively excavating soft sediments and entrenching itself into these sediments as its terminus continues to grow and 

advance.

Twenty-seven-kilometer-long Norris Glacier, with an area of about 183 km2

(Field, 1975c, p. 116) (fig. 89), located in a parallel drainage immediately 

west of the Taku Glacier, is proof that adjacent glaciers do not always act in 

a similar fashion. While Taku Glacier had retreated up its valley during the 

second half of the 19th century, Norris Glacier was actively advancing and 

reached its most recent maximum position between 1911 and l9l7. Through 

the remainder of the 20th century, when Taku Glacier was advancing as much 

as 100 m a–1, Norris Glacier retreated about 2 km and thinned by many tens of 

meters. At the start of the 20th century, the southwestern limb of the Norris 

1988–93

1750

1890

1948 1963 1973 1979

1979

1963

1948

1929

1979

1973

1963

1952

1948

1941

1937

1929

1890

1988

1911

1750

1750

1988

Norris Glacier

Taku Glacier

Taku

Lodge

Terrace

Hole-in-the-Wall

Glacier Goat Ridge

Brassiere Hills

Taku Point

Grizzly Bar

Taku Inlet

Swede 

Point

Norris Mtn.

Loon Lakes

0 3 KILOMETERS

Moraine

Bog

Ta

k

u

River

N

58°24’N

134°W Figure 89.—Map of the Taku Inlet and River 

area showing terminus positions of Taku, 

Norris, and Hole-in-the-Wall Glaciers for 

1750 and the past hundred years or so. Map 

is adapted from Post and Motyka (1995).

K108 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Glacier, known as the “Dead Branch,” was an active ice-supplying tributary 

with a gradient sloping to the northwest. The glacier was photographed on 

11 August 1979 by the AHAP Program (L189F4321). During the early 20th 

century, its upper reaches thinned so significantly that a reversal of drainage 

occurred. At the end of the 20th century, most of the “Dead Branch” was 

stagnant, wasting away in place, with only minimal ice flow from the main 

trunk of Norris Glacier into the thinning distributary arm. Several ice-free 

cirques and areas of vegetation-free bedrock around the “Dead Branch” and 

on the western side of Norris Glacier indicate that many small glaciers in this 

area are actively retreating and thinning.

Hole-in-the-Wall Glacier, a distributary lobe of Taku Glacier (figs. 89, 90), 

has also experienced a major retreat and readvance since the “Little Ice 

Age.” In about 1750, the glacier extended to its “Little Ice Age” maximum 

position, nearly 1 km beyond its 20th century maximum position. By 1890, 

Hole-in-the-Wall Glacier had retreated nearly 4.5 km. The current glacier 

formed when an arm of Taku Glacier thickened during the first half of the 

20th century and overtopped the divide between Goat Ridge and the Brassiere Hills in about l940 (fig. 89). During much of the second half of the 20th 

century, its continued advance formed a bulbous terminus that extended to 

near the Taku River (fig. 90). At the end of the 20th century, the terminus of 

Hole-in-the-Wall Glacier was stable.

East and West Twin Glaciers, formerly Twin Glacier (fig. 91), are also distributaries of Taku Glacier and drain Hades Highway, the eastern branch of 

Taku Glacier. Before the late 1920s, the two glaciers were joined and filled 

much of the present Twin Glacier Lake basin, separating just before 1929 

(fig. 92). Lawrence (1950) determined that the combined glacier began to 

retreat from its “Little Ice Age” maximum terminal moraine position between 

1775 and 1777. He also determined from other dated moraines that the retreating glacier did not expose any of the ice-marginal lake basin until about 

1880. Through 1948, D.B. Lawrence (1950) determined that the West Twin 

Glacier (1948 length of about 7 km) had retreated 5.2 km; the East Twin Glacier (1948 length of about 10 km) retreated 4 km. The retreat of both glaciers 

has continued for the remainder of the 20th century; each glacier has lost 

more than 1 km. 

Field (1975a) described 6-km-long Lemon Creek Glacier (fig. 86) (see 

AHAP false-color infrared vertical aerial photograph no. L190F0390 acquired 

on 11 August 1979) as being an extension of the Juneau Icefield rather than 

an ice-field-outlet glacier. Lemon Creek Glacier has been the site of many 

detailed studies since the early 1950s and, beginning in 1957, was one of the 

Figure 90.—28 July 1968 oblique aerial 

photograph of the bulbous terminus of the 

then-advancing Hole-in-the-Wall Glacier, 

Coast Mountains. Photograph by Bruce F. 

Molnia, U.S. Geological Survey.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K109
Twin Glacier Lake

East

Twin Glacier

WestTwin

Glacier

N

Figure 91.—11 August 1979 AHAP falsecolor vertical aerial photograph of the 

termini of East and West Twin Glaciers, 

Coast Mountains. The arcuate latest “Little 

Ice Age” terminal moraine complex south 

of Twin Glacier Lake is clearly seen. AHAP 

photograph no. L189F4406 from the 

GeoData Center, Geophysical Institute, 

University of Alaska, Fairbanks, Alaska.

Figure 92.—Bagley camera vertical and 

high-angle oblique (inset) 1929 aerial photographs of East and West Twin Glaciers, 

Coast Mountains. Photograph Alaska 185 

from the USGS Photographic Library, 

Denver, Colo. (See also fig. 30.)

K110 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
glaciers mapped by the AGS, as part of its IGY mapping project (American 

Geographical Society, 1960). It was remapped by Marcus and others (1995) 

and surveyed by using geodetic airborne laser altimeter (surface-elevation) 

profiling by Sapiano and others (1998). Its post-“Little Ice Age” history has 

been documented by Heusser and Marcus (1964). About 1759, Lemon Creek 

Glacier began to retreat from its “Little Ice Age” maximum moraine. By 1958, 

retreat totaled 2.5 km. Maximum retreat rates were 37.5 m a–1 during the 

period 1948 to 1958. Sapiano and others (1998) updated these observations 

through 1995. They found that, between 1957 and 1989, the glacier retreated another 700 m and an additional 100 m between 1989 and 1995. Through 

1995, Lemon Creek Glacier had retreated about 3.3 km, an average retreat 

rate of about 14 m a–1.

Mendenhall Glacier was visited by John Muir in 1879. Muir (1915, p. 219) 

described it as “one of the most beautiful of all the coast glaciers that are in 

the first stage of decadence.” Originally known as Auk Glacier after the Auks, 

a Tlingit tribe, Mendenhall Glacier is 21 km long and 100 km2 in area (Field, 

1975c, p. 116) (figs. 85, 86). Its “decadence” has amounted to more than 5 

km of retreat from its “Little Ice Age” maximum position. Lawrence (1950) 

determined that retreat began between 1767 and 1769; by 1910, the terminus had retreated about 1.5 km, an average retreat rate of about 10 m a–1

. 

This period of retreat included a readvance that tilted trees in the mid-1800s. 

Between 1910 and 1949, the last year of Lawrence’s field investigation, the 

glacier had retreated another 1.5 km, an average rate of nearly 40 m a–1. Near 

the beginning of the 20th century, the continuing retreat began to expose a 

bedrock basin that became the location of an ice-marginal lake that fronted 

the central portion of the glacier’s terminus. Through the early 20th century, 

ongoing retreat exposed more of the basin and enlarged the lake. One reason 

for the significant difference in pre-1910 versus post-1910 retreat rates is 

the addition of calving as a means of ice loss. Previously, when the terminus 

was land based and sublimation was not included, only melting was responsible for ice loss. With the development of the ice-marginal lake, a single calving event could remove a volume of ice from the glacier’s terminus equal to 

what otherwise would take weeks or months to lose by melting. However, 

the shrinking of Mendenhall Glacier is caused primarily by surface melting 

throughout the entire length of the glacier and secondarily by calving of its 

terminus into a proglacial lake (Motyka and others, 2003). The glacier continued to retreat through the start of the 21st century.

During much of the 1990s, the southeastern margin of the glacier retreated more rapidly than it had during the previous four decades. This rapid 

retreat and other recent changes at the margin were not entirely related 

to changing climate, but were instead the result of an unusual sequence 

of events triggered by a small advance of the glacier during the winter of 

1984–85 (Molnia, 1989a, 1991). Like the mid-19th century readvance described by D.B. Lawrence, minor short-lived readvances are not uncommon. 

The author observed evidence of such advances in 1974 and 1977.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K111
Before the winter 1984–85 advance, the eastern edge of Mendenhall Glacier’s margin was separated from its valley wall by the channel and outwash 

plain of Nugget Creek, a stream that flowed into the Mendenhall Valley along 

the eastern valley wall adjacent to the glacier terminus. The 1984–85 advance, which occurred while Nugget Creek’s discharge was near zero, pushed 

a mass of basal ice and moraine across the valley, covering the outwash plain 

and blocking the course of Nugget Creek (figs. 93A, B). In the spring of 1985, 

as Nugget Creek’s flow increased, water pooled on the glacier’s surface and 

eventually overtopped the low point of the push moraine dam. The result was 

a flood, which perpetuated itself by partially melting and eroding the dam. In 

time, Nugget Creek’s water melted a lake-basin depression into the glacier. 

By the summer of 1985, the expanding ice-surface lake continued to melt 

downward, finally reaching the level of adjacent Mendenhall Lake. Water 

entering the new lake from Nugget Creek drained subglacially into Mendenhall Lake and resulted in Nugget Creek’s abandonment of its outwash plain. 

Between 1986 and 1988, the ice-bound lake, located within the glacier a few 

hundred meters behind the terminus, continued to expand, essentially consuming the glacier from within. Iceberg production from the walls of the icebound lake further accelerated its growth. During the period of expansion, 

iceberg calving was more of a growth factor than melting (fig. 93B). During 

the summer of 1988, the expanding lake grew in size to the point where it 

breached the remaining glacier ice at the terminus of Mendenhall Glacier, 

merging with Mendenhall Lake (fig. 93C). The entire southeastern terminus 

of the glacier thus was fronted by the deep waters of Mendenhall Lake, as 

shown in a 2 July 1989 photograph (fig. 93D). During the 4-year duration of 

this event, the eastern margin of the glacier retreated nearly 0.5 km. Loss 

of ice through iceberg production is responsible for this exceptionally rapid 

retreat. Its continuation will ultimately result in Mendenhall Glacier’s retreat 

out of its lake basin. When the glacier was observed in 2004, it had retreated 

more than 600 m from Nugget Creek and thinned significantly.

In 1998, Shad O’Neel of the Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska 

Fairbanks, performed mass-balance studies on Mendenhall Glacier. He measured 12.75 m of ablation at the Mendenhall Glacier terminus (O’Neel, written commun., 7 January 2000). 

Figure 93.—A, 5 July 1985 photograph of 

the eastern terminus of the Mendenhall 

Glacier, Coast Mountains, taken from the 

location of the glacier’s terminus at the 

end of the 1930s. The ridge of sediment in 

contact with the glacier at the right center 

of the photograph is part of the push moraine formed by the 1984-85 advance of the 

glacier. 

K112 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Figure 93.—B, 29 May 1986 north-looking, 

ground-based photograph of the easternmost part of the terminus of Mendenhall 

Glacier in Mendenhall Lake. The icebergs 

adjacent to the glacier margin have recently separated from the terminus, partly 

because of subglacial erosion by water 

seeping from the ice-bound lake. The terminus and the push moraine in the center 

of the photograph form the dam. Nugget 

Creek, descending from the valley wall to 

the right, is the source of most of the water in the ice-bound lake. Note the person 

for scale. C, 27 June 1988 photograph 

of the location of Mendenhall Glacier’s 

former ice-bound lake. Breaching of the 

ice-marginal dam resulted in the joining 

of the lake with Mendenhall Lake. D, 2 July 

1989 photograph of the eastern terminus of 

the Mendenhall Glacier, Coast Mountains, 

taken from near the same location as figure 93A. The push moraine is essentially 

gone, and the glacier has lost nearly 500 m 

of its terminus in 4 years. Photographs by 

Bruce F. Molnia, U.S. Geological Survey.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K113
Herbert Glacier, northwest of Mendenhall Glacier, has a length of 17 km 

and an area of 68 km2 (Field, 1975c, p. 116) (figs. 69, 86, 94). It was examined by Knopf (1912) in 1909 and 1910 and by Wentworth and Ray (1936) in 

1931. However, work by Lawrence (1950) was instrumental in documenting 

changes in its position since the “Little Ice Age.” Herbert Glacier reached 

its maximum about 1700 and remained at or near this position for about the 

next 65 years. Retreat began about 1766 and was continuing when Lawrence 

performed his fieldwork in 1949. During this 183-year period, retreat totaled 

3.29 km, yielding an average retreat rate of 18 m a–1. Field (1975a), on the 

basis of aerial photographs taken by Post through 1969, reported that, between 1949 and 1969, the glacier retreated about another 0.55 km, yielding 

an average retreat rate of 27.5 m a–1. Retreat continues through the early 

21st century.

Eagle Glacier, having a length of 13 km and an area of 50 km2 (Field, 1975c, 

p. 116), is less well known than adjacent Herbert Glacier. Work by Lawrence 

(1950) documented that “one of the oldest of the recessional moraines has 

been ice free since about 1785–1787.” Through 1949, retreat was about 2 km, 

about half occurring during the period 1900–49. Field (1975a) reported that, 

during the 1950s, the terminus became stagnant and “virtually detached” 

from the retreating glacier. Between 1958 and 1967, the glacier retreated 

about 700 m, an average annual retreat rate of 37 m a–1. 

Gilkey Glacier, in a remote location more than 15 km east of Lynn Canal, 

is the northwesternmost outlet glacier of the Juneau Icefield. It is 32 km long 

and has an area of about 245 km2 (Field 1975c, p. 116) (figs. 86, 95). It was 

virtually unknown until it was observed from the air in 1942 by the U.S. Army 

Air Corps. During the more than 60 years since it was first photographed, 

it has been retreating. Field (1975a) reported that, between 1948 and 1967, 

the terminus retreated about 600 m, a retreat rate of about 31 m a–1. By 1961, 

an ice-marginal lake had begun to develop. As was the case with Twin and 

Figure 94.—Oblique aerial photograph of 

the lower reaches of the retreating Herbert 

Glacier and its valley, Coast Mountains, on 

24 August 1963. The arcuate recessional 

moraines in the foreground date from the 

late 18th and 19th centuries. Photograph 

by Austin Post, U.S. Geological Survey.

K114 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Mendenhall Glaciers, iceberg calving further enhanced the rate of retreat. In 

each illustration of the ice-marginal lake (figs. 86, 95), recently calved large 

icebergs can be seen near the head of the lake. By 1984, the lake was about 

1.5 km long. The principal named tributaries to the Gilkey Glacier—Thiel, 

Battle, Bucher, and Echo Glaciers—all show evidence of recent retreat and 

thinning. By 11 August 1979 (fig. 95), former tributary glaciers that flowed 

from Avalanche Canyon and the unnamed valley to its west had retreated so 

far that Gilkey Glacier was entering both valleys and forming ice-marginal 

lakes. In the late 1960s, up-glacier at elevations above 1,000 m, many tributary 

glaciers to the Gilkey were also showing evidence of thinning and retreat.

Glaciers North of the Juneau Icefield

On the eastern side of Lynn Canal from north of Juneau Icefield to the 

head of Taiya Inlet, the principal named glaciers include Antler, Field, Mead, 

Schubee, Laughton, and Denver Glaciers. A significant accumulation of glacier ice, spanning more than 35 km, also occurs in the Kakuhan Range parallel to Lynn Canal and northwest of Berners Bay, continuing along the ridge 

capped by Sinclair Mountain to the southern edge of Mead Glacier.

In the mid-18th century, Antler Glacier had a length exceeding 9 km (Miller, 

1964). Antler Glacier retreated through the beginning of the 20th century and 

then, like Taku Glacier, began to readvance. By 1925, the end of this period of 

advance, its terminus had moved down valley nearly 1.5 km, and the glacier 

reoccupied much of the area exposed during the 19th century. By 1948, the 

position of the retreating terminus was about 2.4 km from the mid-18th century maximum and a 1700-m-long ice-marginal lake fronted the terminus. By 

1984, Antler Glacier (fig. 86) had a length of less than 3 km, and the enlarging 

lake was nearly 5 km long. Retreat continues through the early 21st century. 

By 1979, 30-km-long Field Glacier had retreated less than 1 km from its 

“Little Ice Age” maximum position. The glacier was photographed on 11 August 1979 by the AHAP Program (L188F4272). Since then it has retreated 

about 2.3 km and an ice-marginal lake is located at the terminus. Large 

Thiel Glacier G i l k e y

G l a c i e r

Battle Glacier

Bucher Glacier

Echo Gl.

"A"

Avalanche Canyon

N

Horn 

Spire

Gilkey River

Figure 95.—11 August 1979 AHAP false-color vertical aerial photographic mosaic of 

Gilkey Glacier and a number of its named 

and unnamed principal tributaries. Named 

tributaries include Thiel, Battle, Bucher, and 

Echo Glaciers. All show evidence of recent 

retreat and thinning. Retreat and thinning of the terminus of the Gilkey Glacier 

have resulted in the formation of an icemarginal lake at the terminus and the development of a well-defined trimline along 

its north side. Thiel and Battle Glaciers no 

longer flow into the Gilkey Glacier, nor do 

they join each other. A small lake is developing along the east side of the Thiel/

Battle Glaciers margin. A distinct trimline 

has formed along the north margin of the 

Bucher Glacier and along both margins 

of the unnamed tributary glacier (labeled 

“A”) that joins the Gilkey Glacier from the 

north. Echo Glacier barely reaches the floor 

of Avalanche Canyon. The tongue of Gilkey 

Glacier ice that Echo Glacier previously 

joined on the floor of Avalanche Canyon 

has retreated, resulting in the formation of 

an ice-marginal lake. A similar but significantly larger lake has formed in the valley 

to the west. Most of the small unnamed 

glaciers in the photograph also show 

evidence of active thinning and retreating. AHAP photograph nos. L188F4268 

and L189F4314 from the GeoData Center, 

Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska, 

Fairbanks, Alaska.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K115
trimlines along both sides of its margin document that a significant thinning 

has occurred. Similar thinning is exhibited by its two principal tributaries. 

The surface elevation of the tributaries appears to be lower than that of the 

main glacier, and no flow into the main glacier can be seen. Named Field Glacier in 1995 by Austin Post in honor of the late William O. Field, the glacier 

had an area of more than 250 km2 and is located at the head of the eastern 

branch of the Lace River.

Meade Glacier has a length of 37 km and an area of about 400 km2 (Field, 

1975c, p. 118). The glacier was photographed on 11 August 1979 by the 

AHAP Program (L188F4277). It is located about 25 km southeast of Skagway and is another glacier with little history of scientific investigation. Field 

(1975a, p. 87) stated that it had “receded very little since its last maximum,” 

which he described as being 400 to 800 m down valley from its 1948 terminus 

position. Field also stated that, in the 21 years between 1948 and 1969, the 

terminus retreated an additional 400 m and an ice-marginal lake that existed 

in 1948 was filled with sediment (Field, 1975a). This information indicates 

that Meade Glacier retreated at a rate of about 20 m a–1 between 1948 and 

1969. The terminus position measured by the author from 1979 AHAP photography is only about 300 m upstream of the position mapped from 1948 

aerial photography. If Field’s statement about the glacier retreating in 1969 

is correct, then the terminus would have had to advance about 100 m in the 

decade between 1969 and 1979. The 11 August 1979 AHAP photograph 

(L188F4277) shows that two unnamed tributaries have well-developed trimlines along their margins. One tributary does not appear to flow into the main 

trunk; the other clearly does. Down-valley vegetation indicates that most of 

the small unnamed glaciers in the photograph, have been separated from the 

main trunk for many years. All of the small glaciers show evidence of active 

thinning and retreat. Since 1979, Meade Glacier has retreated and thinned 

by more than 1 km and thinned by more than 100 m.

At the beginning of the 20th century, Denver Glacier, located about 7 km 

east of Skagway, was a popular destination and one of the most visited glaciers in Alaska. Field (1975a) stated that its terminus was photographed by 

C.L. Andrews in at least three different years: 1903, about 1912, and 1938. 

During the summer of 1903, Andrews observed that the glacier had retreated 

12 m in just two months along an extensive barren zone fronting the terminus (Reid, 1904). Andrews’ 1912 photographs show that the glacier had 

advanced across the barren zone and had reached a vegetated area (Field, 

1975a). The 1938 photographs show that the glacier was once again retreating. Trimetrogon aerial photographs taken in 1941 and 1942 depict an older 

terminal moraine down valley from the 1903 location. As mapped in 1948, the 

glacier terminus was about 1.5 km up valley from this moraine. By 1958, the 

glacier had retreated another 900 m. Field (1975a) reported that, by 1964, 

“the terminus had receded considerably since 1958.” When observed by the 

author in 2004, it had retreated about an additional 2 km.

In the Coast Mountains north of Lynn Canal and east of Chilkat River, a 

number of small and medium-sized glaciers exist (fig. 96). Only three—Ferebee, Irene, and Chilkat Glaciers—are named. No information about scientific 

investigations on any of these three glaciers or any others in this area could 

be found. Chilkat Glacier, formerly named Leslie Glacier in the 1890s, is the 

largest, with a length of about 23 km and an area of about 107 km2 (Field, 

1975a, p. 121). An unnamed glacier located immediately to its west (fig. 97) 

typifies the response of glaciers in this region. Since this north-flowing glacier was photographed in 1948, its terminus has thinned and retreated until 

it barely extends across the border into Canada.

Ferebee Glacier has a length of 20 km and an area of 55 km2 (Field, 

1975c, p. 121). The glacier was photographed on 11 August 1979 by the 

AHAP Program (L189F4298). An examination of the 1979 AHAP aerial photography of Ferebee Glacier and adjacent glaciers showed, in each 

Figure 96.—Part of the USGS (1961) 

1:250,000-scale map of Skagway, AlaskaCanada, showing the occurrence of glaciers north of the Lynn Canal, west of Taiya 

Inlet, and east of the Chilkat River. Only 

three glaciers are named—the Chilkat, the 

Ferebee, and the Irene Glaciers. All glaciers 

in the area show evidence of retreat.

K116 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
GLACIERS OF ALASKA K117
instance, conspicuous evidence of recent retreat. The retreat of the tributaries and the thinning of Ferebee Glacier have caused every one of the former 

tributaries to lose contact with the glacier. In the eastern part of this area 

adjacent to Irene Glacier, examination of a 11 August 1979 aerial photograph 

taken by the AHAP Program (L188F4285) failed to identify any glaciers that 

were advancing, and few that appeared to be stable. All the glaciers show either vegetation-free bedrock or outwash deposits, exposed lateral moraines, 

well-developed trimlines, ice-marginal lakes, or other evidence of active 

thinning and retreat. All of the glaciers in the Takshanuk Mountains east of 

the Chilkat River (fig. 96) showed evidence of recent retreat. 

Chilkat River

Chilkat Glacier

N

CANADA 

UNITED STATES

Figure 97.—11 August 1979 AHAP falsecolor vertical aerial photograph of an 

unnamed 4-km-long glacier to the west 

of Chilkat Glacier. The unnamed glacier 

retreated south across the border into the 

United States in the 1980s. The terminus 

of Chilkat Glacier can be seen in the upper 

right of the photograph. AHAP photograph 

no. L189F4294 from the GeoData Center, 

Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska, 

Fairbanks, Alaska.

Summary

During the period of the Landsat baseline (1972–81), Baird, Taku, Holein-the-Wall, and Mead Glaciers were advancing. Available evidence suggests 

that all other valley and outlet glaciers in the Coast Mountains were thinning 

and retreating. At the end of the 20th century, Baird and Taku Glaciers were 

advancing, and Hole-in-the-Wall Glacier was stable. No new information was 

available about Mead Glacier. All other observed valley and outlet glaciers in 

the Coast Mountains continued to thin and retreat.

K118 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Alexander Archipelago

The Alexander Archipelago is a group of about 1,100 islands in southeastern Alaska that extends 450 km from south to north, from the Canadian border at Dixon Entrance to Cross Sound and Icy Strait (fig. 98). Examination 

of topographic maps and aerial photography indicated that, in the middle of 

the 20th century, glaciers existed on these islands. Most, if not all, of these 

glaciers were retreating at the time of observation. Glaciers may presently 

exist in mountainous areas on the six main islands of the archipelago: Revillagigedo, Prince of Wales, Kupreanof, Baranof, Chichagof, and Admiralty. 

None of the glaciers on any of these islands has been studied in detail. The 

total area of glaciers in the Alexander Archipelago is estimated by the author 

at less than 150 km2. 

Revillagigedo Island

Located between the Alaska mainland and Prince of Wales Island, 90×55-km 

Revillagigedo Island has elevations that reach 1,400 m. A single 0.8×0.4-km 

unnamed glacier is located about 3.5 km south of 1,225-m-high Mount Reid, 

the highest point on the island (fig. 72) (see NASA space shuttle photograph 

no. STS028–073–039 acquired in August 1989). This glacier is also shown on 

the USGS (1955) Ketchikan C-4, Alaska, 1:63,360-scale topographic map (appendix B), which is based on 1948 aerial photography. It heads at an elevation of about 915 m. The 1995 revision of the map indicates no change in the 

glacier, although it does show a new snowfield on the eastern flank of Mount 

Reid. The snowfield was probably present earlier but not mapped. Landsat 

MSS images that cover the location of the glacier on Revillagigedo Island have 

the following Path/Row coordinates: 58/21 and 59/21 (fig. 3A, table 1). No 

other information about this glacier could be located.

0 100 KILOMETERS

Glacier

Bay

BARANOF ISLAND

CHICHAGOF

ISLAND

ADMIRALTY ISLAND KUPREANOF

ISLAND

WRANGELL ISLAND

ZAREMBO ISLAND

ETOLIN ISLAND

REVILLAGIGEDO

ISLAND

DALL ISLAND

KUIU ISLAND

ANNETTE 

ISLAND

Sitka

Juneau

Chatham

Strait

KRUZOF

ISLAND

MITKOF

ISLAND

130°W

135°W

55°N

PR NI CE OF WALES ISLAND 0 500 KILOMETERS

CANADA

ALASKA

Area of figure

*

*

*

*

* *

*

*

*

*

**

*

*

*

*

*

*

A

Figure 98.—A, Index map of the Alexander Archipelago showing the six 

main islands where glaciers are located. The green asterisks indicate 

the approximate location of mapped glaciers. B, Enlargement of NOAA 

Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) image mosaic of the 

Alexander Archipelago in summer 1995. National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration image mosaic from Michael Fleming, Alaska Science Center, 

U.S. Geological Survey, Anchorage, Alaska.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K119
Prince of Wales Island

At 212×72 km, Prince of Wales Island is the largest of the islands of the Alexander Archipelago. The USGS (1975) Craig, Alaska, 1:250,000-scale topographic map, which is based on 1950–56 aerial photography, shows one small 

unnamed southeast-facing glacier on the southern face of 1,160-m Pin Peak, 

south of Black Bear Lake. Its length is less than 1.0 km. Its runoff drains into 

the Harris River and finally enters Twelvemile Arm. The Landsat 1–3 MSS 

image that covers this area has the following Path/Row coordinates: 60/21 

(fig. 3A, table 1). The most recent 1:63,360-scale maps of the area do not 

show any glaciers (Craig, B2, 1997; C3, 1994; appendix B). No other information about this glacier could be located.

Kupreanof Island

Separated from the Alaska mainland by Frederick Sound, 90×45-km Kupreanof Island has elevations that approach 1,200 m. Field (1975a) reported 

that several small unnamed glaciers are located on the eastern side of the 

island. All are 10 to15 km north of Petersburg and less than a kilometer in 

length. They exist on peaks near Frederick Sound: one on 1,190-m-high 

Sherman Peak, one on 1,100-m-high Sheridan Peak, and one in the Missionary Range. Their location is shown on figure 78A, the Landsat MSS image that 

covers the eastern part of Kupreanof Island, and on an August 1997 space 

shuttle photograph (fig. 78B). The Landsat 1–3 images that cover the area 

have the following Path/Row coordinates: 60/20 and 61/20 (fig. 3A, table 1).

Baranof Island

Along the crest of 170-km-long Baranof Island, more than 50 unnamed 

glaciers extend for approximately 90 km from west of Patterson Bay to the 

northern side of an unnamed 1,430-m peak 4.6 km north of Annahootz Mountain. These glaciers were photographed in 1926 by the USGS-USN Aerial 

Photographic Expedition. Their location is shown on a Landsat 2 MSS image 

and on a space shuttle photograph (see NASA space shuttle photograph no. 

STS028–083–057 acquired in August 1989) that cover the eastern part of 

Baranof Island. The Landsat images that cover the area have the following 

Path/Row coordinates: 61/20, 62/20, and 63/20 (fig. 3A, table 1). An examination of the photographs and images showed much evidence of thinning and 

retreat.

The largest of these glaciers extends for about 5 km on a ridge between 

1,100-m-high Mount Furuhelm and an unnamed 1,624-m peak. Numerous 

parallel and subparallel fjords, some as long as 65 km, cut through Baranof 

Island. The fjords are evidence of the area’s extensive past history of glaciation. Snow-covered glaciers both north and south of Mount Furuhelm show 

vegetation-free exposed bedrock, evidence of recent retreat on a photograph 

taken 11 August 1979 (fig. 99) (see also AHAP false-color infrared vertical 

aerial photograph no. L200F4540 acquired on 12 August 1979). Many of the 

glaciers in the vicinity of Mount Furuhelm were photographed in 1926 with a 

three-lens Bagley aerial camera (figs. 26, 29).

Chichagof Island

The northwesternmost island of the Alexander Archipelago, 116-km-long 

Chichagof Island, has more than a dozen small unnamed glaciers near its 

northern end. Each is less than one kilometer in length. Their location is imaged by Landsat 1–3 MSS scenes with the following Path/Row coordinates: 

63/19, 64/19 and 65/19 (fig. 3A, table 1). One glacier flows northwest from 

the summit of Pegmatite Mountain down to an elevation of about 350 m (see 

AHAP false-color infrared vertical aerial photograph no. L199F190 acquired 

on 12 August 1979). Vegetation-free bedrock around the margins of many of 

the glaciers in this area indicate recent retreat.

K120 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Takatz Lake

Chatham Strait

Kasayku Lake

Glacial River

B

A

N

Figure 99.—11 August 1979 AHAP falsecolor vertical aerial photograph of Baranof 

Island showing the area north of Mount 

Furuhelm and east of Sitka. Here many of 

the glaciers east of Glacial River are fringed 

by vegetation-free bedrock. Two in particular, unnamed glaciers labeled A and B, each 

show about 0.5 km of recent retreat. AHAP 

photograph no. L199F211 from the GeoData 

Center, Geophysical Institute, University of 

Alaska, Fairbanks, Alaska.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K121

Admiralty Island

On central Admiralty Island, two glaciers are shown on the USGS (1951) 

Sitka, Alaska, 1:250,000-scale topographic map (appendix A), which is based 

on 1949 and 1951 aerial photography. They are located on an unnamed 1,000 

to 1,200-m-high mountain ridge between Hasselborg Lake and Lake Florence. The larger is about 2 km in length; the smaller is only about 0.8 km in 

length. Their location is shown on Landsat MSS images with the following 

Path/Row coordinates: 61/20 and 62/19 (fig. 3A, table 1). No other information about these glaciers could be located.

Summary

During the period of the Landsat baseline (1972–81), all available evidence suggests that the glaciers in the Alexander Archipelago were thinning 

and retreating. No information is available about the status of these glaciers 

through the early 21st century. However, their small size, low elevation, and 

southerly location in an area with significant late 20th century temperature 

increases suggests that they have probably continued to thin and retreat.
Figure 100.—A, Index map of the St. Elias 

Mountains of Alaska and Canada showing 

the glacierized areas (index map modified from Field, 1975a). B, Enlargement 

of NOAA Advanced Very High Resolution 

Radiometer (AVHRR) image mosaic 

of the St. Elias Mountains in summer 

1995. National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration image from Mike Fleming, 

USGS, EROS Data Center, Alaska Science 

Center, Anchorage, Alaska.

K122 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
St. Elias Mountains

Introduction

 Much of the St. Elias Mountains, a 750×180-km mountain system, straddles the Alaskan-Canadian border, paralleling the coastline of the northern 

Gulf of Alaska; about two-thirds of the mountain system is located within 

Alaska (figs. 1, 100). In both Alaska and Canada, this complex system of 

mountain ranges along their common border is sometimes referred to as the 

Icefield Ranges. In Canada, the Icefield Ranges extend from the Province of 

British Columbia into the Yukon Territory. The Alaskan St. Elias Mountains 

extend northwest from Lynn Canal, Chilkat Inlet, and Chilkat River on the 

east; to Cross Sound and Icy Strait on the southeast; to the divide between 

Waxell Ridge and Barkley Ridge and the western end of the Robinson Mountains on the southwest; to Juniper Island, the central Bagley Icefield, the 

eastern wall of the valley of Tana Glacier, and Tana River on the west; and to 

Chitistone River and White River on the north and northwest. The boundaries presented here are different from Orth’s (1967) description. Several of 

Orth’s descriptions of the limits of adjacent features and the descriptions of 

the St. Elias Mountains and the Chugach Mountains are contradictory. For 

instance, he places the Granite Range in the Chugach Mountains yet has its 

eastern and western sides bounded by St. Elias Mountains features. In this 

description, the Granite Range is included in the St. Elias Mountains.

 The highest peak in the Alaskan St. Elias Mountains is Mount St. Elias 

(fig. 101). Its 5,489-m-high summit, which lies on the U.S.-Canadian border, 

is located only about 12 km from sea level as of 2004, measured from the 

now-stable terminus of the tidewater Tyndall Glacier. During most of the 

20th century, as Tyndall Glacier retreated, the distance from the summit to 

sea level has decreased from nearly 60 km to the present 12 km. This ongoing 

retreat has produced one of the steepest topographic gradients anywhere on 

Earth. Elsewhere in the Alaskan St. Elias Mountains, Mount Bona (5,005 m), 

Mount Vancouver (4,785 m), Mount Fairweather (4,663 m), and Mount Hubbard (4,557 m) all exceed 4,500 m. More than two dozen other peaks have 

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K123
elevations greater than 3,300 m. The highest peak, Mount Logan (6,050 m) is 

located entirely within Canada (see Ommanney, 2002a, fig. 20).

Glaciers cover about 11,800 km2 of the Alaskan part of the St. Elias Mountains (Post and Meier, 1980, p. 45). Included are parts of the three largest 

temperate glaciers in North America: two piedmont outlet glaciers (Bering and Malaspina Glaciers) and one tidewater glacier (Hubbard Glacier). 

More than 50 glaciers in the St. Elias Mountains have lengths greater than 

8 km. Many mountainous areas and ranges of the Alaskan St. Elias Mountains 

have been given unique names (from east to west): Chilkat Range, Takhinsha Mountains, Fairweather Range, Brabazon Range, Granite Range, Robinson Mountains, and Icefield Ranges. For ease of description, the St. Elias 

Mountains are divided into segments: (1) southeastern St. Elias Mountains 

(from the Lynn Canal and Chilkat Inlet and River to the eastern side of the 

Alsek River); (2) the south-central St. Elias Mountains (from the western 

side of the Alsek River to the western side of Yakutat Bay); (3) southwestern 

St. Elias Mountains (from the western side of Yakutat Bay to the western 

Bagley Ice Valley, the western Robinson Mountains, and the Bering Lobe); 

and (4) the northwestern St. Elias Mountains (from the Canadian border at 

long 141°W. to White River, Chitistone River, Tana River, the eastern wall of 

the valley of Tana Glacier, and the southern side of the Bagley Ice Valley).

Southeastern St. Elias Mountains Segment: From the 

Lynn Canal and Chilkat Inlet and River to the Eastern 

Side of the Alsek River

Landsat MSS images that cover the southeastern St. Elias Mountain region 

from Lynn Canal and Chilkat Inlet and River to the eastern side of the Alsek 

River have the following Path/Row coordinates: 63/19, 64/18, 64/19, 65/19, and 

66/18 (fig. 102). These areas are mapped on the USGS Juneau (Alaska-Canada), Skagway (Alaska-Canada), Mount Fairweather (Alaska-Canada), and 

Yakutat (Alaska-Canada) 1:250,000-scale topographic maps (appendix A).

East of the Glacier Bay drainage, the area between the Chilkat River and 

the Canadian border supports more than 100 small glaciers and several larger 

ones, some with lengths approaching 15 km. The largest glacier in this region 

is the 20-km-long Davidson Glacier, located in the Chilkat Range, which has 

an area of 115 km2

 (Field and Collins, 1975, p. 251). Many of these glaciers 

were photographed by the IBC early in the 20th century (IBC, 1952) and 

revisited by an AGS expedition led by Field in 1967 (Field and Collins, 1975). 

Except for subsequent coverage provided by aerial photography and satellite imagery, these investigations were the last detailed documentation for 

Figure 101.—Aerial photograph of the summit of Mount St. Elias and environs on 

28 July 2001. At 5,489 m, Mount St. Elias 

is the highest peak in Alaska’s St. Elias 

Mountains. Photograph by Bruce F. Molnia, 

U.S. Geological Survey.

Lituya Bay

Lit

Desolation Valley

Desolation Valley

Grand Pacific Glacie

Fairweather Gl.

Grand Plateau Gl.

CANADA

UNITED STATES

Alsek River

Alsek Gl.

Dry

Bay

137°W

59°N

K124 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Figure 102.—Annotated Landsat 2 and 3 

MSS false-color composite image mosaic 

of the St. Elias Mountains from Lynn Canal 

to the Alsek River, including the glaciers in 

Glacier Bay and environs and those of the 

Fairweather Range. Landsat 2 and 3 MSS 

images (21670–19195; 19 August 1979; Path 

62, Row 19; 30147–19373; 30 July 1978; 

Path 64, Row 18; 2952–19124; 31 August 

1977; Path 64, Row 19; 21314–19295; 28 

August 1978; Path 66, Row 18) are from 

U.S. Geological Survey, EROS Data Center, 

Sioux Falls, S. Dak.

most glaciers in the area. North of the Klehini River, about a dozen unnamed 

glaciers, all shorter than 3 km, exist on Hiteshitak Mountain, Mount Prinsep, 

Four Winds Mountain, and Chilkat Peak.

The mountains between the Klehini and Tsirku Rivers also support a number of small glaciers, several of which have been named. With the exception of the Little Jarvis Glacier, very limited recent observations have been 

made of these glaciers. Named glaciers are Jarvis, Little Jarvis, Boundary, 

and Saksaia Glaciers. Unstudied Jarvis Glacier, with a length of more than 

15 km, flows from Canada into Alaska. The terminus region of the glacier 

appears to be stagnant, and the lowermost few kilometers are covered by 

moraine. The debris-covered terminus lies about a kilometer from a moraine, 

which represents a former maximum position, perhaps its “Little Ice Age” 

maximum. Little Jarvis Glacier, with a length of 3.2 km, is one of the glaciers 

surveyed by the AGS in 1957–58 (see fig. 35) and resurveyed by a University 

of Alaska Fairbanks team in 1995 (Sapiano and others, 1998). In the 38 years 

between surveys, the terminus retreated about 190 m, an average of about 

GLACIER BAY NATIONAL PARK

and PRESERVE

La Perouse 

Glacier

Ly n

n

C a n a l

Eagle Gl.

ADMIRALTY

 ISLAND

LeBlondeau

Glacier

Takhin

Glacier

C h i l k a t R i v e r

Davidson Gl.

Ferebee Gl.

Chilkoot River

Meade Glacier

Brady Glacier

La Perouse 

Glacier

Finger

Glacier

uya Gl.

Casement Gl.

McBride Gl.

Muir Gl.

Burroughs Gl. Carroll Glacier

Johns Hopkins Gl.

cier

Glacier Bay

Ferebee River

Margerie Gl.

10 0 10 20 30 KILOMETERS

APPROXIMATE SCALE

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K125
5 m a–1. During the 38-year interval, Little Jarvis Glacier experienced a small 

loss in area (2.45 km2 in 1995 as opposed to 2.5 km2 in 1958) but no apparent 

change in volume.

Boundary Glacier originates in the United States and flows into Canada, 

where it merges with the Tsirku Glacier. When photographed on 11 August 

1979 during the AHAP Program (fig. 103), its terminus was stable, and only a 

small amount of bedrock was exposed along its valley walls. All but the lower 

3 km of 20-km-long Tsirku Glacier is in Canada. As was the case with Boundary Glacier, exposed bedrock along its valley walls was the only evidence of 

thinning. The glaciers in this area have a long history of photographic coverage. When Tsirku Glacier was photographed in 1910, it had a proglacial lake 

at its terminus. By 1948, a 300- to 400-m advance of the glacier had filled 

the lake basin; Field and Collins (1975) reported that the advance continued 

between 1948 and 1967. In 1979, it appeared that the advance had ended; 

however, the terminus still maintained its recent maximum position. By the 

early 21st Century, the terminus had retreated several hundred meters.

South of Tsirku River, along the crest of the Takhinsha Mountains, a 

number of north- and east-flowing glaciers drain into the Tsirku and Takhin 

Herbert Glacier

Tsirku

Glacier

Tsirku

Glacier

Tsirku

River

Boundary Glacier

Mt. Harris Mt. Harris

N

CANADA

UNITED STATES

Figure 103.—11 August 1979 AHAP falsecolor infrared vertical aerial photograph of 

the area around the Tsirku River. All of the 

glacier termini shown are at elevations of 

less than 500 m, and all appear to be relatively stable. Exposed bedrock in some valley walls and vegetation-free areas marking 

former terminus positions and heights are 

the only evidence of small variations from 

recent maximum ice positions. AHAP photograph no. L194F4169 from the GeoData 

Center, Geophysical Institute, University of 

Alaska, Fairbanks, Alaska.

K126 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Rivers. These glaciers include Le Blondeau, Takhin, Dickinson, Willard, Bertha, and Garrison Glaciers, many of which were described by Arthur and Aural Krause in 1881–82 (Krause, 1883) and photographed by the IBC between 

1894 and 1910. Takhin Glacier had retreated several hundred meters from its 

“Little Ice Age” maximum position when it was first photographed in 1910. 

Between 1910 and 1967, Le Blondeau Glacier retreated more than 1 km. All 

were retreating when observed in 2004.

When the Krauses first observed it in 1881, the terminus of Bertha Glacier had advanced into an evergreen forest and was shedding rocks into the 

trees. According to them, this advance was in marked contrast to all of the 

other glaciers in the area, which were then in significant retreat. By 1894, the 

advance had ended. Through 1967, the retreat of the terminus amounted to 

about 300 m.

Because of its location along the western side of Lynn Canal, Davidson 

Glacier has been seen by many travelers. In spite of this prominent position, 

it suffers from a lack of detailed observations. One of its earliest visitors was 

I.C. Russell in 1889, who observed several signs of recent continuing retreat. 

He described the terminus as being surrounded by a “mile-and-one half-wide 

accumulation of ice-marginal sediment deposits, so as to form an encircling 

girdle now covered on its outer margin with a dense spruce forest.” The inner half-mile he described as “a barren, desolate tract of boulders and gravel 

of fresh appearance, and evidently but recently abandoned by the glacier” 

(Russell, 1897, p. 103). A series of arcuate recessional moraines encircles 

the terminus of Davidson Glacier and documents an advance between the 

12th and 14th centuries, a retreat during the 15th century, and a significant 

readvance in the middle 18th century (Egan and others, 1968), followed by 

the retreat observed by Russell in 1889. By the time it was photographed 57 

years later, in August 1946 (fig. 104A), the terminus of Davidson Glacier had 

retreated more than 1.5 km from its “Little Ice Age” maximum position and 

about 0.4 km from the 1889 position observed by Russell. A proglacial lake 

had also developed. When it was photographed 32 years later on 31 August 

1978 (fig. 104B), the lake had expanded in size, encircling two-thirds of the 

terminus, and the glacier had retreated another 0.7 km. Twenty-six years 

later, when observed by the author on 18 June 2004, the terminus had retreated an additional 0.7 km.

Figure 104.—A, August 1946 black-andwhite vertical aerial photograph of 

Davidson Glacier showing the series of 

arcuate recessional moraines that encircles the terminus of Davidson Glacier 

and documents its “Little Ice Age” history and post-“Little Ice Age” retreat. 

Photograph SEA–140–100 from the U.S. 

Army Air Force, Southeast Alaska Project. 

B, 31 August 1978 photograph showing 

a lake significantly larger than the one 

that existed in 1946. During the 32 years 

between the date of this photograph and 

figure 104A, Davidson Glacier retreated 

about 0.7 km. Iceberg calving into the icemarginal lake is contributing to the glacier’s retreat. USGS photograph 78–V2–25 

by Austin Post, U.S. Geological Survey.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K127
Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve

Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve contains more than 50 named glaciers and one of the most spectacular fjords in Alaska (fig. 105). Its glaciers 

head in the Takhinsha Mountains, the Alsek Ranges of Canada, the St. Elias 

Mountains, and the Fairweather Range. Many glaciers originate at elevations 

that exceed 2,000 m. About a dozen glaciers have lengths exceeding 15 km, 

the longest and largest being Grand Pacific Glacier, which is about 60 km 

long and has an area of about 650 km2. This glacier originates in Alaska, flows 

through British Columbia, and terminates in Alaska. Both Brady and Carroll 

Glaciers have areas that exceed 500 km2.

G l a c i e r B a y

A

Lamplugh Gl.

Lamplugh Gl.

Casement Gl..

Grand Pacific Gl.

Brady Gl.

La Perouse 

Glacier

La Perouse 

Glacier

Johns Hopkins Gl.

Muir Gl.

Margerie Gl. Ferris Gl.

Grand Pacific Gl.

Carroll Gl.

Burroughs Gl.

Casement Gl..

137°W

138°W

136°

59°30'N

59°

58°30'

58°N

10 0 10 20 30 KILOMETERS

APPROXIMATE SCALE

Figure 105.—A, Annotated Landsat 1 MSS 

false-color composite image of Glacier Bay 

and environs, Alaska. This 1:250,000-scale 

image, combined with maps, was used to 

determine the accumulation area ratios 

(AARs) of individual glaciers and the snowline altitude throughout Glacier Bay (Robert 

M. Krimmel, written commun., 1987) (see 

table 4, p. K132). Landsat 1 MSS image 

(1416–19480, bands 4, 5, 7; 12 September 

1973; Path 64, Row 19) is from the U.S. 

Geological Survey, EROS Data Center, 

Sioux Falls, S. Dak.

K128 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Many of the glaciers of this area can be seen on two Landsat images acquired on 12 September 1973 (fig. 105A) and on 12 August 1979 (fig. 106); 

the two images provide clear views of the majority of glaciers within Glacier 

Bay National Park and Preserve. Table 4, which is based on the work of Robert M. Krimmel (USGS), provides data on AARs of glaciers in Glacier Bay 

and environs. He based his analysis on a 30 September 1973 Landsat 1 MSS 

image (1434–19473) of the area. Glacier Bay extends for more than 100 km 

from its mouth at Icy Strait to the termini of both Grand Pacific Glacier at the 

head of Tarr Inlet and Johns Hopkins Glacier at the head of John Hopkins 

Inlet. About 250 years ago, Glacier Bay did not exist. Its basin was filled by a 

single large ice mass that reached into Icy Strait. The terminus position that 

Figure 105.—B, Contours (in meters) of 

equal snowline altitude are depressed in 

the inland portion of Glacier Bay because 

of late summer storms in that area. Landsat 

image, AAR table, snowline-altitude map, 

and caption courtesy of Robert M. Krimmel, 

U.S. Geological Survey

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K129
Plateau Gl.

Johns Hopkins Gl.

Ferris Gl.

Lamplugh Gl.

Wachusett Inlet

Carroll Gl.

Muir Gl.

McBride Gl.

Burroughs Gl.

TenasTikke Gl.

Ferris Gl.

Brady Glacier

La Perouse Gl.

Lituya Gl. N. Crillon Gl.

Fairweather Gl.

Grand Pacific Glacier

Margerie Gl.

N. Crillon Gl.

N

0 20 KILOMETERS

CANADA

UNITED STATES

59°N

137°W

K130 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Casement Gl.

Bartlett 

Cove

Figure 106.—Most of Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve is included in 

this excellent A and B quadrant composite of a Landsat 3 RBV image acquired 

on 12 August 1979. There are some high cirrus clouds degrading parts of the 

image. The clouds are difficult to distinguish from sediment in the water in 

this broad-band image. The Glacier Bay area is outstanding in its accessibility to tourism, its long record of observation, and its rapidly changing and 

diverse glaciers (fig. 107). The first record of glacier position is Vancouver’s 

observation in 1794 (Vancouver, 1798), at which time the glacier that filled 

the bay terminated near Bartlett Cove (Field, 1975a, p. 161). H.F. Reid’s map of 

Glacier Bay, 1890–92 (fig. 108 B), indicated recession by that time of about 75 

km, shown on this image with dots and arrows to give approximate ice flow 

direction (Reid, 1896). Muir Glacier continued to recede, although there were 

occasional periods during which recession slowed in reaches where the fjord 

narrows (Field, 1975a, p. 167–8). By 1984, Muir Glacier was located at the head 

of the fjord. In 1991, Muir Glacier receded onto land, and retreat continued 

more slowly. Casement Glacier became independent of the Muir Glacier about 

1911 and had retreated about 6 km by 1975 (Field, 1975a, p. 168). Burroughs 

Glacier (figs. 109, 112) is a remnant of the Muir complex of decades past and 

is presently nearly stagnant with no accumulation zone. Carroll Glacier has 

receded only slightly since it was first observed by Reid (Field, 1975a, p. 171). 

This glacier was also the source of the nearly disappeared Plateau Glacier, 

which is shown to have nearly filled Wachusett Inlet on the USGS Mount 

Fairweather 1:250,000 topographic map dated 1961. Grand Pacific Glacier, 

mostly in Canada, had receded from the 1892 position some 18.5 km by 1925 

(Field, 1975a, p. 173) and, by the time of this image, had readvanced by 1.5 

km. This advance has been due primarily to the influence of the Ferris Glacier, 

which on this image can be seen to account for 60 percent of the width of its 

active terminus. Margerie Glacier has been fairly stable since its early 20th 

century retreat ended. Johns Hopkins Glacier has slowly advanced from its 

minimum position in 1929 (Field, 1975a, p. 176). Lamplugh Glacier retreated, 

advanced, and retreated and is now stable since it separated from the receding Johns Hopkins Glacier at the beginning of the 20th century. Brady Glacier 

was nearly stable for most of the 20th century, although in the last few years it 

has been retreating. La Perouse Glacier is presently separated from the open 

ocean only by a narrow beach; at times in the recent decades it has advanced 

across the beach. North Crillon and Lituya Glaciers have had a long history 

of advance (Field, 1975a, p. 188–190). Fairweather Glacier is in slow retreat 

(Field, 1975a, p. 192). Many of the glaciers in this area may have responded 

to nonclimatic factors. The Fairweather Range is notable for large landslides, 

the debris from which often comes to rest on glaciers and may cause advance 

by protecting ice from ablation with an insulation layer (Post, 1967a). Ferris, 

Johns Hopkins, North Crillon, and Fairweather Glaciers all have rock-slide debris partially covering the ablation area. Surges of glaciers are also common 

in this area. Glaciers known to surge are the Carroll, La Perouse, and Tenas 

Tikke; the last of which surged in 1972–1973 with a 3-km advance easily seen 

on repeated Landsat images (Krimmel and Meier, 1975). Landsat 3 RBV image (30525–19370, A and B; 12 August 1979; Path 64, Row 19) is from the U.S. 

Geological Survey, EROS Data Center, Sioux Falls, S. Dak. Landsat image and 

caption courtesy of Robert M. Krimmel, U.S. Geological Survey.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K131
the ice occupied from about 1750 to 1780 (fig. 107) marks the maximum areal extent of the ice mass in Glacier Bay during the “Little Ice Age.” By l794, 

when Joseph Whidbey and William LeMesurier, two of George Vancouver’s 

lieutenants, explored Icy Strait, the ice had retreated about 8 km and a small 

bay had formed. At the time of their observations (Vancouver, 1798), the 

retreating glacier terminated near Bartlett Cove. By the time the bay was 

entered by Lt. C.E.S. Wood in 1877 and explored by John Muir in 1879, the 

ice retreat exceeded 60 km.

Much of the retreat may have been owing to iceberg calving. When Carlson and others (2001) profiled lower Glacier Bay between Sitakaday Narrows and the fjord entrance with a multibeam imaging system, they found 

an extensive area covered by complex iceberg gouge patterns in the glacial 

marine sediment of the fjord’s floor in water depths ranging from 50 to100 m. 

Individual gouges were as much as 5 km long and a few tens of meters wide 

and had several meters of relief. They concluded that these gouges were 

likely formed by massive icebergs with drafts up to 100 m no more than 160 

years ago. The large icebergs calved as the glacier retreated up the bay. They 

reported that the dominant gouge orientation, roughly parallel to the fjord 

axis, suggests that the strong tidal currents of up to 7 knots through Sitakaday Narrows were responsible for driving the iceberg keels across the seabed. Even though the glaciers have retreated more than 80 km up fjord from 

Sitakaday Narrows, the gouges remain unburied in this environment of high 

sedimentation because sediment presently reaching the ice gouges is largely 

restricted to local runoff and plankton debris. In addition, the strong tidal 

currents through Sitakaday Narrows effectively keep the ice-gouged fjord 

floor scoured clean of fine sediment.

By the end of the 19th century, as the ice mass continued to thin and retreat, individual inlets began to become ice free, each with its own unique 

retreating glacier. Each inlet has its own history and timing of ice movement. 

For instance, Muir Glacier, located in the eastern arm of the bay, separated 

from the main ice mass in the early 1860s.

Reid (1892, 1895, 1896) carried out important scientific work on Muir Glacier and other glaciers in Glacier Bay. The scientific significance of his work 

has been discussed previously in the “Early Observations of Alaska and Its 

Glaciers” section earlier in this chapter.

Israel C. Russell visited Glacier Bay in 1890 (Russell, 1897, p. 82). He described the massive Muir Glacier as follows: 

On nearing the head of Glacier Bay and approaching Muir inlet, one beholds a palisade of ice nearly two miles long and from 130 to 210 feet high, rising from the water 

and uniting the mountain with mountain and forming a wall across the head of the 

inlet so as to hold back the waters of the ocean. This wall of ice is the extremity of the 

justly famed Muir Glacier. As one draws near, the surface of the glacier can be seen 

above and beyond the line of precipices in which it terminates. ... Soundings made in 

the central portion of the inlet as near to the ice front as vessels can safely venture, 

by estimate a thousand yards from the base of the cliffs, give a depth of 720 feet. The 

glacier extended south of the present limit a few years since and occupied the site 

where this sounding was taken, and was then certainly fully one thousand feet thick.

John Burroughs (1902, p. 35–36) participated in the Harriman Expedition’s visit to Glacier Bay. He described their arrival at Muir Glacier in June 

1899, as follows: 

At five o’clock we drop anchor about two miles from its front. In eighty fathoms of 

water (480 feet), abreast of the little cabin on the east shore built by John Muir some 

years ago. Not til after repeated soundings did we find bottom within reach of our anchor cables. Could the inlet have been emptied of its water for a moment we should 

have seen before us a palisade of ice nearly 1,000 feet higher and over two miles long.... 

Could we have been here many centuries ago, we should have seen, much further 

down the valley, a palisade of ice two or three thousand feet high. Many of these Alaska glaciers are rapidly melting and are now but the fragments of their former selves. 

From observations made here twenty years ago by John Muir, it is known that the 

position of the front of Muir Glacier at that time was about two miles below its present position, which would indicate a rate of recession of about one mile in ten years.

Table 4.— Accumulation area ratios (AARs) 

for glaciers in Glacier Bay and environs

[Data courtesy of Robert M. Krimmel, U.S. Geological Survey]

Glacier name AAR

AAR Analysis from Landsat 1399–19540; 

26 August 1973; Path 65, Row 19

Grand Pacific 0.59

Konamoxt .55

AAR Analysis from Landsat image 1434–19473; 30 

September 1973; Path 64, Row 19

Sea Otter 0.64

Fairweather .52

Lituya .64

Crillon .70

La Perouse .65

Finger .66

Brady .64

Geikie .62

Reid-Lamplugh .87

Johns Hopkins .91

Margerie .83

Ferris .79

Grand Pacific .72

Konamoxt .61

Tenas Tikke .76

Rendu .85

Carroll .87

Cushing .80

Riggs .83

McBride .63

Casement .68

Davidson .87

Tikke .72

K132 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
GLACIER BAY

NATIONAL PARK

and PRESERVE

GLACIER BAY

NATIONAL

PRESERVE

1966 1948

1892

1919

1907

1879

1879

1879

1879

1880

1907

1880

1892

1892

1907

1892

1794

1961

1845

1857

1860

1892

1860

1794

1750-1780

1907

1966 1941

1966

1929

1892

1966

1966

1966

1949

1929

1907

1929

1929

1966

1948

1960

1972

1976

1966

1907

1892

1907 1907

1916

1892

1892

1892 1925

1966

1912

1966

North Crillon Glacier

BRADY

ICEFIELD

Lamplugh Glacier

Johns Hopkins Glacier

Mc Bride Glacier

Riggs Glacier

MUIR GLACIER

CARROLL GLACIER

Rendu Glacier

GRAND PACIFIC GLACIER

MELBURN GLACIER

Margerie Glacier

Ferris Glacier

ALSEK GLACIER

GRAND PLATEAU

GLACIER

FAIRWEATHER GLACIER

Lituya Glacier

Reid Glacier

Casement Glacier

Cushing Glacier

LAPEROUSE GLACIER

BRADY GLACIER

TSIRKU GLACIER

Crillon

Lake

GULF OF ALASKA

P ACIFIC OCEAN

r o rb a Hsev ra G

yaB hcr oT

ICY STRAIT

North Passage

South Passage

CROSS

SOUND

Bartlett

Cove

Bartlett

Lake

Beartrack Cove

North Sandy Cove

Hugh Miller

Inlet

Blue Mouse

Cove

Bartlett

River

Beartrack River

Excursion River

Endicott

River

Excursion Inlet

Dundas

Bay

Taylor

Bay

Dundas River

Lake Seclusion

Abyss

Lake

Wood

Lake

Geikie Inlet

Berg Bay

Fingers

Bay

G L AC I E R

B AY

Tidal Inlet

Rendu Inlet

Queen nI el t

Wachusett Inlet

Muir Inlet

Adams Inlet

Tarr Inlet

Johns Hopkins

Inlet

LYNN C ANAL

Taiya Inlet

iy

Chilkoot

River

Chilkat

River

Klehini River

Takhin River

Tsirku

River

Ninetyeighter Creek

Alsek

River

River

at

Lituya Bay

Palma

Bay

Dixon Harbor

Dry Bay

E ast Alsek R

Alsek River

BRITISH COLUMBIA

ALASKA

CANADA

UNITED STATES

BRITISH COLUMBIA

ALASKA

Mt. LaPerouse

10728ft

3270m

WILLOUGHBY

ISLAND

BEARDSLEE

ISLANDS

INIAN

ISLANDS

FRANCIS Interglacial ISLAND Forest

Stumps

DRAKE

ISLAND

NORTH

MARBLE

ISLAND

SOUTH

MARBLE

ISLAND

RUSSELL

ISLAND

TLINGIT

POINT

MUIR

POINT

Wolf Point

Mt. Crillon

12726ft

3879m

Mt. Bertha

10204ft

3110m

Mt. Cooper

6780ft

2066m

Mt. Abbe

8750ft

2667m

Mt. Salisbury

12000ft

3658m

Lituya Mountain

11750ft

3582m

Mt. Quincy Adams

13650ft

4161m

Mt. Root

12860ft

3920m

Mt. Lodge

10530ft

3210m

Mt. Fairweather

15320ft

4669m

Mt. Wright

5139ft

1566m

Endicott Gap

900ft

274m

ALSEK RANGE

CHILKA

T RANGE

TAKHINSHA MOUNTAINS

B

Haines

Klukwan

CAPE

SPENCER

ICY POINT

CAPE

FAIRWEATHER

Skagway

Elfin Cove

Gustavus

CHICHAGOF ISLAND

PLEASANT

ISLAND

LEMESURIER

ISLAND

Airport

Interglacial

Forest Stumps

h

Mt. McDonnell

5481ft

1671m

S A I N T

E L I A S

M O U N TA I N S

F A I R WE AT H E R

R ANG E

EXCURSION RIDGE

B E A R T R A C K MO UNTAI NS

Dry Bay Ranger Station

Airstrip

Glacier Bay

National Park

Glacier Bay

National Preserve

Historic extent of

glaciation

DECEPTION HILLS

TA

TSHENSHINI-ALSEK

PROVINCIAL P ARK

TONGASS

N ATIONAL

FOREST

North

0

0

5 10 15 Miles

5 10 15 Kilometers

A

Figure 107.—A, Map of the Glacier Bay region showing the chronology of the retreat 

of the Glacier Bay ice cover between 1750 

and the end of the 20th century and the 

dates of the opening of the individual inlets. Modified from 1997 U.S. National Park 

Service map. B, Oblique orbital view of 

Glacier Bay and environs based on Landsat 

7 ETM+ image combined with digital elevation model from the USGS National 

Elevation Dataset (NED). Landsat 7 ETM+ 

image (7059019009921350, 1 August 1999; 

Path 59, Row 19) is from the National 

Aeronautics and Space Administration. 

[http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov]

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K133
John Muir also participated in the Harriman Expedition, returning to Glacier Bay after an absence of about a decade. This was his seventh and last trip 

to Alaska. He commented on the differences he observed and presented a 

description of the changes that occurred in the bay between 1879 and 1899: 

In Glacier Bay we remained nearly a week, so that we were able to note the 

changes which had taken place since my first visit in the fall of 1879. I then sailed 

around the bay, exploring all its branches and sketching the glaciers which occupied them, sailing up to their discharging fronts and landing on those which were 

not rendered inaccessible by the freezing together of their crowded bergs. Then 

(1879) there were only six berg-discharging glaciers in the bay; now (1899) there 

are nine...the three new ones being formed by one of the tributaries of the Hugh 

Miller and two of the Grand Pacific, separated from the main glacier and rendered 

independent by the recession of the trunks beyond their points of confluence. The 

Hugh Miller and Muir have receded about two miles in the last twenty years, the 

Grand Pacific about four and the Geike, Rendu, and Carroll perhaps from seven 

to ten miles. By the recession of the Grand Pacific and corresponding extension 

of Reid Inlet an island two and a half or three miles long, and over a thousand feet 

high, has been added to the landscape. Only the end of this island was visible in 

1879. New islands have been born in some of the other fiords also, and some still 

enveloped in the glaciers show only their heads as they bide their time to take 

their place in the young landscape. Here, then, we have the work of glacial earthsculpture going on before our eyes, teaching lessons so plain that he who runs may 

read. Evidently, all the glaciers hereabouts were no great time ago united, and with 

the multitude of glaciers which loaded the mountains to the south, once formed a 

grand continuous ice-sheet that flowed over all the island region of the coast and 

extended at least as far down as the Strait of Juan de Fuca (Muir, 1902, p. 127–128).

Muir also described the glacial origin of the submerged lands in southeastern Alaska that he explored: 

The network of so called canals, passages, straits, channels, fiords, and so on, between the islands manifest in their forms and trends and general characteristics the 

same subordination to the grinding action of a continuous ice-sheet, being simply 

the margins of the continent eroded below the sea level and therefore covered with 

the ocean waters which flowed into them as the ice was melted out. And as we have 

seen, this action is still going on and new islands and new channels are being added 

to the famous archipelago. The steamer trip to the fronts of the glaciers of Glacier 

Bay is now from two to eight miles longer than it was only twenty years ago. That the 

domain of the sea is being extended over the land by the wearing away of its shores 

is well known, but in this region the coast rocks have been so short a time exposed 

to wave action that the most resistant of them are scarcely at all wasted. Even as far 

south as Victoria (British Columbia) the superficial glacial scoring and polish may 

still be seen on the hardest of the harbor rocks below the tideline. The extension 

hereabouts of the sea by its own action in post-glacial time is probably less than a millionth part as much as that effected by recent glacial action (Muir, 1902, p. 128–129). 

[Editors’ note: According to Mark F. Meier (written commun., 2004), 20th 

and 21st century research addresses the importance of changes in relative 

sea level caused by uplift of the region, the result of isostatic adjustment 

of the Earth’s crust to loss of glacier ice (glacial rebound) and tectonic 

processes.]

Grand Pacific Glacier and Johns Hopkins Glacier, located in the western 

part of the bay, separated from each other about 1890. Each glacier independently continued to retreat for the next 35 to 40 years, and each has since 

fluctuated around the head of its respective inlet. Muir Inlet, Queen Inlet, 

Rendu Inlet, Reid Inlet, and Geikie Inlet are all side branches of the main 

bay. In a similar fashion, Adams Inlet, Wachusett Inlet, and the inlets in front 

of McBride and Riggs Glaciers are branches of Muir Inlet. Figure 107 shows 

the position of Glacier Bay’s glaciers near the end of the 20th century. Figure 108A is a Landsat 1 MSS image of most of Glacier Bay on 12 September 

1973.

Annual field observations made by the author during 1974–82, including much of the Landsat baseline period, indicate that 13 tidewater glaciers 

(McBride, Riggs, Muir, Carroll, Grand Pacific, Margerie, Toyatte, Johns Hopkins, Gilman, Hoonah, Kashoto, Lamplugh, and Reid Glaciers) were actively 

calving icebergs into Glacier Bay. Since then, the termini of several, such as 

Muir, Toyatte, Hoonah, and Kashoto Glaciers, have retreated above sea level. 

About 90 years earlier (fig. 108B), when Glacier Bay was mapped by Reid in 

K134 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
1890 and 1892 (Reid, 1896), it had only 10 tidewater calving termini (Muir, 

Carroll, Rendu, Grand Pacific, Johns Hopkins, Reid, Hugh Miller, Charpentier, Geikie, and Wood Glaciers); many of today’s glaciers were still part of the 

much larger late-19th century ice mass.

Figure 108.—A, Part of a 1973 Landsat 1 

MSS image of the Glacier Bay region that 

covers approximately the same area as B 

(see following page). 

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K135
Figure 108.—B, Map of the Glacier Bay region made by H.F. 

Reid based on surveys conducted in 1890 and 1892 (Reid, 

1896). At the time this map was made, recession amounted 

to 75 km. The present-day Muir Glacier is a small remnant 

of the glacier-ice cover in Glacier Bay that existed at the end 

of the 19th century. Major recession has affected virtually 

all of the glaciers in the Glacier Bay region; however, some 

glaciers have readvanced. Landsat image, map, and caption courtesy of Robert M. Krimmel, U.S. Geological Survey. 

Landsat 1 MSS image (1416–19480, band 7; 12 September 

1973; Path 64, Row 19) is from the U.S. Geological Survey, 

EROS Data Center, Sioux, Falls, S. Dak.

K136 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Muir Inlet

By the early 1880s, the retreat of Muir Glacier began to expose Muir Inlet. 

By the early 21st century, retreat was more than 40 km. From south to north, 

Muir’s side inlets — Adams Inlet (ca. 1905), Wachusett Inlet (ca. 1927), 

McBride inlet (ca. 1966), and Riggs inlet (ca. 1966) — began to appear. Field 

and Collins (1975) reported that, during the 82 years between 1886 and 

1968, the average rate of retreat of the Muir Glacier was 400 m a–1. Between 

1926 and 1982, retreat totaled 30 km, and the ice thickness had decreased 

more than 650 m at the location of the 1982 terminus (Krimmel and Meier, 

1989). By the middle 1990s, the terminus of Muir Glacier ended on land, and 

its length had decreased to less than 30 km.

In the late 19th century, the retreat of Muir Glacier exhumed a series of 

“ancient buried forests,” one of the most unusual and scientifically significant features of Glacier Bay. In 1890, Russell (1897) observed these forest 

beds being exposed by the retreat of the glacier. He presented a photograph 

of this deposit and reported that: 

On landing on either side of the inlet, the first fact that attracts the attention of 

the geologist is the presence of a heavy deposit of cross-stratified sand and gravel below the extremity of the glacier. This gravel passes beneath the glacier and 

is plainly of more ancient date than the advance of the ice over it. In this deposit are many trunks and branches of trees; and on the west side of the inlet there 

are a score or more trunks of spruce trees, still standing as they grew, which 

have been exposed by the removal of the strata in which they were formerly buried.... The history of this deposit of sand and gravel and of the forest entombed 

in it is in brief as follows: The glacier was formerly not so extensive as now, having undergone a retreat after a preceding period of marked extension, and a

dense forest grew at least on its sides, if not in the center, of the valley left exposed 

below its terminus. Coincident with the retreat of the glacier and the growth of 

the forest there must have been an elevation of the land which excluded the water from a portion of the inlet now submerged. While the forest was still standing, 

the streams from the glacier, then terminating in the valley to the north, brought 

down large quantities of gravel and sand and built up an alluvial cone about the 

extremity of the ice. As this alluvial cone, which probably ended in the sea and in 

fact was in part a delta, increased in size, it invaded the adjacent forest and buried the still upright trees. A subsequent advance of the glacier caused the ice to 

override the gravel with its entombed forest. When the glacier once more retreated the deposits were uncovered and cut away by streams flowing from the 

ice, so as to expose the trees buried within their mass. This last step in the history of the inlet is unfinished. The terminus of the glacier is still receding, and as 

the streams flowing from it are still excavating channels through the gravel, it is 

to be expected that additional portions of the buried forest will be uncovered.... 

Hall and others (1995) presented several excellent examples of how 

Landsat imagery has been used to document changes in Glacier Bay. Figure 

109 shows a pair of Landsat multispectral scanner (MSS) images of upper 

Muir Inlet, acquired on 12 September 1973 and 6 September 1986 (Hall and 

others, 1995). In the 13 years between images, Muir Glacier retreated more 

than 7 km. A supervised computer classification comparison of features on 

this pair of MSS images indicates that the increase in vegetation cover (from 

5–9 percent) and open water (from 8–9 percent) was accompanied by a loss 

in area of glacier ice of more than 5 percent during the 13-year period (Hall 

and others, 1995).

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K137
Figure 109.— The reduction in glacierized area and volume is documented 

by these two annotated Landsat MSS false-color composite images of upper 

Muir Inlet acquired on 12 September 1973 and 6 September 1986. In the 13 

years between images, the terminus of Muir Glacier (marked by the arrows) 

retreated more than 7 km. Burroughs Glacier (A) also suffered a significant 

loss in area. The increase in both the density and the quantity of red surfaces 

(color of vegetation in false-color infrared) is another line of evidence that 

documents the decrease in glacier cover. Figure from Hall and others (1995). 

Landsat 1 MSS image (1416–19480, bands 4, 5, 7; 12 September 1973; Path 

64, Row 19) and Landsat 5 MSS image (5059019008624990, bands 4, 5, 7; 6 

September 1986; Path 59, Row 19) are from the U.S. Geological Survey, EROS 

Data Center, Sioux Falls, S. Dak.

Adams Inlet 

Adams Glacier was named by Reid (1896) for a member of his 1892 field 

party; the Southeast Tributary to Muir Glacier was also a name applied by 

Reid to the southeastern part of Muir Glacier. By the middle 1890s, the retreat of Adams Glacier had begun to open an inlet to the southeast of the 

newly forming Muir Inlet. By 1962, the inlet was more than 10 km long, and 

the terminus of Adams Glacier was in a side valley, about 3 km from the inlet. 

By 1979, Adams Glacier had retreated another 4 km, leaving a large ice-cored 

moraine along its former western margin (AHAP photograph L194F4179 acquired on 11 August 1979). Stagnation and retreat have continued into the 

21st century.

Casement Glacier (fig. 110), which has a terminus located on the northern 

side of the inlet, began to separate from the retreating Muir Glacier early in 

the 20th century. By 1911, it had become completely separated and had retreated onto land (Field and Collins, 1975). By the middle 1960s, retreat had 

approached 3 km, and the terminus was surrounded by a large, pitted, icecored moraine. Stagnation and retreat have continued into the 21st century, 

with sediment-free ice occurring more than 5 km from the shore of Adams 

Inlet (fig. 107). Since the 1960s, Casement Glacier has received substantial 

attention from the glacial geology community as a natural laboratory for understanding the dynamics of ice retreat and stagnation. More than a dozen 

Casement Glacier

Adams Inlet

Muir Inlet

N

Figure 110.—11 August 1979 AHAP falsecolor infrared vertical aerial photograph of 

central Adams Inlet, Glacier Bay, St. Elias 

Mountains, and the area to the north. The 

terminus of Casement Glacier is surrounded by a large pitted ice-cored moraine and a 

number of other ice retreat and stagnation 

features, including eskers, an ice-marginal 

lake, and a pitted outwash plain. AHAP photograph no. L194F4177 from the GeoData 

Center, Geophysical Institute, University of 

Alaska, Fairbanks, Alaska. A larger version 

of this figure is available online. 

K138 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
journal articles have documented various aspects of esker formation (Price, 

1966), lake dynamics (Lindsay, 1966; Moravek, 1973), and the evolution of 

collapsed glacial topography (McKenzie and Goodwin, 1987).

Wachusett Inlet

Various names have been used to describe the land area located on the 

western side of Muir Inlet, about 20 km north of its mouth. Reid (1896) 

named the area the Cushing Plateau after Henry Cushing, a professor of geology at Western Reserve University and a member of Reid’s 1890 expedition. 

Reid called the glacier, which drained the plateau, the Northwest Tributary

of Muir Glacier (Reid, 1892). After the visit of the Harriman Expedition in 

1899, Reid’s Cushing Plateau was renamed Burroughs Glacier, after John 

Burroughs, a naturalist who was part of the Harriman Expedition. According to Field and Collins (1975), the name Burroughs Glacier was assigned 

to the higher part of the Plateau Glacier in 1941. As this large ice mass has 

thinned and parts of it have become better defined, other names have been 

proposed. Reid’s Northwest Tributary was renamed Cushing Glacier by the 

IBC in 1923 (IBC, 1951), and Cooper named the ice covering the Cushing 

Plateau as Plateau Glacier in 1937 (Cooper, 1937). 

Beginning about 1915, rapid ice retreat began to expose Wachusett Inlet. 

Between then and about 1985, the very rapid disintegration and retreat of 

Plateau Glacier, its separation from Carroll and Burroughs Glaciers, and the 

continuing retreat of Carroll Glacier exposed Wachusett Inlet (fig. 111) (see 

also AHAP photograph L195F4155 acquired on 11 August 1979). At the beginning of the 21st century, Burroughs Glacier was a melting, stagnant ice 

mass located completely below its accumulation area (figs. 109, 112).

Plateau Glacier became independent of Muir Glacier around 1915. Between l929 and the middle 1980s, when the last of the ice that comprised the 

Carroll Glacier

Cushing Glacier

Burroughs Glacier remnant

Wachusett Inlet

A

B

C

C

N

Muir Gl.

Muir Inlet

0 5 KILOMETERS

APPROXIMATE SCALE

Figure 111.—11 August 1979 AHAP falsecolor infrared vertical aerial photograph 

of upper Wachusett Inlet, Glacier Bay, St. 

Elias Mountains. Clearly visible are the 

retreating glaciers that had filled the inlets 

until a few years prior to the date of the 

photograph. Ice that originated from the 

pair of unnamed glaciers (in lower right 

corner) that descend from the north side 

of Mount Merriam was in contact with the 

retreating Plateau Glacier in 1968 (see fig. 

113). The unnamed cirque glacier (A) that 

descends from the north side of Mount 

Wordie had separated several decades 

earlier. The terminus of Carroll Glacier is 

stagnant, and the margin along which 

Carroll and Plateau Glacier previously 

joined (B) shows much evidence of recent 

retreat. The terminus of Carroll Glacier is 

covered with thick debris. Stagnant-ice 

remnants of Plateau Glacier can be seen 

at several locations (C). The retreating 

edge of the remnant of Burroughs Glacier 

and the terminus of Cushing Glacier have 

conspicuous trimlines. The contorted moraine patterns in the terminus of Carroll 

Glacier indicate that it is a surging glacier. 

AHAP photograph no. L195F4158 from the 

GeoData Center, Geophysical Institute, 

University of Alaska, Fairbanks, Alaska.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K139
northwestern margin of Plateau Glacier melted away from the stagnant and 

downwasting terminus of Carroll Glacier, Wachusett Inlet increased in length 

to more than 20 km. AGS Glacier Studies Map No. 64–2–G9 (Field, 1965) documents the rapid disappearance of Plateau Glacier and the exposure of Wachusett Inlet between 1916 and 1964. Figure 113, a 25 August 1968 oblique 

aerial photograph shows the continued retreat and location of the terminus 

of Plateau Glacier and the increase in open water in Wachusett Inlet between 

1964 and 1988. It is based on an analysis of four aerial photographs: 29 August 

1964, 25 August 1968, 5 September 1972, and 25 August 1988.

1968

1972

1988

1964

Figure 113.—Oblique aerial photograph of 

the rapidly retreating Plateau Glacier and 

the developing Wachusett Inlet, Glacier 

Bay, St. Elias Mountains acquired on 25 

August 1968. Approximate positions of the 

terminus on 29 August 1964 (USGS photo 

no. K647–100), 5 September 1972 (USGS 

photo no. 72–R5–088) and 25 August 1988 

(USGS photo no. 88–R1–198) are indicated. 

During the interval 1964 to 1988, Plateau 

Glacier retreated more than 5 km. USGS 

photograph no. 68–R2–238 by Austin Post, 

U.S. Geological Survey.

Figure 112.—Oblique aerial photograph 

of the Burroughs Glacier (fig. 109) on 12 

September 1986. The stagnant ice mass is a 

remnant of the Muir Glacier complex of past 

decades which is now left with no accumulation area. The Burroughs Glacier Remnant 

is ablating at the rate of 5–10 m a–1. With the 

exception of the peaks, ridge crests, and 

distant ranges, all of the area in this photograph was covered by ice in 1892 when 

H.F. Reid (1896) mapped Glacier Bay (fig. 

108B). USGS photograph no. 86–R1–253 

and figure caption by Robert M. Krimmel, 

U.S. Geological Survey. 

K140 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Upper Muir Inlet

According to Field and Collins (1975), the location of the terminus of Muir 

Glacier (fig. 114) in 1968 corresponded to the location where the surface of 

the glacier extended 840 m above sea level in 1890. Seismic profiles showing 

the configuration of the walls and floor of the fjord between Muir Glacier and 

Riggs Glacier have been presented by Molnia (1983b, 1989b) who showed 

that the Muir Glacier had been grounded at 250 m below sea level, for a total 

thickness of about 1,100 m. 

As Muir Glacier retreated, McBride Glacier became separated in 1945–46. 

By 28 June 1980, McBride Glacier had retreated more than 1 km from the 

mouth of its inlet (fig. 115). Near the beginning of the 1990s, the retreating 

Figure 114.—11 August 1979 AHAP false-color infrared vertical aerial photographic mosaic of upper Muir Inlet, Glacier 

Bay, St. Elias Mountains. The tidewater termini of McBride, 

Riggs, and Muir Glaciers are clearly seen. When this area 

was photographed, a few icebergs and very little sediment 

were being discharged into the inlet. The stagnant Muir 

Remnant (A) was detached from the retreating Muir Glacier 

prior to the 1960s. The north arm of McBride Glacier provided 

significant quantities of ice to Riggs Glacier prior to losing 

contact in the early 1970s. Large lateral and medial moraines 

mark its recent former extent. The unnamed hanging glacier 

(just east of Muir Glacier) separated from the retreating Muir 

Glacier about 1973. AHAP photograph nos. L194F4173 and 

L194F4174 from the GeoData Center, Geophysical Institute, 

University of Alaska, Fairbanks, Alaska.

Muir Glacier

A

Riggs Glacier

McBride Glacier

Muir Inlet

N

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K141
McBride Glacier had a length of about 24 km, a width at its face of 1.2 km, an 

area of 143 km2, and an AAR of 0.59 (table 2) (Viens, 1995). By 2004, McBride 

had retreated more than 2 km from the mouth of its inlet but continued to 

be an active tidewater glacier (fig. 115). The retreating Muir Glacier became 

independent of Riggs Glacier in 1961. During the first half of the 1960s, Muir 

retreated from Riggs at the rate of ~1 km a–1.

Riggs Glacier also thinned and continued to retreat into the 21st century 

(fig. 116). In the early 1990s, Riggs had a length of about 25 km, a width at its 

face of 1.5 km, an area of 126 km2, and an AAR of 0.72 (table 2) (Viens, 1995). 

By 2004, Riggs Glacier was about 1.3 km from the mouth of its inlet and had 

thinned more than 75 m, and its retreat had exposed bedrock along much of 

its northern margin. Sedimentation had built a delta in front of its eastern 

terminus.

As Muir Glacier thinned and retreated, upland ice was stranded in bedrock 

basins. Muir Remnant (fig. 117), located on the western side of Muir Inlet, is 

all that remained by 24 August 1963 to indicate the former majestic thickness 

of Muir Glacier. During the middle 1970s, the retreat rate of Muir Glacier was 

more than 1 km a–1. Near the beginning of the 1990s (fig. 118), Muir Glacier 

had decreased in length to 26.5 km. Its area was about 148 km2, the width at 

its face was 0.9 km, and its AAR was 0.75 (table 2) (Viens, 1995).

Muir Glacier retreated onto land in 1991. In 2004, it was continuing to 

thin and retreat and was more than 15 km from its former confluence with 

Figure 115.—28 June 1980 east-looking 

oblique aerial photograph of the retreating 

terminus of McBride Glacier. Its terminus 

displayed two semicircular calving embayments. A falling tide was drawing the bergs 

into Muir Inlet through a channel in a recent 

recessional moraine. Both sides of the glacier show significant trimlines. Photograph 

by Bruce F. Molnia, U.S. Geological Survey.

Figure 116.—3 October 1979 east-looking 

oblique aerial photograph of the terminus 

of Riggs Glacier. In the five years between 

1974 and 1979 aerial photographs, the two 

northern embayments have enlarged, and 

a bedrock outcrop has begun to be exposed between them. The loss of stagnant 

ice on the south side of Riggs Glacier has 

led to the development of a third embayment. Photograph by Bruce F. Molnia, U.S. 

Geological Survey.

K142 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Riggs Glacier. Not discussed here but relevant to the discussion of tidewater 

glacier retreat is the sediment accumulation during up-fjord and on-land retreat. Summaries of sediment accumulation in Muir Inlet and other Alaskan 

fiords have been presented by Molnia (1983b, 1989b).

Figure 117.—Oblique aerial photograph of 

upper Muir Inlet on 24 August 1963. Muir 

Glacier and Riggs Glacier are separated 

by about 2.5 km of open water. In the foreground is the shrinking Muir Remnant. 

Photograph from the U.S. Geological 

Survey.

Figure 118.—12 September 1986 oblique 

aerial photograph of Muir Glacier. USGS 

photograph no. 86–R1–263 by Robert M. 

Krimmel, U.S. Geological Survey.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K143
Queen Inlet

Carroll Glacier (fig. 111) was a tidewater glacier at the head of 11-km-long 

Queen Inlet when it was first observed by Reid in 1892 (Reid, 1896). At that 

time, water depths exceeded 185 m at its terminus. It remained a tidewater 

glacier until about 1920, by which time an outwash plain had developed in 

front of its terminus. Surges occurred in 1919 and 1943 (Field, 1964) and 

from 1966 to 1968 (Field, 1969). The last surge resulted in several hundred 

meters of terminus advance. The surge pushed ice into part of the area previously occupied by Plateau Glacier. By the mid-1970s, Carroll Glacier was only 

about 0.5 km from its 1890s position (AGS Glacier Studies Map No. 64–2–G4) 

(Field, 1965). Stagnation and very slow retreat have characterized the glacier 

into the 21st century (U.S. Bureau of Land Management [BLM] false-color infrared vertical aerial photograph acquired on 26 May 1997). When the author 

visited Carroll Glacier in both 2003 and 2004, the lower 1.5 km was covered 

by thick debris; its terminus had thinned by more than 100 m from its early 

20th century thickness, and, where depths had previously exceeded 185 m, 

sedimentation had filled the upper fjord to above sea level. 

Rendu Inlet

Rendu Glacier was a tidewater glacier at the head of 16-km-long Rendu Inlet when it was first observed and named by Reid in 1892 (Reid, 1896). Since 

then, a large fan-delta-outwash plain has developed in front of its terminus, 

and the terminus position has fluctuated by as much as 2 km from its 1911 

position (AGS Glacier Studies Map No. 64–2–G2) (Field, 1965). Between 

1892 and 1907, the glacier retreated as much as 1.5 km. But a surge from 

about 1908 to 1909 resulted in the terminus advancing as much as 2.5 km, 

to its post-“Little Ice Age” maximum areal extent. Rendu Glacier also surged 

between 1926 and 1929 and in 1965–66. The latter surge resulted in the terminus advancing nearly 0.5 km (Field and Collins, 1975). Stagnation, slow 

retreat, and the build-up of morainic debris on the glacier’s terminus have 

characterized Rendu Glacier into the 21st century (fig. 119) (also BLM falsecolor infrared vertical aerial photographs R1–FL1–FR38 and FR40 acquired 

on 16 August 1996).

Romer Glacier, located on the western side of Rendu Inlet about 4 km 

south of Rendu Glacier, also surged during the early 20th century. In 1911, 

after the 1909 surge, its terminus was tidewater. Since then, it has retreated 

onto land, and its terminus position has fluctuated by more than 0.5 km.

Tarr Inlet

At the beginning of the 21st century, Margerie and Grand Pacific Glaciers 

were located at the head of 16-km-long Tarr Inlet. In 1899, when the Harriman Expedition visited, the inlet did not exist because it was completely 

filled by an extended Grand Pacific Glacier. Photographs from the Harriman 

Expedition showing this extent are available in the USGS Photo Library collection (Gilbert 254, 255, 256). Between 1899 and 1912, Grand Pacific Glacier retreated more than 15 km, an average retreat rate of more than 1 km a–1. 

Soon after l9l2, the retreating Grand Pacific Glacier separated from Margerie 

Glacier and retreated into Canada. Grand Pacific Glacier’s terminus remained 

in Canada until about l948, when it slowly began to advance, reaching the 

U.S.-Canadian border in l961, and advancing more than a kilometer into the 

United States by 11 August 1979 (fig. 120). The position of Margerie Glacier’s 

terminus has been fairly stable since its early 20th century retreat ended. 

However, as figure 121 shows, ice in its principle tributary flowed more than 

8 km down glacier during a 6-year period.

In late 1989, Grand Pacific Glacier finally reconnected with Margerie Glacier, primarily because of ice contributed by Ferris Glacier and the surge of 

the principle tributary of Margerie Glacier. In 1989, the ice from Ferris Glacier 

comprised 60 percent of the width of the terminus of Grand Pacific Glacier; 

in 2004, it accounted for the entire width. The glaciers remained connected 

Rendu

Glacier

Romer Gl.

N

Figure 119.—11 August 1979 AHAP falsecolor infrared vertical aerial photograph 

of Rendu Glacier, Romer Glacier, and a 

number of unnamed retreating glaciers. 

The folded and contorted moraines on the 

surface of Rendu Glacier are indicative of a 

recent surge history. Thinning of the glacier 

has resulted in the development of vegetation and a well-defined trimline along the 

east side of the main trunk. The unnamed 

tributary to the left of the Rendu Glacier 

terminus was surging onto Rendu Glacier 

on the date of this photograph. Most of the 

small unnamed glaciers in the photograph 

show evidence of active thinning and 

retreat. AHAP photograph no. L197F4109 

from the GeoData Center, Geophysical 

Institute, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, 

Alaska. A larger version of this figure is 

available online. 

K144 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
(BLM false-color infrared vertical aerial photograph R3–FL6–FR57 acquired 

on 26 May 1997) until the winter of 1997–98, when the melting of stagnant 

ice left by the retreat of the terminus of Grand Pacific Glacier resulted in the 

separation of the two glaciers. When the author visited Grand Pacific Glacier in 2003 and 2004, its terminus was debris covered and retreating and 

was located several hundred meters north of the point where the two had 

rejoined. 

Near the beginning of the 1990s, Grand Pacific Glacier had a length of 

about 60 km, a width at its face of 2.7 km, an area of 654 km2, and an AAR of 

0.70; Margerie Glacier had a length of about 34 km, a width at its face of 1.9 

km, an area of 174 km2, and an AAR of 0.82 (table 2) (Viens, 1995). Grand 

Pacific Glacier had an accumulation area of 459 km2 and an ablation area of 

Eliza Glacier

Grand

Pacific

Glacier

Margerie Glacier

Ferris Glacier

Tarr Inlet

N

CANADA

UNITED STATES

Figure 120.—Annotated 11 August 1979 

AHAP false-color infrared vertical aerial 

photograph of the head of Tarr Inlet showing the position of the nearly connected 

termini of Margerie and Grand Pacific 

Glaciers. Ferris Glacier provided much 

of the ice to the then advancing terminus 

of Grand Pacific Glacier. In 1931, in comparison, Ferris Glacier had only contributed 10 percent of the ice of the terminus. 

AHAP photograph no. L198F4014 from the 

GeoData Center, Geophysical Institute, 

University of Alaska, Fairbanks, Alaska.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K145
195 km2

, whereas Margerie Glacier had an accumulation area of 143 km2 and 

an ablation area of 31 km2 (table 2) (Viens, 1995).

Johns Hopkins Inlet

At the time of Reid’s 1892 visit, Johns Hopkins Inlet was completely filled 

with glacier ice that extended more than 10 km beyond its late 20th century 

position (fig. 107). This ice had been a tributary to the massive Grand Pacific 

Glacier, which, in 1892, covered the northern end of Russell Island and encircled it to the west. Reid applied the name Reid Inlet to the upper end of 

Glacier Bay southeast of Russell Island and adjacent to Grand Pacific Glacier. 

This name was adopted by the American Association for the Advancement 

of Science (AAAS) in 1893 (Orth, 1967, 1971). By 1910, as Grand Pacific 

Glacier continued to retreat and separate into individual glaciers, an inlet 

north of Russell Island began to emerge. It was named Tarr Inlet by Lawrence 

Martin in 1912 for Ralph Tarr, who visited the inlet in 1911. However, the 

name Reid Inlet continued to be applied to the inlet at the terminus of Johns 

Hopkins Glacier. In 1931, Cooper proposed the name Johns Hopkins Inlet 

for this inlet. The name was formally adopted by the BGN in 1954. The name 

Reid Inlet was then restricted to the inlet formed at the terminus of Reid 

Glacier.

Between l892 and 1929, Johns Hopkins Glacier retreated more than l8 km 

and separated into several dozen individual glaciers (fig. 107). Since then, the 

terminus position of Johns Hopkins Glacier has experienced numerous fluctuations, but the trend has been dominated by a readvance, which continues 

into the early 21st century (AGS Glacier Studies Map No. 64–2–G1) (Field, 

1965). Near the beginning of the 1990s, Johns Hopkins Glacier (fig. 122) had 

a length of about 60 km, an area of 654 km2, a width at its face of 1.7 km, and 

an AAR of 0.70 (table 2) (Viens, 1995). In the middle 1990s, the advance of 

Johns Hopkins Glacier resulted in its briefly joining with Gilman Glacier. At 

the beginning of the 21st century, Johns Hopkins Glacier was separated from 

Gilman Glacier and was located about 0.3 km up-fjord. They had rejoined 

Figure 121.—Segments of four Landsat 

MSS images of Margerie Glacier, acquired between 12 September 1973 and 

6 September 1986, show how a post-September 1980 surge in the principal tributary 

affected the terminus. Between 1973 and 

1980, little change occurred. However, the 

unnamed tributary advanced more than 

3 km between 20 September 1980 and 6 

September 1983. It flowed another 5 km 

downglacier between 6 September 1983 

and 6 September 1986. Figure from Hall 

and others (1995).

K146 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
when the author observed them in late July 2002. In September 2004, the 

two glaciers were still in contact, although Johns Hopkins Glacier had retreated approximately 200 m from its 2002 position.

During the period of the Landsat baseline, six glaciers in Johns Hopkins 

Inlet reached tidewater and produced icebergs (fig. 123): Johns Hopkins, 

Toyatte, Kashoto, Hoonah, Gilman, and Lamplugh Glaciers. Hoonah, Kashoto, and Gilman Glaciers are hanging glaciers that descend to tidewater and 

are significantly smaller than the other tidewater glaciers in the inlet. Near 

the beginning of the 1990s, Hoonah Glacier had a length of 7 km, an area of 

12 km2, a width at its face of 0.2 km, and an AAR of 0.70 (table 2) (Viens, 

1995). Kashoto Glacier had a length of 5 km, an area of 5 km2, a width at its 

face of 0.1 km, and an AAR of 0.94 (table 2) (Viens, 1995). Gilman Glacier, 

the largest of the three, had a length of 12 km, an area of 35 km2, a width at its 

face of 0.45 km, and an AAR of 0.88 (table 2) (Viens, 1995).

Lamplugh Glacier is located just inside the mouth of Johns Hopkins Inlet 

on its southern side. It separated from the receding Johns Hopkins Glacier 

sometime before 1906 and has remained a tidewater glacier. Since 1929, its 

terminus has fluctuated as much as 1.5 km (AGS Glacier Studies Map No. 

64–2–G5) (Field, 1965). Field and Collins (1975) reported that Lamplugh 

Glacier retreated 800 m between 1935 and 1941. Near the beginning of the 

1990s, Lamplugh Glacier had a length of about 32 km, an area of 170 km2, a 

width at its face of 0.85 km, and an AAR of 0.85; its accumulation area was 

145 km2, and its ablation area was 25 km2 (table 2) (Viens, 1995). When the 

author observed its terminus in 2003 and 2004, it was more than 0.5 km forward of its 1941 position. However, fresh till located about 200 m forward of 

the terminus documented an even greater post-1941 advance that occurred 

in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Figure 122.—Oblique aerial photograph of 

Johns Hopkins Glacier on 12 September 

1986. Another terminus of a tidewater 

glacier, Gilman Glacier, is in the left foreground. USGS photograph no. 86–R2–292 

by Robert M. Krimmel, U.S. Geological 

Survey.

Kadachan Gl.

Johns Hopkins Glacier Johns Hopkins Inlet

Gilman Glacier Tyeen Glacier

Hoonah Glacier

Clark Glacier

Kashoto Glacier

Kadachan Gl.

Toyatte Glacier

N

Figure 123.—Annotated 14 August 1978 

AHAP false-color infrared vertical photograph of the head of Johns Hopkins Inlet 

showing the position of Johns Hopkins, 

Toyatte, Kashoto, Hoonah, and Gilman 

Glaciers and a number of named and unnamed glaciers that descend the inlet’s 

valley walls but did not extend into tidewater, including Clark, Tyeen, and Kadachan 

Glaciers. The fjord depth in front of Gilman 

Glacier is 350 m. AHAP photograph no. 

LXXXF4983 from the GeoData Center, 

Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska, 

Fairbanks, Alaska. A larger version of this 

figure is available online. 

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K147
Figure 124, an 11 August 1979 AHAP photograph of the northwestern end 

of Glacier Bay, shows the relationship of Lamplugh Glacier, Reid Glacier and 

Inlet, and Johns Hopkins Inlet. A BLM photograph (no. R3–FL7–FR75) taken 

on 26 May 1997 shows the late-20th century location of Lamplugh Glacier.

Many other glaciers descend adjacent mountain slopes, some existing only 

at higher elevations (fig. 125). Some reach the inlet’s walls but remain above 

tidewater. Named glaciers include Clark, Tyeen, Kadachan, John, Charley, 

and Topeka Glaciers. John and Charley Glaciers were named for Tlingit 

guides who helped Muir in l879. [Editors’ note: According to Mark F. Meier 

(written commun., 2004), some of the glaciers that flow into Johns Hopkins 

Inlet include some unusual surge-type glaciers noted by Field. For example, 

the Tyeen Glacier becomes a tidewater glacier during a surge; the surge of 

a tributary glacier apparently causes a surge of the main stem (see figure in 

Meier and Post, 1969).]

Reid Inlet

Reid Glacier, which has a length of about 17 km, an area of 49 km2, a width 

at its face of 0.85 km, and an AAR of 0.64 (table 2) (Viens, 1995), sits at 

the head of 3-km-long Reid Inlet (fig. 124). A large terminal moraine located 

at the mouth of the inlet was formed during the first three decades of the 

20th century. Between 1929 and 1941, the glacier retreated about 2.5 km 

(AGS Glacier Studies Map No. 64–2–G3) (Field, 1965). Since then, the terminus has thinned but remained nearly stationary, fluctuating within several 

hundred meters of its 1941 position. The growth of outwash fans along both 

margins of the glacier has helped to stabilize the terminus. At the end of the 

20th century, a BLM photograph (no. R3–FL6–FR70), taken on 26 May 1997, 

shows that Reid Glacier was slowly retreating. Retreat continued in 2004.

Hugh Miller, Charpentier, and Geikie Inlets

Located on the southwestern side of Glacier Bay, the glaciers that filled 

Hugh Miller, Charpentier, and Geikie Inlets separated from the receding Glacier Bay ice trunk between 1860 and 1880. Muir named the glacier and the 

inlet in front of it for Scottish geologist Hugh Miller in 1879. By 1892, continued retreat of Hugh Miller Glacier resulted in the formation of two separate 

ice masses. Reid (1896) called these Hugh Miller Glacier and Charpentier 

Glacier. By the time Muir revisited Hugh Miller Fiord in June 1899 (fig. 126), 

it had become an open inlet, as had Queen, Rendu, and Reid Inlets. Between 

1892 and 1968, Hugh Miller Glacier retreated about 7 km, an average rate of 

nearly 100 m a–1. As it retreated, it separated from Scidmore Glacier to its 

north and several unnamed ice masses. By 11 August 1979, it had retreated 

nearly another kilometer (fig. 127). At the end of the 20th century, Hugh 

Miller Glacier was continuing to retreat. 

Charpentier Glacier has continued to retreat since separating from Hugh 

Miller Glacier. By the end of the 20th century, it had retreated nearly 10 km. 

Favorite and Maynard Glaciers separated early in the 20th century; Favorite 

Glacier disappeared between 1919 and 1926. 

Similarly, in 1879, Muir named Geikie Glacier for Scottish geologist James 

Geikie, author of The Great Ice Age, a book that provided Muir with some 

of his knowledge of glacier processes. By 1892, continued retreat of Geikie 

Glacier resulted in two separate ice masses. Reid (1896) called these Geikie and Wood Glaciers. Wood Glacier completely disappeared by the early 

1940s. Except for a small advance around 1920 (Field and Collins, 1975), 

Geikie Glacier has continued to retreat since Reid observed it. It retreated 

above tidewater and onto land about 1911 (AGS Glacier Studies Map No. 

64–2–G7) (Field, 1965). By 1968, it had retreated nearly 5 km. By 11 August 

1979, it had developed an ice-marginal lake and a large lateral ice-cored stagnant moraine (fig. 127). Retreat and stagnation have continued into the 21st 

century. 

Reid Inlet

Lamplugh Glacier

Russell Island

Johns Hopkins Tarr Inlet

Inlet

Reid Glacier

N

Figure 124.—11 August 1979 AHAP falsecolor infrared vertical aerial photographic 

mosaic of the lower reaches of Lamplugh 

and Reid Glaciers. Exposed vegetation-free 

bedrock along the lateral margins of both 

glaciers suggests a recent thinning of both 

glaciers. At the time of the photograph, 

Lamplugh Glacier was advancing, and Reid 

Glacier was retreating. AHAP photograph 

nos. L198F4018 and L198F4019 from the 

GeoData Center, Geophysical Institute, 

University of Alaska, Fairbanks, Alaska. 

A larger version of this figure is available 

online. 

Figure 125.—27 July 1980 southeast-looking photograph of the summit of 2,500-

m-high Mount Abbe, located adjacent 

to Johns Hopkins Inlet. Numerous small 

alpine glaciers are located on its summit 

and flanks, forming wherever topography 

permits the accumulation of snow. Most 

glaciers show evidence of recent thinning 

and retreat. Photograph by Bruce F. Molnia, 

U.S. Geological Survey. A larger version of 

this figure is available online. 

K148 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Glaciers of the Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve 

Region from West of Glacier Bay to the Alsek River

The Fairweather Range stretches more than 120 km along the Gulf of 

Alaska from Cross Sound to the Alsek River. Eight summits reach elevations 

exceeding 3,000 m: Mount Fairweather (4,664 m), Mount Quincy Adams 

(4,134 m), Mount Root (3,920 m), Mount Crillon (3,879 m), Mount Watson 

(3,815 m), Mount Salisbury (3,710 m), Lituya Mountain (3,635 m) and Mount 

La Perouse (3,270 m). A dozen large named glaciers flow from the heights of 

the Fairweather Range to near sea level. One, La Perouse Glacier, frequently 

fluctuates at the shoreline of the Pacific Ocean, and at times is the only calving glacier in Alaska that discharges icebergs directly into the Pacific Ocean.

Named Fairweather Range glaciers include Brady, Finger, La Perouse, 

South and North Crillon, Cascade, Lituya, Desolation, Fairweather, Sea Otter, Grand Plateau, and Alsek Glaciers. Several are small piedmont glaciers 

that almost reach the Pacific Ocean. From the perspective of plate tectonics, 

several named glaciers and a number of unnamed glaciers flow from a source 

area on the North American Plate into the Fairweather Fault, a trench that 

formed along the boundary with the Pacific Plate. Several, including La Perouse, Fairweather, and Grand Plateau Glaciers, flow across the fault and terminate on the Pacific Plate (fig. 128).

Hugh Miller Glacier

Maynard Gl.

Geikie Glacier

Charpentier Glacier

Aurora Glacier

Charpentier Inlet

Geikie Inlet

N

Figure 126.—June 1899 photograph by 

USGS geologist Grove Karl Gilbert of part 

of the West Arm of Glacier Bay, taken from 

Hugh Miller Inlet. John Muir stands at the 

lower left. The main West Arm glacier terminus is located nearly 30 km to the north. 

Carroll Glacier, also nearly 30 km distant, is 

located at the head of Queen Inlet, located 

to the left of the photograph. USGS Photo 

Library photograph Gilbert 284. A larger 

version of this figure is available online. 

Figure 127.—11 August 1979 AHAP falsecolor infrared vertical aerial photographic 

mosaic of the southwest side of Glacier 

Bay. The mosaic covers the area from 

Geikie Inlet to Scidmore Bay. The principal 

glaciers present are Geikie, Charpentier, 

Hugh Miller, and Aurora Glaciers. The 

smaller Maynard Glacier is also visible. At 

the beginning of the 20th century, this entire area was covered by a large ice mass, 

with several tidewater termini. All of the 

glaciers are thinning and retreating. AHAP 

photograph nos. L198F4022 and L198F4023 

are from the GeoData Center, Geophysical 

Institute, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, 

Alaska. A larger version of this figure is 

available online. 

Figure 128.—24 August 1987 photograph of glaciers flowing into the trench 

of the Fairweather Fault, looking northwest at the advancing termini of Lituya 

and North Crillon Glaciers. Both glaciers are building large outwash plain fan 

deltas in front of their termini. Compare with figures 136 and 137. USGS photograph no. 87–R2–101(B) by Robert M. Krimmel, U.S. Geological Survey.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K149
Brady Glacier

Brady Glacier, the largest glacier in the Fairweather Range, has a length of 

51 km and an area of 590 km2 (table 2) (Viens, 1995); it heads in the same accumulation area as Reid and Lamplugh Glaciers. It flows southward, ending just 

above sea level at the head of a 6-km-long outwash-plain–tidal-delta complex 

(fig. 129). [Editors’ note: According to Mark F. Meier (written commun., 2004), 

the history of the Brady Glacier represents a classic example of the termination 

of the slow advance phase of a tidewater glacier's instability as described by 

Post (1975) (see fig. 42).] When Vancouver observed Brady Glacier in 1794, it 

was a tidewater glacier with its terminus calving icebergs directly into the waters of Taylor Bay. During the 19th century, its terminus advanced as much as 

8 km (Klotz, 1899). [Editors’ note: According to Austin Post (written commun., 

2004), Klotz was mistaken; a close perusal of Vancouver’s report (1798) proves 

that the tidal terminus of Brady Glacier was near where the present-day landending terminus is located.] Brady Glacier began building the outwash plain 

that fronts and separates it from the waters of Taylor Bay in the last quarter of 

the 19th century (Muir, 1915). Between 1926 and 1977, the sediment plain expanded in length by more than 4 km and increased in area by more than 20 km2

(Molnia, 1979) (fig. 130). In the early and middle 1970s, its terminus was stable 

or slowly advancing. However, by the early 1980s, it was thinning and retreating 

at the terminus and at many locations along its sides, resulting in the formation 

of many ice-marginal lakes (USGS oblique aerial photograph no. 84–R3–103 

acquired on 31 August 1984). This lateral retreat was observed by Bengtson 

as early as 1950 (Bengtson, 1962). When the author observed the glacier in 

August 1999, June 2003, and June 2004, its terminus was slowly retreating. In 

1999, continued lateral retreat and thinning of the ice margin resulted in the 

connection of previously separated North and South Trick Lakes into a single 

Trick Lake, located on the western margin of the glacier about 3 km from the 

terminus (BLM false-color infrared vertical aerial photograph nos. R7–FL13–

FR207–FR209 acquired on 2 August 1999). Near the beginning of the 1990s, 

Brady Glacier had an AAR of 0.65, along with an accumulation area of 382 km2

and an ablation area of 208 km2 (table 2) (Viens, 1995).

Several distributary lobes flow from the main trunk of Brady Glacier to both 

the east and the west. Three west-side debris-covered lobes supply much 

of the flow of the Dixon River. During the Landsat baseline period, all three 

lobes showed significant evidence of retreat and thinning. The terminus of 

the southernmost of the three is surrounded by North Deception Lake, an icemarginal lake. Retreat continued into the 21st century (BLM false-color infrared vertical aerial photograph no. R4–FR34 acquired on 26 May 1997).

Brady Glacier has received considerable attention because the Freemont 

Mining Company discovered abundant massive and disseminated nickel-copper sulfides in three nunataks located near the western edge of the glacier in 

1958. This location, at an elevation of about 1,000 m, is about 20 km from the 

closest Pacific Ocean coastline at Palma Bay. Along the centerline of the glacier, the nunataks are about 30 km from the terminus. The maximum glacier 

thickness and the ice thickness in the area of the nunataks are not known. 

There are no immediate plans for mining this deposit.

A number of other unnamed glaciers originate in the mountains north of 

Palma Bay adjacent to the westernmost Brady Glacier lobe. Several glacier 

termini (fig. 129) were calving large numbers of icebergs into adjacent iceTaylor Bay

Brady

Glacier

Graves 

Harbor

Dixon River

Dixon River

N. Deception 

Lake

S. Deception 

Lake

N. Trick Lake

S. Trick Lake

A

N

Figure 129.—Annotated 12 August 1979 AHAP false-color infrared vertical 

aerial photographic mosaic of the Brady Glacier, its outwash plain, and Taylor 

Bay. Although the terminus of Brady Glacier was advancing, numerous lateral 

margin lakes, such as the Trick Lakes and North Deception Lake, indicate that 

the glacier was thinning on its sides. Adjacent glaciers, such as the unnamed 

glacier (A), also showed evidence of thinning and retreat. AHAP photograph 

nos. L200F4575, L200F4577, and L200F4579 are from the GeoData Center, 

Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, Alaska.

K150 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
marginal lakes when the author photographed them on 12 August 1979 and 

in 1997, 2003, and 2004. One of the unnamed glaciers (fig. 131) showed a 

conspicuous trimline. All of the glaciers show multiple signs of recent retreat. [Editors’ note: According to Austin Post (written commun., 2004), the 

unofficially named Palma Glacier formed a 4-km-long proglacial lake during 

the period between 1970 and 2000.]

Figure 130.—16 September 1966 oblique 

aerial photograph of the advancing terminus of Brady Glacier and the developing 

outwash plain delta. USGS photograph 

no. 6610–7 by Austin Post, U.S. Geological 

Survey.

Figure 131.—12 September 1973 oblique 

aerial photograph of the retreating and 

thinning unnamed glacier located north of 

Palma Bay. Iceberg calving into its ice-marginal lake is a significant factor in its rapid 

retreat. Note the conspicuous trimline. 

USGS photograph no. 73–L2–120 by Austin 

Post, U.S. Geological Survey.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K151
Finger and La Perouse Glaciers 

Finger and La Perouse Glaciers (fig. 132) descend from the southernmost 

part of the Fairweather Range to elevations at or near sea level. Since Guyot 

Glacier retreated at the end of the first decade of the 20th century, La Perouse Glacier was the only Alaskan glacier to discharge icebergs directly into 

the Pacific Ocean. Available vertical aerial photography spanning a 34-year 

period from 1941 to 1975 includes: (1)1941, nine-lens, vertical aerial photograph no 58716; (2) 25 August 1948, U.S. Air Force (USAF) Southeast Alaska Project vertical aerial photograph no. SEA–138; and (3) 30 August 1975, 

North Pacific Aerial Surveys vertical aerial photograph no. GLA. BA. 1.76, 

H–19, 1–8. Along with a 12 August 1979 photograph (fig. 132), these images 

show that, although the eastern and western lobes of La Perouse Glacier 

show little change, all five lobes of Finger Glacier show conspicuous retreat. 

Pre-1941 retreat of three of the lobes of Finger Glacier — the western, central, and east central — created ice-marginal lakes that drain through short 

sloughs into the Pacific Ocean. Between 1948 and 1975, a small ice-marginal 

lake began to form at the margin of the eastern lobe as well.

The position of the 3.3-km-wide eastern terminus of La Perouse Glacier 

(fig. 133) fluctuates around the high tide line, sometimes receding so that it 

is reached only by storm waves (fig. 134) and sometimes advancing so that 

N

La Perouse 

Glacier

Finger

Glacier

Figure 132.—12 August 1979 AHAP falsecolor infrared vertical aerial photograph of 

all of the retreating lobes of the terminus 

of Finger Glacier and all of the terminus 

of the stable eastern lobe and most of the 

terminus of the western lobe of La Perouse 

Glacier. AHAP photograph no. L202F4463 

from the GeoData Center, Geophysical 

Institute, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, 

Alaska.

K152 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
it extends beyond the surf zone into the Pacific Ocean. Photographs taken 

by Gilbert (fig. 66) during the Harriman expedition in 1899 show that its terminus was in the surf zone and that its northwestern margin had recently 

advanced into the adjacent forest. Sixty-seven years later, when it was photographed on 16 September 1966, the eastern lobe terminus extended beyond the surf zone, with a face that was more than 50 m high (fig. 135A). At 

that time, its small eastern distributary lobe showed evidence of significant 

thinning and retreat (fig. 135B). At the start of the 1990s, La Perouse Glacier 

had a length of about 25 km, an area of 147 km2, a width at its face of 3.3 km, 

Figure 133.—12 September 1986 oblique 

aerial photograph of the 3.3-km-wide eastern terminus of La Perouse Glacier. The 

glacier originates in the Fairweather Range 

and is the only Alaskan glacier to occasionally discharge icebergs directly into the 

Pacific Ocean. Photograph no. 86–R2–022 

from Robert M. Krimmel, U.S. Geological 

Survey.

Figure 135.—Two 16 September 1966 oblique aerial photographs of the eastern lobe terminus of La Perouse Glacier. 

A, View of the eastern terminus extending beyond the surf 

zone, with an ice face that was more than 50 m high. USGS 

photograph no. 6610–65 by Austin Post, U.S. Geological 

Survey. 

Figure 135.—B, View of the eastern edge of the extended terminus and a small eastern distributary of the lobe showing 

evidence of significant thinning and retreat. USGS photograph no. 6610–68 by Austin Post, U.S. Geological Survey.

Figure 134.—18 June 1978 northwest-looking oblique aerial photograph of part of the 

eastern terminus of La Perouse Glacier. 

The terminus is located approximately 30 

m behind the high-tide line. Photograph by 

Bruce F. Molnia, U.S. Geological Survey.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K153
and an AAR of 0.67 (table 2) (Viens, 1995). When it was observed by the 

author on 2 August 1999 and 18 June 2004, the terminus was located at the 

shoreline (BLM false-color infrared vertical aerial photograph no. 7–165). 

West of La Perouse Glacier, South and North Crillon Glaciers descend 

from the southern flank of the Fairweather Range into the plate boundary 

fault trench, where their adjacent margins have coalesced (fig. 27; see also 

fig. 128). North Crillon Glacier flows only to the northwest, terminating in 

Lituya Bay. However, ice from South Crillon Glacier flows in opposite directions; one part of South Crillon Glacier flows to the southeast into Crillon 

Lake, and one part flows to the southwest, merging with and nearly reaching 

the terminus of North Crillon Glacier at Lituya Bay. Between 1929 and 1961, 

South Crillon Glacier advanced more than 300 m into Crillon Lake. Since 

then, its terminus has fluctuated. When it was observed on 25 June 1998, 

South Crillon Glacier terminated in the lake but showed no evidence of recent iceberg calving (BLM false-color infrared vertical aerial photograph no. 

R6–FL19–FR184). In 2003 and 2004, it was advancing and displacing trees 

along its margins. Goldthwait and others (1963) presented a summary of the 

Holocene and Pleistocene histories of the Crillon Glaciers.

Glaciers of Lituya Bay

Lituya Bay, a 15-km-long T-shaped fjord, contains three named glaciers—

North Crillon Glacier, Cascade Glacier, and Lituya Glacier—all of which were 

tidewater at various times during the 20th century (fig. 136). A large terminal 

moraine at the mouth of the bay and tree-covered stagnant glacier ice located on the western side of the bay are evidence that an expanded glacier filled 

the fjord during the “Little Ice Age” (Goldthwait and others, 1963). In l786, 

when the bay was first mapped by La Pérouse (fig. 9A), it was T shaped, and 

five glaciers were present. Each glacier in the approximately 10 km-long top 

of the T, (a segment of the Fairweather Fault) terminated at or near tidewater, a pair in each of the upper ends of the T and one at the head of the fjord. 

Lituya Glacier, named by J.B. Mertie in 1917 (Orth, 1967, 1971, p. 589), is the 

westernmost of the five glaciers and descends from the Fairweather Range 

into Desolation Valley, flowing in both directions; the southeastward-flowing 

N

Figure 136.—12 August 1979 AHAP falsecolor infrared vertical aerial photograph of 

most of Lituya Bay, showing the positions 

of the then advancing tidewater North 

Crillon (right) and Lituya Glaciers (left) and 

the relatively stable terminus of the smaller 

Cascade Glacier (center). AHAP photograph no. L202F4459 from the GeoData 

Center, Geophysical Institute, University of 

Alaska, Fairbanks, Alaska.

K154 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
lobe ends in Lituya Bay. Nothing was known about the northwestward-flowing lobe until the 1929 USGS-USN Aerial Photographic Expedition, when it 

was first observed. At that time, it was part of a large ice mass that filled the 

fault trench. Between the observations of La Pérouse in 1786 and the visits 

by Klotz in 1894, the Canadian International Boundary Survey in 1895 (USGS 

Photo Library Gilbert 178 photograph), the Harriman Expedition in 1899, 

and USGS geologist John Mertie in 1917 (USGS Photo Library Mertie 624 

photograph), the tidewater termini of North Crillon Glacier advanced about 

3 km into the shortening eastern arm of the T, and Lituya Glacier, located in 

the shortening western arm, advanced about 5 km into Gilbert Inlet. Both 

continued to advance through the early 21st century, moving forward about 

another kilometer and building outwash fan-deltas around each of their termini (fig. 137).

According to Field and Collins (1975), the rate of advance of North Crillon Glacier over its sediment plain between 1926 and 1961 was about twice 

that of the tidal front — 650 m as opposed to 375 m. During the period of the 

Landsat baseline, the glacier was slowly advancing. Near the beginning of the 

1990s, North Crillon Glacier had a length of about 20 km, an area of 71 km2, a 

width at its face of 500 m, and an AAR of 0.81 (table 2) (Viens, 1995). When it 

was photographed on 25 June 1998 and 2 August 1999 and observed in June 

2003 and June 2004, North Crillon Glacier was fronted by a large outwash 

plain. With the exception of a small section on its northern side, which was 

connected to Lituya Bay by a very narrow embayment, its terminus was no 

longer tidal (fig. 137).

Cascade Glacier, located at the apex of the bay, is a hanging glacier that 

descends from an elevation above 2,000 m to near sea level. Since it was first 

photographed by Klotz in 1894, its terminus position has fluctuated within 

several hundred meters of sea level (fig. 138). Cascade Glacier was named 

Glacier du Milieu by La Pérouse. When it was photographed on 2 August 

N

Figure 138.—18 July 1979 photograph of 

the debris-covered, stagnant-ice terminus 

of Cascade Glacier from Gilbert Inlet. During 

the last two decades of the 20th century, the 

terminus of Cascade Glacier has fluctuated 

by as much as 50 m. Photograph by Bruce 

F. Molnia, U.S. Geological Survey.A larger 

version of this figure is available online.

Figure 137.—2 August 1999 false-color 

infrared vertical aerial photograph of the 

head of Lituya Bay showing the positions of 

North Crillon, Cascade, and Lituya Glaciers. 

Compare with figure 136. Photograph 

no. 7–144 is from the U.S. Bureau of Land 

Management.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K155
1999 and observed in June 2003 and June 2004, the terminus of Cascade 

Glacier was more than 100 m above sea level (fig. 137).

Between 1895 and 1958, the eastern terminus of Lituya Glacier advanced 

915 m on its northeastern side and 335 m on its southwestern side (Field and 

Collins, 1975). During the period of the Landsat baseline and when photographed in 1987, it was advancing (figs. 128, 136). When it was photographed 

on 25 June 1998 (fig. 139) and 2 August 1999 (fig. 137) and observed in June 

2003 and June 2004, Lituya Glacier was continuing to advance but no longer 

had a tidewater terminus. Its entire eastern terminus was surrounded by an 

outwash-plain–fan delta on 2 August 1999 (fig. 137). Lituya Glacier has a 

length of about 21 km, an area of 103 km2, a width at its face of 700 m, and an 

AAR of 0.76 (table 2) (Viens, 1995).

An earthquake on 9 July l958 triggered a 106 m3 rockslide that fell into Gilbert Inlet of Lituya Bay and onto the terminus of Lituya Glacier. Significant 

shoaling occurred in part of Lituya Bay but the impact on the glaciers varied 

widely (Miller, 1960). North Crillon Glacier on the opposite end of the bay 

was not impacted. However, a wave created by the rockslide eroded moraine 

from the lowest 100 m of Cascade Glacier, and the newly exposed ice rapidly 

melted away. About 350 m of the Lituya Bay tidewater terminus of Lituya 

Glacier was almost instantly removed. [Editors’ note: According to Mark F. 

Meier (written commun., 2004), the amplitude of the wave generated may 

have been the largest ever observed and documented in historic time. The 

wave runup on the moutainside exceeded 300 m; it lifted a fishing vessel up 

and over the forested La Chaussee Spit.] [Editors’ note: In a review article 

on the global history of tsunamis (The Washington Post, 9 January 2005, 

p. B2), four tsunamis were described in Alaska. The 1958 earthquake triggered an “avalanche in Lituya Bay...created the highest waves in recorded 

history; trees were stripped to a height of 1,720 ft (525 m).”]

When it was photographed on 25 June 1998 (fig. 139), the northwestward-flowing lobe of Lituya Glacier had a slowly advancing, free-standing, 

iceberg-calving margin. When it was observed in June 2003 and June 2004, 

it was actively retreating. Through the last third of the 20th century, melting of a large quantity of the ice in the Fairweather trench between Lituya 

Glacier and Desolation Glacier resulted in the development of Desolation 

Lake, a 5-km-long lake that fronts western Lituya Glacier. Formed by the 

Figure 139.—25 June 1998 false-color infrared vertical aerial photographic mosaic 

of the then slowly advancing west lobe of 

Lituya Glacier (on the right), the truncated 

eastern terminus of Desolation Glacier (top 

center), and the newly developed proglacial 

(ice-marginal) Desolation Lake in between. 

Desolation Lake has formed as the result of 

late-20th-century stagnation and retreat of 

the eastern lobe of Desolation Glacier. Also 

visible are the stagnant western lobe of 

Desolation Glacier and the stagnant eastern 

lobe of Fairweather Glacier (left). A number 

of interconnected ice-marginal lakes are 

forming at their junction. Photographs nos. 

GLBA Coastal R6–FL19–FR 169, 170, 172, 

and 174 are from the U.S. Bureau of Land 

Management.

K156 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
rapid retreat of the eastern lobe of Desolation Glacier (fig. 139), the lake 

began when two linear ice-marginal lakes formed along the walls of Desolation Valley, the name given to the Fairweather Fault trench in this local area. 

By 1979, each of the parallel lakes was about 3.5×0.5 km (USGS Mount Fairweather 1981 1:250,000-scale map) (appendix A). Between 1979 and 1998, 

more than 1.75 km2 of ice melted to form the new lake (fig. 139).

Fairweather and Sea Otter Glaciers

Thirty-three-kilometer-long Fairweather Glacier has an area of about 

260 km2 (Field and Collins, 1975, p. 256) and originates high on the flanks 

of Mount Fairweather, Mount Quincy Adams, Mount Salisbury, and Lituya 

Mountain. Field and Collins (1975) reported that the glacier extended about 

4 km beyond the former coast sometime in the recent past (probably late 

“Little Ice Age”). When it was first photographed in 1929, it exhibited a number of signs of retreat, including the development of a large ice-marginal lake 

that continues to enlarge (fig. 140). The retreat of Fairweather Glacier has 

continued through the early 21st century (figs. 31, 139) (also North Pacific 

Aerial Surveys, Inc., vertical aerial photograph GLA.BA., 1:76, H–9, 1–16 

acquired on 30 August 1975). Large areas of tree-covered stagnant ice surround the expanding lake.

Sea Otter Glacier (fig. 140), with a length of 19 km and an area of 65 km2 

(Field and Collins, 1975, p. 257), flows into Desolation Valley. It has three 

separate termini. One flowing to the southeast ends in the expanding icemarginal lake; one that extends to the southwest flows into the coastal forest; 

and the largest one to the northwest flows toward Grand Plateau Glacier. All 

show multiple evidence of recent thinning, stagnation, or retreat. Small unnamed tributary glaciers located between Lituya and Fairweather Glaciers, 

on the northern side of Desolation Valley, show minor evidence of thinning 

or retreat.

Grand Plateau Glacier

Fifty-kilometer-long Grand Plateau Glacier, with an area of 459 km2 (Field 

and Collins, 1975, p. 257), originates on the flanks of Mount Fairweather and 

several other adjacent peaks (NASA space shuttle photograph no. STS–028

–097–085 acquired on 3 August 1989 and AHAP false-color infrared vertical 

aerial photograph no. L171F4972 acquired on 21 June 1978). The glacier has 

been retreating and thinning through the early 21st century. Its “Little Ice 

Age” maximum position — at the Gulf of Alaska coastline — was at least 2 km 

south of its 1906–08 terminus position. At the time it was mapped by the IBC, 

the terminus of Grand Plateau Glacier was in contact with a large arcuate 

recessional moraine. By 1941, at least five ice-marginal lakes had developed, 

the largest being more than 2 km wide. By 1966, the entire southern margin 

of the glacier was surrounded by a single ice-marginal lake, formed by the 

enlargement of the original individual lakes. The lake, which was 7×5 km 

in 1975, continued to enlarge through the early 21st century as the glacier 

calved icebergs, thinned, and retreated (1941 photograph no. 58752 and 

North Pacific Aerial Surveys, Inc., vertical aerial photograph no. YAKT, 1:76, 

H–19, 9A–8 acquired on 30 August 1975). Grand Plateau Glacier was one 

of several experimental test sites for the USGS side-looking airborne radar 

(SLAR) Program in the late 1980s and was imaged in 1988 with digital Xband radar at frequencies between 8.0 and 12.0 GHz (fig. 141).

Alsek Glacier

It is uncertain where the terminus of the Alsek Glacier was located when 

it was first observed in 1894. Field and Collins (1975) stated that members 

of the Canadian Boundary Survey depicted the terminus fronted by an outwash plain and located from 2.8 to 7.0 km from the Alsek River. In 1906, 

the glacier was combined with a northwest-flowing distributary of Grand 

Plateau Glacier and formed the eastern bank of the Alsek River for a distance 

Sea Otter Glacier

F a i r w e a t h e r G l a c i e r

N

Figure 140.—12 August 1979 AHAP falsecolor infrared vertical aerial photograph of 

part of the terminus region of Fairweather 

Glacier and much of the eastern terminus 

of Sea Otter Glacier. The blue-water lake 

located between the unnamed western 

glacier distributary of Fairweather Glacier 

and the eastern distributary of Sea Otter 

Glacier, northwest of Fairweather Glacier, 

has massive lateral moraines at its eastern 

and western shorelines. The southwestern 

terminus of Sea Otter Glacier contains 

stagnant ice and shows the development 

of a small ice-marginal lake. AHAP photograph no. L202F4454 from the GeoData 

Center, Geophysical Institute, University of 

Alaska, Fairbanks, Alaska. A larger version 

of this figure is available online. 

0 5 KILOMETERS

APPROXIMATE SCALE

N

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K157
of about 6 km (Blackwelder, 1907). The glacier was anchored to a nunatak 

(Gateway Knob) and had an iceface that was as much as 50 m high. The 

320-m-wide river flowed on the western side of Gateway Knob. By 1948, the 

glacier had retreated 1.5 to 2.5 km. By 25 August 1960 (fig. 142), retreat 

was as much as 5 km. By 12 August 1978, the retreating and thinning glacier 

was about to separate into two ice tongues (fig. 143). In the late 1990s, as 

interpreted on BLM vertical aerial photographs, maximum retreat exceeded 

8 km; the retreating terminus, which was separated from the northwestFigure 141.—1988 digital X-band (8.0–

12.0 GHz) radar image of the terminus of 

Grand Plateau Glacier. The radar image, 

which has a picture element (pixel) resolution of about 10 m, documents 1 to 3 km of 

retreat in comparison with a 21 June 1978 

AHAP false-color infrared, vertical aerial 

photograph no. L171F4972 (not shown; archived at the GeoData Center, Geophysical 

Institute, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, 

Alaska).

Figure 142.—25 August 1960 east-looking 

oblique aerial photograph of the retreating, 

thinning terminus of Alsek Glacier. Note 

the conspicuous elevated lateral moraine 

and trimline. USGS photograph no. 60–12 

by Austin Post, U.S. Geological Survey.

K158 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
flowing distributary of Grand Plateau Glacier, had separated into two distinct 

ice tongues. By 2003, the terminus separated into three distinct ice tongues. 

At the beginning of the 21st century, Gateway Knob was an isolated rock 

outlier, with the river flowing to its east. The closest part of Alsek Glacier was 

more than 6 km to the east.

All of the other unnamed glaciers on the eastern side of the Alsek River, 

north of Alsek Glacier, are also retreating. Several have developed nested 

ice-marginal lakes.

South-central St. Elias Mountains Segment: From the 

Western Side of the Alsek River to the Western Side of 

Yakutat Bay

Landsat MSS images that cover the south-central St. Elias Mountains, from 

the western side of the Alsek River to the western side of Yakutat Bay, have 

the following Path/Row coordinates: 64/19, 65/18, 66/18, and 67/18 (fig. 144). 

These areas are mapped on the USGS Yakutat, Alaska-Canada and Mount 

St. Elias, Alaska-Canada 1:250,000-scale topographic maps (appendix A). 

Glaciers of this region are located in a 55- to 100-km-wide band bounded on 

the south by the Gulf of Alaska and on the north by the U.S.-Canadian border. 

Many of these glaciers originate in Canada and flow into Alaska, including the 

largest, Hubbard Glacier.

At the start of the 20th century, most of the glaciers in this region were retreating. In 1906, Blackwelder (1907) examined the glaciers on the Alaskan 

coast between the Alsek River and Yakutat Bay. He concluded that “The fact 

that each of the glaciers examined is bordered at its end by a terminal moraine, which is separated from the ice itself by a barren space indicates that 

the lobes have recently retreated through distances varying from one quarter of a mile to one mile.... It is obvious at least that none of these glaciers is 

now actively forwarding its lower end. In no case did we find glaciers plowing up forested moraines and showing other unmistakable signs of advance” 

(Blackwelder, 1907, p. 433). 

Novatak Glacier and a large unnamed south-flowing glacier to the east 

were connected when they were mapped in 1906 and 1908 by the IBC (1952). 

By 1934, when they were photographed by Washburn, the two glaciers were 

minimally in contact. By the 1950s, they were nearly a kilometer apart (Field 

and Collins, 1975). In August 1999, they were separated by more than 5 km.

Numerous retreating glaciers descend from the ridge line of the Brabazon 

Range. Fassett Glacier, with a length of about 16 km and an area of about 

58 km2 (Field and Collins, 1975, p. 265) forms the northern side of Tanis 

Lake. The 1894–95 Alaska Boundary Tribunal Survey (IBC, 1952) shows no 

lake. By the 1906 survey, a small lake was developing between the late 19th 

century end moraine and the ice margin. By 1948, the date of a 1:63,360-scale 

USGS topographic map (Yakutat B2), the lake was 1.5 km long. A 1968 USGS 

photograph shows that the lake had lengthened to about 3 km.

In the late 19th century, Rodman and Chamberlain Glaciers were two separate distributary tongues of the same glacier. At the end of the 19th century, 

Chamberlain Glacier had a terminus that descended more than 300 m from 

its source plateau to reach the level of the Yakutat Foreland. By 1906, continuing retreat had begun to expose an ice-marginal lake, Akwe Lake. Before 

1950, the retreating and thinning terminus of Chamberlain Glacier was well 

above the 3-km-long lake basin and back up to the level of the plateau. This 

significant shrinkage has continued into the 21st century. Like Chamberlain 

Glacier, the retreat of the terminus of Rodman Glacier created Ustay Lake, 

an ice-marginal lake in the early 20th century. In the early 21st century, the 

glacier was still in contact with the lake (Ustay Lake), which had a length of 

more than 3 km.

Yakutat Glacier has a length of 29 km (Field and Collins, 1975, p. 265), 

an area estimated by the author at 150 km2, and a width at its face of 6 km. 

N

Figure 143.—12 August 1978 AHAP falsecolor infrared vertical aerial photograph of 

the retreating, thinning terminus of Alsek 

Glacier. The stagnating margin is on the 

verge of separating into two ice tongues. 

AHAP photograph no. L186F4898 is from 

the GeoData Center, Geophysical Institute, 

University of Alaska, Fairbanks, Alaska. 

A larger version of this figure is available 

online. 

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K159
Since the beginning of the 20th century, Yakutat Glacier, like its eastern 

neighbors Fassett and Rodman Glaciers, has developed a large ice-marginal 

lake (fig. 145). From 1906 to 1980, retreat of Yakutat Glacier resulted in Harlequin Lake growing to a size of 11.5×8.5 km. By the end of the 20th century, 

continuing retreat of the glacier resulted in the lake’s length increasing an 

additional 5 km.

Figure 144.—Annotated Landsat 2 MSS false-color composite image of the western St. Elias Mountains. The region 

has numerous very active glaciers. The Seward Glacier, 

nourished in part from the upper slopes of Mount Logan 

(5,951 m), is part of the accumulation zone for the Malaspina 

Glacier. The folded moraines of Malaspina Glacier (piedmont 

outlet glacier) are due to differential flow related to surging. 

Malaspina Lake had been increasing in size, but a 1986–87 

surge of the glacier resulted in a loss of two-thirds of the 

area of the lake. Moraines from advances of the Hubbard 

Glacier (tidewater glacier) and Nunatak Glacier several centuries ago are evident near Yakutat. Landsat 2 MSS image 

(21675–19482, bands 4, 5, 7; 24 August 1979; Path 67, Row 18) 

from the U.S. Geological Survey, EROS Data Center, Sioux 

Falls, S.Dak. Landsat image and caption courtesy of Robert 

M. Krimmel, U.S. Geological Survey.

Mt. St. Elias

Nunatak Gl.

Yakutat

Bay

Malaspina

Lake

Malaspina

Glacier

Seward Glacier

Mt. Logan

Hubbard Glacier

Valerie Gl.

Disenchantment Bay

Russel Fiord

Yakutat

10 0 10 20 30 KILOMETERS

APPROXIMATE SCALE

140°W

60°N

K160 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Glaciers of the Eastern Yakutat Bay Region 

Triangular-shaped Yakutat Bay, located on the eastern side of Malaspina 

Glacier, is about 45 km long and as much as 27 km wide (figs. 53, 144). To the 

east, Nunatak Fiord joins Russell Fiord, which then enters Disenchantment 

Bay, the narrow northern neck of upper Yakutat Bay. Early voyages of exploration in search of a Northwest Passage and early climbing and scientific 

expeditions focused a great deal of attention on the glaciers of the Yakutat 

Bay region (for example, Russell, 1892, 1894, 1897; Gilbert, 1904; Tarr, 1907; 

Tarr and Martin, 1906, 1914). This region has a history of advancing glaciers 

that have blocked tributary fjords and is also well known for its surge-type 

glaciers. Butler, Art Lewis, and West Nunatak Glaciers (located on the shore 

of Nunatak Fiord), Hidden Glacier (located between Russell and Nunatak 

Fiords), Variegated Glacier (at the junction of Disenchantment Bay and Russell Fiord), and Turner Glacier (on the western side of Disenchantment Bay), 

as well as several other unnamed glaciers in the Yakutat Bay region, have 

known surge histories (Post, 1969). Interestingly, Variegated and Butler Glaciers both surge, whereas Orange Glacier, located between them, does not.

Southern Russell Fiord

Southern Russell Fiord has a size and geometry similar to the combined 

geometry of Yakutat Glacier and Harlequin Lake to the east. The major difference is that Russell Fiord has been deglacierized for several centuries. 

Fourth Glacier and several unnamed glaciers drain into southern Russell 

Fiord from the east. All show recent evidences of retreat and thinning.

Fourth Glacier was retreating when Tarr saw it in 1909 (Tarr and Martin, 

1914). By the early 1960s, a Y-shaped 3-km-long ice-marginal lake had developed at its terminus. By the end of the 20th century, continuing retreat of 

the glacier has left the terminus significantly above lake level. The glacier’s 

name was derived from its being the fourth glacier that prospectors tried to 

traverse to reach the Alsek River gold fields in the late 1890s (Orth, 1967, 

1971).

Figure 145.—Oblique aerial photograph 

of Harlequin Lake and the terminus of 

Yakutat Glacier on 12 September 1986. An 

ice isthmus connects the glacier terminus 

to a bedrock peninsula extending into 

Harlequin Lake. Calving into a lake, this 

glacier is dynamically similar to a tidewater 

glacier. The calving rate is lower where the 

glacier ends in shallow water. Calving is 

more rapid in the deeper water. Most of the 

accumulation area of Yakutat Glacier is less 

than 700 m in elevation and in most years 

is below the snow line; thus this glacier is 

undernourished. The combination of rapid 

calving and a lack of significant ice input 

suggests that this glacier will continue to 

retreat. USGS photograph no. 86–R2–091 

by Robert M. Krimmel, U.S. Geological 

Survey. Caption courtesy of Robert M. 

Krimmel, U.S. Geological Survey.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K161
Hidden Glacier

In 1891, when Russell (1894) observed Hidden Glacier, in June 1899 when 

the Harriman Expedition visited (fig. 146) (Gilbert, 1904), and in 1905 and 

1906 when Tarr visited (Tarr and Martin, 1914), Hidden Glacier was actively 

retreating, at a rate of about 50 m a–1. However, in the 3-year period between 

Tarr’s l906 visit and l909, Hidden Glacier advanced 3.2 km. Following the 

1909 surge, rapid retreat resumed. Field and Collins (1975) reported that, 

in the 61 years between 1909 and 1970 (fig. 147), Hidden Glacier retreated 

6.4 km. When the author observed it in 1974 and again in 1992, it showed 

evidence of continued retreat.

Nunatak Fiord

When Russell visited Nunatak Glacier in 1891, it sat at the head of 15-

km-long Nunatak Fiord (fig. 148). It was photographed by Brabazon in 1895 

and by Gilbert in 1899. Positions of the glacier’s terminus between 1895 and 

1909 are shown on three maps prepared by Tarr and Martin, (1914, pl. LXIX, 

ff p. 160). Between 1895 and 1909, Nunatak Glacier retreated about 4.0 km; 

a 300-m advance followed between 1909 and 1911. Annual retreat between 

1895 and 1905 averaged about 285 m a–1. An additional 400 m of retreat occurred through 1913 (Tarr and Martin, 1914). In 1934, following 21 years 

without observations, Nunatak Glacier was found to have separated into two 

retreating glaciers, West and East Nunatak Glaciers, and the fjord had nearly 

doubled in length (see fig. 33).

Tarr and Martin (1914, p. 140) described the geometry of Nunatak Glacier 

and the fjord on the basis of soundings and surveying: “Soundings in the fiord 

in 1910 showed that the depth of water about a thousand feet west of the ice 

front of Nunatak Glacier was 555 feet. A true scale cross-section of Nunatak 

Glacier when it was at that point (sometime between 1906 and 1909) shows 

that (a) the glacier was about 750 feet thick; (b) that the portion above sea 

level was only 200 feet (two-sevenths of the thickness), the glacier could 

not possibly be afloat; (c) that the slopes of the fiord walls above and below 

sea level are not significantly different; (d) that the proportion of the glacial 

valley now occupied by the ice is much less than when the greater glacier 

overrode and rose high above the nunatak.” 

West Nunatak Glacier

The approximately 20-km-long West Nunatak Glacier (Field and Collins, 

1975, p. 265) continued to retreat. Following separation from the East Nunatak Glacier, probably in the middle 1920s, it remained at or near tidewater 

through about 1934 (Washburn, 1935). By 1959, when it was mapped by the 

Figure 146.—20 June 1899 photograph 

by USGS geologist Grove Karl Gilbert of 

the retreating terminus of Hidden Glacier 

taken from a hill near the shore of Seal Bay. 

The gentle, convex profile, the absence of 

crevassing, and the faint lateral moraines 

are indicative of a retreating glacier. USGS 

Photo Library photograph Gilbert 363.

1905

1899

1909

1970

Approximate glacier boundary 

in given year 

East Nunatak Glacier

Art Lewis Glacier

East Nunatak Glacier

West Nunatak Glacier

N

Figure 147.—Map showing changes in the 

position of the terminus of Hidden Glacier 

(59°44’N., 139°07’W.) between 1905 and 

1970. Map No. 5 from Tarr and Martin, 1914, 

modified by the author. A larger version of 

this figure is available online.

Figure 148.— 21 June 1978 AHAP false-color infrared vertical aerial photograph of Art 

Lewis Glacier flowing into Nunatak Fiord 

and the termini of East and West Nunatak 

Glaciers. Both East and West Nunatak 

Glaciers show multiple evidence of stagnant ice and retreat. AHAP photograph 

no. LXXXF5013 from the GeoData Center, 

Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska, 

Fairbanks, Alaska. A larger version of this 

figure is available online.

K162 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
USGS (Yakutak, 1:250,000-scale map) (appendix A), it had retreated about 

2.5 km. By 1993, when the author observed it, it had retreated at least another 

1.5 km. It was still retreating when the author observed it on 18 June 2004.

East Nunatak Glacier

Between the late 1890s and 1948, East Nunatak Glacier retreated more 

than 11.5 km. By 1934, it was about 3.5 km up-fjord from the terminus of 

West Nunatak Glacier. Maynard Miller reported that it had retreated another 

2 km by 1948 (Miller, 1948a, b). However, Field’s 1964 (AGS Glacier Studies 

Map No. 64–2–G8) map (fig. 33) shows only about half that distance. Between 1948 and 1958, an outwash plain began developing in front of the glacier’s tidewater terminus; by 1958, the terminus had advanced several hundred meters onto the plain. Since then, continuing slow retreat has occurred 

(fig. 148). Three ice streams coalesce to make up the face of East Nunatak 

Glacier. The northern part is supplied by Art Lewis Glacier. A surge of Art 

Lewis Glacier in the middle 1960s resulted in a temporary advance of the 

terminus of East Nunatak to tidewater during 1966. Since then, the terminus 

has retreated more than 300 m.

Hanging, Butler, and Cascading Glaciers are three other former tributary 

glaciers to Nunatak Glacier. All were studied extensively at the end of the 

19th century and the first decade of the 20th. All were probably in contact 

with an expanded late “Little Ice Age” Nunatak Glacier but separated long 

before 1890. Each is actively retreating (AHAP false-color infrared vertical 

aerial photograph no. L121F5094 acquired on 20 June 1978). When it was 

photographed in 1899, the terminus of Cascading Glacier nearly reached the 

terminus of Nunatak Glacier (fig. 33; USGS Photo Library Gilbert 302 photograph). Forty-nine years later, when the USGS mapped it, it had retreated 

more than 1 km. Field evidence suggests that Butler Glacier may have surged 

several times during the 20th century

Glaciers of Disenchantment Bay

In 1792, Malaspina gave the name Puerto del Desengano (Bay of Disenchantment) to the 5-km-wide neck at the northern end of Yakutat Bay (figs. 

149, 150, 151) (Orth, 1967, 1971). Malaspina, like many early explorers, entered Yakutat Bay seeking a passage to the Atlantic Ocean. Instead, he encountered a sea of floating ice in front of a retreating Hubbard Glacier. Since 

then, the size of Disenchantment Bay has fluctuated as much as 6 to 8 km as 

the terminus of the Hubbard Glacier has advanced and retreated (see Tarr 

and Martin’s 1906 map of Disenchantment Bay showing a retracted terminus 

of the Hubbard Glacier) (Tarr and Martin, 1914, pl. XXXVI, ff p. 112). Hubbard Glacier, the largest glacier in the bay, has steadily shown net advance 

(fig. 54) through the late 20th century and early 21st century. 

Many of the glaciers in the Disenchantment Bay area were the subject 

of almost annual observations during the last decade of the 19th century 

and the first decade of the 20th century (1890–1913) by some of the leading 

names in American glacier science: Israel C. Russell (USGS geologist), Grove 

Karl Gilbert (USGS geologist), Ralph Stockman Tarr (Professor of Physical 

Geography, Cornell University), and Lawrence Martin (Professor of Physiography and Geography, University of Wisconsin). Tarr and Martin (1914) 

summarized their findings on a glacier by glacier basis.

Gilbert (1904, p. 49) described submarine moraines and the bathymetry 

of the floor of Disenchantment Bay. He related these submarine features in 

Yakutat Bay to the past advances and retreats of Hubbard Glacier: “the U.S. 

Coast and Geodetic Survey has published a new chart of Yakutat Bay, giving soundings from the ocean to Point Latouche, six miles below Haenke Island. These soundings give no indication of a moraine in the vicinity of Point 

Latouche. Not far from this point there is a depth of 1,000 feet and thence 

southward the channel is shown for five miles. Here, at a distance of twelve 

miles from Haenke Island, is a submerged bar with a depth of about 300 feet, 

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K163
and this is probably the last-formed important moraine in the bay. There appears to be another opposite Knight Island, seventeen miles from Haenke 

Island, the intervening hollow having an extreme depth of about 600 feet.” 

Haenke Island is located approximately 2 km south of the summer 2004 position of the terminus of Hubbard Glacier.

Variegated Glacier

Variegated Glacier, located adjacent to but independent of Hubbard Glacier, is the most intensively studied surge-type glacier on Earth (figs. 149, 

150). Some surges have resulted in more than 6 km of ice advance and chaotic displacement. Twenty-kilometer-long Variegated Glacier has experienced 

at least six recorded surges during the 20th century: l906, before l933, before 

l948, 1964–65, 1982–83, and 1995–96. Neither of its tributaries appear to 

surge. Tarr’s (1907) and Tarr and Martin’s (1914) documentation of the rapid 

advance in 1906 of Variegated Glacier are the first scientific descriptions of a 

modern glacier “surge” in the United States, although the term “surge” was 

not used by glaciologists until 1969 (Post, 1969). Descriptions of the surge 

history of Variegated Glacier have been presented by Post (1969), Bindschadler and others (1977), and Lawson (1997). The l964–65 surge produced an 

advance of almost 6 km (fig. 152), whereas the 1995–96 surge did not affect 

the lower part of the glacier.

The 1982–83 surge, which had maximum ice velocities reaching 50 m d–1, 

is one of the best documented glacier events. This approximately 20-year 

surge cycle allowed a group of scientists from the University of Washington, 

the University of Alaska at Fairbanks, and the California Institute of Technology and a number of international collaborators to begin a program to determine the dynamics of the surge and investigate factors responsible for surge 

initiation during the winter of 1982–early summer of 1983 event. Kamb and 

others (1985) described the sequence of events as follows: surging motion 

began with a compression front in January 1982 that then extended down the 

glacier. In the spring of 1983, the lower part of the glacier experienced rapid 

movement. By July 1983, the surge motion had ended, and the glacier had 

begun to return to pre-surge state. They concluded that the 1982–83 surge 

resulted from increased basal pore-water pressure and the development of a 

temporary, stable, linked-cavity system at the interface of the glacier and the 

underlying terrain. Jacobel and Anderson (1987) used both 4- and 8-MHz radioechosounding as a means of determining the size and location of cavities 

in the top 200 m of the glacier.

Variegated

Glacier

Hubbard Glacier

Glacier

Turner

Glacier

Disenchantment 

Bay

N

Figure 149.—18 August 1978 AHAP falsecolor infrared vertical aerial photographic 

mosaic of Disenchantment Bay and the 

termini of Hubbard, Turner, and Variegated 

Glaciers. AHAP photograph nos. L120F6012 

and L120F6013 from the GeoData Center, 

Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska, 

Fairbanks, Alaska.

K164 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Variegated Gl.

Blizhni Point

Turner Glacier

Yakutat Glacier

Harlequin

Lake

Yakutat Bay

Russell Fiord

Hubbard Glacier

Yakutat

Hidden Gl.

W. Nuntak Gl.

E. Nuntak Gl.

Art Lewis Glacier

Situk River

Valerie Glacier

Orange Gl.

Blizhni Point

N

0 20 KILOMETERS

UNITED STATES

CANADA

Butler Gl.

139°30’W

60°N

Figure 150.—The glaciers north and east of Yakutat are included in this 

Landsat 3 RBV image. Hubbard Glacier is North America’s largest tidewater glacier, more than 114 km long. Only the lower quarter of the glacier is 

seen here. Hubbard Glacier filled Yakutat Bay for a few hundred years prior 

to the 14th century, receded, and then readvanced to Blizhni Point during 

the 18th century (Plafker and Miller, 1958). Evidence of the earlier advance 

and of a glacier filling Russell Fiord is easily seen as a change in vegetation (a darker gray on this image) about 15 km northeast of the Yakutat 

airport. Hubbard Glacier has been in a slow advance since at least Isaac 

Russell’s observation in 1891; in 1986 and 2002, it temporarily blocked 

the tidal entrance to Russell Fiord. Yakutat Glacier has been in recession 

since 1894, when no proglacial lake existed (Field, 1975a, p. 213). Rapid 

retreat has recently taken place. This part of the St. Elias Mountains is well 

known for surging glaciers. The Turner, Variegated, Butler, Art Lewis, West 

Nunatak, and Hidden Glaciers, as well as other unnamed glaciers, have 

a documented history of surging. It is worth noting that Variegated and 

Butler Glaciers both surge, while Orange Glacier, which is situated between the two, does not. Variegated Glacier has a well-documented surge 

record of roughly every 20 years since 1906 (Post, 1969). In 1964–1965, 

Variegated Glacier advanced almost 6 km (fig. 152). The 1982–1983 surge 

was without doubt one of the best-documented glacier events in North 

America (Kamb and others, 1985) (fig. 153). The surge began in the winter 

of 1982 and ended in the early summer of 1983. Kamb and others (1985) 

concluded that the surge was caused by high basal water pressure, which 

in turn was the result of a temporary, stable, linked-cavity system at the 

bed as opposed to the longer term, stable basal tunnel system. Landsat 3 

RBV image (30167–19491–C; 19 August 1978; Path 66, Row 18) and caption 

courtesy of Robert M. Krimmel, U.S. Geological Survey.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K165
Bindschadler (1978) and Raymond and Harrison (1988) provided extensive details about the evolution of progressive changes in geometry and velocity in Variegated Glacier during the decade before the surge. The glacier 

thickened in its upper 12 km and thinned in its lower 8 km. Changes were 

as much as 20 percent of total thickness. Pre-surge velocity increased by 

as much as 500 percent, reaching a maximum of 0.7 m d–1 in 1981. By 1978, 

the amplitude of seasonal velocity variation increased as much as 0.3 m d–1. 

Little change occurred in subsequent years. Raymond and Harrison (1988, 

p. 154) concluded that “a drop in effective normal stress in a zone of decreasing surface slope up-glacier from the largest thickness increase may have 

been significant in the initiation of surge motion in 1982.”

Humphrey and Raymond (1994) provided significant details about the 

hydrology, erosion, and sediment produced by the 1982–83 surge (fig. 153). 

They determined that the surging region of the glacier was underlain by a 

basal hydrologic zone characterized by low water velocity and high water 

storage. They postulated that flow in this region was distributed and that the 

volume of water stored in the basal hydrologic zone is the major hydraulic 

factor that drove the surge. Down-glacier of the surge propagation front, the 

ice is underlain by a zone of high water velocity and low water storage. They 

assumed that flow in this region was through a system of conduits. During 

the surge, basal bedrock erosion was significantly greater than it was at any 

other time and was “extreme” compared with that of non-surge-type glaciers. 

Sediment output was directly proportional to the rate of basal sliding. During the 20-year surge cycle, about 0.3 m of bedrock was eroded. About twothirds of this erosion occurred during the 2-year peak (1982–83) in surge 

activity. Humphrey and Raymond (1994) concluded that most of this erosion occurred during the 2-month period of peak surge activity. Previously, 

Humphrey and others (1986) had looked at discharge of turbid water during 

periods of mini-surges in 1980 and 1981. [Editors’ note: According to Mark 

F. Meier (written commun., 2004), the relationship of discharge of water before, during, and after surge events was a major scientific finding. Another 

major finding was the outburst that ended the 1983 surge and the contrast 

Figure 151.—Sketch map of Disenchantment Bay showing Malaspina’s 1791 survey of an advanced Hubbard Glacier from 

Davidson (1904). A larger version of this 

figure is available online. 

K166 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
in travel time of water at the base of Variegated Glacier before and after this 

outburst event (Brugman, 1987).]

The most recent surge was significantly different from previously observed surges of Variegated Glacier. In 1994, anticipating the onset of another surge, Keith Echelmeyer (University of Alaska) overflew the glacier and 

noted that surface crevasse and fracture features in the upper glacier suggested that a new surge was imminent. He also obtained aerial photographs 

of the surface of the glacier (K. Echelmeyer, oral commun., 1997). Centerline elevation profiles made with a geodetic airborne laser altimeter profiler 

in 1995 and 1996 indicated that surge activity in this event was restricted to 

the upper part of the glacier, unlike previous surges of Variegated Glacier. 

An 11 June 1995 sediment-laden jökulhlaup marked the end of initial surge 

activity, and an anticipated winter rejuvenation of the surge did not occur. 

The lower reaches of the glacier were not involved in this surge cycle. The 

geodetic airborne laser altimeter profiler has been described by Echelmeyer 

and others (1996).

Figure 153.—Two oblique aerial photographs of Variegated Glacier showing 

changes resulting from the 1982–83 surge.

Variegated Glacier is 20 km long. The width 

of the glacier is 0.8 km at A in figure 153A. 

The active surge phase lasted from January 

1982 until early July 1983, during which period there were several major accelerations. 

The lower glacier was largely unaffected 

until May 1983, at which time spectacular changes occurred. By the 4 June 1983 

photograph (fig. 153A), the surge front had 

propagated to approximately B. On 4 July 

1983, the surge essentially ended but not 

before affecting the entire glacier seen in 

the 7 July 1983 photograph (fig. 153B). The 

surge front propagated through the lower 

glacier at 80 m d–1. The highest measured 

ice velocity was in the vicinity of A and was 

65 m d–1 for a period of 2 hours on 9 June 

1983. The upper glacier thinned as much as 

50 m, and the lower glacier thickened up 

to 100 m during the surge (Kamb and others, 1985). Photographs and caption courtesy of Robert M. Krimmel, U.S. Geological 

Survey.

Figure 152.—Two oblique aerial photographs of the terminus of Variegated 

Glacier showing the changes resulting 

from the 1964–65 surge. In the 358 days 

between the two photographs, Variegated 

Glacier advanced almost 6 km. A, 29 

August 1964 photograph. USGS photograph no. F646–99 by Austin Post, U.S. 

Geological Survey. B, 22 August 1965 photograph. USGS photograph no. 7652–237 

by Austin Post, U.S. Geological Survey.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K167
Variegated Glacier has an extensive photographic history (Lawson, 1996), 

including 12 sets of vertical aerial photographs taken between 1948 and 1983. 

It was also photographed as early as 1890 by Israel C. Russell of the USGS 

(fig. 154), by Bradford Washburn in the 1930s, and by Austin Post repeatedly 

between 1960 and 1983. Analysis of sequential vertical aerial photographic 

sets by Lawson (1990) revealed that successive surges and surge cycles produce similar sets and patterns of glacier crevasses and other structures irrespective of the duration and intensity of the individual surges.

Hubbard Glacier

Hubbard Glacier has an area of about 3,900 km2 and a length more than 

114 km (table 2) (Viens, 1995). If it were entirely in Alaska, it would be the 

third largest glacier in the State (figs. 1, 2). However, more than half of the 

glacier is in Canada; only the lower part is in Alaska. With the exception of the 

calving margin of the Bering Lobe, which is located at the head of Vitus Lake 

(a tidal basin separated from the open ocean by a 5-km-long narrow channel), Hubbard Glacier, which has a 10.5-km-wide calving face, is also Alaska’s 

largest tidewater glacier directly accessible to the Pacific Ocean (through 

Disenchantment and Yakutat Bays) (figs. 53, 55, 56, 149, 150, 151). Hubbard Glacier has an AAR of 0.96 (table 2) (Viens, 1995). D.C. Trabant (oral 

commun., August 1990) estimated that 95 percent of the ice lost by Hubbard 

Glacier is by calving and the remaining 5 percent by melting.

On the basis of a radiocarbon-dated sample, Plafker and Miller (1958) reported that Hubbard Glacier filled Yakutat Bay and extended into the Pacific 

Ocean 1130±160 yr B.P. Arcuate ridges at Monti Bay and near the city of Yakutat are the terminal and recessional moraines that mark this maximum ice 

advance. Beginning in the 14th century, Hubbard Glacier underwent a significant retreat of more than 25 km. During the 18th century, it readvanced 

more than 10 km to Blizhni Point (Plafker and Miller, 1958). A submarine 

moraine at the lower end of Disenchantment Bay resulted from this advance, 

which culminated after l700 A.D. and before Malaspina’s visit in 1791. Retreat of more than 5 km occurred in the late 18th century and early 19th century. Before 1890, the glacier again began to advance. Hubbard Glacier was 

observed to be advancing by Russell in 1890 (fig. 154) and 1891, by Gilbert 

from 1897 to1899, by Tarr and Martin several times in the early 1900s (Tarr 

and Martin, 1914, pl. XLVIII, ff p. 112), by Post on 29 August 1984 (fig. 55) 

and 12 September 1986 (fig. 56), and by the author on 13 June 2002 and 18 

June 2004. Figure 54 compares the positions of Hubbard Glacier’s terminus 

between 1965 and 1997. The continuous advance of Hubbard Glacier during 

Figure 154.—1890 photograph by USGS 

geologist Israel C. Russell of the terminus 

of Hubbard Glacier from near Gilbert Point. 

USGS Photo Library photograph Russell 

390.

K168 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
the 20th century is in accordance with the theory of tidewater glacier stability and cyclicity (fig. 42).

Trabant and others (2003) compared NOAA’s 1978 and 1999 bathymetric 

surveys of Disenchantment Bay to evaluate the displacement of the submarine terminal moraine adjacent to Hubbard Glacier. They integrated the average advance rate of a 2.1-km width of the seaward face of the moraine between 

the 120- and 170-m isobaths and determined that growth was approximately 

32 m a–1. This figure is in close agreement with the average rate of terminus 

advance. For the entire profile area, which spanned depths from about 60 to 

about 230 m, the average advance rate was approximately 10 m a–1.

Trabant and others (2003) also analyzed seven longitudinal profiles collected on the terminal lobe of Hubbard Glacier in 1948, 1959, 1978, 1988, 

1992, 1999, and 2000. They determined that the glacier thickened and 

lengthened in the interval between data sets. Between 1948 and 2000, the 

glacier thickened by more than 100 m at the location of the 1948 terminus. 

Early in the 20th century, a debate existed about the morphology of fjords 

and about whether glaciers were floating or grounded. Tarr and Martin (1914, 

p. 224) observed that 

The soundings made in 1910 also establish the fact that, deep as the water is, it 

is practically impossible that any of the glacier fronts of Disenchantment Bay and 

Russell Fiord are floating now and they do not seem to have been afloat at any stage 

of their expansion, judging by the depths of water. This means that there was always active glacial grinding on the fiord bottom and the problem arises as to where 

this eroded material is now. In Russell Fiord the volume, merely from the part of 

the fiord below sea level would be many cubic miles, and the soundings show that 

more material was eroded above sea level than below. Some of the material makes 

up the great moraine south of Russell Fiord, some is in the submerged moraines, 

and a great deal has gone out to sea. Some, however, doubtless remains in the fiord 

bottoms, making it impossible to tell how near a given sounding goes to the rock 

bottom of the fiord. The measures of glacial erosion are, therefore, all minima. 

As they do at other large tidewater glaciers, the seasonal development 

and filling of calving embayments at Hubbard Glacier cause the position 

of parts of the terminus to undergo fluctuations of up to several hundred 

meters. Consequently, many historic reports of the position of the terminus 

of Hubbard Glacier mention that parts of the 10.5-km-long terminus have 

retreated. In spite of these seasonal fluctuations, the glacier has advanced 

about 3 km or nearly 30 m a–1 since the early 1890s, as tidewater glacier theory has predicted. One reason why these types of fluctuations are described 

here and not at other glaciers is the degree of scrutiny that Hubbard Glacier 

has received. Similar annual variations are observed at Bering and Columbia 

Glaciers.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K169
The 1986 and 2002 Temporary Closures of Russell Fiord by 

Hubbard Glacier

by BRUCE F. MOLNIA,1 DENNIS C. TRABANT,2 ROD S. MARCH,2 and 

ROBERT M. KRIMMEL3

A well-studied closure of Russell Fiord occurred in 1986. By 7 August 

1985, the terminus of Hubbard Glacier had advanced into shallow water near 

Osier Island (fig. 155A). The combination of a decrease in ice loss to calving and a surge at daily flow rates of about 30 m d–1 of the eastern terminus 

(North Pacific Aerial Surveys, Inc., vertical aerial photograph no. YAKT, 1:76, 

H–20, 4–3 acquired on 30 August 1975) resulted in an increase in Hubbard’s 

advance rate, so that its eastern terminus had encroached on Gilbert Point 

by 11 September 1986 (fig. 155B) and 12 September 1986 (fig. 56). Mayo 

(1988a, b) stated that, between 7 August 1985 and 12 June 1986, the part of 

Hubbard Glacier advancing into deep water moved between 48 and 197 m, 

while the part advancing into shallow water near Russell Fiord moved 300 to 

485 m. A 485-m-wide segment advancing toward Gilbert Point moved nearly 

788 m. Mayo equated this movement to an advance rate of about 1 km a–1.

In early May 1986, the advancing toe of the glacier overrode nearly all 

of Osier Island and, on 29 May 1986, pushed up and extruded a wedge of 

glaciomarine sediments against the bedrock wall of the fiord at Gilbert Point. 

This sedimentary mass blocked the entrance to Russell Fiord, resulting in 

the transformation of Russell Fiord to the approximately 60-km-long Russell 

Lake. As a result of its long history of 20th century advance and observation, 

the blockage of Russell Fiord had been predicted by Post and Mayo (1971), 

Field and Collins (1975), and Reeburgh and others (1976).

The fact that a number of marine mammals were ‘trapped’ in Russell Lake 

led to international media coverage of the closure. Much concern was focused on whether the marine mammals would be able to find food and how 

they would be affected as the salinity of Russell Lake decreased. During the 

132 days between 29 May and 8 October 1986, the sediment dam maintained 

contact with the bedrock adjacent to Gilbert Point, as a 12 September 1986 

aerial photograph (fig. 56) shows. At no time did Hubbard Glacier ice actually make direct contact with Gilbert Point. 

1

 USGS, 926A National Center, Reston, VA 20192.

2

 USGS, Geophysical Institute, P.O. Box 757320, Fairbanks, AK 99775-7320

3

 USGS, 1201 Pacific Avenue, Tacoma, WA 98402

Figure 155.—A pair of Landsat 5 TM images of the terminus of Hubbard Glacier. 

A, The pre-Russell Lake terminus on 7 

August 1985. B, The dammed mouth of 

Russell Fiord on 11 September 1986. Landsat 

5 TM image (LT5062018008521910; bands 

4, 3, 2; 7 August 1985; Path 62, Row 18) and 

Landsat 5 TM image (LT5062018008625410; 

bands 4, 3, 2; 11 September 1986; Path 62, 

Row 18) from the U.S. Geological Survey, 

EROS Data Center, Sioux Falls, S.Dak.

K170 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
As runoff from an approximately 1,800 km2

 drainage area entered the lake, 

the water level in the lake began to rise quickly. Filling was at times rapid, up 

to nearly 0.25 m d–1 following heavy precipitation events. Soon after closure, 

the USGS began to manually measure the height of the rising water in Russell 

Lake. Twelve stage measurements were made before the installation of an 

automated stage gage in early August. The volume of water introduced into 

the lake at its maximum stage was about 5.5 km3, an average influx of about 

467 m3 s–1 (Seitz and others, 1986). Maximum inflow was about 1,200 m3 s–1

on 13 August 1986 (figs.156A, B). The water level in Russell Lake rose to 

a maximum of 25.8 m. Filling of the lake to a height of approximately 40 m 

above mean sea level would have resulted in water flowing out the back 

(southeastern) end of the lake basin into the Situk River drainage.

Calving of icebergs from both sides of the 400-m-wide ice dam, into both 

Russell Lake and Disenchantment Bay, reduced the width of the ice dam. 

This narrowing of the ice dam and the increased hydrostatic pressure against 

Figure 156.—A, Filling and emptying of 

Russell Lake during the 1986 and 2002 

closure events. B, Russell Lake filling rates 

in 1986 and 2002 and 2002 precipitation at 

Yakutat, Alaska. C, Hydrographs showing 

the 1986 and 2002 draining of Russell Lake.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K171
and under the dam further weakened it. Close to midnight on 7 October 

1986, the ice dam began to fail. Peak discharge was reached 6 hours after the 

inception of a jökulhlaup. Within 24 hours, the water level in Russell Lake

dropped more than 25 m, returning to equilibrium with adjacent Disenchantment Bay (fig. 156C). Emery and Seitz (1987) reported that, between 0200 

and 0600 local time on 8 October 1986, the level of the lake decreased as 

much as 1.6 m h–1. Mayo (1988a, b) cited the average discharge from the 

lake into Disenchantment Bay as about 1.1×105 m3 s–1 and the total volume of 

water discharged into Disenchantment Bay as 5.42 km3. The peak discharge 

was 1.04×106 m3 s–1. Interesting legacies from Russell Lake were the presence of ice-rafted dropstones left in the crowns of many trees that had been 

submerged by the rapidly rising waters; drift logs resting on limbs of other 

trees, deposited during the rapid draining of the lake; and, years later, a ring 

of dead trees surrounding the margin of Russell Fiord. [Editors’ note: A similar ring of dead trees surrounds the shoreline of Canal de los Tempanos and 

Brazo Sur, arms of Lago Argentino that are subject to water-level fluctuations 

caused by the advance and retreat of Glacier Perito Moreno, an outlet glacier 

from the Southern Patagonia Ice Field, Argentina (see Lliboutry, 1998).]

Ice-velocity measurements made in June 1986 showed that the speed of 

the ice at the terminus of Hubbard Glacier was 14 m d–1. By August 1986, the 

speed of the ice was 8 m d–1, about the same as was measured in August 1978 

(Krimmel and Sikonia, 1986). As a result of the jökulhlaup, the erosion of the 

sediment plug and the adjacent ice dam left the position of the central part of 

the terminus of Hubbard Glacier nearly 0.5 km north of Osier Island.

Tlingit oral history describes a previous damming of Russell Fiord 

(de Laguna, 1972), probably early in the 19th century. However, the damming of this lake may have been the result of an ice dam formed by an advance of the terminus of Nunatak Glacier rather than by a Hubbard Glacier 

ice dam. Whatever the cause, Russell (1893) observed a combination of 

young vegetation and recent shoreline features in upper Russell Fiord in 

1891 that confirmed the recent existence of a 19th century lake.

Through the late 1980s, the 1990s, and into the early 21st century, Hubbard Glacier continued its steady advance south toward Gilbert Point. A 

comparison of the glacier’s terminus position on 7 August 1986 with that on 

11 August 2001 showed average advances of 560 m in Disenchantment Bay 

and 390 m in Russell Fiord.

Trabant and Krimmel (2001) took a close look at annual changes of the 

terminus of Hubbard Glacier, specifically at when the advance of Hubbard 

Glacier might next close the entrance of Russell Fiord. By comparing periods 

of approximately 50 years, they found that the average rate of advance had 

accelerated from about 16 m a–1 between 1895 and 1948 to about 26 m a–1 between 1948 and 1998. During shorter periods, the advance was spatially and 

temporally erratic. For example, an average advance of 32 m along the 6-kmwide terminus facing Disenchantment Bay between August 1988 and July 

1990 contrasts with an advance of 111 m along the 2.8-km-wide terminus 

of Hubbard Glacier in Russell Fiord during the same period. The terminus 

of Hubbard Glacier that faced Disenchantment Bay exhibited an extreme 

temporal rate change during the decade of the 1990s; the rate of advance 

changed from an average of about 4 m a–1 between July 1990 and July 1998 

to 149 m a–1 between late July 1998 and early August 1999. The 100-year 

average advance rate was about 22 m a–1 for most of the terminus and around 

19 m a–1 toward the closure point.

On 2 August 1999, Hubbard’s terminus was about 350 m from Gilbert Point. 

By the spring of 2002, Hubbard Glacier’s advancing terminus had reduced 

the width of open water between it and Gilbert Point by more than half. On 

20 May 2002, a U.S. Forest Service photograph by Bill Lucey showed that the 

advancing terminus was pushing up and extruding a mass of glaciomarine 

sediments between it and the bedrock wall of the fiord about 400 m west of 

K172 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Gilbert Point. No change was noted in the water level of Russell Fiord versus 

Disenchantment Bay, and tidal exchange between Disenchantment Bay and 

Russell Fiord appeared to be unimpeded. 

The exposed part of this push-moraine sedimentary mass continued to expand and, before 13 June 2002, it made contact with the bedrock wall of Russell Fiord (fig. 157). The surface of the push moraine had four distinct ridges. 

The areal extent of the 2002 moraine was significantly larger than that of the 

1986 moraine, and the location of closure was approximately 500 m west of 

the 1986 closure. Throughout June 2002, water continuously flowed out of 

Russell Lake through an approximately 90×20-m shallow channel. By early 

July 2002, the height of the push moraine eliminated the tidal exchange of 

water with Yakutat Bay (Molnia and others, 2002).

During the ensuing 10 weeks, the area and height of the push moraine 

continued to increase, again resulting in the transformation of Russell Fiord 

into Russell Lake. Unlike 1986, there was little international media attention, and minimal attention was paid to the presence of marine mammals 

in Russell Lake. By mid-June, the growing push moraine effectively closed 

the entrance to Russell Fiord. By late-June, the water in Russell Lake was 

more than 7 m above mean sea level. Nearly a kilometer of the terminus was 

fronted by extruded glacial and glaciomarine sediments as they emerged 

from the fjord. By mid-July, the sediment mass reached a height of more than 

25 m above mean sea level. At Gilbert Point, extruded sediment and moraine 

were pushed against approximately 250 m of the fjord wall.

By early August, a delicate balance existed between the height of the 

growing moraine and the volume and height of water in Russell Lake. Drainage continued through a narrow channel cut into the top of the push moraine. By 10 August 2002, the maximum height of the growing moraine exceeded 30 m, and the stage of Russell Lake reached 12 m above mean sea 

level (fig. 156A). Part of the terminus of the glacier had advanced to within 

15 m of the southern wall of Russell Fiord. At all times, moraine was the only 

material that made contact with the wall of the fjord.

Within 2 weeks of closure, the USGS had installed an automated stage 

gage. As was the case in 1986, the water level in the lake had begun to rise 

immediately. Filling was rapid, averaging 0.22 m d–1 (fig. 156B). The volume 

of water introduced into the lake at its maximum stage was about 3.1 km3, an 

average influx of about 530 m3 sec-1. Maximum inflow was about 2,600 m3 sec-1

on 12 August 2002.

Figure 157.—Northeast-looking oblique aerial photograph of the advancing terminus 

of Hubbard Glacier on 13 June 2002 taken 

from over Disenchantment Bay looking 

across Gilbert Point into Russell Fiord at 

the push moraine that temporarily blocked 

the mouth of Russell Fiord. This push moraine is composed of sediment bulldozed 

from the floor of Russell Fiord by the advancing ice. Part of the Hubbard Glacier 

that is advancing into Disenchantment 

Bay can be seen in the center of the photograph. Photograph by Bruce F. Molnia, U.S. 

Geological Survey.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K173
During the 66 days between 10 June and 14 August 2002, the sediment 

dam maintained contact with the bedrock wall of Russell Fiord west of Gilbert Point, and the water level in Russell Lake rose 15.1 m. At 0300 local 

time on 14 August 2002, Russell Lake began to drain. As much as 15 cm of 

precipitation had fallen at Yakutat during the two previous days, resulting in 

an inflow into the lake that was approximately half an order of magnitude 

greater than the average influx for the previous 60 days (fig. 156B). Unlike 

the 1986 flood, which resulted from abrupt ice-dam failure, the 2002 flood 

was the result of prolonged erosion of a deepening and widening channel cut 

into the push moraine. At noon local time on 14 August 2002, about 9 hours 

after the onset of the flood, the lake stage had fallen only 0.68 m, and the 

discharge was approximately 8,600 m3 s–1, with super-critical flow and 14-

m-high hydraulic jumps. Six hours later, at approximately 1800, and about 

15 hours after onset, the lake stage had fallen 2.56 m and the discharge was 

approximately 33,000 m3 s–1. Peak discharge, approximately 52,000 m3 s–1, 

was reached approximately 21 hours into the flood. The flood lasted about 33 

hours (fig. 156C). When observed on 15 August 2002, around 12 hours after 

peak discharge, open exchange was again taking place, and the height of the 

surface of Russell Fiord had returned to sea level. The newly exposed former 

lake bed contained numerous trees covered by glacial flour.

As was the case in 1986, the flood removed both the sediment dam and a 

significant amount of ice from the terminus of the glacier. Following the flood, 

the width of the channel between Hubbard’s terminus and Gilbert Point had 

widened to approximately 500 m. When observed in early February 2003 and 

again in June 2004, the terminus again appeared to be advancing and closing the channel. Glacier ice has yet to make contact with the bedrock wall of 

Russell Fiord at Gilbert Point.

Southwestern St. Elias Mountains Segment: 

From the Western Side of Yakutat Bay to the Western 

Bagley Ice Valley, the Western Robinson Mountains, and 

the Bering Lobe

Landsat MSS images that cover the southwestern St. Elias Mountain region from the western side of Yakutat Bay to the Bering Lobe have the following Path/Row coordinates: 66/18, 67/18, 68/18, 69/18, and 70/18 (fig. 3, 

table 1). These areas are mapped on the USGS Yakutat, Alaska-Canada; 

Mount St. Elias, Alaska-Canada; and Bering Glacier, Alaska, 1:250,000-scale 

topographic maps (appendix A). Even though the eastern Bagley Ice Valley 

(including Quintino Sella, Columbus, and Jefferies Glaciers) is located in the 

St. Elias Mountains, it is part of the Bering Glacier System. The Bagley Ice 

Valley will be described in the Chugach Mountains section, so that the Bering 

Glacier System can be described as a single entity.

Between the southwestern margin of Hubbard Glacier and the northeastern side of the piedmont lobe of Malaspina Glacier, nine east- and southflowing glaciers descend from the flanks of the St. Elias Mountains to near 

sea level: Miller, Haenke, Turner, Fallen, Black, Galiano, Atrevida, Lucia, and 

Hayden Glaciers. In 2000, Haenke and Turner Glaciers reached tidewater. 

Since then, Haenke's terminus has been stationary.

Miller Glacier is the 5-km-long valley glacier immediately west of Hubbard 

Glacier. For most of the 20th century, it stagnated in its valley; its 1959 terminus about 1.5 km from shore. Post (1967b) reported that it underwent a 

small surge in 1966. Since then, its debris-covered terminus has been stagnating and retreating. On 2 August 1999, its terminus was about 2.1 km from 

the coastline of Disenchantment Bay.

K174 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Haenke Glacier, which is 14 km long (Field and Collins, 1975, p. 266), is 

another surge-type glacier. Between 1891 and 1905, its terminus was stagnant, downwasting, and located more than a kilometer from Yakutat Bay. Tarr 

and Martin (1914) reported that it underwent a rapid advance, thickened, 

became crevassed, and advanced nearly 1.4 km between 1905 and 1906. Retreat followed through 1913. A 1933 Washburn photograph showed that its 

terminus was located at tidewater. Another period of retreat followed; by 

1948, it was again stagnant, with active ice about 3 km from shore (Field and 

Collins, 1975). By 1959, active ice was about 2 km from shore. By 25 August 

1969, after another decade of stagnation, active ice was now more than 3 km 

from shore (fig. 158A). In 1978, vegetation was growing on the stagnant terminus, and a delta separated the stagnant margin from the adjacent Turner 

Glacier (AHAP false-color infrared vertical aerial photograph no. L120F6011 

acquired on 18 August 1978). At the end of the 20th century, Haenke Glacier 

had again become a tidewater glacier, with a large bulbous terminus of stagnant ice extending nearly a kilometer into Yakutat Bay (fig. 158B).

When the central part of the terminus of Turner Glacier was observed in 

August 1891 by Israel C. Russell (fig. 159) and in 1899 by Gilbert (1904), it 

extended more than 1 km into Disenchantment Bay. Its land-based northern 

and southern margins, however, were frequently reported as showing signs of 

minor retreat (Tarr and Martin, 1914). Turner Glacier fluctuated around this 

position for nearly 60 years until it underwent a catastrophic calving as the 

result of the 9 July l958 earthquake, whose epicenter was located near Lituya 

Bay. As much as 700 m of the terminus calved in a series of seemingly endless events described by Davis and Sanders (1960). Field and Collins (1975) 

Figure 158.—Aerial photographs of the 

termini of Haenke and Turner Glaciers. 

A, 25 August 1969 oblique aerial photograph shows stagnant ice and downwasting in the terminus area of Haenke Glacier 

(right) and the tidewater terminus of Turner 

Glacier (left). The spit on the left (south) 

side of Turner Glacier marks the position of 

its recent terminal moraine. The terminus 

of Turner Glacier appears to have retreated 

several hundred meters from its recent 

maximum position. The folded moraines 

on the left (south) side of Turner Glacier 

indicate recent surge activity. USGS photograph no. F692–124 by Austin Post, U.S. 

Geological Survey. B, 2 August 1999 blackand-white vertical aerial photograph of the 

tidewater termini of Turner Glacier (left), 

and Haenke Glacier (right). The termini of 

both Turner and Haenke Glaciers extend 

into tidewater as if both had experienced recent surges. Haenke Glacier has advanced 

approximately 2 km beyond its 1979 terminus position. Photograph no. 3–6 is from 

the U.S. Bureau of Land Management.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K175
suggested that the massive calving may have resulted from the slumping of 

unconsolidated sediment beneath the ice mass, which would reduce support 

and create a very unstable condition. Its 25 August 1969 position (fig. 158A) 

is as retracted as it has been at any time since it was first observed. By 1978, 

much of the area lost since 1958 was regained, possibly by a surge-induced 

advance. By 2 August 1999 (fig. 158B) and through June 2004, the terminus 

was located at approximately the same location as it was in 1890–99 (fig. 

159). Turner Glacier has an area of approximately 186 km2, an accumulation 

area of approximately 150 km2, an ablation area of approximately 35 km2, 

and an AAR of 0.81 (table 2) (Viens, 1995). The width of Turner’s calving 

face is about 3.1 km.

All of the glaciers southwest of Turner Glacier and east of the Malaspina 

Glacier have significantly retreated from the positions that they held when 

they were mapped in 1909 by the NGS. All are either actively retreating or 

have stagnant, debris-covered termini. Lucia Glacier, however, is a surgetype glacier and experienced a surge in 1966.

Malaspina Glacier System

Malaspina Glacier (fig. 160), which has a length of 113 km (Field and Collins, 1975, p. 267) and an area of about 5,000 km2

 (table 3) (Viens, 1995), is 

the second largest and one of the longest glaciers in Alaska and in continental 

North America (Hubbard Glacier and Bering Glacier are also among the longest). It includes the largest piedmont lobe of any glacier in continental North 

America. The entire piedmont lobe, which is located between Yakutat Bay 

and Icy Bay, lies at elevations below 600 m. Alone, it has an area of approximately 2,150 km2

 and a perimeter of about 90 km. Its entire surface is located 

within the ablation zone. The accumulation area of Malaspina Glacier is only 

slightly larger than its ablation area (2,575 km2 as opposed to 2,433 km2); consequently, Malaspina Glacier has an AAR of 0.51 (table 2) (Viens, 1995), one 

of the lowest of any studied glacier in the St. Elias Mountains. Seward and 

Agassiz Glaciers are the largest of Malaspina Glacier’s tributaries. Other large 

tributaries include Hayden, Marvine, and Libbey Glaciers. Sharp (1951) estimated that Seward and Malaspina Glaciers contain 1,750.6 km3

 of ice jointly. 

Malaspina Glacier has an extensive photographic record dating from 1890.

Morphologically, the piedmont lobe of Malaspina Glacier consists of three 

primary components: (1) the eastern Seward Lobe, which encompasses 

about two-thirds of the piedmont lobe, (2) a debris-covered interlobate area, 

which extends from the Samovar Hills to the glacier’s southern margin, and 

(3) the western Agassiz Lobe. The eastern margin of the piedmont lobe 

abuts the western margin of Marvine Glacier. Similarly, Libbey Glacier flanks 

the western margin of the lobe. Much of the remaining perimeter of the piedmont lobe is fronted by outwash plains and vegetation-covered stagnant ice, 

Figure 159.—August 1891 photograph by 

USGS geologist Israel C. Russell of the 

tidewater terminus of Turner Glacier, which 

extended about 1 km into Disenchantment 

Bay. USGS Photo Library photograph 

Russell 362.

K176 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Bagley Ice Valley

Seward Glacier

Malaspina Glacier

Agassiz Glacier

Bering

Glacier

Icy Bay

142°W

143°W

141° 140°

60°N

10 0 10 20 30 KILOMETERS

APPROXIMATE SCALE

Figure 160.—This Landsat 1 MSS image of the Malaspina 

Glacier and environs was acquired on 12 February 1973, at 

a time when glaciers are not best observed generally; snow 

covers the ice features, and a low Sun angle obscures valleys with shadows. But in this particular region in midwinter, 

both of these attributes enhance this image of the upper 

Bering Glacier, Bagley Ice Valley, Seward Glacier, Agassiz 

Glacier, and the piedmont Malaspina Glacier, allowing other 

information to be obtained. The uniform snow cover, combined with the low Sun angle, permits subtle slope changes 

to be seen on the large expanses of relatively flat ice areas. 

These slope changes are not evident on aerial photos or the 

maps made from them. An image such as this one can be 

stretched in contrast, either photographically or digitally, 

to further enhance the tonal variations. The surface slope 

changes give clues as to subglacial topography (Krimmel 

and Meier, 1975; Molnia and Jones, 1989) and the direction 

of ice flow in the accumulation areas. The terminus positions 

of the very active tidewater glaciers in Icy Bay can be easily 

mapped from an image such as this one. Landsat 1 MSS image (1204–20120, band 7; 12 February 1973; Path 68, Row 18) 

and caption courtesy of Robert M. Krimmel, U.S. Geological 

Survey.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K177
pitted with thermokarst features. The largest individual pits are more than 

0.5 km in maximum dimension (fig. 161).

At Sitkagi Bluffs, the southern terminus of Malaspina Glacier, the Pacific 

Ocean washes the base of a 20-m-high stagnant ice cliff. Erosion of a 20th 

century end moraine now permits high-tide surf and storm waves to reach 

the glacier ice. What appears to be the advance of a glacier terminus into the 

ocean is actually an encroachment of the ocean to the base of the ice cliff. As 

the cliff is undercut and melts, mature trees fall into the surf zone (fig. 162).

The surface of the piedmont lobe is covered by an intricate pattern of folded and convoluted moraines, the result of multiple surges and differential 

flow between its two primary tributaries (Washburn, 1935). These moraines, 

referred to by Washburn as “marble cake moraines,” have been repeatedly 

photographed, not only because of the information that can be learned about 

the ice dynamics and flow of Malaspina Glacier but also because of their stark 

beauty (figs. 37, 163). Post (1972) noted that the folding pattern in the Piedmont Lobe defined a 40-year surge cycle.

More than 50 years ago, continued melting of stagnant ice on the glacier’s southeastern side led to the formation of the ice-marginal Malaspina 

Lake (fig. 164). By the middle 1980s, through the melting and expansion of 

thermokarst pits, the irregular-shaped lake had increased in size to approximately 25×10 km. A 1986–87 surge reduced its area and width by nearly twothirds (fig. 7).

The thickness of the piedmont lobe and the morphology of its basin have 

been investigated by both seismic surveys and ice-penetrating radar (IPR) surveys (Molnia and others, 1990). In 1951, Allen and Smith (1953, p. 755) used 

seismic reflection and gravity techniques to measure the ice thicknesses and 

the “configuration of the subglacial floor” of the piedmont lobe along a 16.1-

km north-south traverse of the glacier. The range of ice thicknesses that they 

measured was between 340 and 620 m. They also determined that the basin 

underlying the glacier extends to at least 250 m below sea level and shallowed 

both northward toward the mountains and southward toward the ice margin.

In the late 1980s, the author used IPR to measure ice thickness at more 

than 50 locations and to determine the configuration of the glacier’s bed. The 

IPR data confirmed that most of the glacier is underlain by a fjord system extending about 50 km inland and about 200 m below sea level. The maximum 

ice thickness measured with IPR was more than 850 m, whereas the minimum measured thickness was less than 50 m (Molnia and others, 1990).

In spite of its remoteness, Malaspina Glacier was one of the most intensively 

observed glaciers in Alaska by the first decade of the 20th century. Martin (1907) 

N

Figure 161.—August 1978 AHAP false-color 

infrared vertical aerial photograph of the 

southern margin of Malaspina Glacier. 

Vegetation, growing on the stagnant ice 

margin, is colored purple in this false-color 

infrared image. The area to the right of 

Fountain Stream (largest sediment plume) 

where the stagnant ice contacts the Gulf of 

Alaska is Sitkagi Bluffs. AHAP photograph 

no. LXXXF4931 from the GeoData Center, 

Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska, 

Fairbanks, Alaska. A larger version of this 

figure is available online.

Figure 162.—30 July 1999 south-looking 

oblique aerial photograph of part of the 

vegetation-covered, stagnant ice terminus of Malaspina Glacier at Sitkagi Bluffs. 

Pacific Ocean waters wash over the low 

barrier into the lagoon surrounding the ice 

margin. The barrier is actually a boulder 

lag deposit formed by the concentration 

of coarse sediment during many decades 

of glacier melting. Photograph by Bruce F. 

Molnia, U.S. Geological Survey.

K178 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
described the construction of a 2.1×1.4-m, 1:80,000-scale, exaggeration-free 

plaster model (relief map) of the glacier and its adjacent area. The model was 

based on charts, maps, descriptions, and about 625 different photographs. Including himself, Martin credited the following impressive list of people and organizations as having provided these source materials: I.C. Russell, the Alaska 

Boundary Commission, Lt. Frederick G. Schwatka’s New York Times Expedition, H.W. Seton Karr, William Libbey, the Topham Expedition, George Broke, 

the Canadian Boundary Commission, A.J. Brabazon, the Duke of Abruzzi, 

Vittorio Sella, H.C. Bryant, C.E. Hill, the Harriman Expedition, G.K. Gilbert, 

Figure 163.—17 September 1972 oblique 

aerial photograph of the intricately folded 

medial moraines located on the eastern 

margin of the Seward Lobe of Malaspina 

Glacier. The convoluted patterns are the result of multiple surges and differential flow 

of ice between the Seward and Agassiz 

Lobes. The Samovar Hills are in the upper 

center of the photograph, below Mount St. 

Elias; the Hitchcock Hills are located at the 

right edge of the photograph. USGS photograph no. 72R8–45 by Austin Post, U.S. 

Geological Survey.

Figure 164.—25 August 1969 southeastlooking oblique aerial photograph of part 

of the southeastern terminus of Malaspina 

Glacier showing the developing Malaspina 

Lake. Within five years, continued melting of thermokarst pits in the buried ice 

underlying and surrounding the lake led 

to the joining of the two independent lake 

basins, here connected by a river. USGS 

photograph no. 69R2–084 by Austin Post, 

U.S. Geological Survey. 

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K179
Henry Gannett, the U.S. Fish Commission, the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey, 

the U.S. Boundary Commission, Fremont Morse, the U.S. Geological Survey, 

A.G. Maddren, E. Blackwelder, R.S. Tarr, and others.

Sharp (1958a) stated that the latest major advance of Malaspina Glacier 

culminated 200±50 years ago (A.D. 1708–1808). However, in 1891, Russell 

photographed part of the eastern terminus of the margin of the Malaspina 

Glacier advancing into an adjacent forest (USGS Photo Library Russell 396 

photograph). During most of the 20th century, the margin of the Malaspina 

Glacier has been stagnating, downwasting, and retreating. A very thick 

debris-covered zone 0.75– to 6-km wide surrounds the glacier’s margin. In 

places, the debris is several meters thick and supports mature spruce and 

hemlock trees, some more than 150 years old. Plafker and Miller (1958) provided a comprehensive summary of the glacial history of the region and a 

detailed map of the piedmont lobe of Malaspina Glacier. A 1999 survey by 

the author documented continuing stagnation around the entire margin of 

the piedmont lobe, including tree- and sediment-covered areas. Unlike the 

case with a typical valley glacier — where terminus retreat is easily seen and 

generally characterized by newly exposed lateral moraines, trimlines, and 

fluted ground moraines — retreat of the terminus of the Malaspina Glacier is 

generally much harder to document. It is characterized by a decrease in the 

magnitude of relief of the margin’s debris-covered surface and the development of additional vegetation.

Within the Malaspina Glacier system, the eastern two-thirds of Malaspina 

Glacier, Seward Glacier, Hayden Glacier, Marvine Glacier, and Newton Glacier (a tributary of the Agassiz Glacier) all surge (Post, 1969). The earliest 

reported surge occurred in 1906 and involved Marvine Glacier and the eastern piedmont lobe (Tarr, 1907). The glacier surged again between 1954 and 

1956 (Sharp, 1958b) and again between 1986 and 1987.

Ablation studies conducted in the late 1940s (Sharp, 1951) and again in 

the late 1990s (Lingle and others, 1999) indicate that the piedmont lobe of 

Malaspina Glacier is rapidly thinning. Sharp (1951) reported that the annual 

surplus in the accumulation area was 175 cm of water in 1948–49, 66 cm of 

water in 1947–48, 43 cm of water in 1946–47, and 76 cm of water in 1945–46. 

On a daily basis, midsummer gross ablation of firn on upper Seward Glacier 

ranged from a mean of 7.6 mm to a maximum of 2.2 cm. Variation from year to 

year was significant; 1948 ablation was 75 percent greater than 1949 ablation. 

On Malaspina Glacier, daily gross ablation of clean ice in 1949 averaged 5.9 

cm, a rate 900 percent greater than on upper Seward Glacier. With respect to 

mass balance, the glacier in l947–48 had a negative mass balance of 3.5 km3

(2.l5×1014 in3) of ice (3.19 km3 water equivalent). In l948–49, it had a positive 

mass balance of 1.48 km3 (0.91×1014 in3 ) of ice (1.35 km3 water equivalent), 

the result of heavy precipitation and reduced ablation. Sharp concluded 

that, under existing climatological conditions, a ‘‘normal” year produces a 

deficit of about 3.28 km3 (2.0×1014 in3 ) of ice (2.98 km3 water equivalent) 

and results in “a poor state of health.” Elsewhere, Sharp (1958b) reported 

that the glacier had experienced marked mass balance deficits in six of the 

nine budget years studied between 1945 and 1954. Of the other three years, 

one had a “good surplus,” and the other two were about balanced.

Lingle and others’ (1999) numbers are based on laser altimeter profiles of 

both Seward and Malaspina Glaciers that were obtained by Keith Echelmeyer 

on 5 June 1995. These profiles were compared with a USGS digital elevation 

model (DEM) of Alaska at a nominal resolution of 15 m. They concluded that 

ablation of the Alaskan part of Seward Glacier resulted in a loss of 3.0±1.5 km3

of water between the early-to-middle-1970s and 1995. The Seward Glacier 

lobe lost 48.5±5 km3 of water, and the entire Seward Glacier-Malaspina Glacier system lost 63.0±13 km3

 of water. These amounts are equivalent to an 

average annual mass balance of −0.97±0.20 m and an annual volume loss of 

2.52±0.52 km3 of water.

K180 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Meteorological records (Lingle and others, 1999) and a mass balance 

model have been combined by Tangborn (1999) to simulate changes in the 

Seward Glacier-Malaspina Glacier system for the period 1918–99. Their 

method generated daily runoff volumes and separated total runoff into two 

components: runoff produced by glacier melting and runoff contributed by 

precipitation. For the 82-year period, the annual simulated runoff for these 

glaciers averaged 3.05 m. Of this 3.05 m, 37 percent (or about 1.12 m of water 

equivalent per year) is derived from glacier melting.

Comparing these numbers gives the following results. Taking Sharp’s 

(1958b) mean late 1940s summer ice ablation rate of –7.6 mm d–1 and assuming a 150-day melt season yields an annual loss of glacier ice from the surface 

of the piedmont lobe of 1.14 m a–1 or, when extrapolated for the entire 20th 

century, a thinning of 114 m. Taking Lingle and others’ (1999) average annual mass balance of –0.9±0.20 m and converting it from water equivalent 

to ice thickness (assuming an ice density of 0.91) yields an annual loss of 

glacier ice from the surface of the piedmont lobe of 1.07±0.22 m a–1 or, when 

extrapolated for the entire 20th century, a thinning of 107±22 m. Taking 

Tangborn’s (1999) annual loss of 1.12 m of water equivalent from the surface 

of the piedmont lobe, yields an annual loss of glacier ice 1.23 m a–1 or, when 

extrapolated for the entire 20th century, a thinning of 123 m. In any case, 

these methods suggest that anywhere from 85 to 129 m of thinning of the 

piedmont lobe of Malaspina Glacier occurred during the 20th century.

In addition to having been the subject of extensive photographic and satellite imagery coverage, Malaspina Glacier has been imaged on a number of 

occasions by digital space-borne radar, including missions of SEASAT, ERS-1 

and ERS-2, SIR-C, and RADARSAT. It was also imaged with digital syntheticaperture (SAR), X-band, side-looking airborne radar (SLAR) in November 

1986. SLAR data, collected at X-band frequencies between 8.0 and 12.0 GHz 

at a resolution of about 10 m, revealed a complex pattern of surface features 

that mimic the configuration of the glacier’s bed (fig. 165). Interpretation of 

these SLAR data provides insights into Malaspina Glacier’s neoglacial history 

(Molnia, 1990a).

Figure 165.—November 1986 X-band sidelooking airborne radar (SLAR) image of the 

piedmont lobe of the Malaspina Glacier, 

Alaska. The surface of the glacier, as seen 

in this synthetic aperture radar (SAR) image, produces a variety of unusual backscatter responses, including complex, 

multidirectional fjord- and glacier-like valleys, the margins of which are bounded by 

numerous cirquelike features; subparallel 

east-flowing dendritic valleys; and an arcuate lineament extending for about 65 km 

(Molnia and Jones, 1989). Field investigations have confirmed that these backscatter 

features correlate to topographic features 

on the surface of the Malaspina Glacier. 

The area shown is approximately 70 km by 

40 km.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K181
SLAR imagery depicts the surface morphology of the western two-thirds 

of the glacier as being characterized by broad “glacial valleys” with cirquelike indentations (fig. 165). The eastern one-third of the piedmont lobe is 

characterized by “dendritic valleys,” which are similar in size and morphology 

to present-day fluvial discharge channels that are situated along the margin 

of the glacier. Additionally, an arcuate east-west lineament more than 40 km 

long was identified cutting across the upper part of the piedmont lobe. 

Interpretation of the SLAR data (Molnia and Jones, 1989) and the IPR 

depths allows a more complete understanding of the relationship between 

ice surface morphology and the topography and morphology of the underlying bedrock. The valley and lineament features, as well as other features on 

the glacier’s surface, mimic Malaspina Glacier’s subglacial bedrock morphology. IPR showed that these surface valley features also corresponded to bed 

morphology.

Some of these features seen on SLAR imagery may also be seen on Landsat imagery of Malaspina Glacier. Krimmel and Meier (1975) examined a 

conventionally processed, enhanced Landsat image acquired on 12 February 1973, with a Sun angle of 14° and a uniformly reflecting surface of new 

snow (fig. 160). They observed tonal variations and linear features on the 

glacier’s surface and noted that many apparent linear features had no positional relationship to known surface features. They stated (Krimmel and 

Meier, 1975, p. 396) that these tonal variations correspond to “very slight 

slope changes” and “may be a reflection of the basal features, and perhaps 

can be interpreted as subglacial stream beds or differential erosion of geologic structures or formations.” They suggested that some “may relate to 

bedrock roughness elements, and hence subtly reflect the subglacial topographic relief.”

Comparing the 1973 image with the X-band SLAR imagery shows that 

many of the apparently featureless “wavy patterns and lineaments” seen on 

the 1973 Landsat image correspond to the glacial valleys and segments of the 

arcuate lineament. The east-west–trending dendritic valleys, the numerous 

cirquelike features, and many other significant morphological details seen on 

the SLAR imagery are not identifiable on the Landsat imagery.

On X-band SLAR imagery, the three types of features have the following 

characteristics (Molnia, 1990b): 

1. The “glacial valleys” are 10 to 25 km in length and about 1.5 km to 2.5 km 

in width. These valleys are parallel or subparallel to ice-flow directions 

mapped by Krimmel and Meier (1975). The cirquelike indentations are 

less than 1 km across, have abrupt changes in backscatter response 

across their boundaries, and have rounded amphitheater-like geometries. From south to north, the sharpness of the demarcation across the 

boundary of these cirquelike features decreases, possibly as a function 

of change in radar depression angle and (or) the thickness of ice cover. 

Field surveys in 1989 and 1990 confirmed that the glacier-like valleys 

correspond to topographic lows on the glacier’s surface, whereas the 

cirquelike features are topographically higher and heavily crevassed. 

Ice-penetrating radar soundings spaced approximately 100 m apart 

showed that the ice overlying these valleys is substantially thicker than 

the ice over adjacent intervalley highs. 

2. The “dendritic valleys” are 6 to 12 km in length and 0.5 to 1.0 km in width. 

At least five distinct, subparallel, generally east-west–trending valleys 

are discernible on the SLAR imagery (fig. 165). The valleys are oblique 

to the ice-flow directions mapped by Krimmel and Meier (1975). Marginal cirquelike features are absent. Three of the best expressed examples of these valleys on the X-band imagery terminate adjacent to 

Malaspina Lake, near a large subglacial stream delta; another terminates 

near the headwaters of Alder Stream. Field surveys in 1989 and 1990, 

showed that the valleylike features were as much as 40 m lower than 

K182 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
adjacent highs and were characterized by fewer crevasses, minimal surface relief, a sediment veneer, and both standing and running water. 

3. The arcuate lineament is a gently curving linear feature that extends in 

an east-west direction for more than 40 km. This arcuate lineament may 

be a trace of one of the boundary faults separating the North American 

Plate from the Pacific Plate, as is the case with the Fairweather Fault 

trench located approximately 120 km to the southeast. From west to 

east, it can be followed from the shoreline of Icy Bay, across outwash 

sediments and the upper part of Malaspina Glacier, to Malaspina Lake. 

The lineament crosses a large medial moraine complex characterized by 

thermokarst features (fig. 165). The trace of the lineament corresponds 

to the northern shoreline of Malaspina Lake.

The location of the transition between the two types of SLAR valley features corresponds to the inferred location of Hubbard Glacier’s neoglacial 

maximum-advance terminal moraine complex position. Because both Hubbard Glacier and Malaspina Glacier could not have occupied the same space, 

the piedmont lobe of Malaspina Glacier must have been much smaller or, 

perhaps, even nonexistent at the time of the Hubbard Glacier maximum. A 

retracted Malaspina Glacier would open several deepwater embayments, 

each as much as approximately 50 km inland of the present shoreline. Following the retreat of Hubbard Glacier, expansion of Malaspina Glacier filled 

the embayments and overtopped the Hubbard Glacier moraine. Subglacial 

dendritic channels were ice proximal drainages that were overtopped by the 

advancing glacier. The retreat of Hubbard Glacier is dated at around 600 yr 

B.P. (Plafker and Miller, 1958); hence, as Sharp (1958a) suggested, the expansion of Malaspina Glacier to its present position could have occurred only 

during the past few hundred years.

Many of the higher elevation tributaries to Aggasiz and Seward Glaciers 

head in cirques, passes, and valleys on the southern flanks of Mount Owen, 

Mount Eaton, Mount Augusta, Mount Baird, Mount Malaspina, Mount Bering, Mount Jeannette, Mount Newton, and Mount St. Elias. Dome Pass, at 

an elevation of approximately 1,300 m, is the divide between Agassiz and 

Seward Glaciers. Most years, the previous year’s snow cover remains through 

the melt season. With the exception of several cirque glaciers, generally below 1,500 m elevation, no evidence of glacier thinning or retreat could be 

seen in this region.

Glaciers of Icy Bay

Glaciers have existed in the vicinity of Icy Bay for at least several million 

years (Armentrout,1983). The present-day Icy Bay is the result of 20th century retreat of the most recent ice mass to fill the basin (Alpha, 1975; Molnia, 

1977, 1979; Porter, 1989). As recently as the middle of the first decade of 

the 20th century, there was no Icy Bay because the entire basin was filled by 

an expanded and combined Guyot-Yahtse-Tyndall Glacier System, which extended several kilometers beyond the basin into the Pacific Ocean. Retreat 

began before 1910 and, in most areas, has continued into the 21st century.

About 200 years earlier, when Vancouver explored the Alaskan coast in 

l794, the Icy Bay basin was also filled by an expanded Guyot Glacier. Then, 

too, Guyot Glacier was connected to the Malaspina Glacier system and extended to the Gulf of Alaska. About 8 km to the east, a small bay, which Vancouver named Icy Bay, was open to the ocean. It had a compound spit on 

its eastern side, which Vancouver named Point Rioux. In 1852, Teben’kof 

published an atlas of maps prepared from soundings and topography compiled by Russian trappers, naval officers, and explorers between 1788 and 

1807. The late 18th century Icy Bay mapped by Teben’kov (fig. 10A) closely 

resembles the bay described by Vancouver (AHAP false-color infrared vertical aerial photograph no. L171F4950 acquired on 21 June 1978). As mapped 

by Teben'kov, the bay is triangular in shape with a length of about 12 km, a 

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K183
width of about 8 km at its mouth, and a maximum depth of about 27 m. By 

l837, when Sir Edward Belcher (1843) sailed along the Gulf of Alaska coast, 

this second bay had been filled with sediment from the north and had disappeared. Molnia (1977) calculated that about 0.5 km3

 of glacially derived sediment was necessary to fill the bay to sea level. Even after the bay had been 

filled, its morphology was such that its former location could be discerned 

easily. The author visited this location several times during the 1970s. The 

position of the compound spit was easily recognized because of differences 

in vegetation and elevation.

By 1837, Guyot Glacier had retreated as much as 6 km, resulting in the 

formation of a small embayment at the mouth of the present Icy Bay. Less 

than 50 years later, when Seton Karr (1887) visited the area and Topham 

(1889) mapped it, Guyot Glacier had readvanced and again ended in the Pacific Ocean, seaward of the present coastline (Topham’s map is fig. 2 of Tarr 

and Martin, 1914, p. 50). A large terminal moraine marks this maximum advance (fig. 166). Following the retreat of Guyot Glacier, melting of relict ice 

in the terminal moraine complex resulted in as much as 30 m of deepening at 

the mouth of the bay between 1922 and 1976 (Molnia, 1977).

The glaciers of Icy Bay still continue to produce large quantities of sediment. During the summer of 1995, rates of accumulation at the head of the 

bay, adjacent to Guyot Glacier, averaged 0.3 cm d–1 and 0.02 cm d–1 in midfjord (Jaeger and Nittrouer, 1999b).

At the beginning of the 20th century, when it was observed by Gilbert 

(USGS Photo Library Gilbert 332 photograph), the terminus of Guyot Glacier 

still extended into the Pacific Ocean. Retreat began before 1910, probably 

as early as 1904; by 1913, the retreating glacier had developed a 12-km-long 

calving face (USGS Photo Library Maddren 216 and 218–221 photographs). 

Retreat has continued into the 21st century. By the late 1930s, the glacier had 

retreated as much as 30 km to a location where its terminus was anchored at 

the narrow neck of the bay in the general location of present-day Kichyatt and 

Kageet Points. The terminus stayed close to this position for the next 15 years 

(USAF for U.S. Army Map Service vertical aerial photograph no. 51–AM–1, 

AST4, M–233, Roll 66, Frame 8860 acquired on 30 July 1957). Between 1957 

and 1963, the terminus retreated another 5 km and separated into three 

calving termini by 24 August 1963 (fig. 167). In 1965, when the westernmost 

terminus separated into two distinct termini, Icy Bay was an approximately 

40-km-long fjord with four separate fjord arms at its head. Porter (1989) calculated that the mean rate of retreat in Icy Bay was about 1 km a–1 for the 

Figure 166.— Physiographic diagram 

modified from Alpha (1975) showing the 

position of the large terminal moraine that 

marks the maximum advance of the Guyot 

Glacier into the Gulf of Alaska prior to 1910 

and the location of the glacier termini as 

they were at the end of 1974. The moraine 

can be seen at the mouth and following 

along part of the eastern shore of Icy Bay. 

A larger version of this figure is available 

online. 

Figure 167.—24 August 1963 oblique aerial 

photograph showing the retreating glaciers at the head of Icy Bay. In the six years 

between 1957 [see U.S. Air Force (for U.S. 

Army Map Service) vertical aerial photograph no. 51–AM–1, AST4, M–233, Roll 66, 

Frame 8860 acquired on 30 July 1957] and 

1963, Tyndall and Yahtse Glaciers have separated from the retreating margin of Guyot 

Glacier and retreated approximately 5 km. 

USGS photograph no. K633-52 by Austin 

Post, U.S. Geological Survey. 

K184 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
period 1904 to 1926 and about 0.4 km a–1 for the period 1926 to 1989. When 

the glaciers were observed in 1998, 1999, 2003, and 2004, all were actively 

calving icebergs, and all of the fjords appeared to be lengthening except for 

Taan Fiord. Water depths in upper Icy Bay exceed 185 m (Post, 1983).

Tyndall Glacier (fig. 168), which has an accumulation area of around 130 

km2 and an ablation area of around 20 km2, has a total area of approximately 

150 km2. Its length is about 20 km, its AAR is about 0.85 and its calving face 

is about 1.1-km-long (table 2) (Viens, 1995). By 1960, Tyndall Glacier was 

separated from Yahtse Glacier and was retreating. Between 1960 and 1999, 

Tyndall Glacier retreated approximately 17 km. The position of its terminus 

stabilized after 1990 at the head of its fjord. Between 1981 and 1999, Tyndall 

Glacier thinned by more than 350 m at the location of the 1999 terminus. As 

Figure 168.—Three oblique aerial photographs documenting the retreat of Tyndall 

Glacier from 1963 to 1998. During the 35-

year period, Tyndall Glacier retreated more 

than 14 km. The point labeled A is common 

to all three photographs. A, 24 August 

1963 photograph showing the retreating 

margin of Tyndall Glacier. USGS photograph no. K633–56 by Austin Post, U.S. 

Geological Survey. B, 12 September 1986 

photograph showing the retreating margin 

of Tyndall Glacier. In the 23 years between 

1963 and 1986, Tyndall Glacier retreated 

approximately 12 km. USGS photograph 

no. 86–R2–168 by Robert M. Krimmel, U.S. 

Geological Survey. C, 13 August 1998 photograph of the retreating margin of Tyndall 

Glacier. In the 12 years between 1986 and 

1998, Tyndall Glacier retreated approximately 3 km, most of its retreat taking place 

before 1990. Since 1990, the position of the 

terminus has shown only slight change. 

The margin of Tyndall Glacier at sea level at 

this time is located only about 12 km from 

the summit of Mount St. Elias at an elevation of 5,489 m. This 46-percent gradient is 

one of the steepest on Earth. Photograph 

by Bruce F. Molnia, U.S. Geological Survey.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K185
Tyndall Glacier retreated, the distance from sea level to the summit of Mount 

St. Elias continued to decrease. In 2004, the terminus at sea level was only 

about 12 km from the summit of Mount St. Elias (at an elevation of 5,489 m). 

This 46 percent gradient is one of the steepest on Earth.

Yahtse Glacier and the main distributary of Guyot Glacier sit at the head 

of the unnamed northern arms of Icy Bay and have been receding since 1938 

(fig. 169). Their termini are separated by the Guyot Hills. They have a length 

of about 60 km, an accumulation area of about 1,365 km2, an ablation area of 

Figure 169.—Three oblique aerial photographs showing changes in the slowly 

retreating Guyot and Yahtse Glaciers and 

other features at the head of Icy Bay between 1938 and 1986. In 1904, the GuyotYahtse Glacier tongue extended out into the 

Gulf of Alaska. Guyot and Yahtse Glaciers 

have drastically retreated due to the release 

of large quantities of icebergs, forming 

lower Icy Bay and the combined GuyotYahtse-Tyndall Glaciers in 1938 (fig. 169A). 

By 1969 (fig. 169B), much of upper Icy Bay 

was formed, the Guyot (left and center) and 

Yahtse (upper right) Glaciers had separated, and recession of the Tyndall had opened 

up the fjord seen in the lower right. A, 1938 

oblique aerial photograph of the retreating Guyot-Yahtse Glacier. Icy Bay is in the 

foreground, and the Guyot Hills are in the 

right background. Photograph by Bradford 

Washburn, Museum of Science (Boston). 

B, 25 August 1969 oblique aerial photograph of Guyot and Yahtse Glaciers (left 

and right of Guyot Hills, respectively). 

When the photograph is compared with A, 

it is easy to see the separation and substantial retreat of the ice fronts. Photograph no. 

F693–49 by Austin Post, U.S. Geological 

Survey. C, 12 September 1986 oblique 

aerial photograph of the retreating margin of Guyot Glacier. The ice front has 

retreated a considerable distance along 

the southwestern edge of the Guyot Hills. 

Photograph no. 86–R2–180 by Robert M. 

Krimmel, U.S. Geological Survey. Figures 

169B and C and caption courtesy of Robert 

M. Krimmel, U.S. Geological Survey. 

K186 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
about 65 km2

, and a total area of about 1,430 km2. Their AAR is around 0.96; 

together, their calving face is approximately 5 km long (tables 2, 3) (Viens, 

1995). When they were observed in 1998, 1999, 2003, and 2004, both were 

actively calving icebergs and retreating.

Guyot Glacier and Tsaa Fiord are separated by a peninsula of land named 

the Kahsteen Hills. A 0.4×0.3-km mass of stranded ice, here called the Guyot 

Remnant, was located on a large plateau on the peninsula. The remnant separated from the retreating Guyot Glacier after 1978. When the remnant was 

visited in 1998 and on 28 July 1999 (fig. 170), it was melting in situ, and an 

abandoned subglacial stream channel was found to have passed completely 

through the remnant. The remnant had completely melted by 2004.

Tsaa Glacier (fig. 171) is the name that Post (1983) applied to the glacier 

at the head of Tsaa Fiord. It has a length of about 20 km, an accumulation 

area of about 145 km2, an ablation area of about 6 km2, and a total area of 

about 150 km2. Its AAR is about 0.96, and its calving face is approximately 

0.6 km long (tables 2, 3) (Viens, 1995). When the glacier was observed in 

1998, 2001, 2003, and 2004, a large subglacial stream discharged substantial 

quantities of sediment-laden turbid water at its face. This water, in turn, cut 

a large gorge into the surface of the ice. No evidence of the stream was found 

Figure 170.—28 July 1999 photograph of 

a part of 0.3-km-long subglacial channel 

under the Guyot Remnant. The remnant 

was probably separated from the retreating Guyot Glacier between 1978 and 1986. 

The location of Guyot Remnant can be 

seen in the lower left corner of figure 

169C. Photograph by Bruce F. Molnia, U.S. 

Geological Survey.

Figure 171.—22 July 1980 oblique aerial 

photograph of the retreating four distributary-glacier margins at the head of Tsaa 

Fiord. During the 18-year-period from 1980 

to 1998, the margin of Guyot Glacier in Tsaa 

Fiord retreated less than 1 km. Tsaa Glacier

is the name Post (1983) applied to the distributary glacier at the head of the fjord. It is 

shown as a part of Guyot Glacier on many 

maps. Photograph by Bruce F. Molnia, U.S. 

Geological Survey.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K187
in 1999. Several smaller glaciers, including Grotto Glacier are located on the 

western wall of the fjord. In 1999, Grotto Glacier was calving icebergs. All of 

the smaller glaciers showed evidence of thinning and recent retreat. In 2002, 

an unnamed glacier adjacent to Grotto Glacier advanced several hundred 

meters; it was retreating when observed in June 2003.

A recent study of rates of erosion by tidewater glaciers was conducted by 

Koppes and others (2001), who examined glaciomarine sediments deposited 

in fjords. They determined that glacier-erosion rates are recognized to be 

up to an order of magnitude higher than the highest rates found anywhere 

else on Earth and that these rates are representative of Alaskan tidewater 

glaciers during their extensive retreat over the past century. They examined 

Icy Bay to determine the influence of retreat rate on sediment yields by reconstructing the history of the amount of sediment output from retreating 

tidewater glaciers that would be necessary to produce the sediment packages observed in seismic profiles of the fjord. Using a numerical model of 

proglacial sedimentation, seismic profiles of glaciomarine sediments, and a 

history of terminus retreat, they calculated sediment flux as a function of 

time for Tyndall Glacier for the period 1961–99. They found that the average 

sediment flux during the 1961–99 period was 5.32×108 m3 a–1, corresponding 

to a basinwide erosion rate of 35 mm a–1. During periods of rapid retreat, the 

erosion rate is up to three times higher, exceeding reported glacial-interglacial rates by more than an order of magnitude.

Glaciers West of Icy Bay

Located west of Icy Bay, the Robinson Mountains are the southwesternmost extension of the St. Elias Mountains. In August 1913, A.G. Maddren visited the Robinson Mountains area and photographed many of the glaciers. In 

1920, Taliaferro (1932, p. 764) also visited the region and commented “There 

is evidence in both the Yakataga and Katalla Districts that there has been a 

very recent retreat of the glaciers.” He also mentioned that about 30 m of retreat occurred at the unnamed glacier located at the head of Munday Creek 

during the period from 1910 to 1920.

In addition to Guyot Glacier, which originates in the eastern Robinson 

Mountains and flows into Icy Bay, several generally south- and southwestflowing outlet glaciers descend from its central and western sides. From 

east to west, named glaciers include: (1) Beare Glacier (AHAP false-color 

infrared vertical aerial photograph no. L120F5992 acquired on 18 August 

1978); (2) Lare Glacier; (3) White River Glacier (fig. 172); (4) Yakataga 

Glacier (fig. 172) and its three primary tributaries (Eberly, Yaga, and Watson Glaciers); (5) Leeper Glacier; and (6) Miller Glacier (fig. 173). Many 

unnamed cirque and small hanging glaciers also descend from the Robinson 

Mountains. Regardless of size, all show significant evidence of stagnation or 

retreat and thinning.

Yakataga Glacier is 21 km long and varies in width from 0.8 to 3.6 km. 

Located 9 km from the Gulf of Alaska, the stagnant terminus sits at an elevation of approximately 150 m. Miller (1957, p. 126) described the lower 

3 km of Yakataga Glacier as being “largely covered by scattered low bushes to 

dense brush and a spruce forest near the terminus. On the inner face of the 

terminal moraine and adjacent part of the glacier are 30-cm diameter spruce 

trees, indicating that the lower end of the glacier has been inactive for at 

least the past fifty years.” At the end of the 20th century, the glacier margin 

continued to be characterized by ice stagnation and a cover of vegetation. 

Using photogrammetric techniques, Miller also determined that the surface 

velocity of Yakataga Glacier averaged 114 m a–1 or about 30 cm d–1 during the 

16-year-period between 1938 and 1954. No movement could be detected in 

the lower 2.3 km of the glacier.

Figure 172.—18 August 1978 AHAP falsecolor infrared vertical aerial photograph of 

the southeastern Robinson Mountains with 

White River, Eberly, and Yakataga Glaciers. 

All of the valley glaciers show evidence of 

retreat and stagnant ice. Numerous small 

north-flowing retreating cirque glaciers descend from the crest of the ridge between 

Eberly and White River Glaciers. All of the 

south-facing cirques on this ridge are ice 

free. Yakataga Glacier has vegetation growing on its debris-covered terminus. Ice 

from the Eberly Glacier no longer reaches 

Yakataga Glacier. AHAP photograph no. 

L119F6051 from the GeoData Center, 

Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska, 

Fairbanks, Alaska. A larger version of this 

figure is available online. 

K188 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Northwestern St. Elias Mountains Segment: 

From the Canadian Border (long 141° W.) to 

White River, Chitistone River, Tana River, 

the Eastern Wall of the Valley of Tana Glacier, 

and the Southern Side of the Bagley Ice Valley

Landsat MSS images that cover the northwestern St. Elias Mountains 

region have the following Path/Row coordinates: 68/17, 68/18, 69/17, 69/18, 

and 70/17. These areas are mapped on the USGS Bering Glacier, Alaska, and 

McCarthy, Alaska, 1:250,000-scale topographic maps (appendix A). Even 

though the easternmost Bering Glacier (including its tributaries Quintino 

Sella Glacier, Columbus Glacier, and Jefferies Glaciers) is located in the 

St. Elias Mountains, it will be described in the Chugach Mountains section. 

The adjacent Granite Range, southwest of the Chitina Glacier and River and 

placed in the Chugach Mountains by Orth (1967), will be discussed here with 

the St. Elias Mountains.

 Several significant glaciers feed the Chitina River drainage system. North 

of the eastern Bagley Ice Valley and southeast of the Chitina River, the primary glacier is Logan Glacier; its tributaries include the Fraser, Baldwin, 

and Walsh Glaciers and an unnamed 23-km-long glacier. The Chitina River 

emanates from Chitina Glacier (about 70 km long and about 2 km wide), the 

named tributaries of which include Anderson (about 40 km long and about 

2.5 km wide) and Tittmann Glaciers, and Ram Glacier with its tributaries 

Lamb and Ewe Glaciers. Barnard and Hawkins Glaciers drain into the northern side of the Chitina River.

Northwest-flowing Logan Glacier, which originates in Canada, is about 

70 km long (Clarke and Holdsworth, 2002b). About 20 km west of the Canadian Border, it is joined by Walsh Glacier (fig. 174). Another 15 km to 

the west, Logan Glacier joins Chitina Glacier (fig. 175, 176). All are debriscovered, low-gradient glaciers. All also show significant evidence of recent 

and long-term stagnation. Before 1920, Moffit (1918) studied the region and 

documented much evidence of recent glacier retreat and thinning (USGS 

Photo Library Moffit 618 photograph). Folded moraines on Walsh and Logan 

Figure 173.—12 September 1986 oblique 

aerial photograph showing Mount Miller 

and the numerous thinning and retreating glaciers on its south side. The largest, 

Miller Glacier, shows multiple evidence of 

past surges. USGS photograph no. 86–R2-

200 by Robert M. Krimmel, U.S. Geological 

Survey.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K189
Glaciers and on Baldwin Glacier (a tributary to Logan Glacier) indicate past 

surge history. Between 1961 and 1966, Walsh Glacier, with an accumulation area of approximately 545 km2

, underwent a surge (Paige, 1965; Post, 

1966,1967b) that resulted in ice displacement of approximately 11.5 km. 

In the 13 months between August l965 and September l966, displacement 

in the terminus area totaled 4.0 km, an average daily advance rate of about 

10 m d–1. This activity rejuvenated the adjacent stagnant terminus of Logan 

Glacier, causing it to advance about 1.5 km. Post (1967b, p. 765) stated that 

this surge was the largest for Walsh Glacier “in the past 100 years or more.” 

A surge of Anderson Glacier in the late 1960s (Horvath and Field, 1969) impacted the central Chitina Glacier in the early 1970s.

Logan, Walsh, and Chitina Glaciers were observed from the air by the author on 10 August 2001. No evidence of current surge activity was noted. All 

three showed significant evidence of ongoing thinning and stagnation and 

displayed elevated moraines and trimlines. Logan Glacier was the only one 

of the three to display white ice within a few kilometers of its terminus. All 

showed significant numbers of thermokarst pits and downwasting in their 

terminus regions. 

Located west of Logan Glacier, the Granite Range comprises the northwestern part of the St. Elias Mountains. The only published information 

about the glaciers in this region is a brief series of observations made by D.J. 

Miller during 1958–59 field studies (Brabb and Miller, 1962). Granite Range 

glaciers with lengths greater than 6 km and located on the southern side or 

at the head of Granite Creek include (from west to east): (1) an unnamed 

glacier adjacent to Ross Green Lake, with a length of approximately 6 km and 

an area of approximately 8 km2 (about 142°30'W.); (2) an unnamed glacier 

with a length of approximately 9 km and an area of approximately 9 km2; (3) 

an unnamed glacier, a distributary of Jefferies Glacier, with a length of approximately 9 km and an area of approximately 9 km2

; and (4) an unnamed 

glacier located at the head of Granite Creek, with a length of approximately 

21 km and an area of approximately 30 km2. 

Granite Range glaciers with lengths greater than 6 km located on the 

northern side of Granite Creek include (from west to east): (1) an unnamed 

glacier with a length of approximately 10 km and an area of approximately 

8 km2 at the head of the Kiagna River; (2) an unnamed glacier with a length 

Figure 174.—Oblique aerial photograph 

looking east-southeast at the confluence of 

the Walsh and Logan Glaciers on 31 August 

1984. Their combined flow merges with the 

terminus of the Chitina Glacier about 10 

km to the northwest. USGS photograph 

no. 84–R3–058 by Robert M. Krimmel, U.S. 

Geological Survey.

K190 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Logan Glacier

Walsh Glacier

Chitina Glacier

Anderson Glacier

Hawkins Glacier

Barnard Glacier

CANADA

UNITED STATES

Logan Glacier

Klutlan Glacier 10 0 10 20 30 KILOMETERS

APPROXIMATE SCALE

Russell

Glacier

141°30’W

61°15’N

Figure 175.—Most of the major glaciers on this annotated Landsat 3 RBV image are known to surge. The Barnard Glacier, with parallel medial moraines 

delineating the contribution of each of the numerous tributaries, is an exception and does not surge. Walsh Glacier (fig. 174) had a several-year period of 

surge activity from 1961 to 1966, during which it had ice displacement of more 

than 10 km (Post, 1966, 1967a). The Chitina, Russell, and Klutlan Glaciers all 

have contorted medial moraines characteristic of surging glaciers. The Klutlan 

and Russell Glaciers both began another surge cycle in 1986. Landsat image 

(30853–19510–C; 5 July 1980; Path 68, Row 17) and caption courtesy of Robert 

M. Krimmel, U.S. Geological Survey.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K191
of approximately 13 km and an area of approximately 20 km2

 at the head 

of the East Fork Kiagna River (fig. 177); (3) a 7-km-long unnamed glacier, 

located north of the previous unnamed glacier, (4) an unnamed glacier located at the head of Goat Creek with a length of approximately 26 km and an 

area of approximately 35 km2; (5) an unnamed glacier forming the western 

branch of Marble Creek with a length of approximately 6 km and an area of 

approximately 6 km2; (6) an unnamed glacier at the head of Marble Creek 

with a length of approximately 8 km and an area of approximately 8 km2; and 

(7) an unnamed glacier forming the eastern branch of Marble Creek with a 

length of approximately 8 km and an area of approximately 9 km2.

Miller (Brabb and Miller, 1962) reported on the outermost vegetated moraines of nine glaciers less than 5 miles [8.3 km] in length and located on the 

northern side of Granite Creek that he believed were formed between A.D. 

600 and A.D. 1310. He thought that the moraines represent a greater length 

of these glaciers (14 to more than 120 percent, with an average of 60 percent) compared to their late 1950s positions. He (Brabb and Miller, 1962) 

also noted that “a minor glacial advance culminating within the past 300 

years, and followed by recession continuing to the present, is recorded by 

bare or sparsely vegetated moraines bordering nearly all of the glaciers within the map area.” These moraines represent a greater length of the glaciers 

(6 to 33 percent, with an average of 24 percent) compared to their late 1950s 

positions. Many of these glaciers were observed by the author on 10 August 

2001 (fig. 178). All showed significant evidence of recent thinning and retreat. Many were small remnants confined within parabolic lateral and end 

moraine complexes that towered above the ice. All were significantly smaller 

than their 1957 size as depicted on the Bering Glacier, Alaska, 1:250,000- 

scale topographic map (appendix A) and their size as shown on 1978 AHAP 

false-color infrared vertical aerial photography.

On the southern side of Granite Creek, on the northern side of Thompson Ridge, numerous valley glaciers have receded from their “Little Ice Age” 

maximum extent. Virtually all have deposited well-preserved lateral and terminal moraines (fig. 179).

Chitina Glacier

Logan

Glacier

Ram Glacie

N r

Figure 176.—9 July 1978 AHAP false-color 

infrared vertical aerial photograph of the 

terminus of Chitina Glacier and the confluence of Logan and Chitina Glaciers. Both 

glaciers are debris covered and possess 

numerous water-filled thermokarst pits. 

The terminus of Logan Glacier does not 

reach the terminus of Chitina Glacier. The 

two lakes adjacent to the terminal moraine of Logan Glacier are significantly 

larger on this photograph than they were 

when they were mapped by the USGS in 

1959. There is no evidence of recent surge 

activity. Trimlines and ice-marginal lakes 

are additional evidence of glacier thinning 

and retreat. Abundant vegetation growing 

on the terminus of Chitina Glacier is additional evidence that the terminus is comprised of stagnant ice. AHAP photograph 

no. L110F6252 is from the GeoData Center, 

Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska, 

Fairbanks, Alaska. A larger version of this 

figure is available online. 

Figure 177.—27 July 1982 AHAP false-color 

infrared vertical aerial photograph of the 

northern part of the Granite Range showing 

many of the glaciers near the headwaters 

of the East Fork of the Kiagna River. All of 

the glaciers shown are unnamed, retreating, and thinning. The largest has recently 

lost contact with its western tributary, 

which is also rapidly thinning and retreating. AHAP photograph no. L111F9504 from 

the GeoData Center, Geophysical Institute, 

University of Alaska, Fairbanks, Alaska.

K192 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Granite Creek

Granite Creek

N

Figure 179.—18 August 1978 AHAP false-color infrared vertical aerial photographic mosaic of numerous unnamed valley glaciers descending from Thompson Ridge toward the 

east-to-west-flowing Granite Creek, a tributary to the northflowing Tana River. Virtually all of the glaciers have receded 

from their “Little Ice Age” maximum extent. Prominent 

lateral and terminal moraines are evidence of this recession. 

Note the well-developed ogives on the valley glacier in the 

middle of the mosaic. AHAP photograph nos. L112F5840 and 

L112F5842 from the GeoData Center, Geophysical Institute, 

University of Alaska, Fairbanks, Alaska.

Figure 178.—Two 10 August 2001 oblique aerial photographs 

showing significant retreat and thinning of small unnamed 

valley glaciers in the Granite Creek drainage of the Granite 

Range. Each of these glaciers is confined within a lateral/

terminal moraine complex that marks each glacier’s “Little Ice 

Age” maximum position. A, Unnamed retreating glacier terminus located on the north side of Granite Creek, the longest 

of the glaciers draining south into Granite Creek. The retreat 

of this glacier started long enough ago that its lower valley is 

vegetated and its terminal moraine has been eroded away. 

USGS photograph no. 01–08–3AK–083 by Bruce F. Molnia, 

U.S. Geological Survey. B, Unnamed retreating glacier terminus located on the north side of Granite Creek. The glacier 

drains south into Granite Creek. In 1957, this glacier was in 

contact with its encircling moraine. USGS photograph no. 

01–08–3AK–086 by Bruce F. Molnia, U.S. Geological Survey. 

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K193
An unnamed glacier in the Goat Creek drainage on the southern side of 

the Chitina River, opposite Barnard Glacier, was observed surging by Robert 

M. Krimmel (USGS) in 1986 (written commun., 1987). The surge, which occurred sometime after midwinter, stranded avalanche cones, some 100 m 

above the glacier. Displaced ice produced a thick, bulging terminus. The upper glacier was largely unaffected by the surge (fig. 180). 

Barnard Glacier, nearly 50-km-long, a non-surge-type glacier, drains into 

the Chitina River about 20 km west of Chitina Glacier. Located on the southern side of Mount Bona, its 30-km-long main trunk flows in a southwestly 

direction with only a gentle bend to the west. When Bradford Washburn first 

photographed it in l938 (fig. 37), the upper part of the glacier displayed more 

than 25 subparallel medial moraines, which were clearly visible on its surface. When Robert M. Krimmel (USGS) photographed it 46 years later on 

31 August 1984 (fig. 181), an elevated lateral moraine on its western side 

and an increased sediment accumulation on its eastern margin (both signs of 

glacier thinning) were the only signs of change. The debris-covered terminus 

contains many thermokarst pits and is stagnating in place. In 2004, 20 years 

later, a continuation of this trend was observed by the author.

Hawkins Glacier is approximately 30 km long and averages about 1.5 kmwide. Minimally observed, the glacier has a debris-covered stagnant terminus and shows no evidence of surge-type activity. Many subparallel moraines 

are exposed near its head. It drains into the Chitina River approximately 5 

km west of Barnard Glacier.

North of the Chitina River and west of Hawkins Glacier, Twaharpies and 

Chitistone Glaciers and other glaciers of the University Range drain westward into the Chitistone River. Russell Glacier with its numerous unnamed 

tributaries, Giffin Glacier with its tributary Gooseneck Glacier, and Guerin 

Glacier all drain north into the White River. The massive Klutlan Glacier, with 

more than a dozen unnamed tributaries, and the smaller Natazhat Glacier 

both originate in the United States and cross the border into Canada, where 

their discharge enters the White River. Because of their remote location, 

these glaciers have received little recent attention.

Denton and Karlén (1977) examined many of the glaciers in the White 

River drainage and Skolai Pass area. Specifically, they described the characteristics of Natazhat, Guerin, Giffin, Sheep, Russell, and Moraine Creek Glaciers and an unnamed glacier between Guerin and Giffin Glaciers. Generally, 

all have a similar history characterized by “Little Ice Age” advances culminating between the 15th century and the early 20th century. All have vegetated 

and debris-covered termini and are fronted by older ice-cored moraines. 

For example, the non-surge-type Guerin Glacier heads on 4,031-m-high 

Mount Natazhat and terminates in a debris-covered margin at an elevation 

of 1,500 m. Its firn limit is situated at 2,286 m. Fronting the glacier is a 750-

m-wide belt consisting of three nested bands of older hummocky, kettled, 

ice-cored moraine. The outer moraine terminates at an elevation of 1,173 

m. Lichenometry indicates that the outer moraine dates from around A.D. 

340 (1,650 lichen yr B.P.). The middle moraine dates between about A.D. 

1270 and about 740 (1,230 14C yr B.P. and 800 lichen yr B.P.) and the inner 

moraine between A.D. 1500 and the 20th century. 

Giffin Glacier, a surge-type glacier, is fed by eight tributary glaciers. All 

head on a ridge that includes 3,330-m-high Mount Sulzer. A ninth tributary, 

now separated, joined the terminus of an expanded early 20th century Giffin Glacier. In 1970, the glacier terminated in a debris-covered margin at an 

elevation of 1,250 m. Firn limits of its tributaries are situated between 2,225 

and 2,286 m. Like Guerin Glacier, Giffin Glacier is fronted by a ring of several 

nested bands of ice-cored moraines.

K194 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Figure 180.—A small, actively surging 

glacier in Goat Creek drainage south of 

Barnard Glacier on 14 September 1986. The 

unnamed glacier is about 6 km long in this 

view. Previous to this surge, it was separated from the foreground glacier by at least 

1 km. The surge occurred sometime after 

midwinter, because the stranded avalanche 

cones, some 100 m above the glacier, were 

formed in the winter while the glacier was 

still thick in its midglacier section. Ice was 

transferred from the midglacier section to 

the now-bulging terminus. The upper glacier was largely unaffected by the surge. 

USGS photograph no. 86–R3–228 and caption by Robert M. Krimmel, U.S. Geological 

Survey.

Figure 181.—Oblique aerial photograph of 

Barnard Glacier (figs. 38, 175) on 31 August 

1984. It is a major nonsurging glacier in the 

midst of several major surging glaciers; 

Walsh and Russell Glaciers are both nearby. 

The medial moraines are clearly formed at 

the juncture of the glacier’s branches; they 

are carried downglacier and remain nearly 

parallel. If there is a disruption in normal 

flow, as in a surge, the regular pattern of 

these medial moraines would be altered. 

Compare the moraines of the Barnard to 

those of the Muldrow Glacier (figs. 405, 

407) and Black Rapids Glacier (fig. 388). It 

is this difference in moraine patterns that 

allows sequential images, such as those 

from Landsat, to distinguish surging from 

nonsurging glaciers. USGS photograph 

no. 84–R3–051 and caption by Robert M. 

Krimmel, U.S. Geological Survey.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K195
Sheep Glacier (Denton and Karlén, 1977), a surge-type glacier, also 

heads on the flank of 3,330-m-high Mount Sulzer and terminates in a debriscovered margin at an elevation of 1,585 m. Fronted by a belt of ice-cored 

moraine, the upper glacier surged in 1966.

Russell Glacier, a surge-type glacier with a length of 37 km, drains 4,766-

m-high Mount Churchill, 5,005 m-high Mount Bona, and many of the higher 

peaks east of the University Range. Its firn limit is at approximately 2,286 m. 

Its width ranges from more than 1.5 to approximately 5.5 km. The terminus 

is a massive ice-cored moraine complex that plugs the head of the White 

River valley and extends downvalley to an elevation of about 1,219 m (USGS 

Photo Library Capps 80–83 photographs taken in ca. 1909). Field and Collins 

(1975) stated that the glacier changed very little through the first half of 

the 20th century. They describe “progressive wastage” through the 1970s. 

Denton and Karlén (1977, p. 92) stated that “In the lower region of the glacier, medial moraines become bent and then compressed, until they form a 

nearly continuous mantle of surficial debris covering the glacier ice and grading into the Holocene moraines.” Robert M. Krimmel (USGS) (oral commun., 

1992) stated that the Russell Glacier was beginning to surge in 1986. Some 

early photographs depict a Skolai Glacier, perhaps the westward-flowing 

distributary from Russell Glacier, that flowed through Skolai Pass into the 

Skolai Creek drainage.

 Denton and Karlén’s (1977) Moraine Creek Glacier, a former tributary 

to the Russell Glacier, is located in the next drainage south of Wiley Creek. 

Before separating in the early 20th century, it was the ninth tributary to Russell Glacier. It surged just before August 1957. Like all of the other nearby glaciers, its debris-covered terminus grades into a series of Holocene moraines. 

Klutlan Glacier also has contorted medial moraines characteristic of a 

surge-type glacier. Like the Russell Glacier, Robert M. Krimmel (USGS) (oral 

commun., 1992) observed the Klutlan Glacier beginning to surge in 1986. A 

previous surge between 1961 and 1963 produced 4 km of ice displacement. 

Nearly 45 km of Klutlan Glacier are in Alaska. With a length of more than 

80 km, it is the longest glacier in the northern St. Elias Mountains. Several 

of its unnamed tributaries are more than 15 km in length. Like most of the 

other glaciers in the region, its vegetation-covered, debris-laden terminus 

is suggestive of ongoing stagnation. Like Klutlan Glacier, the much smaller 

Natazhat Glacier flows from Alaska into Canada, where it too terminates in a 

debris-covered margin fronted by several older moraines. 

Summary

During the period of the Landsat baseline, 1972–81, Johns Hopkins, Grand 

Pacific, Margerie, Brady, North Crillon, Lituya, Hubbard, and Turner Glaciers 

were advancing. La Perouse and South Crillon Glacier were stable, with the 

position of their termini fluctuating from year to year. Available evidence 

suggests that all other valley and outlet glaciers in the St. Elias Mountains 

were thinning and retreating.

At the beginning of the 21st century, North Crillon, Lituya, Hubbard, and 

Turner Glaciers were advancing. Johns Hopkins, La Perouse and South Crillon Glacier were stable, with the position of their termini fluctuating from 

year to year. All other valley and outlet glaciers in the St. Elias Mountains 

continued to thin and retreat.

K196 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Chugach Mountains

Introduction

The Chugach Mountains are a 400×95-km-wide mountain range that extends from Turnagain Arm and Knik Arm on the west to the eastern tributaries of Bering Glacier, Tana Glacier, and Tana River on the east. On the north, 

the Chugach Mountains are bounded by the Chitina, Copper, and Matanuska 

Rivers. On the south, they are bounded by the northern Gulf of Alaska and 

Prince William Sound. The Chugach Mountains contain about one-third of 

the present glacierized area of Alaska (figs. 1, 2, 182)—21,600 km2, according to Post and Meier (1980, p. 45)—and include one of the largest glaciers 

in continental North America. Bering Glacier is a piedmont outlet glacier 

with an approximate area of 5,200 km2 (Viens, 1995; Molnia, 2001, p.73) 

(table 2). 

The eastern part of the Chugach Mountains is covered by a continuous 

series of connected glaciers and accumulation areas (Field, 1975b). Several 

studies have characterized this region and adjacent regions as areas experiencing a significant 20th century retreat of its glaciers (Meier, 1984; Molnia and Post, 1995; Arendt and others, 2002; Meier and Dyurgerov, 2002). 

A study by Sauber and others (2000) examined the effect of this regional 

ice loss on crustal deformation in the eastern Chugach Mountains. Recognizing that the range of annual thinning of glaciers in this region ranges from 

1–6 m a–1, they calculated that uplift in ablation regions of these glaciers 

ranges from 1 to12 mm a–1, the greatest uplift being located just east of the 

Chugach Mountains, in the Icy Bay region. Sauber and Molnia (2004) hypothesized that continuing loss of glacier ice volume could lead to a future 

increase in very low magnitude earthquakes. 

For ease of description, the Chugach Mountains are divided into four segments (fig. 182A): the Bering Glacier System Segment; the Copper River 

Drainage Segment, which has four subdivisions and includes glaciers that 

drain directly into the Copper River Delta; the Prince William Sound Segment, which has two subdivisions; and the Northwestern Chugach Mountains 

Segment, which also has two subdivisions.

The Bering Glacier System is bounded on the east by the St. Elias Mountains; on the south by the Gulf of Alaska; on the west by the Bering River, 

Canyon Creek, Carbon Mountain, and the Steller Glacier-Martin River Glacier 

divide; and on the north by an unnamed sinuous ridge that includes the summit of Mount Hawkins, the western Bagley Ice Valley-Tana Glacier divide, and 

the relatively straight ridge that includes Juniper Island. The eastern part of 

the Bering Glacier System is located in the western St. Elias Mountains and 

includes Quintino Sella and Columbus Glaciers, its eastern tributaries, both 

of which originate in Canada.

 The Copper River Drainage Segment is bounded on the east by an irregular border that includes the Bering River, Canyon Creek, Carbon Mountain, 

the Steller Glacier-Martin River Glacier divide, the northern and eastern sides 

of Tana Glacier, and the Tana River; on the north by the Chitina River; on the 

northeast by the upper Copper River; and on the northwest by the Klutina 

River and Lake, Hallet River, and the divide between Tazlina Glacier and Stephens Glacier. On the southwest, it is bounded by the sinuous ridge that connects Mount Shouplina, Mount Cashman, Mount Mahlo, Mount Schrader, the 

divide between Valdez Glacier and Tonsina and Tsina Glaciers, Thompson 

Pass, Marshall Pass, the divide between Marshall Glacier and the unnamed 

glacier east of Deserted Glacier, the divide between the Gravina River basin and the north-flowing glaciers to its north, the divide between the Scott 

Glacier and the Rude River, including Cordova Peak, and Heney Range; and 

on the south by the Gulf of Alaska. This area has four subdivisions: Martin 

River Glacier–Martin River–lower Copper River– Bremner River–West Fork 

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K197
C H U G A C H M O U N T A I N S

Area of figure

B

K198 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Figure 182.—A, Index map of the glacierized Chugach 

Mountains. The outlines of the glacierized regions discussed in the text are shown. Index map modified from 

Field (1975a). B, Enlargement of NOAA Advanced Very 

High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) image mosaic 

of the Chugach Mountains in summer 1995. National 

Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration image mosaic from Mike Fleming, EROS Data Center, Alaska 

Science Center, U.S. Geological Survey, Anchorage, 

Alaska.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K199
Tana River–Tana Glacier subdivision, located east of the Copper River; the 

Bremner River–upper Copper River–Chitina River–Tana River subdivision, 

located east of the Copper River; the western Copper River Delta–lower Copper River–Tasnuna River subdivision on the west side of the Copper River; 

and the Cleave Creek Glacier–upper Copper River– Stephens Glacier–Tonsina Glacier Northwestern subdivision.

The Prince William Sound Segment is bounded on the east by an irregular 

border running from Heney Range to the divide between the Scott Glacier and 

the Rude River, including Cordova Peak, to the divide between the Cordova 

Glacier and the north-flowing glaciers to its north, to the divide between Marshall Glacier and the unnamed glacier east of Deserted Glacier, to Marshall 

Pass, to Thompson Pass, to the valley north of Keystone Glacier, to the perimeter of the basin of Camicia Glacier, to Mount Schrader, west of Valdez Glacier in the Chugach Icefield; on the north by the sinuous ridge that connects 

Mount Schrader, Mount Mahlo, Mount Cashman, Mount Shouplina, Madean 

Peak, Tazlin Tower, Flat Top Peak, Mount Haley, Mount Fafnir, Mount Thor, 

10 0 10 20 30 KILOMETERS

APPROXIMATE SCALE

61°

62°N

149°W

148°

C 147° 146° 

Figure 182.—C, Landsat MSS image mosaic of the Chugach Mountains. Landsat 

images (2956–19350, band 7; 4 September 

1977; Path 68, Row 18; 1422–20212, band 

7; 18 September 1973; Path 70, Row 17; 

2976–19452, band 7; 24 September 1977; 

Path 70, Row 18; 30209–20233, band 7; 

30 September 1978; Path 72, Row 17; and 

30175–20345, band 7; 27 August 1978; Path 

74, Row 17) are from the U.S. Geological 

Survey, EROS Data Center, Sioux Falls, 

S. Dak.

K200 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
and a number of unnamed peaks between Mount Thor and Mount Marcus 

Baker; on the west by the sinuous ridge that connects Mount Marcus Baker 

and Mount Gilbert with Passage Canal, west of Billings Glacier; and on the 

south by Prince William Sound. This area has two subdivisions: the Heney 

Range to the eastern side of Valdez Arm subdivision and the Northern Prince 

William Sound subdivision. Glaciers on Montague Island, the largest island in 

Prince William Sound, are described in the Kenai Mountains section.

The Northwestern Chugach Mountains Segment of the Chugach Icefield

is bounded on the east by Hallet River and Klutina Lake and River and on the 

south by the divide between Stephens and Tazlina Glacier and by the sinuous ridge that extends west of Mount Shouplina and connects Madean Peak, 

Tazlin Tower, Flat Top Peak, Mount Haley, Mount Fafnir, Mount Thor, and a 

number of unnamed peaks between Mount Thor and Mount Marcus Baker. 

Then the boundary continues to the southwest, connecting with Mount Gilbert and Passage Canal, extends along Passage Canal, and continues to the 

north of Portage Glacier and along Turnagain Arm. The region is bounded on 

60°N

145° 144° 143° 142°

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K201
the west by Knik and Matanuska Rivers and on the north by the Matanuska 

River, Eureka Creek, and Nelchina River. This segment contains some of the 

larger valley glaciers of the Chugach Mountains, including Knik, Matanuska, 

Nelchina, and Tazlina Glaciers. This area has two subdivisions: the northflowing, large valley glacier subdivision; and the Turnagain Arm–Western 

Chugach Mountains subdivision.

Landsat MSS images that cover the Chugach Mountains have the following 

Path/Row coordinates: 68/18, 69/17, 69/18, 70/17, 70/18, 71/17, 71/18, 72/17, 

72/18, 73/17, and 74/17 (fig. 3, table 1). The Chugach Mountains contain several thousand glaciers.

Bering Glacier System Segment

Introduction

Bering Glacier is one of the most intensively studied glaciers in Alaska. In 

addition to historical descriptions, much of what we know about the piedmont outlet glacier is derived from the interpretation of an extensive time series of remotely sensed data sets that include the following: (1) more than 75 

vertical and oblique aerial photographic data sets, containing about 10,000 

photographs, acquired between 1938 and 2002; (2) more than 50 multispectral scanner (MSS), thematic mapper (TM), and enhanced thematic mapper 

(ETM+) Landsat images (1972 –2002); (3) about 50 digital satellite, space 

shuttle, and SLR or SLAR images (1978–95); and (4) about 35 hours of airborne video (1989–2000). Additionally, field observations and ice-surface 

measurements have provided complementary information that enhances the 

interpretation of remotely sensed data sets, including (1) mapping of glaciological features by the author (1974–2002); (2) time-lapse photography 

from in place camera systems during the latest surge (1993–96); (3) sequential photography from reoccupation of marked photo stations (1948–2002); 

(4) discharge measurements and flow information from telemetering stage 

recorders (1991–95); (5) ice-penetrating radar surveys (1990–93); (6) highresolution marine seismic-reflection surveys of Vitus Lake, the glacier’s principal ice margin lake (1991 and 1993); (7) seismic-refraction surveys of the 

glacier’s outwash plain (1991–93); (8) dendrochronological and tree coring 

studies (1976–2001); (9) monitoring of movement and erosion stakes at selected terminus sites (1993–96); (10) precision location of features using 

differential GPS (1992–2001); and (11) sampling for water chemistry and 

suspended sediment load (1976–80, 1993, 1995). Lastly, a complete topographic and image map base exists for monitoring and recording changes. 

Topographic mapping by USGS field parties began during the first half decade of the 20th century. Subsequently, the USGS (1959, 1984) prepared 

1:250,000-scale (appendix A) and 1:63,360-scale (appendix B) topographic 

quadrangle maps of the entire glacier using 1957 and 1972 aerial photography. The BLM produced a satellite image base map at 1:100,000-scale and 

a set of individual 1:63,360-scale quadrangle maps based on a 19 June 1991 

Landsat TM acquisition.

The Bering Glacier System (figs. 5, 183) is one of the largest glacier systems 

in continental North America, with an approximate area of 5,200 km2 (Viens, 

1995; Molnia, 2001, p. 73) (table 2); it is the largest surging glacier known on 

Earth, outside the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets. The eastern part of the 

Bering Glacier System originates in Canada in the St. Elias Mountains, at an 

elevation above 5,000 m, on the western flanks of the Mount Logan–King Peak 

massif about 25 km east of the U.S. border [see Clarke and Holdsworth 2002b]. 

Bering Glacier covers more than 6 percent of the glacierized area of Alaska. 

The ice flows west-southwestward for more than 120 km through a 7.5- to 

12.5-km-wide subglacier valley in the Chugach Mountains. Before turning to 

the southwest, it flows through a 50-km long by 10-15-km-wide subglacier 

central valley and then joins the Steller Glacier to form an outlet piedmont 

K202 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
lobe with a diameter of more than 30 km (fig. 183). At 191 km, Bering Glacier 

is the longest glacier in continental North America. All parts of Bering Glacier lie within 100 km of the Gulf of Alaska. Part of Jefferies Glacier, which 

is located in the valley north of the Bagley Ice Valley, flows to the south and 

contributes ice to the eastern Bagley Ice Valley. The remainder of the ice flows 

to the west and northwest and is the primary source of Tana Glacier.

Bering Glacier has an accumulation area of approximately 3,200 km2

(Viens, 1995) (table 2), most of which is in the Bagley Ice Valley. The ablation area, which includes the southwestern part of the Bagley Ice Valley, the 

Bagley Ice Valley

Bering Glacier

Steller Gl.

Berg Lake

Columbus Glacier

Icy Bay

10 0 10 20 30 KILOMETERS

APPROXIMATE SCALE

143°W 142° 141°

144°W

61°N

60°30'

60°

Figure 183.—Annotated Landsat 2 MSS image of the Bering 

Glacier System and Icy Bay on 23 September 1977. Bering 

Glacier is the largest (~5,200 km2) and the longest (~200 km) 

glacier in continental North America. Its accumulation zone 

begins north of Mount St. Elias (off the right side of this image; see fig. 109) and includes the Columbus Glacier and 

Bagley Ice Valley. The Bering Glacier has been thinning in recent decades, and Berg Lake and many other proglacial lakes 

forming around the Bering Glacier’s piedmont perimeter 

have increased in size as the thinning progresses. The retreat 

has been complicated by surges, which occurred in 1957–60, 

1965–67, and 1993–95, and displaced parts of the terminal 

lobe as much as 13 km (Post, 1972). The glaciers of Icy Bay 

(see St. Elias Mountains section of this volume) began retreating during the first decade of the 20th century. Landsat 

image (2975–19394, bands 4, 5, 7; 23 September 1977; Path 

69, Row 18) and caption courtesy of Robert M. Krimmel, U.S. 

Geological Survey.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K203
Bering Lobe, and a small segment of Steller Lobe and Steller Glacier, has an 

area of approximately 2,000 km2. On the basis of observations made in the 

late 1980s and early 1990s, the ELA for the glacier ranges between 915 and 

1,070 m. The Piedmont Lobe, with an approximate area of 900 km2, has a 

maximum elevation of about 550 m and lies completely within the area of 

ablation. Meier and Post (1962) computed the AAR for Bering Glacier to be 

0.63. Viens (1995) (table 2) calculated an AAR of 0.62 for the entire glacier, 

with an AAR of 0.66 for the Stellar Glacier and 0.614 for the remainder of the 

Bering Glacier.

The highest peaks in the St. Elias Mountains segment of the Bering Glacier System drainage are Mount Logan and Mount St. Elias. Both exceed 

5,000 m in elevation. The highest peaks in the Chugach Mountains segment 

of the Bering Glacier drainage are Mount Miller (3,350 m), Mount Tom White 

(3,418 m), and Mount Steller (3,237 m). 

The valley glacier section, named the Bagley Ice Valley [previously named 

Bagley Ice Field on maps done by Field (1975a) and Molnia (1982, 1993, 

2001)], is more than 150 km in length and occupies a linear trench as much 

as 12 km wide (fig. 183). The eastern Bagley Ice Valley extends from northeast of the Icy Bay–Mount St. Elias region to southwest of the Tana River. 

The eastern margin of the Bering Lobe is fronted by Vitus Lake (fig. 184), 

a 20-km-long ice-marginal lake with an area of about 160 km2. Pre-1993–95 

surge bathymetric surveys of the lake’s floor revealed a complex bottom morphology with at least four deep basins (informally named A, B, C, and D) having water depths of 165 m (A), 135 m (B), 135 m (C), and 85 m (D). Water 

depths in Tashalich Arm, the westernmost basin of the Vitus Lake system 

are deeper than 180 m. Two seismic reflection surveys (Carlson and others, 

1993; Molnia and others, 1996) of basins A through D revealed maximum 

glaciolacustrine sediment-fill thicknesses of more than 110 m; depths to 

acoustic basement in the basins reached a maximum of 275 m below sea level 

(Molnia and others, 1996).

Ice Penetrating Radar (IPR) studies (Trabant and others, 1991; Molnia 

and Trabant, 1992) of the Piedmont Lobe and central valley surface conducted to determine ice thickness and morphology (fig. 185), reveal that 

the bed of the glacier extends as much as 350 m below sea level in places 

and that maximum glacier ice thicknesses exceed 800 m. These IPR studies 

suggest that much of the Bering Lobe, Piedmont Lobe, and central valley 

Figure 184.—Map of Vitus Lake and the 

1993 margin of Bering Glacier (hachured 

line) showing bathymetry of the lake (in 

meters), positions of the retreating terminus of the glacier from 1967 to pre-surge1993 (dashed lines), and the location of 

1993 seismic profiles (short straight lines) 

(Molnia and others, 1996).

Figure 185.—Map of the lower reaches of 

the Bering Glacier shows geographic features and locations from which data were 

collected. Triangles identify locations of 

radio-echosounding- and precision–altimeter surveys. The numbers adjacent to the 

triangles are basal ice depths relative to 

sea level expressed in meters. Numbers in 

Vitus, Tsiu, and Tsivat Lakes are maximum 

water depths in meters. Tsiu and Tsivat 

Lake depths are from Fleisher and others 

(1993). Circles identify positions of trees 

growing on terminal and lateral moraines 

from which cores were obtained. The adjacent numbers are annual ring counts. The 

square adjacent to Seal River marks the 

location of a radiocarbon-dated spruce tree 

recovered from the sediments comprising 

the neoglacial terminal moraine. X marks 

the location of the Giant Log. TA is Tashalich 

Arm. The glacier margin and Vitus Lake 

are shown as they appeared in 1991. From 

Molnia and Post (1995, fig. 2, p. 91). A larger 

version of this figure is available online.

K204 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
occupy a deep basin or series of channels, compatible with or even deeper 

than the depths determined by the high-resolution seismic reflection 

studies conducted in Vitus Lake. IPR measurements made as much as 60 km 

upglacier from the Bering Lobe terminus along the centerline of the glacier 

showed many areas where glacier bed depths were below sea level.

Offshore of Bering Glacier in the Gulf of Alaska is the Bering Trough 

(fig. 186), a sediment-floored 45-km-long submarine valley (Carlson and 

others, 1982). The Bering Trough has maximum water depths of 321 m, 

Figure 186.—A, Gulf of Alaska bathymetry shows the location, morphology, 

and depths associated with Bering Trough. Vitus Lake is drawn to show its 

pre-1993 surge bathymetry (contours adjacent to its southern margin) and the 

maximum size that it could attain following a catastrophic retreat of the Bering 

Glacier. Depths adjacent to the Grindle Hills are depths below present sea level to bedrock measured by radio-echosounding traverses. The area depicted 

by the diagonal pattern is the area where the bed of Bering Glacier is below 

sea level. B, Glacially eroded morphology of the Gulf of Alaska continental 

shelf in the vicinity of the Bering Glacier. The trough offshore of the terminus 

of Bering Glacier is the Bering Trough. The numerous adjacent features attest 

to both the extent and the erosive power of glaciers that descended from the 

Chugach Mountains during the Pleistocene Epoch. Diagram by Tau Rho Alpha, 

U.S. Geological Survey. A larger version of this figure is available online. 

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K205
maximum bedrock depths of about 500 m, and a maximum width of 

25 km. Acoustic-basement depths in Vitus Lake and IPR measurements of 

glacier-bed depths suggest that the sub-sea-level basins and channels that 

underlie Bering Glacier and Vitus Lake are landward continuations of the 

Bering Trough.

Vitus Lake is separated from the Gulf of Alaska by the Bering Glacier foreland, a 3-km-wide beach–outwash plain–moraine complex. The beach is composed of reworked outwash-plain sand and gravel and sand deposited by longshore transport. The outwash plain and the neoglacial moraine are composed 

of gravelly sand. With the exception of one small exposure of the Yakataga 

Formation (fig. 187) exposed along the eastern side of Tashalich Arm in 1992, 

there are no known bedrock outcrops in the Vitus Lake area, nor was any shallow bedrock identified in seismic-refraction profiling of the beach in 1992.

The Piedmont Lobe (fig. 188) consists of three main components, initially described by Post (1972). The Piedmont Lobe has an approximate 

area of 900 km2 and comprises 17.60 percent of the total glacier system; 

the Bering Lobe (fig. 189), which consists of relatively debris-free, periodically surging ice, contains 6.76 percent; the Central Medial Moraine Band 

(CMMB), which Post (1972, p. 219) described as “A very large debris band 

composed of repeatedly folded medial moraines that extends across the center of the Bering Glacier lobe” (fig. 190), is composed of complexly folded, 

Figure 187.—13 August 1992 photograph of 

the only bedrock outcrop found along the 

southern perimeter of Bering Glacier. The 

Yakataga Formation series of beds, dipping 

at approximately N. 45° W., was exposed 

by the retreat of the Bering Glacier between 

1991 and 1992. The margin of Bering Glacier 

can be seen in the upper left. Photograph 

by Bruce F. Molnia, U.S. Geological Survey. 

143°30’W

61°15’N

Figure 188.—3 August 1990 X-band synthetic aperture, side-looking airborne radar 

image of the Bering Glacier’s Piedmont 

Lobe. The three components of the 

Piedmont Lobe, the Bering Lobe, the folded Central Medial Moraine Band, and the 

Steller Lobe, are visible north of Vitus Lake. 

About 25 folded medial moraine loops, 

formed by surges during the past several 

hundred years, can be seen in the Central 

Medial Moraine Band. The stagnant-icecored medial moraine is characterized by 

hundreds of thermokarst pits. From Molnia 

and Post (1995, fig. 3, p. 92).

K206 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
N

Figure 189.—18 August 1978 AHAP falsecolor infrared vertical aerial photograph of 

part of the retreating terminus of the Bering 

Lobe. Nine years after the end of the 1967 

surge, the terminus of Bering Glacier had 

retreated a maximum of approximately 

1.5 km from its surge-maximum position. 

Two areas of the terminus are producing dozens of large icebergs. This is not a 

routine calving event in the true sense of 

the term; it is a disintegration event. Such 

events occur when the thinning glacier 

reaches a state of buoyancy and separates 

from its bed. As it begins to float, large 

pieces of ice, sometimes about 1 km in 

maximum dimension, separate from 

the terminus along old crevasse fracture 

planes. AHAP photograph no. L119F6063 

from the GeoData Center, Geophysical 

Institute, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, 

Alaska.

Figure 190.—Two views of the Central Medial Moraine Band 

of Bering Glacier. A, Summer 1938, north-looking oblique 

aerial photograph of most of the northern part of the Central 

Medial Moraine Band. Individual folded medial moraine 

loops stand several meters above the bare ice surface of 

the glacier. Photograph no. 1894 by Bradford Washburn, 

Museum of Science (Boston). B, 12 September 1986 northlooking oblique aerial photograph of the southwestern part of 

the Central Medial Moraine Band. Vegetation covers much of 

the southern margin of the moraine band. Most of the Steller 

Glacier and Steller Lobe can be seen in the background. 

USGS photograph no. 86–R2–229 by Robert F. Krimmel, U.S. 

Geological Survey. 

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K207
moraine-covered, generally stagnant ice and contains 7.36 percent; and the 

Steller Lobe (fig. 191), which consists of relatively debris free, active ice 

derived from the 50-km-long Steller Glacier and contains 3.48 percent of 

the total area. Tributaries of the 180 km2 Steller Lobe cover an area of 644 

km2 (12.44 percent of the total glacier), whereas tributaries of the 350-km2

Bering Lobe cover 3,620 km2, or 70 percent of the total glacier area (Robert J. Viens, University of Washington, oral commun., 1993). The distance 

around the perimeter of the Piedmont Lobe of Bering Glacier, from the Bering River to the Grindle Hills, is about 75 km. Bering Glacier’s Piedmont 

Lobe is about one-third smaller than that of Malaspina Glacier.

On the basis of IPR thickness measurements and bed depths (fig. 185), the 

CMMB appears to be composed of thin, debris-covered ice overlying a generally shallow bedrock divide between the thicker Bering Lobe and Steller Lobe. 

K208 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD

Figure 191.—Three oblique aerial photographs of the northwestern terminus of the Steller Lobe of Bering Glacier flowing into Berg Lake. A, Summer 

1938 north-looking photograph. The ice tongue reaches the north shore of the 

lake, separating it into two bodies of water. Photograph no. 2274 by Bradford 

Washburn, Museum of Science (Boston). Martin (1908) reported five smaller 

lakes here in 1905 with evidence of fluctuations in water level. By about 1940, 

the Steller Lobe of Bering Glacier had receded and the five lakes coalesced 

into one. From sometime before 1940 until 1984, there were no jökulhlaups, 

but Post and Mayo (1971) predicted that continued glacier thinning would 

allow a new jökulhlaup cycle to begin. B, 6 October 1974 northeast-looking 

photograph of the Steller Lobe damming the southern side of Berg Lake. 

The Bering Glacier is an effective dam, and the only outlet for the lake is a 

torrent of water that overtops the low point in the unnamed ridge in the 

lower right of the photograph. The water runs along the margin as an icemarginal stream. Thirty-six years earlier, the Bering Glacier covered the eastern part of the ridge. Photograph by Bruce F. Molnia, U.S. Geological Survey. 

C, 12 August 2001 northeast-looking oblique aerial photograph of the northwestern part of the Steller Lobe flowing into the southern side of Berg Lake. 

In 1984, 1986, and 1994, jökulhlaups occurred and caused major flooding of 

wildlife habitats. Soon after June 1997, a large mass of ice grounded on the 

shoreline was separated from the retreating terminus of the Steller Lobe. In 

early 2000, a small surge began that caused a readvance of the terminus of 

Steller Glacier and ultimately reconnected the terminus with the grounded 

ice. The surge continued through the fall of 2001. The level of Berg Lake lowered through the early 21st Century and then stabilized. Photograph by Bruce 

F. Molnia, U.S. Geological Survey. Larger versions of B and C are available 

online. 
At one location within the CMMB, IPR measurements show that bedrock 

reaches to about 20 m above sea level and is covered by less than 100 m of ice.

An analysis of historical data includes the following sources: 18th-, 19th-, 

and early 20th-century exploration maps, description of voyages, and reports 

of expeditions; 19th century published maps and nautical charts; late 19th and 

early 20th century geological reports; and early field photography obtained 

between 1897 and 1905. These sources provide additional information about 

the history of and changes to Bering Glacier over time and give a much longer 

term perspective on the glacier’s post-“Little Ice Age” history than presentday measurements or remotely sensed data sets do. For example, a description of the physical characteristics of the surface of Bering Glacier from the 

late 1830s by Belcher (1843) suggests that the glacier was surging at the time 

of his observation. Similarly, photographs obtained by the Duke of Abruzzi’s 

1897 climbing expedition and a 1905 USGS geological field party clearly show 

the characteristics and position of parts of the margin of Bering Glacier. All of 

these historical data are useful in understanding the behavior of the glacier in 

the past.

Pre-20th Century Observations of Bering Glacier

Through the middle of the 1880s, the geography of the southeastern 

Chugach Mountains was very poorly known. In 1886, Lieutenant H.W. Seton 

Karr, a member of the New York Times Expedition, applied the name Bering 

Glacier to the “ice-plain” that he observed west of Icy Bay during an unsuccessful attempt to reach the summit of Mount St. Elias (Seton Karr, 1887). He 

was knowledgeable about glaciers and realized the significance of his discovery. Seton Karr wrote, “In this direction (west) the ‘foothills’ of Elias stood 

like islands in the enormous expanse of glacier stretching prairie-like as far 

as the eye could penetrate through the crystalline air towards the country of 

the Atna [editors’ italics] or Copper River” (Seton Karr, 1887, p. 109–110).

Several weeks later, in early August 1886, as he sailed along the Gulf of 

Alaska coast more than 100 km west of Icy Bay, Seton Karr observed (1887, 

p. 139–140),

I had understood that with Icy Cape the last ice along the coast was left behind. But 

looming twenty miles or so to the westward appears another vast ice-plain ... which 

sweeps down and opens fan-like on the ocean, where the coast range of “foot-hills” 

comes to an end. It is evidently the opening or outlet of the vast glacier-desert or icelake which we saw from the slopes of Mount St. Elias, lying to the northwest of the 

mountain. Its birthplace is an icy range that forms an enlarged continuation of the 

great western ridge of Elias. It is not marked or mentioned by the early navigators, all 

of whom mistook the true nature of these stupendous glaciers. La Perouse describing them as “snow lying upon a barren soil,” and “a plain totally destitute of verdure”

Six years earlier, in 1880, the Coast and Geodetic Survey (C&GS) had 

named this virtually unknown and unexplored coastal glacier Bering Glacier. 

The C&GS had chosen the name to commemorate Captain Vitus Bering, a 

Danish sea captain in the Russian naval service of Czar Peter the Great, who 

led a voyage of exploration that made a landfall in the vicinity of the glacier’s 

terminus in 1741. As late-19th century C&GS nautical charts (fig. 192) and 

USGS topographic maps clearly show, nothing was known about the size, 

shape, or geography of most of Bering Glacier.

In 1890 and again in 1891, USGS expeditions led by Israel C. Russell attempted to climb Mount St. Elias. Although both attempts were unsuccessful, each reached elevations where Russell was able to see the upper parts of 

Bering Glacier. On the first, Russell observed part of what we now know as 

the Bagley Ice Valley, which he described as “another vast glacier extending 

westward to the limits of vision.” (Russell, 1891, p. 141).

On his second expedition in 1891, Russell observed the source area of Bering Glacier to the north of Mount St. Elias. He wrote (Russell, 1893, p. 47): 

I was now so near the crest of the divide that only a few yards remained before I 

should be able to see the country to the north, a vast region which no one had yet 

beheld. ... I expected to see a comparatively low, forested country, stretching away 

143°30’W

60°N

Figure 192.—Part of a late 19th century U.S. 

Coast and Geodetic Survey chart of the Gulf 

of Alaska region showing only the edge 

of the piedmont lobe of the essentially 

unknown and unexplored Bering Glacier. 

A larger version of this figure is available 

online.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K209
to the north, with lakes and rivers and perhaps some signs of human habitation, 

but I was entirely mistaken. What met my astonished gaze was a vast snow-covered 

region, limitless in expanse, through which hundreds and perhaps thousands of barren, angular mountain peaks projected. There was not a stream, not a lake, and not 

a vestige of vegetation of any kind in sight. A more desolate or more utterly lifeless 

land one never beheld. Vast, smooth, snow surfaces, without crevasses stretched 

away to limitless distances, broken only by jagged and angular mountain peaks.

At the beginning of the 20th century, Bering Glacier had nearly a dozen 

major drainage outlets, arranged in a radial pattern along the piedmont outlet glacier’s margin. These included: Kaliakh River, the many branches of the 

Tsiu and Tsivat Rivers, Midtimber River, Seal River, Tashalich River, Kiklukh 

River, Oaklee River, Edwardes River, Campbell River, Nichawak River, Gandil 

River, and Bering River (Molnia and Post, 1995, p. 104, fig. 9). A significant 

retreat of Bering Glacier began during the first decade of the 20th century, 

sometime between 1905 and 1910. Since then, it has lost nearly 100 km2 of 

ice from the terminus area of the Piedmont Lobe (fig. 193). Loss of ice by 

melting and calving along the terminus resulted in the development of a series of lakes along much of the glacier’s perimeter (figs. 36, 194; see also a 9 

June 1948 oblique aerial photograph, USGS photograph no. 119LT–72PL–R–

8M–148–72RS–GS6B). Field (1975) reported that, between 1905 and 1957, 

as the glacier retreated back from its “Little Ice Age” maximum moraine, the 

percentage of the perimeter of Bering Glacier ending in ice-marginal lakes 

increased from about 10 percent to about 54 percent. By the early 1920s, 

with continued melting and retreat, several of these lakes expanded and coalesced to form Vitus Lake.

Retreat along the margin, interrupted by a series of 20th century surges, 

has resulted in an areal expansion of all the ice-marginal lakes. Along the 

margin of the Bering Lobe, the result has been an expanded Vitus Lake. To 

the west, along the eastern margin of the CMMB, a pair of parallel linear lakes 

began to develop beginning in the 1940s. Formed initially by the coalescence of thermokarst pits, these lakes have continued to lengthen and widen 

through the early 21st century, with the eastern lake reaching a length of 

approximately 5 km. These lakes and several other features of Bering Glacier 

have been used as experimental test sites to compare the use of spaceborne 

Terminus positions of the Bering Glacier in year:

1900

1967

1981

1992

1993

Figure 193.—Map showing positions of the 

terminus of Bering Glacier between 1900 

and 1993. The 1993 position shown is the 

pre-surge (pre-28 August 1993) position of 

the terminus.

K210 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
ERS-1 and SIR-C synthetic aperture radar (SAR) with airborne SAR in identifying different types of glaciological features (Molnia and Molnia, 1995). 

At the beginning of the 21st century, more than 90 percent of the meltwater from the Bering Lobe and the CMMB flows through Vitus Lake, entering 

the Gulf of Alaska through Seal River. Seal River, a 6-km-long low-gradient 

tidally dominated stream, flows diagonally across Bering Glacier foreland 

from east to west (figs. 195, 207). On 28 June 1991, the discharge of the Seal 

River, measured where it exits Vitus Lake, was approximately 1.4×103 m3 s–1.

20th Century Observations of Bering Glacier

G.C. Martin, a USGS geologist who mapped the Bering River coal field—a 

large undeveloped coal reserve located on the western side of the glacier—

presented the earliest 20th century description of Bering Glacier. Martin 

(1905, p. 17) described the Bering as:

a large glacier of the piedmont type, and, if considered independently, is second 

in size, among glaciers of this type, only to the Malaspina Glacier. It is a large 

field of stagnant ice which has overflooded the eastern extension of the zone 

of coastal foothills...and it is considered by many as merely the western lobe 

Figure 194.—12 August 1961 oblique aerial 

photograph of the eastern margin of the 

Bering Glacier showing development of 

ice-marginal lakes. Large icebergs can be 

seen separating from the disintegrating 

margin of Bering Glacier. View looking 

westerly across the southeastern part of 

the terminus shows a continuous ice-marginal lake of variable width fronting Bering 

Glacier. Photographed a year after a surge, 

the surging glacier had almost filled the 

lake northeast of the Seal River. The Seal 

River is at the center-left edge of the photograph. Photograph by Austin Post, U.S. 

Geological Survey. A 1938 oblique aerial 

photograph can be seen in figure 36. 

Figure 195.—17 August 1979 oblique aerial 

photograph showing post-1967 surge retreat of the terminus of Bering Glacier. 

North-looking view of the southern part of 

Vitus Lake from offshore, east of the mouth 

of Seal River. In the 12 years after the end 

of the surge in 1967, the glacier has retreated about 3 km and thinned significantly. 

Bering Glacier has a very low gradient and 

almost no relief at its southern margin. The 

two large plumes of icebergs are the result 

of calving from rapidly disintegrating parts 

of the terminus of the glacier on either 

side of the island. Photograph by Bruce F. 

Molnia, U.S. Geological Survey.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K211
of the Malaspina Glacier. It is however, in all probability entirely separate from 

the latter. A great many valley glaciers coming from the Chugach Range enter it 

as tributaries. It is fringed along its southwestern border by a wide moraine, 

while the ice itself is thickly covered by rock debris for a distance of several 

miles from its front, and, as is in the case of the Malaspina Glacier, this covering is so thick that it is often impossible to determine the margin of the glacier. 

Several of his photographs document that retreat of the Steller Lobe was 

underway before 1905 and that at least one ice-marginal lake had already 

formed (see USGS Photo Library Martin 245 photograph).

Three years later, Martin (1908) published a second description of the 

glacier accompanied by a 1:200,000-scale topographic reconnaissance map 

and a detailed 1:62,500-scale topographic map, both dated 1907, as well as a 

geologic map of the glacier’s western margin (Martin and others, 1907). Martin (1908, p. 16) wrote: “Bering Glacier...is a huge, even-surfaced, stagnant 

mass of glacial ice, which is fed by many valley glaciers coming from the high 

mountains north of it. It is a piedmont glacier of the same general character 

and of about the same size as Malaspina Glacier. Portions of its surface form 

a good highway to some of the coal camps in the east end of the Bering River 

coal field, but most of it is so covered by irregular masses of rock and gravel 

and so much crevassed that travel over its surface is difficult and dangerous.” The crevassing described above by Martin (1908) may be the result of a 

surge that occurred about 1900. The surface elevation of the glacier’s margin, 

inferred from the 1907 topographic map, was quite similar to the Holocene 

thicknesses of Bering Glacier described by Miller (1958, 1961).

Berg Lake

On the northwestern margin of Bering Glacier, Berg Lake (also called Berg 

Lakes on some maps) is the largest (approximate area 30 km2) of the icemarginal lakes formed by the retreat of the Steller Lobe (fig. 191). In 1905, 

Martin (1908) mapped five separate smaller lakes, many of which showed 

evidence of fluctuating water levels. He reported maximum water depths 

of approximately 250 m and noted that the water level had recently been 

higher. The existence of these five lakes suggests that, by 1905, the Steller 

Lobe was already in retreat from its “Little Ice Age” maximum position. By 

the early 1940s, continued retreat of the Steller Lobe resulted in the five 

lakes coalescing into one. Continued retreat of the Steller Lobe, interrupted 

by several small pulses or minisurges such as one that occurred in 2000 and 

2001, has resulted in the continued expansion of Berg Lake. Post and Mayo 

(1971) noted that in 1970, the lake was 207 m deep, about 40 m lower than 

the 1905 level, and that the area of Berg Lake had increased from about 12 

km2 in 1905 to about 28 km2 in 1970. These changes are the result of the ongoing thinning and retreat of the Steller Lobe.

Berg Lake has a history of at least three late 20th century glacier outburst 

floods (jökulhlaups). In 1984, 1986, and 1994, jökulhlaups from Berg Lake 

caused major flooding in the Bering River drainage and severely impacted 

wildlife habitats. The May 1994 jökulhlaup resulted from the catastrophic 

draining of partially ice-dammed Berg Lake. The development of an approximately 500-m-long subglacier channel through the northwestern margin of 

the Steller Glacier resulted in about a 100-m lowering of the lake in a 72-hour 

period. An estimated 5.5×109 m3 of water escaped the 9×6-km Berg Lake and 

drained through the Bering River during the ensuing 72 hours, completely 

inundating the floor of the Bering River valley from valley wall to valley wall. 

Because May is the time of moose calving and prime migratory bird nesting 

activity, especially Dusky Canada Geese (Branta canadensis occidentalis) 

and Trumpeter Swans (Olor buccinator), the flood had a major impact on 

the local ecosystem. Post and Mayo (1971) predicted that continued thinning of the glacier would result in a cycle of repeated jökulhlaups.

During August 2001, Josberger and others (2001) measured the bathymetry, temperature, and conductivity of Berg Lake. They determined that the 

K212 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
intense vertical convection in the lake is controlled by suspended sediment. 

The temperature profiles from Berg Lake show a vertical structure that 

consists of a 10-m thick surface layer, where the temperature drops from near 

9°C to approximately 4°C, the temperature of maximum density for fresh 

water. Below this depth, the temperature decreases to 0°C in the deepest 

portions of the lake, at a depth of around 75 m. Superimposed on this general 

unstable temperature profile are spatially variable fine-structure details that 

include vertical steps and temperature inversions. Although the temperature 

profiles indicate a highly unstable situation, the subglacier discharge has a 

suspended sediment load sufficient to marginally stabilize the density structure in the lake. This sediment-laden water flows out from below the glacier 

and spreads horizontally throughout Berg Lake. As the suspended sediment 

settles, vertical thermal convection yields the observed fine structure in the 

temperature profiles. 

Surges of the Bering Glacier

The 20th century retreat of Bering Glacier has been interrupted by at least 

six major episodes of surging. Although rapid retreat and surging may seem 

incompatible, the results of these two processes have been large-scale fluctuations in the position of the terminus of Bering Glacier and in the continuing drawdown of ice from the accumulation area of the glacier. The surges 

occurred in: ca. 1900, ca. 1920, ca. 1938–40, 1957–60, 1965–67 (Post, 1972), 

and 1993–95, an approximate average of 20 years between surges (Post, 

1972). The surges that occurred during the second half of the 20th century 

have been closely monitored. Each surge event resulted in a rapid and significant advance of the terminus of Bering Glacier and was accompanied by 

the transfer of a significant volume of ice into the expanding terminus area. 

A rapid retreat of the terminus, significantly enhanced by large-scale calving 

into Vitus Lake, and disintegration upglacier from the terminus also followed 

each surge event. The result was a glacier that was much thinner than before 

the surge.Far more ice was removed from Bering Glacier than melting alone 

could have done. The two most recent surges (1957–67, 1993–95) consisted 

of a pair of ice-displacement events separated by periods of stagnant ice. 

In the earlier surge, ice-displacement occurred from 1957 to 1960 and from 

1965 to 1967, and stagnant ice occurred from late 1960 to early 1965. Maximum ice displacement exceeded 10 km (Post, 1972).

Post (1960, 1965, 1967b, 1969, 1972), Meier and Post (1969), and Post and 

LaChapelle (1971) have shown from direct observations of many surging glaciers that the folding (or contortion) of surface medial and lateral moraines 

is an expected result of surging. From analysis of vertical aerial photography, 

Post (1972) determined that individual chevron-folded medial moraines are 

the product of a separate surge event. He wrote that (Post, 1972, p. 219):

Vertical aerial photography taken before and after surges disclose the direction and 

magnitude of ice flow in various parts of the piedmont lobe. The ice moved toward 

the terminus and expanded in a normal, radial pattern with no evidence of unusual 

shearing that would result in the formation of large folds. Many surging glaciers display repeated lateral displacements in their medial moraines which result from periodic surging of the main glacier past non-surging tributaries. Moraines of the Bering 

Glacier display small periodic irregularities of this nature. The large “accordion” 

folds in the moraines in the Bering Lobe are judged to be due to the combined effects 

of compressive flow and lateral or transverse expansion of those previously formed 

irregularities. The initially small pre-existing perturbations in the moraines are simply spread laterally and shortened radially into large folds as the ice spreads out.

At Bering Glacier, field observations and analysis of aerial photography 

and SAR images indicate that at least 25 folded moraines are located in the 

CMMB. With a 20- to 30-year cycle (Post, 1972), at least 500 to 700 years of 

periodic surging would be necessary to create the observed number of folded 

moraines (fig. 190).

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K213
The 1957–60, 1965–67, and 1993–95 Surges of the Bering Glacier

1957–60 and 1965–67 Surges

Following a surge that ended about 1940, Bering Glacier began to retreat. 

Retreat continued through 1957; Vitus Lake expanded to an approximate size 

of 14×5 km and an approximate area of 48 km2. D.J. Miller’s 1958 aerial photograph of a new surge developing in the eastern Bagley Ice Valley showed 

that the surface of Bering Glacier was lowering and that recent shearing of the 

glacier’s margin had occurred at Waxell Ridge. The surge continued through 

1960, probably reaching the terminus in 1959. Much of the margin of Bering 

Lobe advanced and ice reoccupied much of Vitus Lake. By 1960, the terminus 

of Bering Lobe had advanced to a position from 0.5 to 3.0 km beyond the 1948 

margin, reducing Vitus Lake to a maximum of approximately 3.5×2.5-km and 

an approximate area of 3 km2. Post (1972) reported maximum displacements 

of as much as 9 km that probably occurred during a 12- to18-month period. By 

the fall of 1960, no further terminus activity was observed. The position of the 

terminus changed little through the spring of 1963 (Molnia and Post, 1995, 

fig. 13); recession was underway by summer 1963.

A major earthquake occurring on 27 March 1964 produced many rock avalanches that fell on the surface of Bering Glacier. Four had lengths of more 

than 5 km, all in the Waxell Ridge area. The largest was 6.5 km long and as 

much as 2.5 km wide. It fell from an elevation of more than 2,000 m and was 

estimated to have a volume of 107 m3 of rock (Post, 1967a).

Between 1965 and 1967, a smaller surge reactivated much of the terminus 

and resulted in up to 1.0 km of additional terminus advance. Ice was displaced by as much as 4.0 km (Post, 1972). By 1967, the glacier margin was 

within 1 to 3 km of its early 20th century maximum position (fig. 193).

Molnia and Post (1995) quantified the post-1967 rate of terminus retreat throughout the eastern margin of Bering Glacier and found that the 

terminus of Bering Glacier retreated drastically (maximum recession of as 

much as 10.7 km) between the end of the 1965–67 surge and the 28 August 

1993 onset of terminus displacement associated with the 1993–95 surge. Retreat did not occur at a constant velocity because individual years and areas 

show considerable variability; the average rate of retreat was determined to 

be 0.43 km a–1. Molnia and Post (1995, p. 112, table 1) presented their annual average retreat rates along four approximately north-south transects 

extending from the 1967 ice limit to the August 1993 pre-surge ice margin 

(transect locations shown by Molnia and Post, 1995, p. 111, fig. 15). 

Annual recession rates were calculated along each of the transects and 

ranged from 0.04 to 1.0 km a–1, except for the times when rapid calving and 

disintegration occurred. Because ice-margin positions were plotted from 

available aerial photography, intervals between adjacent dated lines were not 

necessarily multiples of full years. Except for the times when rapid calving 

was taking place, the maximum measured recession rates along each transect 

occurred since 1990. The largest retreat—1.0 km—occurred along transect 

A in Tashalich Arm between June 1992 and March 1993. The total amount 

of terminus retreat along each transect is 8.80 km (transect A), 10.70 km 

(transect B), 8.85 km (transect C), and 7.00 km (transect D). In transects A 

and D, initial recession rates were low (0.15 km a–1 or less). In transects B and 

C, there was an initial rapid loss of what was perhaps a floating, thin extension 

of ice as retreat began, followed by a much slower rate of terminus retreat.

In 1977 (transect B) and 1984 (transect D) (Molnia and Post, 1995, p. 111), 

two episodes of very rapid calving and disintegration occurred; each instance 

resulted in more than 2.0 km of ice-margin recession. These rapid recessions occurred when the thinning, retreating glacier terminus decreased to 

a minimum thickness, after which buoyancy would not permit it to remain 

in contact with the bottom. As it floated, it rapidly disintegrated. Many large 

icebergs separated from the terminus resulting in a very rapid retreat of the 

K214 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
margin. This produced substantial short-lived increases in the recession rate. 

Before the summer of 1991, the retreating margin at the head of Tashalich 

Arm changed from one with a low rate of iceberg production to one with a 

much higher rate, and the fjord completely filled with floating calved icebergs. 

Correspondingly, the 1992–93 retreat rate—1.0 km a–1—was nearly twice as 

high as the next highest rate (1987–90, 0.53 km a–1) and more than six times 

higher that the initial rate of retreat (1967–69, 0.15 km a–1).

Sequential aerial photography provided additional insights into the characteristics of the post-1967 retreat, as a 17 August 1979 oblique aerial photograph by the author shows (fig. 195). For instance, rates of retreat in the 

ice-filled basins of Vitus Lake were much greater than they were on the adjacent islands and land areas. Similarly, as the retreat progressed (fig. 196), 

the surface gradient and elevation of Bering Glacier decreased significantly. 

On areas adjacent to Vitus Lake, large stagnant masses of glacier ice covered 

the land surface. Some of these masses were remobilized when they were 

contacted by surge-displaced land-based ice (fig. 197).

In addition to rapid retreat, Bering Glacier has also thinned significantly 

during the period of retreat. Between 1967 and 1993, the ablation area of 

Bering Lobe was virtually stagnant ice, and there was little detectable ice 

flow. The reduced flow from upglacier contributed to a significant thinning 

of the ice in the lower 80 km of the glacier. Comparing ice-surface elevations 

at the terminus of Bering Glacier derived from the 1:63,360-scale USGS Bering Glacier A–7 topographic map (1984), which was based on 1972 aerial 

photography, with 1991 elevations derived from USGS vertical aerial photography shows a thinning of approximately 150 m at the Bering Lobe terminus, an average of approximately 7.9 m a–1. Elsewhere, Trabant and Molnia 

(1992) compared 1990–92 surface-elevation profiles made by using a precision altimeter with elevations measured from a 1972 Bering Glacier topographic map (USGS, 1972). They determined that a thinning of between 

85 and 180 m occurred along the centerline of Bering Lobe. The locations 

of many of their precision altimeter survey points are shown on figure 185. 

In some places, ice loss within the subsequent 20-year period represents 

approximately 20 to 25 percent of the 1972 thickness of Bering Glacier at 

that location. Molnia and Post (1995) reported that a comparison of 1946 

and 1990 vertical aerial photographs shows that almost 200 m of thinning 

occurred between photographs along the margin of the Bering Glacier at 

an elevation of 280 m south of the Grindle Hills. Molnia and Post (1995, p. 

113, fig. 16) presented surface-elevation profiles of Bering Glacier for 1900, 

1957, 1960s, 1972, and 1991 and a mostly below-sea-level profile of the glacier base.

Figure 196.—20 July 1993 oblique aerial 

photograph showing post-1967 surge retreat of the east-central Piedmont Lobe region of Bering Glacier. Northwest-looking 

view along the terminus of Bering Glacier. 

The glacier is rapidly calving and disintegrating along old crevasse planes. The 

height of the shoreline scarp at the northeast edge of Vitus Lake is less than 5 m. 

Because of their buoyancy, several calved 

blocks of ice have risen above the elevation 

of the surface of Bering Glacier. Photograph 

by Bruce F. Molnia, U.S. Geological Survey. 

A larger version of this figure is available 

online. 

Figure 197.—29 July 1990 east-looking view 

of part of a 300×600-m mass of debris-covered stagnant Bering Glacier ice located 

near the head of the Taggland Peninsula. 

This remnant had a maximum height of 

approximately 30 m. When the rapidly advancing ice of the 1993 surge encountered 

this stagnant ice, it reconnected to the 

stagnant-ice mass and pushed it forward. 

Note the person for scale. Photograph by 

Bruce F. Molnia, U.S. Geological Survey. 

A larger version of this figure is available 

online. 

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K215

The 1993–95 Surge

By late August 1993, just before the beginning of the 1993 surge-related 

terminus advance, approximately 20×10-km Vitus Lake occupied an area of 

about 70 km2

, an increase in area resulting from late 20th century recession. 

The 1993–95 surge produced a maximum of around 10 km of advance of the 

terminus of Bering Lobe. Terminus-ice displacement occurred in two discrete 

phases—between late August 1993 and 17 September 1994 and between early 

May 1995 and mid-September 1995. A 7-month period without detectable ice 

displacement—from 17 September 1994 to early May 1995—separated the 

two advances. The surge resulted in a substantial increase in iceberg production; significant changes in the size, bathymetry, hydrology, and water chemistry of ice-marginal Vitus Lake; advance over vegetation (fig. 65); and the 

complete or partial covering of all of the islands within Vitus Lake by advancing 

ice. Maximum ice-displacement rates and maximum surge-front-displacement 

velocities approached 100 m d–1 during the initial period of the surge. 

 The 1993–95 surge was anticipated and closely monitored. More than a 

year before the appearance of any evidence that a surge was beginning, the 
tongue of ice that filled the head of Tashalich Arm began to rapidly calve icebergs, and the entire fjord was filled with floating ice within less than 3 months. 

An analysis of sequential vertical aerial photographs led Robert M. Krimmel 

(USGS, Tacoma, Washington, oral commun., 1996) to report that, during the 

9-month period between 12 June 1992 and 16 March 1993, ice advanced toward Tashalich Arm at a velocity of 1.3 m d–1, yet the terminus retreated about 

300 m, more than 1 m d–1. In the 4 months between 16 March 1993 and 10 July 

1993, the velocity increased to 2 to 3 m d–1. A similar rapid-calving process 

was characteristic of changes at several Bering Lobe ice-marginal locations 

when they were impacted by the arriving surge front, as shown on a 6 October 

1993 oblique aerial photograph taken by the author (fig. 198).

Figure 198.—6 October 1993 northeastlooking oblique aerial photograph of the 

intensively fractured, disintegrating terminus of the Bering Glacier. Fracturing extends many kilometers upglacier. Several 

large surge-produced pressure ridges 

can be seen migrating towards the terminus. Photograph by Bruce F. Molnia, U.S. 

Geological Survey.

K216 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD

The 1993–94 Phase

In the central Bering Lobe, the first visible evidence of the onset of the 

surge was the development of a large pressure ridge along the southwestern 

edge of the Grindle Hills during the spring of 1993, although the ridge probably had been building up for many months before that observation. During 

the early stages of the surge, this location served as the initiation point for 

the fracturing and shattering of the surface of Bering Glacier. Within weeks, 

the upglacier surface of Bering Lobe was fractured for a distance of more 

than 50 km, and the thickening glacier was overtopping ridges, such as Override Ridge, in the lower Bagley Ice Valley (fig. 199).

A comparison of three sets of mosaicked vertical aerial photographs of the 

terminus of Bering Glacier in Vitus Lake acquired by the author on 10 July 

1993, 10 September 1993, and 25 February 1994 show how various locations 

along the glacier’s terminus responded very differently to the surge process. 

In some areas, the glacier’s terminus rapidly advanced; in other areas, it retreated. During the first 2 months of the surge, the ice in part of the terminus 

adjacent to the eastern side of the peninsula that separates Vitus Lake from 

Tashalich Arm shattered and retreated rapidly following the arrival of the 

surge front, while the front advanced to the east. By November, the entire 

terminus was advancing rapidly into Vitus Lake.

Comparing two sets of vertical aerial photographs acquired on 17 October 1993 and 16 May 1994 showed that the terminus adjacent to the eastern side of Beringia Novaya advanced about 7.78 km in this 211-day period. 

The average rate of terminus displacement was about 36.7 m d–1. The actual 

displacement was higher because a significant volume of ice calved daily 

from the advancing glacier margin. Cross-glacier fracturing proceeded at 

a much slower rate. But, by July 1994, the CMMB showed fracturing and 
folding caused by both compressional and extensional stresses (fig. 200). In 

essence, the fractures were a complex network of parallel and subparallel 

crevasses that opened in the previously near-stagnant CMMB.

Robert M. Krimmel (USGS, Tacoma, Washington, written commun., 

1996) analyzed nine sets of sequential vertical aerial photographs acquired 

between 12 June 1992 and 7 September 1994 to derive many physical characteristics of the surging Bering Glacier (12 June 1992, 16 March 1993, 10 

July 1993, 10 September 1993, 15–17 November 1993, 25 February 1994, 16 

May 1994, 13 August 1994, 7 September 1994). He reported velocities lower 

than those cited above but noted that “the highest speed measured from the 

successive aerial photographs was 22 m d–1. This speed was measured at two 

locations: in the west terminus area above the entrance to Tashalich Arm 

and in the area a few kilometers west of Grindle Hills. These speeds were the 

average speed for a several month period, and it is reasonable to expect that 

the speed was higher for portions of the measured period.” Krimmel’s plots 

for seven positions of the terminus of Bering Glacier between 10 July 1993 

and 7 September 1994 are shown in figure 201.

Figure 199.—6 October 1993 oblique aerial 

photograph shows surge-thickened ice at 

the edge of the Bagley Ice Valley expanding 

over an exposed bedrock ridge. The ridge, 

named Override Ridge by Austin Post, was 

also overridden by surge-thickened ice 

during the 1957–1960 surge. Photograph 

by Bruce F. Molnia, U.S. Geological Survey.

Figure 200.—Photograph of several extensional crevasses/faults located on the 

western side of the Central Medial Moraine 

Band of the Bering Glacier on 24 July 1994. 

Before the surge, this area was vegetationcovered stagnant ice. Photograph by Bruce 

F. Molnia, U.S. Geological Survey. A larger 

version of this figure is available online.

Figure 201.—Terminus positions of Bering 

Glacier are shown between 10 July 1993 

and 7 September 1994. The July 1993 

shoreline of Vitus Lake is shown as a fine 

black line. From data compiled by Robert 

M. Krimmel, U.S. Geological Survey.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K217
Subsequent examination of sequential SAR imagery by Roush (1996) 

confirmed and enhanced the understanding of many of the events that occurred during the first 8 months of the surge. Roush found that the surge 

was in progress by 30 April 1993 and may have begun as early as 26 March 

1993. Measurements showed that the surge front propagated downglacier at 

a mean velocity of 90 m d–1 between 19 May and 25 August 1993, the migrating surge front first reaching the terminus of the glacier in Vitus Lake just 

before 24 August 1993. Subsequently, the calving terminus advanced rapidly 

into Vitus Lake. On radar imagery, the advancing surge front consisted of 

a distributed region of undulations and elongated bulges on the surface of 

Bering Glacier, having heights estimated from the SAR data of 40 to 110 m 

and widths varying from about 0.7 to 1.5 km. Roush compared 9 August 1993 

and 18 October 1993 radar images and calculated that, during this 71-day 

period, the average advance rate in its central area was 19 m d–1 and that the 

mean rate of advance across the entire width of the terminus was 11 m d–1. As 

previously noted, these rates pertain to the displacement of the ice margin 

and do not take into account the large volume of ice calved from the end of 

the advancing margin during the entire period of observation. Additionally, 

had Roush used 24 August 1993 as a start date, his average rates would have 

been more than 20 percent higher.

Studies by Fatland and Lingle (1998, 2002) analyzed the surge by using 

differential SAR interferometry (InSAR) on two pairs of ERS-1 radar images, 

one pair collected during a 3-day period in January 1992 before the onset 

of the surge and the second during a 3-day period between 4 and 7 February 1994 at the peak of the surge. Their resulting high-resolution velocity data clearly show that the Bagley Ice Valley—southwest of Tana Glacier 

and northeast of Steller Glacier—experienced a 2.7-fold increase in velocity during the interval between image pairs, velocity increasing from 0.36 to 

0.95 m d–1. They also reported a drawdown of the surface of Bering Glacier 

of between 5 and 10 m and speculated that the velocity increase may have 

been caused by increased longitudinal stress gradients resulting from coupling to the surging main trunk of Bering Glacier. They also reported that 

InSAR was unsuccessful in determining velocities on the rapidly moving ice 

of Bering Glacier because there was no image correlation between sequential 

SAR images.

The advancing ice moved much more rapidly when it filled subglacier and 

sublacustrine fjord channels than it did when it advanced over land. Average land advance rates rarely exceeded 4 m d–1. However, the advancing ice 

would frequently bulldoze large wedges of sediment in front of its advancing 

face. Many observed advances were accompanied by upward thrusting. Individual spatulate fingers of ice ranging from a few meters to more than 100 m 

in width built distinctive push moraines. Several of the islands in Vitus Lake 

were partially covered during the first phase of the surge. The northern part 

of 1.7-km-long Tsitus (Arrowhead) Island, which had only become free of 

retreating ice during the summer of 1992, was quickly covered by advancing 

ice (fig. 202A). By the end of the first phase of the surge, nearly 1 km of the 

northern end of the island was covered by advancing glacier ice (fig. 202B). 

The same lobe of ice that overtopped the north end of Tsitus (Arrowhead) 

Island filled the channel east of the island that connected the two eastern 

ice-marginal lakes with the main body of Vitus Lake. All of the drainage from 

the eastern part of Bering Glacier that previously flowed through this channel into Vitus Lake was deflected to flow through an abandoned former icemarginal channel adjacent to the 1967 ice-maximum position, just to the east 

of the south end of transect D (Molnia and Post, 1995, p. 111, fig. 15).

Advancing ice slowly covered the northern end of Pointed Island. However, a much more rapidly moving tongue of ice, at least 170 m thick, advanced 

past the island on its western side at a rate that exceeded 20 m d–1. Before the 

first phase of the surge ended, two small islands, named the The Wallypogs 

Figure 202.—Two oblique aerial photographs of the Tsitus (Arrowhead) Island 

area that show changes that occurred 

during the first and second phases of the 

1993–1995 surge of the Bering Glacier. 

A, 7 October 1993 north-looking oblique 

aerial photograph shows the advancing 

margin of the Bering Glacier just as it made 

contact with the north end of the island. 

The channel on the east side of the island, 

which connects to the eastern marginal 

lakes, is still open. Between the summers 

of 1992 and 1993, the north end of Tsitus 

(Arrowhead) Island had become ice free. 

B, 9 July 1995 north-looking oblique aerial 

photograph shows that the advancing 

margin of Bering Glacier had covered all 

but the southernmost 45 m of the island. 

Advancing ice masses in the channels 

on both sides of the island advanced towards each other but never joined. This 

photograph depicts the maximum ice advance and ice cover of Tsitus (Arrowhead) 

Island. Photographs by Bruce F. Molnia, 

U.S. Geological Survey. Larger versions of 

these figures are available online.

K218 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
by Austin Post, were completely covered, as were the northern two-thirds of 

Whaleback Island. The northwestern shoreline of Taxpayer’s Bay, the area 

at the southern end of transect D (Molnia and Post, 1995, p. 111, fig. 15) was 

also overtopped by the advancing glacier.

Robert M. Krimmel (Tacoma, Washington USGS, oral commun., 1996) 

compared sequential vertical aerial photographs acquired on 16 May 1994, 

13 August 1994, and 7 September 1994 to determine when this phase of the 

surge ended. He reported that ice velocities were high for the period between 

16 May 1994 and 13 August 1994. Terminus changes were minor between 13 

August 1994 and 7 September 1994. By mid-September 1994, advance of 

Bering Glacier had ceased. Vitus Lake was so filled with the terminus of Bering Glacier and icebergs that almost no open water remained.

Surge-Produced Changes in Vitus Lake

Gray and others (1994) documented changes in the physical and sedimentary characteristics of Vitus Lake that occurred during the first year of 

the surge by comparing pre-surge measurements made during the July 1992 

retreat phase with peak surge measurements made in July 1994. In 1992, 

the lake had an area of approximately 160 km2, and about 90 percent of its 

surface was free of icebergs. The lake was stratified into two distinct layers, the topmost of which extended from the surface to a depth of about 

7 m. Generally, specific conductance values increased from about 2,000 to 

about 5,000 μS cm–1 (micro Siemens per centimeter), and water temperature decreased from about 5° to about 3°C. Specific conductance values of 

approximately 17,000 μS cm–1 at a depth of 10 m increased to a maximum 

of approximately 32,400 μS cm–1 at a depth of 142 m. The majority of water 

temperature measurements made were less than 1°C. The depth of the transition zone between the two layers corresponded to the depth of the thalweg 

(longitudinal outline of riverbed from source to mouth) of the Seal River. 

Additionally, the mean Secchi-Disk depth (measurements of water clarity) 

obtained from measurements made at locations more than 1 km from sediment-rich glacial water inflows was 2.3 m.

When Vitus Lake was measured in mid-July 1994, the surge had reduced 

its area to approximately 50 km2, and more than 90 percent of its surface 

was covered by floating ice. Specific conductance values ranged from about 

2,000 to about 3,200 μS cm–1, and water temperature ranged from about 4° to 

about 0°C. No evidence of stratification was found. Mean Secchi-Disk depth 

obtained from measurements made near the head of the Seal River was 

0.4 m. Visual observations of water samples collected with a Van Dorn sampling device suggested that suspended sediment concentration increased 

with depth, unlike it did in 1992 when the lake was essentially sediment free. 

Lastly, in contrast to the1992 sediment discharge rate of about 10 kg s–1, the 

suspended sediment discharge in 1994 was around 104 kg s–1. 

The 1995 Phase 

Oblique aerial photographs of the terminus region of Bering Glacier acquired in late November 1994 and again in late January 1995 showed no evidence of surge activity. Following a 7-month period beginning in September 

1994 and characterized by minor retreat and near-stagnant ice, parts of the 

eastern Bering Glacier resumed surging; several areas of the terminus advanced about 750 m in the 13-day period between 19 May and 1 June 1995 

(57.7 m d–1). The first evidence that new surge activity had begun was noted 

on 14 April 1995 by pilots Gayle and Steve Ranney of Cordova, Alaska. They 

observed that a section of the winter-ice cover of Vitus Lake was being compressed into a series of accordionlike folds. They also observed numerous 

deep fresh cracks and rifts as well as a number of blue-water lakes forming 

on the surface of Bering Glacier. The lakes, fractures, and rifts were characteristic features of the 1993–94 phase of the surge.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K219
USGS vertical aerial photography of the Bering Lobe terminus and Vitus 

Lake, acquired on 1 May 1995, confirmed the new fracturing and rifting as 

well as the numerous lakes. When they were compared with the late November 1994 vertical aerial photographs, the 1 May 1995 photographs showed 

that the terminus was advancing over the northern end of Beringia Novaya, 

the largest island in Vitus Lake, and over the north-central part of Pointed Island. The margin showed a significant increase in iceberg production, including several icebergs that were more than 0.5 km long. 19 May 1995 oblique 

aerial photography confirmed that the terminus was continuing to advance. 

On the southeastern shoreline of the lake, just west of Taxpayer’s Bay, the 

advancing ice margin was redirecting the entire drainage from the eastern 

part of the glacier to a narrow channel. The result was several tens of meters 

of shoreline retreat and the development of a high bluff, as two oblique aerial 

photographs taken on 6 and 9 July 1995 by the author show (fig. 203).

The author’s 1 and 2 June 1995 visit to the glacier confirmed that not only 

was the surge affecting the eastern terminus region but also that it was affecting the northern part of Bering Lobe and the southern part of the Bagley Ice 

Valley, as much as 30 km north of the terminus (fig. 204). There, the winter 

1994–95 snow surface was complexly fractured and rifted, and several large 

ice-surface (supraglacier) lakes reappeared in the same location where lakes 

had existed during the January to July 1994 period. On 1 June 1995, only the 

southernmost 50 m of Pointed Island remained exposed; about 750 m of the 

island had been covered since 19 May 1995. On Pointed Island, thousands of 

nesting birds were displaced or killed and their nests destroyed as they were 

overtopped by the advancing ice margin. On Tsitus (Arrowhead) Island, the 

total ice advance during this phase of the surge was less than 200 m.

This phase of the surge was much shorter lived than the first. However, total terminus advance was as significant as it was in the 1957–67 surge event, 

and advance speeds into the proglacial Vitus Lake again greatly exceeded 

flow speeds over islands and adjacent land areas. This advance revitalized 

the stagnant mass of ice to the north in the Weeping Peat Island area, and the 

advancing ice reconnected with the toe of the glacier that had been detached 

by the jökulhlaup in December 1994 (see following section). Here the total 

amount of advance was about 250 m. As was the case to the west, the last 

evidence of ice advance disappeared by mid-September 1995.

Muskett and others (2000) reported that, in June 1995, just after the onset of the second phase of the 1993–95 surge, Bering Glacier was profiled by 

a geodetic airborne laser altimeter according to the methods of Echelmeyer 

and others (1996). These results were used to compare elevation and volume 

Figure 203.—Two views show changes 

occurring on the southeast shoreline of 

Vitus Lake during July 1995. A, 9 July 

1995 northeast-looking oblique aerial 

photograph of the advancing ice margin 

that forced the entire drainage from the 

eastern part of the Bering Glacier to flow 

into a narrow channel. A larger version 

of this figure is available online. B, 6 July 

1995 southeast-looking photograph of the 

shoreline retreat and the development of a 

high bluff. Photographs by Bruce F. Molnia, 

U.S. Geological Survey.

K220 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
changes that occurred between June 1995 and 1972–73. They found that, despite the fact that a significant volume of ice was transported to Bering Lobe 

by the surge in 1993 and 1994, the surface of the glacier was “generally lower 

in 1995 than in 1972–1973” (Muskett and others, 2000, p. F404). They estimated that the total volume lost was 41±10 km3

 of ice, which they presented 

as a corresponding area-average mass balance of –0.8±0.2 m a–1 water equivalent. Elevation change was nonuniform; surface lowering was greatest on 

Bering Lobe near the terminus, where a maximum of 75 to 100 m of lowering 

had occurred. Although they did not quantify it, Muskett and others (2000) 

noted an area of the Bering Lobe 13 km upglacier from the terminus where a 

small thickening occurred. A maximum of 50 m of thickening was seen further 

upglacier above the equilibrium line. They concluded that “negative mass balance predominated over the massive downglacier transport of ice caused by 

the 1993–1995 surge” (Muskett and others, 2000, p. F404). 

Comparing 1950s map data of the glacier with data obtained during airborne profiling surveys in the middle and late 1990s showed that, on an 

annual basis, Bering Glacier thinned by 0.914 m a–1 and that its volume decreased by 1.78 km3

 a–1. However, between the middle 1990s and 1999, on an 

annual basis, Bering Glacier thinned by 3.077 m a–1 and its volume decreased 

by 6.0 km3 a–1 (K.A. Echelmeyer, W.D. Harrison, V. B. Valentine, and S. I. Zirnheld, University of Alaska Fairbanks, written commun., March 2001).

Figure 204.—Two oblique aerial photographs showing complex fracturing 

and crevassing that occurred during the 

later part of phase one and the early part 

of phase two of the 1993–1995 surge. 

A, 9 May 1994 south-looking view shows a 

4-km-wide section of the Bagley Ice Valley, 

with several types of crevasses, including 

rectilinear crevasses, and the development 

of subparallel rifts. B, 24 July 1994 northlooking view across the central Piedmont 

Lobe shows part of a 5-km-long developing rift set in a wide section of rectilinear 

crevasses. The east-west-trending snowfilled crevasses represent fractures that 

formed during early fall 1993 and that were 

subsequently filled with winter 1993–1994 

snow. The north-trending fractures and crevasses began forming during the spring of 

1994. Photographs by Bruce F. Molnia, U.S. 

Geological Survey. A larger version of this 

figure is available online. 

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K221
The 1994–1995 Jökulhlaup 

During the spring of 1994, a number of large blue-water ice-surface 

(supraglacier) lakes formed at several locations on Bering Lobe and in the 

Bagley Ice Valley, as a 24 July 1994 oblique aerial photograph by the author 

shows (fig. 205). The largest of these was more than 1 km long. On 27 July 

1994, a large sediment-laden jökulhlaup began at the terminus of Bering 

Lobe immediately east of Weeping Peat Island. During the first few hours of 

the jökulhlaup, hundreds of large blocks of ice, many with maximum dimensions estimated to be greater than 30 m, broke off from the glacier face and 

were jetted into the deep lake adjacent to the ice margin. Within 24 hours, 

a canyon more than 1 km long was cut into the ice margin as the point of 

water discharge retreated upglacier. Initial peak discharges were estimated 

to be greater than 105 m3. In early September 1994, the retreating point of 

the high-volume discharge reached the northern end of Weeping Peat Island. 

Within days, many of the supraglacier lakes were drained.

The high-volume discharge of water, which had shifted direction nearly 

90°, continued to cut a widening west-trending channel through the stagnant terminus of the glacier during the next few months and dissected the 

toe from the remainder of the glacier. During the first year of the flood, approximately 0.3 km3

 of sediment and ice were deposited into the ice-marginal lake system on the southeastern side of the glacier, and a channel was cut 

through the central area of Weeping Peat Island. The high-volume discharge 

continued for much of the next year and deposited a large outwash-fan delta, 

part of which formed in water as deep as 50 m. By late July 1995, following 

a lowering of the lake’s level, the melting of ice blocks buried in the sediment created several dozen near-circular pit pond depressions (kettles) on 

the surface of the northern end of the outwash-fan delta adjacent to the ice 

margin. The largest had a diameter of about 20 m and a depth of 5 m. At several lakeshore and riverbank bluffs, blocks of ice buried in the sediment were 

exposed in profile.

By the spring of 1996, the volume of water discharging from the base 

of the glacier had decreased to near pre-jökulhlaup levels. As a result, the 

lake’s surface elevation dropped several meters, and more than 6 km2 of 

the outwash plain-fan delta were exposed. The stream discharging at the 

base of the glacier began to meander across the exposed outwash plainfan delta. An inversion of topography occurred at many locations where ice 

blocks were buried in the sediment, and the tops of buried ice blocks were 

exposed, many reaching more than 3 m above the outwash plain-fan delta’s 

surface (figs. 206A, B). Many blocks were surrounded by moats, some water 

Figure 205.—24 July 1994 north-looking 

pre-jökulhlaup oblique aerial photograph 

of a blue-water lake formed on the surface 

of Bering Glacier in the Bagley Ice Valley 

taken less than a week before the onset of 

the 28 July 1994 jökulhlaup. The photograph 

shows part of an approximately 350-m-diameter circular lake located approximately 

10 km west of Juniper Island. Photograph 

by Bruce F. Molnia, U.S. Geological Survey.

K222 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
filled. Erosion and scour resulting from lateral stream-channel migration 

had removed at least 4 m of sand and gravel and left behind the newly exposed ice boulders. This erosion and downcutting were responsible for the 

reversal of topography. 

All of the exposed ice boulders had melted by 20 July 1996, and the surface of the outwash plain-fan delta was covered with several hundred kettle 

holes (fig. 206C). Of the 90 kettles the author studied during a 2-week field 

investigation in mid-August 1996, the largest was about 35 m in diameter and 

about 5 m deep. More than a dozen had ice exposed in their walls. Most of 

the studied kettles were continuing to enlarge through slumping and melting 

of buried ice. Another stream channel migration event was underway on 17 

September 1996, the date of the last 1996 site visit. Between 26 August and 

17 September 1996, the stream migration had completely removed about 40 

of the easternmost kettles and exposed ice boulders at the surface of several 

of the former kettle locations on the eastern side of the westward-migrating 

stream. Many other areas showed evidence of surface slumping, an indication that melting of subsurface glacier ice was continuing. When the area was 

observed in August 2001, there was no evidence of continuing kettle growth, 

and various types of vegetation were becoming established in the area between the kettles.

It was initially thought that the July 1994 jökulhlaup was a surge-ending 

flood event because ice velocities decreased following the onset of the jökulhlaup and ice-displacement ceased within 60 days. But it was not, because 

the ice resumed its advance following a 7-month pause. Perhaps the jökulhlaup was caused by a partial failure of the subglacier “barrier” or “dam” responsible for the initiation of the 1993–94 surge. However, it was the only 

major jökulhlaup associated with the 1993–95 surge of the glacier.

Following the onset of the July 1994 jökulhlaup, a large suspended-sediment plume began to exit Vitus Lake and entered the Gulf of Alaska through 

Seal River, as a 7 September 1994 vertical aerial photograph shows (fig. 207). 

It is likely that the origin of the plume was one or more subglacier channels located on the eastern side of the Bering Lobe. The restriction, if not 

total blockage, of flow through these sediment-dammed channels may have 

been responsible for the 1993 surge. The discharge of sediment appears to 

be closely tied to the mechanics of Bering Glacier’s surge cycle. From the 

1970s through the middle-1980s, sediment-laden water flowed from Vitus 

Lake through Seal River into the Gulf of Alaska. Sometime during 1985, the 

plume disappeared and remained absent until just after the beginning of the 

1994 jökulhlaup. The sediment plume’s reappearance at about the same time 

Figure 206.—Three photographs showing the evolution of kettle ponds in the 

outwash-fan delta formed by sediment deposited during the 1994–1995 jökulhlaup. 

A, 30 April 1996 oblique aerial photograph 

of the northern end of the outwash-fan delta shows two stages in the development of 

the kettle ponds. Meandering of the stream 

located to the right of center has eroded 

the sediment cover from many large ice 

boulders to its east. Their rapid melting resulted in the formation of only a few small 

kettle ponds. To the west of the stream, 

where only the top part of the ice boulders 

is exposed, melting over the ensuing 3 

months formed many large kettle ponds. 

B, 1 May 1996 ground photograph of a 20-mlong sediment-banded ice boulder present 

in A. Three months later, a 6-m-deep kettle 

pond was located at this site. C, 20 July 1996 

oblique aerial photograph of the same area 

shown in A. Individual kettle ponds can be 

correlated with exposed ice blocks in the 

earlier photograph. Photographs by Bruce 

F. Molnia, U.S. Geological Survey. Larger 

versions of B and C are available online.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K223
as the jökulhlaup’s occurrence adds credence to the hypothesis that Bering 

Glacier’s surges are caused by a buildup of subglacier water pressure and 

water volume resulting from blockage of Bering Glacier’s subglacier channels with sediment and that the jökulhlaup resulted from the failure of the 

subglacier sediment dam.

The Seal River sediment plume is visible on nearly every Landsat image 

collected during the Landsat baseline period (1972–81) (fig. 208A) (Post, 

1976). During that period, it was the second largest and second densest 

sediment plume entering the Gulf of Alaska. The largest—the Copper River 

plume—annually transports about 108 metric tons of sediment into the Gulf 

of Alaska (Reimnitz, 1966) (fig. 208B). In addition to the Landsat imagery, 

1979 aerial photographs of the Seal River also show the sediment plume, but 

it is absent from 1990 and 1992 photographs. A 22 August 2003 Moderate 

Figure 207.—7 September 1994 vertical 

aerial photograph of Seal River shows the 

large suspended sediment plume exiting 

Vitus Lake. At the time of this photograph, 

the suspended sediment load exceeded 

2 g L–1. For much of the decade before the 

onset of the 1994 glacier outburst flood 

(jökulhlaup), the suspended sediment load 

dropped by more than an order of magnitude. USGS photograph no. 94–V4–85 by 

Robert F. Krimmel, U.S. Geological Survey.

Figure 208.—Two 1970s views, a 2003 view, and a 1938 

view of the suspended sediment plume from the Seal River. 

The magnitude of the sediment plume before the middle 

1980s suggests that little impediment existed to its flow 

through subglacial drainage channels of the Bering Glacier. 

The subsequent closure of the drainage channels, resulting 

in the middle 1980s decrease in suspended sediment load, 

may have been a factor in the onset of the 1993 surge. The 

Seal River sediment plume, west of the terminus of Bering 

Glacier, separates into two components: part of the plume 

extends offshore, and part flows along the west side of Kayak 

Island, merging with the Copper River suspended sediment 

plume. In the 1970s and early 1980s, the Seal River plume 

was the second largest sediment plume entering the Gulf of 

Alaska. For comparison, Reimnitz (1966) calculated that the 

Copper River plume, largest in Alaska, annually introduced 

approximately 108 kg of suspended sediment into the Gulf 

of Alaska. A, Annotated Landsat 3 RBV image of the Copper 

River Delta area and environs on 24 August 1978. Seal River 

is to the right off the image, but part of its sediment plume is 

visible in the lower right corner. The Steller Lobe dams Berg 

Lake (fig. 191), which had jökulhlaups in 1984, 1986, and 1994. 

Martin River Glacier has a large stagnant terminus. Miles 

Glacier has receded 7.2 km since 1890 (Field, 1975, p. 321). 

Previously, it coalesced with Childs Glacier on the opposite 

bank of the Copper River. Childs Glacier surged in 1909, with 

an advance of several hundred meters, but has not surged 

since. The Sherman Glacier terminus is covered with the 

debris from a landslide that occurred during the 1964 earthquake. The Copper River is very turbid; its sediment plume 

extends far into the Gulf of Alaska. Landsat 3 RBV image 

(30172–20175–B; 24 August 1978; Path 71, Row 18) and caption courtesy of Robert M. Krimmel, U.S. Geological Survey, 

is from the EROS Data Center, Sioux Falls, S. Dak. B, 12 July 

1976 photograph taken from the rail of the R.V. Sea Sounder, 

approximately 3 m above the ocean surface, of the edge of 

the Seal River plume in the Gulf of Alaska. Photograph by 

Bruce F. Molnia, U.S. Geological Survey. A larger version of 

this figure is available online. C and D, see following page. 

K224 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Martin River Glacier

Copper River

Bering Glacier

Berg Lake

MMiles Glacier iles Glacier

Steller Glacier

Childs Glacier

Sherman Gl.

Van Cleve

Lake

Martin River Glacier

A

Kayak Island

149°W

60°30’N

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K225
Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) image (fig. 208C) covers 

approximately the same area encompassed by the 24 August 1978 Landsat 

3 RBV image (fig. 208A) and shows multiple plumes. A very large sediment 

plume is visible on Bradford Washburn’s summer 1938 photograph of the 

mouth of the Seal River (fig. 208D).

Post-Surge Retreat of Bering Glacier

As it was during the advancing phase, the retreat rate of the terminus 

from the land areas was significantly less than that of the thicker tongues of 

ice that filled the deeper basins of Vitus Lake. Before the summer of 1996, 

little change was noted on the ice-covered islands within Vitus Lake or on the 

ice-covered part of the mainland east of Vitus Lake. By early summer 1996, 

the retreat of this land-based ice was underway at an average rate of less 

than 0.5 m d–1. By 1997, multiple recessional moraines indicated hiatuses in 

the land-based retreat cycle at several locations.

Following the end of terminus advance in mid-September 1995, the parts 

of Vitus Lake that were not filled by surge-advanced ice were filled with 

Figure 208.—C, 22 August 2003 Moderate 

Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer 

(MODIS) image of the Gulf of Alaska coastal area from just east of Prince William 

Sound (left) to Grand Plateau Glacier 

(right).The same area shown in A is located on the western third of the MODIS 

image. MODIS image from the National 

Aeronautics and Space Administration. 

D, Summer 1938 oblique aerial photograph 

of the southernmost part of the terminus 

of Bering Glacier, Vitus Lake, Seal River, 

and the Gulf of Alaska. In this post-1920s 

surge photograph, a large sediment plume 

can be seen entering the Gulf of Alaska and 

flowing around Kayak Island. A large calving and disintegration event is also taking 

place at the glacier’s terminus. Photograph 

no. 1000 by Bradford Washburn, Museum 

of Science (Boston).

K226 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
icebergs. Almost no water was visible between the glacier’s margin and the 

southern shore of Vitus Lake. Calving, which was ongoing during the early 

rapid advance of the terminus, continued as surge advances waned. The glacier slowly began to actively retreat again (fig. 209A), mostly through the 

production of many icebergs (fig. 209B). Without the influx of surge-transported ice, rapid retreat of the terminus from the deeper basins of Vitus Lake 

ensued. Both Vitus Lake and Tashalich Arm quickly developed semicircular 

calving embayments (fig. 40). Active calving in both areas continued through 

the summer of 1998. By late 1999, Beringia Novaya and Pointed Island were 

ice free; Whaleback Island was ice free by early 2001.

The retreat from Tsitus (Arrowhead) Island was much slower. Less than 

50 m of retreat had occurred by 10 August 1998 (fig. 210); less than 300 m 

of the southern end of the island had been exposed by August 2001. The ice 

that had covered Tsitus (Arrowhead) Island was the thickest of any island 

in Vitus Lake. The channel to the east that had connected to the eastern icemarginal lakes was still filled by a large volume of surge-advanced ice. Similarly, ice that had advanced over the mainland east of Vitus Lake still covered 

much of the land, as a 12 August 1998 oblique aerial photograph taken by the 

author shows (fig. 211). Before the summer of 2001, all of the ice that had advanced onto Weeping Peat Island had retreated. The surface of the eastern 

part of the island displayed at least four recessional moraines.

By late summer 1997, the rate of calving decreased in the Vitus Lake embayment west of Beringia Novaya. Several concentric, arcuate crevasses developed parallel to the perimeter of the terminus in the calving embayment. 

By 26 September 1997, intensive compressional forces rotated a single large 

mass of the glacier bounded by two subparallel crevasses and raised it more 

than 40 m above the surface of the adjacent ice (fig. 212). After about 72 

hours, this massive 80×50×10-m pyramidal-shaped piece of ice calved into 

Vitus Lake.

Calving of the margin continued at a reduced rate from late 1997 through 

late 1998; however, the physical characteristics of the margin changed significantly. The height of the face of the glacier decreased by more than 50 percent 

Figure 209.—Two oblique aerial photographs of the continued retreat of Bering 

Glacier from the north end of Beringia 

Novaya. A, 6 June 1997 photograph shows 

the surge-maximum moraine and several 

recessional moraines, numerous developing kettles, and the retreating ice margin. 

B, 12 August 2001 photograph taken more 

than 6 years following the cessation of 

surge motion within the terminus of the 

Bering Glacier. The boundary between 

vegetation and bare ground marks the 

1995 maximum advance of the glacier. 

Continued thinning and retreat have resulted in the rapid disintegration of the 

terminus of Bering Glacier. Photographs 

by Bruce F. Molnia, U.S. Geological Survey. 

Larger versions of these figures are available online. 

Figure 210.—Oblique aerial photograph of the deglacierized terrain following the post-surge retreat of Bering Glacier from the south end of Tsitus 

(Arrowhead) Island. 10 August 1998 east-looking view of the southern end of 

Tsitus (Arrowhead) Island shows the retreating terminus of Bering Glacier. 

As was the case on Pointed Island, several recessional moraines mark the 

post-surge retreat. Many grooves and furrows mark the areas of maximum 

advance. Photograph by Bruce F. Molnia, U.S. Geological Survey.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K227
Figure 211.—12 August 1998 north-looking 

oblique aerial photograph of the postsurge retreat of Bering Glacier west of 

Weeping Peat Island. The most obvious 

features are the numerous grooves and 

furrows. Retreat during the 3-year period 

since the cessation of the surge amounts 

to approximately 500 m. Photograph by 

Bruce F. Molnia, U.S. Geological Survey.

Figure 212.—Photograph of an uplifted 

pyramidal-shaped piece of ice, approximately 80×50×10 m, produced by unusual 

compressional stresses in the calving embayment of Bering Glacier in Vitus Lake 

on 26 September 1997. Southwest-looking 

view across the Bering Glacier west of 

Beringia Novaya. The uplifted triangular 

block of ice was not observed while being 

rotated. However, its debris-covered former surface has been rotated towards the 

west. Note the single-engine aircraft flying 

behind the ice block. Photograph by Bruce 

F. Molnia, U.S. Geological Survey.

between 1996 and late 1998. The height of the ice cliff along much of the 

margin in Vitus Lake continued to decrease in 1999 and 2000. By 1999, part 

of the terminus had retreated more than 5 km. By 2001, continuing retreat of 

the glacier had caused much of the terminus to reoccupy positions similar to 

those held by the ice front in the pre-surge period from 1992 to 1993.

In 2000 and again in 2001, as successions of large icebergs calved from 

the margin and drifted into Vitus Lake, parts of the terminus were observed 

retreating as much as 700 m in less than 24 hours. By 12 August 2001, the 

surface of the glacier in the eastern terminus region closely resembled the 

pre-1993-surge surface of the glacier (fig. 213).

In the central part of Bering Lobe, several kilometers behind the terminus, 

dramatic changes occurred during the post-surge period. When the surge 

ended in September 1995, Bering Lobe’s surface was fractured by large rifts, 

irregular rectangular blocks of crevasse-bounded ice, and many seracs. Local 

relief was as much as 20 m in places (fig. 204). Rapid melting was accelerated 

by the large surface area of the numerous surface features. By the end of 

the summer 1997, the surface of Bering Lobe had little local relief. In August 

2001, the time of the last observation made by the author, many areas of 

the generally flat surface of Bering Lobe showed scars from the intensive 

deformation that the glacier had undergone during the surge. In addition, 

extensional fractures (fig. 200) that had opened in the CMMB closed within 

24 months. Sauber and others (2000) recognized that substantial quantities of ice were transported from the accumulation area of Bering Glacier 

to the terminus region during the 1993–95 surge of Bering Glacier. They 

K228 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Figure 213.—12 August 2001 oblique aerial 

photograph of the nature of the terminus of 

Bering Glacier 6 years after the end of the 

1995 surge. The north-looking view shows 

the low-relief terminus of Bering Glacier 

and the recently emerged Whaleback 

Island. With the exception of break up of 

the terminus on the left side of the picture, 

calving is minimal. The Piedmont Lobe has 

a very low gradient, and the ice face ranges 

in height from less than 1 m to approximately 3 m in height. Photograph by Bruce 

F. Molnia, U.S. Geological Survey.

noted substantial rates of near-instantaneous uplift in the reservoir region 

in response. These rates ranged from 18.2±6.6 to 29.9±5.7 mm a–1. Sauber 

and Molnia (2000) also found that seismicity in the region of the dramatic 

thinning increased during the surge interval relative to the pre-surge period. 

Following the surge, during the 2-year post-surge period of 1998 to 2000, no 

earthquakes greater than M2.5 occurred.

Josberger and others (2001) measured the bathymetry, temperature, and 

conductivity of Vitus Lake during August 2001. They found that intense vertical convection in Vitus Lake was controlled by the salt content of the water 

and that there was strong saline stratification in the deeper portions of the 

lake. Thermal diffusion across the pycnocline (zone of change in water density as function of depth) may produce frazil ice growth, whereas melting of 

the glacier terminus produces convection at the margin of the lake.

Steller Glacier Activity

Steller Glacier did not actively surge during the 1993–95 Bering Glacier 

surge. In 1994, it began to develop a series of large subparallel cracks along 

the southern margin of the Steller Lobe, which were thought to be the result 

of stresses that were transmitted through the CMMB. By 1998, part of the 

southwestern terminus of the Steller Lobe experienced a pulse that caused 

it to advance several hundred meters. By 2000, much of the surface of the 

Steller Lobe was fractured, and the main trunk of Steller Glacier and the 

northern lobe of its terminus, which enters (and dams) Berg Lake, began 

a mini-surge. This surge continued through the late summer of 2001. The 

ice-cored lateral moraine on the northwestern side of the part of the Steller 

Lobe that ends in an unnamed lake, north of Nichawak Mountain, became 

broken up in 2000 and rapidly advanced into the lake (fig. 214). By fall 2001, 

the surge was over. The southern part of the terminus of the Steller Lobe did 

not show any evidence of been involved in the surge.

Glaciers of Waxell Ridge

Waxell Ridge separates the valley glacier section of Bering Glacier from the 

Bagley Ice Valley. Its high point is the summit of Mount Steller. Several dozen 

unnamed cirque and small valley glaciers, including Yushin, Betge, and Ovtsyn 

Glaciers, descend from the southern side of the ridge and the flanks of Mount 

Steller and flow toward Bering Glacier. During the last half of the 20th century 

and the early 21st century, every one of these glaciers has thinned and retreated. On the southern flank of Mount Steller, glaciers originate in four cirque basins. Before 1950, a single large glacier flowed out of each cirque basin and deFigure 214.—Two oblique aerial photographs of the effects of the surge on the icecored lateral moraine of the Steller Lobe, 

located north of Nichawak Mountain. A, 12 

August 2000 close-up north-looking view of 

the distal end of the lateral moraine. In late 

spring 2000, the ice-cored moraine started 

to disintegrate. By late summer, the Steller 

Lobe rapidly advanced into the adjacent 

lake. B, By 12 August 2001, the surge was 

over. In a higher altitude northeast-looking 

view, most of the seracs and ice pinnacles 

visible in 2000 have melted. The rapid 

advance of the terminus has also ceased. 

Photographs by Bruce F. Molnia, U.S. 

Geological Survey. Larger versions of these 

figures are available online.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K229
scended to the base of the mountain, connecting to one of two debris-covered 

valley glaciers that flowed into Bering Glacier. When observed from the air on 

8 August 2001 (fig. 215), glaciers in each cirque basin had separated into many 

discontinuous, retreating small ice masses, and cirque glaciers from three of 

the four basins no longer connected to the valley glaciers.

About a dozen small, unnamed, north-flowing glaciers descend from the 

northern side of Waxell Ridge into Waxell Glacier to nourish the Bagley Ice 

Valley. The longest is about 5 km long. Although some show evidence of a 

little thinning, all reach the Bagley Ice Valley. When observed from the air on 

12 August 2001, all were still snow covered.

Glaciers of the Southern Side of Juniper Island

Juniper Island is the 43-km-long east-west–trending ridge that separates 

the eastern Bagley Ice Valley from Jefferies Glacier. About a half dozen small, 

unnamed, south-flowing cirque glaciers descend from the ridge. All are rapidly retreating and thinning, and nearly all have lost contact with the Bagley 

Ice Valley (fig. 216). A conspicuous trimline, with a height of less than 50 to 

nearly 100 m, extends along the western third of the ridge.

Figure 215.—8 August 2001 view of Mount 

Steller showing the retreat of a number of 

unnamed glaciers from nearly every cirque 

basin on the south side of the mountain. 

When first observed by the author in 1974, 

each cirque basin was covered by ice and 

snow, and all of the glaciers descending 

from Mount Steller were in contact with 

the Bering Glacier. Photograph by Bruce F. 

Molnia, U.S. Geological Survey.

Figure 216.—12 August 2001 oblique aerial photograph of the Juniper Island area. 

View of the north side of the Bagley Ice 

Valley showing several rapidly retreating 

and thinning cirque glaciers. Photograph 

by Bruce F. Molnia, U.S. Geological Survey.

K230 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Holocene History of Bering Glacier

Much of what we know about the Holocene history of Bering Glacier is 

derived from (1) radiocarbon dating (14C) of subfossil wood, peat, shells, and 

organic debris recovered from glacial and fluvioglacial sediment exposed by 

late 20th century retreat of Bering Glacier (Molnia and Post, 1995) and (2) 

dendrochronological analysis of subfossil wood by Wiles and others (1999), 

who developed a floating tree-ring calendar dating to A.D. 1020. Wiles and 

Calkin (1994) have also shown the benefit of using tree-ring analysis to construct records of past glacial fluctuations in the late Holocene from boreal 

forest regions of Alaska. 

Molnia and Post (1995) constructed a late Pleistocene to present-day history for Bering Glacier. Between 15,000 and 12,000 yr B.P., the large late 

Pleistocene glacier that covered much of the Gulf of Alaska continental 

shelf began to retreat (Molnia, 1986). Interpretation of 14C-dated basal peat 

samples collected from bogs and fens developed on glacially eroded bedrock 

basins suggests that, by about 10,000 yr B.P. (if not earlier), the entire Gulf of 

Alaska continental shelf was ice free, and remnants of the large Pleistocene 

glacier that filled Bering Trough had retreated into the Chugach Mountains. 

At this time, the ancestral Bering Glacier did not have a piedmont lobe.

For about the next 5,000 years, the glacier remained in a retracted position. 14C-dated core samples from bogs and from loose marine shells of about 

8,000 yr B.P., all from the Tashalich Arm area, suggest that open-water marine conditions existed in the area of the piedmont lobe. An exposure of the 

Yakataga Formation containing an in place mollusk (Petricola?) emerged 

from under the pre-1993-surge terminus of the glacier in 1992 (fig. 217).

These mollusks lived in abandoned circular borings made by another bivalve 

mollusk of the family Pholadidae near the limit of low tide. These shells 

yielded a 14C-calibrated age of 4,860 yr B.P. Because the clam shells are preserved in perfect condition, it appears that they were buried quickly, possibly in outwash sand and gravel, by an advance of Bering Glacier into marine 

waters around 5,000 yr B.P. or by rapid sedimentation following a tectonic 

event. Shortly after the death of the clams, their entombing strata were uplifted above sea level. 14C dates were also obtained from the top and bottom of a 5-m-thick peat 

deposit (fig. 218), which was composed of leaves, bark, twigs, and seeds, 

interbedded with thin (1 mm to 2 cm) silt layers, and located adjacent to the 

outcrop containing the shells. The peat deposit, which lies just above the 

level of the Yakataga Formation outcrop, was exposed by glacier recession 

Figure 217.—Close-up photograph on 

13 August 1992 of an in situ mollusk 

(Petricola?) located within the beds of the 

Yakataga Formation that yielded a 14C-calibrated age of 4,860 yr B.P. The presence of 

the bivalve mollusk indicates that, at that 

time, the Bering Glacier must have been 

significantly smaller in area than it is at 

present. Photograph by Bruce F. Molnia, 

U.S. Geological Survey. 

Figure 218.—13 August 1992 photograph of 

part of a 5-m-thick peat deposit located on 

the northeast side of Tashalich Arm. The 14C 

age of the deposit ranges from 2,970 yr B.P. 

(top) to 4,360 yr B.P. (bottom). Photograph 

by Bruce F. Molnia, U.S. Geological Survey.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K231
between 1988 and 1993 and occurs about 0.5 km north of the shell-bed 

exposure described above. The top and bottom of the deposit (elevation 

of ~3 m) had 14C ages of 2,970 yr B.P. (top) and 4,360 and 4,130 yrs B.P. 

(bottom). 

Interpretation of the Tashalich Arm deposits and the bog chronology suggests that Bering Glacier was retracted for most, if not all, of the middle Holocene (fig. 219A). It certainly was not in an advanced position between 4,400 

and around 3,000 yrs B.P. Molnia and Post (1995) concluded that, following 

uplift, the Tashalich Arm area was a lowland bog occasionally inundated by 

marine or fluvial waters. If a glacial advance was responsible for the burial 

of the Yakataga Formation outcrop, it must have been short lived. The start 

of the accumulation of peat less than 500 years after the death of the clams 

indicates that local conditions were favorable for the growth of abundant 

vegetation.

Warm (peat-forming) conditions continued for at least 1,200 years. Sometime after 2,970 yr B.P., the Tashalich Arm peats were buried by outwash 

sand and gravel deposits, suggestive of the first advance of Bering Glacier in 

more than 7,000 years. Gravel deposition terminated about 2,000 yr B.P.

Following gravel deposition, a forest, the Major Forest Bed (MFB) of 

Muller and others (1991) grew to near maturity. Although subsequent glacial erosion and overriding by glacier ice have removed much of the forest, 

enough remains to identify in place trunks of spruce (Picea sp.) and hemlock (Tsuga sp.), many 200 years old and 40 cm in diameter (Muller and others, 1991). The similarity in both the age and the general level of the trees, 

usually about 10 m (range of 4–20 m) above the level of Vitus Lake, indicates 

that most, if not all, of the foreland was stable at the time the forest became 

established. Many 14C ages of tree stumps from various locations around eastern Vitus Lake indicate that the trees were growing between approximately 

2,000 and approximately 1,500 yr B.P. (A.D. 34 – A.D. 539) In all, 45 treering series from 36 MFB trees indicate that the MFB grew for 299 years from 

A.D. 277 through A.D. 525 (Wiles and others, 1999). Growth in some places 

was sustained until about 1,500 yr B.P. (fig. 219B). In some localities, silts up 

to 2 m thick buried and killed the trees. Floating calendar dating indicates 

that most or all of these trees then were killed by the deposition of up to 3 m 

of fine silt around their trunks during a period of 10 years or less (Wiles, written commun., 1994).

Soon thereafter, during the late 5th century through the early 6th century 

A.D. (around 1,400 yr B.P.), the standing trees were sheared off, presumably at the new ground level, quite probably by an advance of the glacier. As 

much as 20 m of layered outwash sand and gravel was deposited on top of the 

sheared forest, suggesting that a nearby glacier was actively advancing. Near 

Nichawak Mountain, a 14C age of 1,250±60 yr B.P. obtained from a sheared log 

suggests that the margin of the Steller Lobe also was advancing at this time. 

In several localities around the margin of Bering Glacier, outwash-plain 

sequences contain at least two more young forest layers. The more prominent, exposed on the western shore of Tashalich Arm where more than 100 

stumps have been counted and in canyons on islands in Vitus Lake, grew 

around 900 to 1,000 years ago (fig. 219C). Nearby, a forest overrun by the 

glacier’s last major advance includes some of the biggest trees exposed by 

glacier recession in Alaska. The largest, a spruce called Giant Log, has more 

than 375 growth rings 6 m above its roots and is approximately 1.6 m in maximum diameter. Tree-ring chronology indicates this spruce lived during the 

period A.D. 1256 to 1631 (Wiles and others, 1999). This log and several others nearby appear to have been directly buried by a glacier advance. Trees 

lived along the eastern margin of Vitus Lake from at least A.D. 1020 until A.D. 

1631 The youngest vegetation found in outwash gravels is a small number of 

in place alder bushes (Alnus sp.) that yield 14C ages of about 400 yr B.P. 

Figure 219.—A sequence of five sketch 

maps that depict positions and events 

in the Holocene history of the Bering 

Glacier. A, Map showing the retracted 

position of the terminus of Bering Glacier 

from approximately 5,000 yr B.P. until approximately 2,900 yr B.P. It is likely that 

Bering Glacier did not expand beyond 

the terminus position shown here at any 

time during the first 7,000 years after its 

latest Pleistocene retreat into the mountains. B, Map showing the first Holocene 

advance of the terminus of Bering Glacier 

some time after approximately 2,000 yr 

B.P. until approximately 1,500 yr B.P. This 

advance is documented by several forest 

deposits consisting of numerous rooted 

trees sheared off by an ice advance. C, Map 

showing the maximum position attained by 

the terminus of Bering Glacier during the 

Holocene. Dendrochronological evidence 

suggests that the Bering Glacier reached 

this position approximately 1,000 yr B.P. 

and remained at this maximum position 

until the first decade of the 20th century. 

D, Sketch map showing the position of 

Bering Glacier’s terminus before and at 

annual intervals (at the end of each summer) during the 1993–1995 surge. The north 

shore of Vitus Lake marks the area occupied by the Bering Glacier before the onset 

of the surge at the end of summer 1992. 

E, Sketch map showing the position of the 

terminus of Bering Glacier in 1996 following the end of the 1993–1995 surge. With 

the exception of Arrowhead Island, which 

was still essentially ice covered, the 2002 

position of the Bering Glacier was similar 

to that of the ice margin at the end of summer 1992 (D). Larger versions of these figures are available online. 

K232 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
GLACIERS OF ALASKA K233

During the past 1,500 years, the margin of Bering Glacier has fluctuated, 

advancing in some places and retreating in others. The net result is that the 

“Little Ice Age” maximum position, reached at many locations within the 

past 250 to 1,250 years, represents its greatest advance for at least the last 

7,000 years. This advance produced the neoglacial maximum moraine, which 

rims the glacier. A sheared spruce tree exposed along the western side of 

the Seal River, where the river cuts through the outer edge of the neoglacial 

maximum moraine, yields a calibrated 14C age of 1,053±50 yr B.P., suggesting 

that the earliest formation of the end moraine occurred no more than about 

1,000 years ago. 

Elsewhere, growth-ring counts of trees growing on the neoglacial terminal 

moraine, sampled between 1991 and 1993, yield maximum dendrochronological ages of more than 250 years (near Oaklee River) and more than 180 

years (south of Hanna Lake). The oldest living trees growing on the terminal 

moraine at the edge of the CMMB near Tashalich Arm are around 130 years 

old. These ages indicate that the active glacier margin may have remained 

close to the moraine until the middle 18th to early 19th centuries. Recession 

from the maximum position probably began within the last 200 to 250 years 

and had reached as much as 12 km before the advent of the 1993 surge.

In most cases, early 20th century positions of the terminus of Bering Glacier are available from early USGS maps and reports. Additional descriptions 

and maps by D.J. Miller (1958, 1961) provide details about the glacier in the 

1940s and 1950s. Oblique aerial photographs taken in 1938, 1946, and 1948 

and many vertical aerial photographs acquired since 1950 have been useful for mapping recent end and recessional moraines and for determining 

positions of the terminus. Comparing terminus positions shown on the early 

USGS maps with the 1993 pre-surge terminus position (fig. 219D) reveals 

that parts of the Bering Lobe have retreated as much as 12 km and thinned 

by more than 200 m, whereas parts of the Steller Lobe have receded a maximum of 4 km. The location of the glacier terminus during the 1993–95 surge 

(fig. 219D) and at the maximum reached before the latest retreat (fig. 219E) 

are derived from aerial photography.

Copper River Drainage Segment (Including Glaciers 

That Drain Directly into the Copper River Delta)

 A number of large glaciers making up part of the eastern shoreline of the 

lower Copper River drain into it or into the Copper River Delta (see fig. 208). 

A braided stream, the Copper River is the largest river that drains into the 

Gulf of Alaska. The Copper River is very turbid and, typically, its sediment 

plume extends far out into the Gulf of Alaska (see figs. 208A, C). Reimnitz 

(1966) determined that its typical suspended sediment load exceeds 

1.0×108 kg a–1. Hence, the Copper River transports more sediment than any 

other river in Alaska, including the Yukon River. About 1905, when large copper deposits were discovered in the Wrangell Mountains, a route to transport 

the copper ore to the port of Cordova was needed. Much of the route that 

was selected was within the Copper River valley and had to pass through a 

reach that contained many large glaciers (Post, 1976). Between 1906 and 

1910, the Copper River and Northwest Railway was constructed at a cost of 

about 20 million dollars. Mining officials were concerned that the railroad 

could easily be disrupted by advances of other glaciers and by changes in 

the glaciers on which some of the tracks had been laid. Through the 1930s, 

work crews continuously struggled to maintain the track and compensate for 

glacier flow and floods.
Martin River Glacier–Martin River–Lower Copper 

River–Bremner River–West Fork Tana River–Tana 

Glacier Subdivision

The Martin River Glacier–Martin River–lower Copper River–Bremner River–West Fork Tana River–Tana Glacier subdivision, located east of the Copper 

River, is the southeastern part of the Copper River drainage segment. It contains a number of large valley glaciers, including many that drain westward 

into the lower Copper River and the Copper River Delta. The subdivision has 

a maximum length of about 95 km and a maximum width of about 95 km. In 

this subdivision alone, an estimated area of 1,750 km2 is covered by glaciers, 

the largest being the combined Jefferies and Tana Glaciers, which feed many 

unnamed glaciers. Large glaciers in the north-central part of this subdivision 

not connected to the Bering Glacier System—such as Bremner, Fan, Martin 

River, Miles, and Wernicke Glaciers—are nourished by a series of interconnected accumulation areas west and north of the Bagley Ice Valley.

All glaciers (named and unnamed) listed have approximate lengths 

greater than 7 km. The areas of Martin River, Slide, and Johnson Glaciers 

are according to Field (1975b, p. 461–463). All other glacier areas have been 

estimated by the author. Glaciers in this subdivision include:

•	Martin River Glacier, the source of the Martin River (48 km, 290 km2)

•	Slide Glacier, named for a large 1964 earthquake-produced rockslide,

but previously called Sioux Glacier (10 km, 15 km2)

•	Johnson Glacier (11 km, 26 km2)

•	An unnamed glacier (9 km, 13.5 km2)

•	McPherson Glacier (12 km, 15 km2)

•	Miles Glacier (52 km, 225 km2)

•	Van Cleve Glacier, which drains into Van Cleve Lake, an ice-dammed

lake on the northern side of Miles Glacier (20 km, 30 km2)

•	Wernicke Glacier, located at the head of the Wernicke River (33 km,

60 km2)

•	Fan Glacier, which has both an eastern and a western terminus (34 km,

60 km2)

•	An unnamed glacier (12 km, 14 km2)

•	An unnamed glacier (7 km, 10 km2)

•	Bremner Glacier, which has three distinct outlets: Middle Fork Lobe,

North Fork Lobe, and Tana Lobe (44 km, 150 km2)

•	Tana Glacier (68 km, 100 km2), including the western part of the Jefferies Glacier (55 km, 300 km2

), a complex glacier with many outlet glaciers that is contiguous with the Tana Glacier and that is an eastern 

source of the Bagley Ice Valley.

Ragged Mountains

Less than a dozen small unnamed glaciers exist on the western flank of 

the Ragged Mountains, heading at elevations between 730 and 1,000 m. The 

longest is less than 1 km in length. All show conspicuous evidence of thinning and retreat. Several small glaciers, shown with lengths of approximately 

400 m on the USGS 1:250,000-scale Cordova topographic quadrangle map 

(1953) (appendix A), have disappeared.

Martin River Glacier

Martin River Glacier has a length of 48 km and an area of 290 km2 (Field, 

1975b, p. 461) and drains into the Copper River by way of its principal distributary, Martin River (see fig. 213). It has a large stagnant terminus, in places 

K234 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
fronted by a large ice-marginal lake formed by retreat during the 20th century. Elsewhere, the terminus is composed of stagnant ice thermokarst features 

or supports a mature spruce forest. The terminus of Martin River Glacier has 

three distinct lobes separated by bedrock ridges. The 7-km-long southeastern lobe, named Kushtaka Glacier, ends on an outwash plain north of Kushtaka Lake. The 3-km-long central lobe, called the Charlotte Lobe by Reid and 

Clayton (1963), is the smallest of the lobes. The unnamed southwestern lobe 

is more than 7 km wide. Like nearby Bering Glacier, the terminus of Martin 

River Glacier is presently stagnant, downwasting, and slowly retreating. The 

lower 11 km of the glacier is covered by an ablation moraine. This morainic 

debris cover ranges in thickness from 0.3 to 6.0 m, the average thickness being 0.7 m (Reid and Clayton, 1963). Clayton (1964) attributed the ablation 

till to concentration of subglacial debris brought to the surface by thrusting. 

The glacier’s 4-km-wide marginal zone hosts a number of funnel-shaped sinkholes, most supporting small thermokarst lakes. Reid and Clayton (1963) and 

Clayton (1964) determined that the sinkholes have an average diameter of 

250 to 300 m and depths of 30 to 90 m. Many are connected and partly filled 

with standing water and significantly increase the discharge of meltwater at 

the terminus when draining (Reid and Clayton,1963). 

Clayton (1964) described a multitude of thermokarst features that are 

present on the surface of the glacier, including ice caves, tunnels, sinking 

streams, dry stream beds, blind valleys, large springs, natural bridges, sinkholes coalescing to form compound sinkholes, thermokarst windows (unroofed parts of englacial or subglacial streams), and glacial uvulas (enlarged 

thermokarst windows where a stream flows from one side of the uvula across 

an exposed gravel bed and into another tunnel on its opposite side).

Martin River Glacier was observed many times from the air by the author 

between 1974 and 2004. During this 30-year interval, parts of the glacier 

have thinned by at least 30 m, and many of the sinkholes have expanded and 

connected. Likewise, the ice-marginal lake adjacent to the debris-covered 

terminus expanded perhaps 250 to 350 m by the melting of stagnant ice.

In a trend first noted by the author in 1974, many small unnamed glaciers—some former tributaries to Martin River Glacier, located adjacent to 

and along the northern margin of the glacier—have continued to thin and 

retreat. Some smaller cirque glaciers have disappeared (fig. 220).

Figure 220.—North-looking oblique aerial photograph on 31 July 1999 of a 

pair of small, retreating unnamed glaciers located adjacent to the north side of 

Martin River Glacier. Many small cirque glaciers in the Chugach Mountains are 

rapidly retreating. Photograph by Bruce F. Molnia, U.S. Geological Survey.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K235
Slide Glacier

Slide Glacier, located in a side valley adjacent to and west of Martin River 

Glacier, has a length of 10 km and an area of 15 km2 (Field, 1975b, p. 461) 

(fig. 221). Originally named Sioux Glacier, its current name is the result 

of several large 1964 earthquake-produced rockslides that covered approximately 17 percent of its accumulation area and approximately 90 percent of 

its ablation area with 2 m or more of debris (Post, 1967a). According to Post, 

three of the largest slides contained about 2.4×107 m3 of rock. Reid (1969) 

found that, before the earthquake, the glacier had been shrinking. From the 

beginning of the 20th century until 1964, the glacier had thinned by as much 

as 35 m. One and one-half years after the slides occurred, differential melting 

had caused the slide-debris-covered portion of the glacier to be 13 m higher 

than the adjacent bare ice. The next year, the elevation difference was 18 m. 

Hence, over three summer ablation cycles (1964, 1965, 1966), the average 

difference in ablation rate exceeded 5 m a–1. When the author observed the 

glacier from the air on 16 August 2000, he noted a small amount of retreat 

along the debris-covered terminus; a fresh trimline along the margin of the 

bare ice portion of the glacier suggested that it was continuing to thin.

Figure 221.—Two north-looking oblique 

aerial photographs of Slide Glacier, with 

1964 earthquake-produced rock avalanches covering much of its terminus area. 

A, 6 October 1974 view shows the debriscovered terminus region standing higher 

than the bare ice to its north. Photograph 

by Bruce F. Molnia, U.S. Geological Survey. 

B, 13 August 1990 view shows a second 

1964 rockslide moving into the terminus 

region. Photograph by Larry Mayo, U.S. 

Geological Survey.

K236 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Johnson Glacier

Johnson Glacier has a length of 11 km and an area of 26 km2 (Field, 1975b, 

p. 461). An unnamed glacier located to its north has a length of 9 km (Field, 

1975b, p. 462) and an area estimated by the author at around 13 km2. Both 

Johnson Glacier and the unnamed glacier showed signs of thinning and retreat when the author observed them from the air on 16 August 2000. Both 

were fronted by ice-marginal lakes and outwash plains indicative of significant 

retreat during the later half of the 20th century. Johnson Glacier was actively 

calving large icebergs into its proglacial lake. The size of its ice-marginal lake 

suggests at least 2.5 km of retreat from its late 1950s terminus position. 

McPherson Glacier

When Martin photographed McPherson Glacier in 1910, it had a length of 

12 km (Field, 1975b, p. 462) and an area estimated by the author at approximately 15 km2

; it extended to the floor of the Sheep Creek valley. By the 1960s, 

retreat of more than 2 km resulted in the disappearance of its terminal tongue 

and the exposure of an approximately 2.4×1.0-km lake basin that served as 

the reservoir for an ice-dammed proglacial lake. Several times during the operation of the Copper River and Northwestern Railroad, jökulhlaups washed 

out part of the railroad. Similarly, one or more jökulhlaups in 1962 or 1963 

washed out 1.5 km of the Copper River Highway (Post and Mayo, 1971). An 

additional jökulhlaup occurred in 1965 (Post, 1967a). When it was observed 

by the author from the air in 2000, McPherson Glacier had so significantly 

thinned and retreated that it could no longer impound water. Much of the 

floor of its former proglacial lake bed was covered with vegetation. 

Miles Glacier

Miles Glacier has a length of 52 km (Field, 1975b, p. 462) and an area estimated by the author at about 225 km2

. It retreated a maximum of 7.2 km between the 1880s and the late 1960s (Field, 1975b) and approximately another 2.9 km through 2004. Late 19th and early 20th century retreat produced 

Miles Lake, originally an elliptical ice-marginal lake along the southwestern 

margin of the glacier and now a near-circular body of water approximately 

8 km in diameter that fronts the entire terminus of Miles Glacier. Large numbers of icebergs calve off the terminus of the glacier and float across the lake, 

passing under Million Dollar Bridge as they drift downstream. To protect the 

bridge from Miles Glacier’s icebergs, massive steel and concrete iceberg deflectors were installed upstream of the bridge’s main supports when it was 

built in l909.

Before 1840, an advance of Miles Glacier resulted in its merging with 

Childs Glacier. This merger displaced the Copper River to the western side 

of its valley. Tarr and Martin (1914) suggested that, at that time, the river 

probably flowed in a tunnel or in a gorge that it cut through the glacier ice. A 

relict part of this expanded terminus is currently located on the western side 

of the river, a result of the Copper River’s cutting a new channel through this 

stagnant moraine during the 1940s. Between l885 and 1888, the terminus of 

Miles Glacier advanced to a position about 125 m from the site where Million 

Dollar Bridge would eventually be built. From 1888 to 1908, a 20-year-period 

of rapid retreat ensued. Miles Glacier’s terminus retreated as much as 4 km, 

an average retreat rate of 200 m a–1. A 2-year advance began in 1908; by 1910, 

the terminus had advanced approximately 1.25 km, an average advance rate 

of 610 m a–1. This advance occurred in spite of a calving event in July 1909 

in which an approximately 1-km2 section of Miles Glacier broke from the 

terminus and produced icebergs that completely filled Miles Lake (Tarr and 

Martin, 1914). When Miles Glacier was next described in 1931 by Wentworth 

and Ray (1936), it had retreated at least 1 km. Field (1975b) reported that, 

by 1957, the glacier had retreated an additional 800 to 1,800 m (see also AGS 

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K237
Glacier Studies Map No. 64–3–G6) (Field, 1965) and that, between 1957 and 

1968, maximum retreat was an additional 2 km.

Since 1991, the author has observed Miles Glacier from the air annually, 

most recently on 16 October 2002. During that period, the glacier has continued to retreat (fig. 222) and thin along its margins, losing contact with 

several tributaries and thinning to the point that former small ice-marginal 

lakes located along the glacier’s northern margin no longer fill with water.

Figure 222.—Two photographs of the terminus area of Miles Glacier in Miles Lake 

in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. 

A, 13 August 1994 vertical aerial photograph of the lower 6 km of Miles Glacier 

shows multiple evidence of thinning and 

retreat. An unnamed north-flowing tributary barely reaches the margin of Miles 

Glacier. USGS photograph no. 94V3–175 

by Austin Post, U.S. Geological Survey. 

B, 12 August 2001 east-looking oblique 

aerial photograph shows that the northern 

part of the terminus of Miles Glacier is characterized by stagnant, debris-covered ice, 

whereas the southern side is dominated by 

an active calving margin. Photograph by 

Bruce F. Molnia, U.S. Geological Survey.

K238 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Van Cleve Glacier

Van Cleve Glacier has a length of 20 km (Field, 1975b, p. 462) and an area 

estimated by the author at about 30 km2; it drains into Van Cleve Lake, an 

ice-dammed lake located adjacent to the northern side of Miles Glacier, approximately 7 km east of its terminus (fig. 223). The proglacial lake of Van 

Cleve Glacier was the source of several early 20th century jökulhlaups that 

significantly impacted the railroad (Post and Mayo, 1971) and, more recently, the Copper River Highway. Tarr and Martin (1914) thought that calving of 

Miles Glacier’s terminus was influenced by flooding from the lake. Twentieth 

century retreat of Van Cleve Glacier has lengthened the basin, but lowering 

the surface of both Miles and Van Cleve Glaciers has reduced the proglacial 

lake’s capacity; it continues, however, to be a source of jökulhlaups.

Large Glaciers North of Miles Glacier

Four large glaciers—Wernicke, Fan, Bremner, and Tana—flow down the 

northern side of the mountains and ridges west and north of the Bagley Ice 

Valley. All four glaciers show evidence of continuing thinning and retreat and 

the presence of stagnant ice.

Wernicke Glacier

Wernicke Glacier, the source of the Wernicke River, is located at the head of 

an approximately 12-km-long outwash plain that ends at the Copper River. It 

is located in the next large valley north of Miles Glacier and has a length of 52 

km (Field, 1975b, p. 462) and an area estimated by the author at about 60 km2. 

Along with Fan Glacier and the three lobes of the Bremner Glacier, it drains 

the northern side of the unnamed mountain ridge that contains the summits 

of Mount Tom White (3,419 m) and Mount Hawkins (3,140 m). Although its 

terminus positions have been compared on oblique aerial photographs taken 

Figure 223.—7 September 1994 vertical 

aerial photograph of the southern part of 

Van Cleve Lake where it is dammed by an 

unnamed distributary of Miles Glacier. This 

ice tongue, composed of ice flowing from 

both upglacier and downglacier, regulates 

both the depth and volume of Van Cleve 

Lake. In the 15 years between a photograph 

taken by Austin Post in 1969 (USGS photograph no. 69–R2–214) and this photograph, 

little change has occurred in the position of 

the terminus of the distributary glacier, but 

a 25-m-high strand zone along the shoreline of the lake indicates a thinning of the 

ice dam. The numerous folds in the medial 

moraines indicate the complex flow interaction between the western and adjacent 

eastern parts of the ice tongue. Note the 

right-angle bend made by the Miles Glacier 

medial moraine on the western side of the 

ice that flows into the unnamed distributary. USGS photograph no. 94–V4–236 

by Robert M. Krimmel, U.S. Geological 

Survey.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K239
by Bradford Washburn in 1938, the U.S. Army Air Forces in 1941, the USAF in 

1957, and the USGS in 1964 (Field, 1975b), Wernicke Glacier has not been the 

subject of scientific investigations (nor have most of the glaciers in this part of 

the Chugach Mountains). Although Field (1975b) did not quantify the amount 

of change that he observed, he reported that the end of the lower limit of ice 

has receded upglacier as the area covered by moraine has been extended. 

When the author observed it from the air on 16 August 2000, the terminus 

region of Wernicke Glacier showed significant evidence of recession and thinning and the presence of stagnant ice. Many former tributaries have retreated 

to the upper reaches of their cirques or have disappeared altogether. 

Fan Glacier

Fan Glacier bifurcates and has both an eastern and a western terminus; it 

has an approximate length of 34 km (Field, 1975b). The western terminus is 

located at the head of the South Fork of the Bremner River; the eastern terminus drains into the Middle Fork of the Bremner River. Fan Glacier has received little scientific investigation. However, a comparison by Field (1975b, 

p. 323) of terminus positions as depicted on oblique aerial photographs 

taken by Bradford Washburn in 1938, the U.S. Army Air Forces in 1941, the 

USAF in 1957, and the USGS in 1964 found a “recession from outer moraines, 

appreciable lowering of the ice surface, and progressive stagnation in the 

terminal area.” Field (1975b, p. 323) also reported that “all the smaller glaciers, some of which were formerly tributaries, also show evidence of marked 

recession.” A similar comparison by the author of the USGS Bering Glacier 

1:250,000-scale topographic quadrangle map (1959) (appendix A), an AHAP 

false-color infrared vertical aerial photograph acquired on 18 August 1978 

(fig. 224A), and oblique aerial photography of the terminus area of the glacier obtained by the author on 16 August 2000 shows significant evidence of 

recession and thinning and the presence of stagnant ice (fig. 224B).

East of the eastern terminus of Fan Glacier are several unnamed glaciers 

that formerly were tributaries to a connected Fan Glacier–Middle Fork Lobe 

of the Bremner Glacier ice mass (fig. 225). The western unnamed glacier 

N

A

Fan Glacier

Figure 224.—Two aerial photographs of 

Fan Glacier showing evidence of ongoing retreat, thinning, and stagnation. 

A, 18 August 1978 AHAP false-color infrared vertical aerial photograph of the debriscovered western terminus of Fan Glacier. 

All of the north-flowing glaciers in the photograph, including those that are former 

tributaries of Fan Glacier located on the 

south side of the glacier and those in the 

unnamed mountain ridge to the north, are 

actively retreating. Note the trimline and 

area of stagnation on the north side of Fan 

Glacier. AHAP photograph no. L111F6217 

from the GeoData Center, Geophysical 

Institute, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, 

Alaska. B, see facing page. 

K240 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Figure 224B.—16 August 2000 east-looking 

oblique aerial photograph of the debriscovered western terminus of Fan Glacier. 

The northern and southern margins show 

evidence of recent thinning. Numerous 

thermokarst features characterize the stagnant-ice terminus. Photograph by Bruce F. 

Molnia, U.S. Geological Survey.

Tana Lobe

North Fork Lobe

Bremner Glacier

Middle Fork Lobe

Fan

Glacier

N

Figure 225.—18 August 1978 AHAP falsecolor infrared vertical aerial photographic 

mosaic of the debris-covered Bremner 

Glacier with its three distinct outlets: 

Middle Fork Lobe, North Fork Lobe, and 

Tana Lobe. All of the termini of Bremner 

Glacier show evidence of stagnation, thinning, and active retreat. Four former tributaries to the Middle Fork Lobe are shown 

to its south. Note the elevated lateral moraine and trimline north of the North Fork 

Lobe. AHAP photograph nos. L111F6212 

and L111F6214 from the GeoData Center, 

Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska, 

Fairbanks, Alaska.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K241
previously flowed into the eastern Fan Glacier terminus; it has a length of 

13 km (Field, 1975b, p. 462) and an area estimated by the author of about 

14 km2. Adjacent to it on the east is another unnamed glacier that terminates 

between the glaciers; it has a length of 9 km (Field, 1975b, p. 463) and an area 

estimated by the author at about 10 km2. To the east of this latter unnamed 

glacier are two smaller unnamed glaciers. When the author observed them 

from the air on 16 August 2000, all showed significant evidence of recession 

and thinning and the presence of stagnant ice.

Bremner Glacier 

Bremner Glacier has three distinct distributaries (Middle Fork Lobe, 

North Fork Lobe, and Tana Lobe); it has a length of 44 km (Field, 1975b, 

p. 463) and an area estimated by the author at about 150 km2. Like adjacent Fan Glacier, it has received little scientific investigation. A similar comparison by Field (1975b, p. 323) of terminus positions depicted on oblique 

aerial photographs taken by Bradford Washburn in 1938, the U.S. Army Air 

Forces in 1941, the USAF in 1957, and the USGS in 1964 found a “recession 

from outer moraines, appreciable lowering of the ice surface, and progressive stagnation in the terminal area.” Field (1975b, p. 323) also reported that 

“all the smaller glaciers, some of which were formerly tributaries, also show 

evidence of marked recession.” Likewise, a similar comparison by the author 

of the USGS Bering Glacier 1:250,000-scale topographic quadrangle map 

(1959) (appendix A), an AHAP false-color infrared photograph acquired 

on 18 August 1978 (fig. 225), vertical aerial photographs, and oblique aerial 

photographs of the terminus area of the glacier obtained by the author on 16 

August 2000 shows significant evidence of recession and thinning and the 

presence of stagnant ice.

Tana Glacier

Tana Glacier has a length of 68 km (Field, 1975b, p. 463) and an area estimated by the author at about 100 km2

, including the western part of Jeffries 

Glacier. Its primary sources are the valley north and east of Juniper Island, 

including the western end of an accumulation area of the Jefferies Glacier; 

the western Bagley Ice Valley; and an unnamed east-flowing tributary that 

drains the eastern part of the accumulation area that feeds the Bremner Glacier. Much of the lower glacier is flanked by prominent trimlines and freshly 

exposed lateral moraine. Brabb and Miller (1962) reported that, during the 

late Wisconsinan, Tana Glacier may have been more than 200 m thicker than 

it was in the late 1950s.

The glacier has two distributaries. The primary northern terminus is stagnant and is characterized by a network of debris-covered thermokarst pits 

and open water. The eastern terminus is similar, showing multiple evidence 

of stagnant ice, thinning, and retreat, as an 18 August 1978 AHAP photograph shows (fig. 226). In 1975, Field (1975b, p. 324) reported that aerial 

photographs of the glacier obtained in 1938, 1957, and 1960 “show no appreciable change in the position of the terminus, but there appears to have 

been some surface lowering and progressive stagnation.” Things changed 

significantly during the later 20th century. Observations of the terminus area 

made by the author from the air between 1995 and 2001 confirm continued 

thinning and the presence of stagnant ice in both termini and an increase in 

the volume of water associated with the two stagnant lobate termini. Behind 

the termini, the lower 6 km of the glacier is covered by moraine, and the 

glacier ice appears virtually stagnant. Much of the margin of Tana Glacier 

shows significant elevated moraines and trimlines, indicative of substantial 

late 20th century thinning. 

Through the first one-third to one-half of the 20th century, the eastern 

terminus of the glacier dammed the flow of water from Granite Creek, forming Barkley Lake, an ice-dammed lake (Moffitt, 1918) that occupied the lower part of the Granite Creek valley. Annual draining of the lake was through 

K242 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Tana Glacier

Eastern terminus

N

Figure 226.—18 August 1978 AHAP falsecolor infrared vertical aerial photograph 

of the retreating, partially debris-covered 

terminus of the eastern distributary of Tana 

Glacier. The former bed of Barkley Lake is 

visible just east of the distributary terminus, as are a number of former tributaries. 

AHAP photograph no. L113F6174 from the 

GeoData Center, Geophysical Institute, 

University of Alaska, Fairbanks, Alaska.

an ice-marginal channel. By the late 1940s, thinning and narrowing of the 

glacier resulted in unimpeded flow of Glacier Creek. Stone (1955) reported 

that, before 1951, the lake was “continuously empty for a minimum of three 

to five years.” A significant jökulhlaup occurred in July 2003.

The Bremner River–Upper Copper River–Chitina River–

Tana River Subdivision (Located East of the Copper 

River)

Every glacier in this subdivision is unnamed. All are less than 7 km long, 

with the exception of an unnamed glacier located at the head of the Little 

Bremner River (fig. 227), with a length of 17 km (Field, 1975b, p. 463) and an 

area estimated by the author at approximately 40 km2. Many of the glaciers 

in this area were observed from the air during several overflights made by the 

author in August 2000; all showed evidence of thinning and retreat.

Glaciers in this area exist in several locations. About two dozen small unnamed glaciers are located west of Tana River and north of North Fork Lobe 

and Tana Lobe of Bremner Glacier. There are also about 100 small unnamed 

glaciers from west of Hanagita Peak to the eastern side of Little Bremner 

River and Tebay River. The largest glacier between Little Bremner River and 

Tebay River is the previously mentioned 17 km unnamed glacier. It was actively retreating when observed in 2000. There are several other medium 

sized glaciers, including an unnamed glacier located at the head of Dewey 

Creek. The earliest photographs of glaciers in this area were made during the 

first half of the second decade of the 20th century and show that retreat was 

underway (USGS Photo Library Moffit photograph 517). In the northwestern 

part of this subdivision, about 40 small unnamed glaciers drain into Canyon 

Creek and its tributaries or Copper River. All glaciers observed have been 

retreating for most, if not all, of the 20th century and showed significant evidence of thinning and retreat. 

Figure 227.—Photograph by F.H. Moffitt, 

taken between 1910 and 1915, showing 

early 20th century evidence of thinning and 

retreat of an unnamed glacier located at 

the head of the Little Bremner River. USGS 

Photo Library photograph Moffitt 515. 

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K243
The Western Copper River Delta–Lower Copper River–

Tasnuna River Subdivision (Located on the West Side of 

the Copper River) 

This subdivision contains a number of south-, east-, and north-flowing valley glaciers. Several have played a significant role in the early 20th century 

history of mineral development and extraction of ore. The Copper River and 

Northwest Railway was constructed on approximately 9 km of Allen Glacier, 

about 0.5 km of moraine-covered ice of Grinnell Glacier, and about 0.75 km 

of the terminal moraine of Heney Glacier. Many jökulhlaups from more than 

a dozen glaciers in this subdivision disrupted railroad operations. As recently 

as the summer of 2001, a flood of unknown origin washed out a segment of 

the Copper River Highway.

In this subdivision, the lengths (>8 km) and areas of glaciers are from 

measurements made by Field (1975b, p. 467–468) and include: Sherman 

Glacier (13 km, 55 km2), Sheridan Glacier (24 km, 101 km2), Scott Glacier 

(24 km, 160 km2), Marshall Glacier (8 km, 8 km2), Tasnuna Glacier (13 km, 

28 km2), Woodworth Glacier (23 km, 185 km2), Schwan Glacier (23 km, 

131 km2), Heney Glacier (19 km, 72 km2), Allen Glacier (31 km, 230 km2), 

Childs Glacier (19 km, 100 km2), and Goodwin Glacier (9 km, 13 km2).

Saddlebag Glacier

Saddlebag Glacier is the southeasternmost glacier in this subdivision. Figure 228, a 13 August 1982 Alaska AHAP photomosaic of this area, shows 

the geographic relationship of Saddlebag Glacier and adjacent Sherman and 

Sheridan Glaciers. When it was photographed by the author on 12 August 

2001, the glacier was located at the head of an approximately 3.5-km-long icemarginal lake, dammed by a large end moraine that was probably deposited 

Sherman Glacier

Sheridan Glacier

Saddlebag

Glacier

N

Figure 228.—13 August 1982 AHAP falsecolor infrared vertical aerial photographic 

mosaic of the area between the Copper 

River (east) and the Glacier River (west) 

that flows from the Sheridan Glacier. 

Shown are Saddlebag Glacier (the southeasternmost glacier in this subdivision), 

Sherman Glacier, and Sheridan Glacier. 

All show evidence of thinning and retreat. 

A large 1964 earthquake-generated rock 

avalanche covers the terminus of Sherman 

Glacier. AHAP photograph nos. L115F1516 

and L115F1517 from the GeoData Center, 

Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska, 

Fairbanks, Alaska.

K244 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
during the “Little Ice Age” maximum. Field (1975b, p. 345) reported that, in 

1899, the terminus of the glacier occupied the lake basin but was “already 

beginning to withdraw from the end moraine.” Retreat was slow, and an ice 

tongue filled much of the basin through the late 1950s. Between 12 June 

1959, when it was photographed by the USFS, and 25 August 1960, when it 

was photographed by Post, “a massive break-up of the tongue” occurred and 

the glacier retreated about 1.5 km. Between 1960 and 2001, approximately 

2.0 km of additional retreat occurred, accompanied by significant thinning.

Sherman Glacier

Sherman Glacier (figs. 58, 228, 229) has a length of 13 km and an area 

of 55 km2 (Field, 1975b, p. 468). It and adjacent Sheridan Glacier (fig. 228) 

both drain into the delta of the Copper River through the Glacier River. The 

surface of the lower 5 to 6 km of Sherman Glacier is covered with rock debris 

deposited from a massive landslide that occurred during the 27 March l964 

Alaska “Good Friday” Earthquake (figs. 58, 228). The powerful earthquake 

triggered many large rock and debris avalanches that were deposited on the 

surfaces of more than 50 glaciers in the Chugach Mountains. The Sherman 

Glacier landslide was among the largest of all, covering an area of about 8.5 

km2, about one-third of the glacier’s ablation area (Post, 1967b). The volume 

of debris that was deposited on the glacier surface was about 1×107 m3 (Bull, 

1969) (fig. 229A). When the author visited on 12 August 2000, the debriscovered ice stood about 35 m higher than the bare ice immediately upglacier 

from it. In the 36 years since the landslide, the 1.3- to 8-m-thick debris layer 

had insulated the ice beneath it and thus retarded its ablation.

Before the landslide, Sherman Glacier had been retreating. Tuthill and 

others (1968) described both an outer moraine, dating from about 1880, and 

an inner moraine, dating from about 1910, within 1.2 km of the 1964 terminus position. In the years between 1910 and 1959, the glacier retreated 

970 m, yielding an average retreat rate of about 20 m a–1. During the 5-year 

period before the earthquake (1959–64), the glacier retreated approximately 

230 m, yielding an average retreat rate of approximately 46 m a–1.

Bull (1969) speculated that a surge of this previously receding glacier 

would occur during the 1970s. He expected rates of advance of 50 to 100 m a–1

that would persist for perhaps a decade. As of the author’s last observation 

from the air in August 2004, the predicted surge had not occurred. Bull and 

Marangunic (1967, 1968) noted that, in the year following the slide, the ice 

surface below the slide was lowered between 8 and 10 m. They attributed 

much of this loss to anomalously high air temperatures resulting from the 

heating of downglacier air as it passed over the surface of the debris slide. 

Thus, the heat reflected by the slide contributed to increased melting in the 

bare ice in the ablation area. By 29 August 1984, 20 years after the landslide, 

almost all of the bare ice below the slide had melted away, and the debris 

cover had been carried downvalley about 2 km (fig. 229C). The terminus was 

in nearly the same position in 1984 as it was in 1964, but the debris-covered 

ice was significantly thicker. All of the landslide debris was derived from one 

mountain, Shattered Peak. Shreve (1966, 1968) examined the mechanics of 

the slide and concluded that the debris had moved downglacier on a cushion 

of air at velocities of up to 75 km h–1. Part of the debris glided over a ridge 

about 130 m high.

Since 1984, the position of the terminus has changed only minimally, with 

stream erosion and melting of stagnant ice resulting in a few meters of annual 

retreat. However, many of the tributaries of Sherman Glacier are actively retreating. By 2002, one unnamed tributary on its northern side had separated 

into seven smaller glaciers.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K245
Figure 229.—Three aerial photographs 

of the Sherman Glacier. A, Oblique aerial 

photograph taken 24 August 1964 of a major rock avalanche that occurred during 

the 1964 Alaska earthquake and covered 

about 35 percent of the ablation area (Post, 

1967b). The volume of the 1.3 to 8-m-thick 

debris was about 1×107

 m3 (Bull, 1969). The 

debris layer acted to insulate the buried ice 

and thus retard ablation, and Bull (1969) 

speculated that an advance of this previously receding glacier (Field, 1975, p. 347) 

would occur during the 1970s. Photograph 

no. K642–108 by Austin Post, University 

of Washington. B, 22 August 1979 vertical 

aerial photograph of the expanse of the terminus of Sherman Glacier. In the 15 years 

since the earthquake, all of the bare ice between the rockslide and the terminus melted away. USGS photograph no. 79–V2–186 

by Austin Post, U.S. Geological Survey. 

C, By 29 August 1984, the debris cover had 

been carried down valley by the moving ice 

about 2 km. Although the terminus was in 

nearly the same position in 1984 as in 1964, 

the debris-covered ice was much thicker 

in 1984. USGS photograph no. 84–R1–222 

taken on 29 August 1984 by Austin Post, 

U.S. Geological Survey. Photographs and 

caption courtesy of Robert M. Krimmel, 

U.S. Geological Survey. Photographs 

taken by the author in August 2000 show 

little change in the position of the terminus. A lowering of the base level in nearby 

Sherman Lake has lowered the surface of 

the outwash plain in front of the glacier. The 

elevation difference between the covered 

and bare ice is currently about 35 m.

K246 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Sheridan Glacier 

The terminus of Sheridan Glacier is only about 2.5 km to the west of Sherman Glacier. However, Sheridan Glacier, with a length of 24 km and an area 

of 101 km2 (Field, 1975b, p. 468), is a much larger glacier. The terminus of 

Sheridan Glacier is a small retreating piedmont lobe with a width of more 

than 5 km (fig. 58). At the beginning of the 21st century, nearly all of the 

margin of the retreating and thinning glacier was fronted by a single large 

ice-marginal lake (figs. 228, 230). 

In 1965, Tuthill and others (1968) examined a series of concentric recessional moraines and related deposits located as much as 2.5 km beyond the 

present margin of the glacier; by analyzing these deposits, they were able to 

construct a late Pleistocene-Holocene history for Sheridan Glacier and adjacent Sherman Glacier. Tuthill and others (1968) determined that, at the 

end of the Pleistocene Epoch, the two glaciers were joined and terminated 

about 5 km south of the 1965 position of the terminus of Sheridan Glacier. 

Subsequently, but at an unknown date, Sheridan Glacier retreated to a point 

north of its present margin. Sheridan Glacier remained in a retracted position until less than about 2,000 years ago, when it readvanced. Sheridan Glacier remained at this location until about A.D. 300, after which it underwent 

a series of fluctuations in position, culminating in an advance that produced 

a moraine in about A.D. 1700 (300 years ago). This moraine is the outermost 

of the concentric recessional moraines that they examined. At least four 

younger moraines exist between the A.D. 1700 moraine and the present-day 

margin of Sheridan Glacier.

Tarr and Martin (1914) reported that Seton Karr visited the glacier in 

1886 and noted a fresh moraine resulting from a recent advance or stillstand. 

In 1910, Tarr and Martin (1914, p. 390) observed the glacier and noted that 

“The presence of thick mature forest up to the very edge of the bulb [bulbshaped terminus] indicates that the glacier has not been more extensive for 

a score of years, perhaps for a century.” When observed twenty-one years 

later, Wentworth and Ray (1936) described the margin as having retreated 

between 100 and 125 m and noted that the surface of Sheridan Glacier was 

showing signs of thinning produced by ablation. An average retreat rate for 

this interval would be about 5 to 6 m a–1.

Field (1975b, p. 350), on the basis of his own observations and on the analysis of aerial photographs collected by Bradford Washburn in 1938, the U.S. 

Army Air Forces in 1941, and the USAF in 1950, concluded that “the massive moraine nearest the present terminus was formed in the early or middle 

1930’s.” In the approximately 30 years between the date of the formation of 

the moraine and the middle 1960s, Field (1975b, p. 350) reported that “recession has varied from around 200 m on the ridges to perhaps 500 m. in the 

lake basins.” Hence, during this period, retreat rates averaged between 7 and 

17 m a–1. Without quantifying the amount of change, Field (1975, p. 351) reported that, through 1971, the glacier “showed considerable further lowering 

of the ice surface and some recession of the terminus since 1965 and 1968.”

Field (1975b, p. 351) described the evolution of the ice-marginal lakes 

fronting Sheridan Glacier through 1971. He stated that “The lakes were only 

beginning to form by the recession of the terminus in 1931.” Through examination of the USGS 1:63,300-scale Cordova C-4 topographic quadrangle map 

(1953) (appendix B), he determined that, by 1950, five lakes had formed: 

one at the western end of the glacier, draining into the Glacier River; two 

1-km-wide lakes along the front of the middle part of the terminus; and two 

small lakes along the eastern margin of the glacier. All had separate outlets. 

On the basis of his 1965 observations, Field (1975b) noted that the five lakes 

still maintained their unique existence but that the level of one of the eastern 

lakes had dropped when an ice dam was removed. By 1971, the drainage of 

all of the lakes entered the two middle lakes, generally englacially, and all of 

Sheridan and Sherman Glaciers’ drainage flowed through the middle lake's 

outlet to the Gulf of Alaska.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K247
Recent changes in the evolution of the ice-marginal lake system were 

studied by Bailey and others (2000). They found that, by 1981, the ice front 

in the center of the glacier had receded and allowed the two middle lakes 

and the western lake to combine. This merging was accompanied by about 

10 m of downcutting of the outlet through the A.D. 1700 moraine. By 22 August 1979 (fig. 230), the basins of the eastern lakes had filled with sediment, 

and they had completely disappeared. When photographed by the author in 

October 1974, an isolated, small eastern lake still remained. Increased availability of sediment after 1964 from Sherman Glacier may have been a factor 

in the subsequent infilling of the basin.

Unlike any other part of Sheridan Glacier, the southwesternmost margin 

is debris covered, possibly from a 1964 earthquake-generated landslide. This 

debris mantle has protected the terminus in this area from retreat. Repeated 

visits by the author to this part of the glacier between 1974 and 2002 have 

documented that the rate of thinning is reduced and the rate of retreat is 

slower than that of the bare ice to the east. Before 1974, a small lake had 

formed at the western margin of the debris-covered ice. By 2002, it had a 

maximum length of around 600 m.

On 17 August 2000 (fig. 231), the author observed from the air that a 

significant amount of calving was occurring along the eastern margin of the 

glacier. Continued thinning of the glacier may have resulted in a floating ice 

tongue that was rapidly disintegrating.

A comparison of 1950s map data of the glacier with data obtained during 

annual airborne profiling surveys in the middle 1990s indicates that Sheridan 

Glacier thinned by 0.725 m a–1 and had a volume decrease of 0.0729 km3

 a–1

(K.A. Echelmeyer, W.D. Harrison, V.B. Valentine, and S.I. Zirnheld, University of Alaska Fairbanks, written commun., March 2001).

Scott Glacier

Scott Glacier (fig. 232) has a length of 24 km and an area of 160 km2 (Field, 

1975b, p. 468). Its approximately 2-km-wide terminus is fronted by a braided outwash plain that stretches from valley wall to valley wall. Part of the 

outwash plain is incised, probably a result of tectonic uplift caused by the 

1964 earthquake. When Field (1975b) compared aerial photographs of the 

terminus area made by Bradford Washburn in 1938 and by Austin Post in 

the 1960s, he noted that the terminus had retreated about 200 m (a rate of 

~7 m a–1) and that a wider marginal zone had developed. When the author 

photographed the terminus area on 17 August 2000 (fig. 232B), the entire 

ice margin was covered by sediment, the result of in place melting of at least 

Figure 230.—22 August 1979 vertical aerial photograph shows the terminus of the 

Sheridan Glacier. The large trimline on the 

west side of Sheridan Glacier documents 

more than 50 m of 20th century thinning. 

USGS photograph no. 79–V2–190 by Austin 

Post, U.S. Geological Survey. A larger version of this figure is available online. 

Figure 231.—17 August 2000 oblique 

aerial photograph of the ice-marginal lakes 

developed in front of Sheridan Glacier. 

East-looking view across the terminus of 

Sheridan Glacier shows the lake bounded 

by an early 20th century recessional moraine to the south and the ice margin to the 

north. A large amount of calving is occurring. The small basin located on the southwest corner of the Sheridan Glacier has yet 

to connect with the main lake. Photograph 

by Bruce F. Molnia, U.S. Geological Survey.

K248 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
15 medial moraines, all of which stood above the bare ice surface. The height 

of the marginal zone had more than doubled since the 1960s.

A comparison of 1950s map data of the glacier with data obtained during 

annual airborne profiling surveys in the middle 1990s indicated that Scott 

Glacier thinned by 0.672 m a–1 and had a 0.0112-km3

 a–1 volume decrease 

(K. A. Echelmeyer, W. D. Harrison, V.B. Valentine, and S.I. Zirnheld, University of Alaska Fairbanks, written commun., March 2001).

Glaciers Draining into the Tasnuna River

South and east of Marshall Pass, six north-flowing valley glaciers drain 

into the Tasnuna River (from west to east): Marshall Glacier, Tasnuna Glacier, two unnamed glaciers, Woodworth Glacier, and Schwan Glacier. All 

rapidly retreated during the second half of the 20th century. Several were 

documented to be retreating at even earlier dates.

Woodworth Glacier

When Schrader (1900) photographed Woodworth Glacier (length 23 km, 

area 185 km2) (Field, 1975b, p. 467) in 1898, its terminus was located in the 

Tasnuna River. By August 1938, when it was photographed again by Bradford 

Washburn (fig. 233), the glacier had retreated 800 to 900 m. By 1950, the 

Figure 232.—Two aerial photographs of 

Scott Glacier. A, 24 July 1987 vertical aerial 

photograph of the retreating and thinning 

terminus of Scott Glacier and the proximal 

part of its braided outwash plain. Trimlines 

and several thermokarst pits developing 

in the terminus region are indicators of 

the declining health of the glacier. As with 

Sherman Glacier, the elevation of the surface of the outwash plain of Scott Glacier 

is being lowered to compensate for 1964 

earthquake uplift. USGS photograph no. 

87–V2–083 by Robert M. Krimmel, U.S. 

Geological Survey. A larger version of this 

figure is available online. B, 17 August 2000 

north-looking oblique aerial photograph 

shows the terminus of the Scott Glacier 

and its adjacent outwash plain. The looping medial moraines that have developed 

since 1987 are a result of variations in flow 

between Scott Glacier and its unnamed 

tributary on the left. Elevated medial moraines, projecting beyond the leading 

edge of the terminus, are indicators of the 

continued retreat and thinning of Scott 

Glacier. Photograph by Bruce F. Molnia, 

U.S. Geological Survey.

Figure 233.—August 1938 near-vertical aerial photograph of an esker, several recessional moraines, and fluted topography on 

the outwash deposits in front of the retreating terminus of the Woodworth Glacier. 

Photograph by Bradford Washburn, 

Museum of Science (Boston), negative 

no. 1825.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K249
date of the photography used to prepare the USGS Valdez A-3 1:63,360-scale 

topographic quadrangle map (appendix B), the glacier had retreated another 

500 m; Field (1975b) reported that there was little change from this position 

through 1964. By 25 August 1978, approximately 300 m of additional retreat 

occurred, and an ice-marginal lake had begun to form (fig. 234). When the author observed the glacier from the air on 3 September 2002, it had retreated 

approximately an additional 800 m.

Schwan Glacier

Schwan Glacier has a length of 23 km and an area of 131 km2 (Field, 

1975b, p. 467). Its 1950 position was approximately 2.5 km behind a 19th 

century end moraine that marks its most recent maximum position, probably achieved during the “Little Ice Age.” Through the late 1930s, retreat 

totaled about 2 km, but a small moraine visible in Bradford Washburn’s 1937 

and 1938 aerial photographs suggests that the glacier margin was stable or 

perhaps even slightly advancing (Field, 1975b). By 1941, the terminus had 

retreated about 50 m. When the glacier was next photographed in 1950, approximately 350 m of additional retreat had occurred. Through 1964, the 

glacier retreated an additional 300 m. By 9 July 1978, approximately 250 m of 

additional retreat had occurred, and an ice-marginal lake had begun to form 

(fig. 235). When the author observed the glacier from the air on 3 September 

2002, it had retreated an estimated additional 600 m, and the ice-marginal 

lake fronted the entire terminus.

Small Glaciers Between Schwan and Heney Glaciers 

East of Schwan Glacier and just west of the confluence of the Tasnuna and 

Copper Rivers, about six small, unnamed, north-facing retreating glaciers 

occur in steep U-shaped valleys separated by distinctive arête ridges. Most 

have retreated so much that the lower half of their valleys are ice free.

Figure 234.—25 August 1978 AHAP falsecolor infrared vertical aerial photograph of 

the lower reaches of Woodworth Glacier, 

including the glacier’s retreating terminus 

and the developing ice-marginal lake along 

its western terminus. Also shown are the 

retreating and thinning Tasnuna Glacier 

(upper left) and Tasnuna River (upper 

right). The area photographed by Bradford 

Washburn (fig. 233) is located north of 

the ice-marginal lake and is covered by 

vegetation. Many of the north- and westfacing tributaries on the eastern side of the 

Tasnuna Glacier no longer make contact 

with the trunk glacier. AHAP photograph 

no. L110F7219 from the GeoData Center, 

Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska, 

Fairbanks, Alaska.

K250 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Heney Glacier

Heney Glacier has a length of 19 km and an area of 72 km2 (Field, 1975b, 

p. 467). In 1910, Lawrence Martin visited the glacier and observed that a 

large part of the terminus was covered by a thick forest and fronted by a terminal moraine. He determined “that the last expansion of the bulb of Heney 

Glacier was about a century ago and that for over 76 years there has been no 

period of activity capable of breaking up the outer portion of the bulb” (Tarr 

and Martin, 1914, p. 449). He also observed that the central part of the terminus showed no recession from this moraine but that the flanks showed 800 to 

1,400 m of retreat (Tarr and Martin, 1914).

In 1910, the Copper River and Northwest Railroad was constructed on the 

surface of this moraine (Tarr and Martin, 1914, pl. CLXXVIII, ff p. 464). Before Martin’s next visit in 1911, a pulse or minor surge event shattered much 

of the stagnant ice in the terminus region, rendering it impassable. However, 

it did not cause terminus advance and did not disrupt the railroad track. 

Field (1975b) reported that little change occurred through 1937. Between 

1937 and 1950, about 200 m of retreat occurred; approximately 300 to 350 m 

of additional retreat occurred through 1964. When the author observed the 

glacier from the air in 2002, it was estimated to have retreated more than 1.4 

km, and an ice-marginal lake fronted the entire terminus.

Allen Glacier

Allen Glacier, located about 11 km north of Childs Glacier, has a length of 

31 km and an area of 230 km2 (Field, 1975b, p. 468). Unlike Childs and Miles 

Glaciers, which presently calve icebergs directly into the Copper River, the 

retreating terminus of Allen Glacier is as much as 3 km from the river and is 

fringed by an estimated 15-km-long arcuate end moraine that separates the 

river from a broad area of vegetation- and moraine-covered stagnant ice. The 

first map showing the position of the terminus of Allen Glacier was made by 

D.C. Witherspoon for the USGS in 1900. It was revised in 1906 and published 

by Tarr and Martin in 1914. When Lawrence Martin visited and mapped the 

glacier in 1910 (Tarr and Martin, 1914, pl. CLXXIV, ff p. 448), he found alders 

Figure 235.—9 July 1978 AHAP false-color 

infrared vertical aerial photograph of the 

lower reaches of the Schwan Glacier, including the glacier’s retreating terminus 

and the developing ice-marginal lake. Also 

shown are several unnamed retreating 

and thinning glaciers to its east and west. 

As with the adjacent Woodworth Glacier, 

many of its tributaries no longer make 

contact with the Schwan Glacier. Tasnuna 

River can be seen flowing across the upper 

part of the photograph. AHAP photograph 

no. L110F6220 from the GeoData Center, 

Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska, 

Fairbanks, Alaska.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K251
(Alnus sp.) as old as 67 years growing on this moraine. About 9 km of the bed 

of the Copper River and Northwest Railroad was constructed on stagnant 

ice along the river’s edge, which Tarr and Martin described as “the end of 

a living glacier” (Tarr and Martin, 1914, p. 445). During construction, Tarr 

and Martin observed that “The ballast beneath the ties and rails of the railway actually rests upon the ice, not upon an abandoned moraine as at Heney 

Glacier” (Tarr and Martin, 1914, p. 445). In 1912, the northeastern part of 

the terminus began to advance; by 1913, as much as 800 m of advance had 

occurred (Wentworth and Ray, 1936). In 1931, Wentworth and Ray (1936, p. 

923) visited the glacier and noted that “A more marked stagnation had set in, 

and the area of active ice movement had been thrown back, perhaps several 

thousand feet, from the northeast margin of 1910.” This advance had only a 

minimal impact on the railroad; for more than 20 years, trains crossed the 

glacier margin daily in both directions.

The glacier was photographed by Bradford Washburn in 1938 and by the 

USN in 1957. In the 47 years between Martin’s 1910 map and the 1957 photograph, the northern part of the terminus retreated between 400 m and 1 

km, while the middle and southern part of the terminus retreated more than 

2 km. Additionally, the glacier had thinned more than 100 m over most of the 

lobate terminus and at the head of the piedmont lobe, where the main trunk 

flows from its valley (Field, 1975b). Post (1967a) reported that, beginning in 

the early 1960s, the glacier again began to advance. Between 1963 and 1964, 

he noted that the glacier advanced 300 m. Similarly, between 1964 and 1965, 

the glacier advanced an additional 300 m. This advance reactivated much of 

the distal part of the stagnant ice area.

The 1964 earthquake caused three large rock avalanches that fell onto the 

surface of Allen Glacier. The largest, termed “Allen I,” had an area of about 2 

km2 and a length of about 3 km. Before 29 July l965, another rockslide—larger and longer than any that took place during the earthquake—occurred. 

This slide had an area of about 7.5 km2 and a length of about 7.5 km and 

consisted of material that was probably loosened by the 1964 earthquake 

(Post, 1967a).

In the 36 years between Post’s 1966 observations, 17 August 2000 

(fig. 236), and 17 October 2002 (the author’s most recent visit), the glacier is 

estimated to have retreated more than 3 km and thinned at least 125 m. Even 

the upper reaches of the glacier showed significant thinning.

Grinnell Glacier

According to Tarr and Martin (1914, p. 437), the “last great expansion” 

of Grinnell Glacier occurred before 1892, with little change occurring between 1891 and 1900. Minor advances occurred in 1907 and between 1909 

and 1911. In 1910, the terminus of Grinnell Glacier was located about 500 m 

from the Copper River and about 600 m from the northern margin of Miles 

Glacier’s stagnant northern lobe, which is located on the eastern side of the 

Copper River. Railroad track that had been laid over 400 m of stagnant ice 

was not affected by the early 20th century advances.

 The next visitors to the glacier were Wentworth and Ray in 1931. They 

reported that, “Between 1911 and 1931, there was a general retreat of the 

active portion of the glacier and continued reduction and melting of the stagnant ice” (Wentworth and Ray, 1936, p. 921). They also noted that trees up to 

25 cm in diameter were growing on the ice-cored moraine.

Field (1975b) reported that several hundred meters of retreat occurred in 

the 28-year interval between photographs by Bradford Washburn in 1938 and 

an AGS field party's visit in 1966. In the 36 years between Austin Post’s 1966 

observations and the author’s 17 October 2002 aerial observations, Grinnell 

Glacier is estimated to have retreated 1 km and thinned at least 100 m. The 

southeastern tributary also separated from the main trunk. Fresh bedrock 

Figure 236.—Two 17 August 2000 oblique 

aerial photographs of Allen Glacier show 

several lines of evidence confirming the 

rapid thinning and retreat of the glacier. 

A, Northeast-looking view across part of 

the terminus of Allen Glacier shows the 

debris-covered southern part of the terminus and the bare ice northern part. The 

large trimline documents more than 100 m 

of recent thinning. B, View of the northern 

part of the ice-marginal lake fronting Allen 

Glacier. The ongoing thinning of the glacier 

appears to have resulted in flotation of 

part of the terminus, accompanied by the 

production of large icebergs. Photographs 

by Bruce F. Molnia, U.S. Geological Survey. 

Larger versions of these figures are available online.

K252 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
around the terminus, seen in a 17 August 2000 oblique aerial photograph 

taken by the author, suggests a recent rapid retreat (fig. 237).

Childs Glacier

Childs Glacier, located immediately west of Million Dollar Bridge, has a 

length of 19 km and an area of 100 km2 (Field, 1975b, p. 468), and makes 

up the western bank of the Copper River for a distance of about 6 km. U.S. 

military expeditions led by W.R. Abercrombie in 1884 and H.T. Allen in 1885 

provided the first descriptions and photographs (Allen, 1887) of Childs Glacier (Abercrombie, 1900; Allen, 1900).

Most of the early information concerning Childs Glacier, however, resulted 

from Tarr and Martin’s expeditions between 1909 and 1911 (Tarr and Martin, 

1914). Although the glacier’s “Little Ice Age” chronology is not well dated, 

several moraines as high as 100 m and located as much as 1.5 km beyond 

the present margin may represent late 18th century or early 19th century 

maxima. 

Aside from a small advance between 1905 and 1906, the glacier’s retreat 

was slow between 1884 and 1909. A surge that began in the spring of 1909 

and lasted through the summer of 1910 was carefully documented by railway 

engineers, who were concerned about the potential impact of the advancing 

glacier terminus on the construction of the Million Dollar Bridge across the 

Copper River. The surge produced a terminus advance of about 600 m that 

reduced the distance between the ice margin and the bridge by more than 50 

percent. A conspicuous moraine formed by this advance is visible approximately 450 m from the bridge. Tarr and Martin (1914) cited maximum flow 

rates of at least 40 m d–1 between 29 July and 6 August 1910 and 9 to12 m d–1

between May and October. Much ice was lost to calving and river erosion.

Wentworth and Ray (1936) visited the glacier in 1931 and reported that 

it had retreated between 150 m and 200 m. Field (1975b) summarized the 

results of more than a dozen visits and photographic observations between 

1938 and 1971. In the mid-1930s, an advance of the glacier built “a massive 

moraine...on the land front at the northern end of the terminus” (Field, 

1975b, p. 343). By 1950, however, a retreat of about 60 m occurred; between 

1950 and 1959, an additional 200 m of retreat occurred. These retreats were 

accompanied by a reduction in flow rate and a reduction in the height of the 

ice margin.

By 1961, Childs Glacier was advancing, and its ice face had thickened to 

approximately 65 m. Between 1959 and 1961, the glacier advanced as much 

as 100 m. In the 7 years between 1961 and 1968, the glacier advanced approximately 150 m further. Little change was noted in 1971, although the 

terminus was within approximately 10 m of the mid-1930s moraine.

Since then, the glacier has thinned and retreated. This ongoing trend 

was noted by the author in multiple observations made between 1981 and 

2004. Aerial photographs taken on 22 August 1979 (see oblique aerial photograph no. 79V2–179 by Austin Post, U.S. Geological Survey), 13 August 1994 

(fig. 238A), 17 August 2000 (fig. 238B), and 17 October 2002 show a large 

arcuate calving embayment forming along the Copper River. The maximum 

amount of retreat that occurred between 1971 and 2004 was approximately 

300 m. Field (1965) provided a map showing terminus positions between 

1912 and 1961 (AGS Glacier Studies Map No. 64–3–G1).

Figure 237.—17 August 2000 northwestlooking oblique aerial photograph of much 

of Grinnell Glacier. Several areas of freshly 

exposed bedrock around the perimeter of 

each distributary lobe of the terminus of 

Grinnell Glacier and a fresh trimline along 

the margin of the glacier are evidence of 

the rapid thinning and retreat of the glacier. Photograph by Bruce F. Molnia, U.S. 

Geological Survey. A larger version of this 

figure is available online. 

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K253
Goodwin Glacier

When Tarr and Martin (1914) observed the terminus of Goodwin Glacier, 

it was located immediately adjacent to a forest. This observation led them 

to conclude that the glacier had not been more advanced from its current 

position for a significant period of time. Field (1975b) noted that there were 

no reports of any advance of Goodwin Glacier during the 20th century. Additionally, Field (1975b, p. 344) compared aerial photographs made in 1938, 

1950, and 1961 and stated that “the lower one kilometer of the glacier is 

moraine-covered which effectively masks most of the ice edge.” His analysis showed that “no appreciable change [had occurred] in recent decades, 

except extension of the alders on the ice-free and ice-cored parts of the moraines. Slow recession marked by progressive stagnation of the terminus is 

thus indicated.” Aerial observations by the author between 1990 and 2001 

documented continued downwasting of the glacier, separation of the debriscovered stagnant ice part of the terminus from older vegetation-covered icecored moraine, and the formation of several ice-marginal lakes.

Cleave Creek Glacier–Upper Copper River–Stephens 

Glacier–Tonsina Glacier Northwestern Subdivision

Glaciers in this subdivision that have lengths greater than 8 km and areas determined by Field (1975b, p. 465–467), include Cleave Creek (11 km, 

31 km2), two unnamed glaciers (9 km, 20 km2; 10 km, 22 km2), Tsina (10 km, 

37 km2), Tonsina (17 km, 47 km2), two more unnamed glaciers (11 km, 

19 km2; 8 km, 16 km2), Klutina (11 km, 45 km2), and Stephens (16 km, 

56 km2). Worthington Glacier, a popular tourist destination, is also located in 

this subdivision.

Figure 238.— A, 13 August 1994 vertical 

aerial photograph showing the terminus 

of Childs Glacier. Between 22 August 

1979 (USGS photograph no. 79V2–179 by 

Austin Post, U.S. Geological Survey) and 

13 August 1994, the calving embayment 

on the west side of the Copper River deepened by approximately 150 m. Note the 

elongated mass of landslide debris that 

is moving down the center of the glacier. 

USGS photograph no. 94–V3–179 by Robert 

M. Krimmel, U.S. Geological Survey. 

B, 17 August 2000 northwest-looking 

oblique aerial photographic mosaic showing the full terminus of Childs Glacier. In 

addition to a deepening of the calving 

embayment, the moraines on the southern 

half of the terminus have become more 

convoluted and offset. Photograph by 

Bruce F. Molnia, U.S. Geological Survey. 

A larger version of this figure is available 

online. 

K254 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Cleave Creek Glacier

Cleave Creek Glacier is the largest and only named glacier in an upland 

area located between the Copper, Tasnuna, Tiekel, and Tsina Rivers. All of 

the glaciers in the complex are actively retreating, and some have completely 

disappeared since being mapped in the 1950s. At the southeastern end of the 

area, about a half-dozen small, north-flowing, unnamed, steeply entrenched 

former tributaries to a previously expanded Cleave Creek Glacier are rapidly 

thinning and retreating as shown on an 8 August 1996 oblique aerial photograph by the author (fig. 239). The terminus of Cleave Creek Glacier has narrowed to approximately one-third of its 1950s width and exposed a surface 

of grooved sediment and bedrock.

Worthington Glacier

Worthington Glacier is a small mountain glacier about 6 km long. Its bifurcated terminus, located about 2 km from the Richardson Highway, shows 

conspicuous evidence of recent retreat. A large lateral and terminal moraine 

complex surrounds the glacier. A large ice-marginal lake dammed by this 

moraine is located between the moraine and the southern lobe of the glacier. 

When the author visited on 3 September 2002, the retreating ice margin no 

longer reached the shore of the lake. During the later part of the 20th century, the distal end of the northern terminus separated into three separate 

distributaries. The site of a State of Alaska glacier interpretive center, the 

glacier has thinned so much that visitors need to walk downhill from a 1960s 

parking lot to reach the terminus.

A surveying party under the leadership of Austin Post mapped Worthington Glacier at 1:10,000 scale with a 5-m contour interval during the IGY in 

Figure 239.—8 August 1996 south-looking 

oblique aerial photograph of several of the 

former tributaries of the retreating Cleave 

Creek Glacier. All are rapidly thinning and 

retreating. The lower reaches of the middle 

glacier of the three unnamed, steeply 

entrenched former tributaries have lost 

contact with the upper accumulation area. 

Currently, ice and snow reach the lower 

area through avalanching. Photograph by 

Bruce F. Molnia, U.S. Geological Survey.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K255
1957. Part of the AGS’s Nine Glacier Maps Project, the accompanying text 

(American Geographical Society, 1960, p.19, 21) described Worthington as 

“descending eastward from a broad névé field between peaks rising to more 

than 2,010 meters (6,600 feet) to a bifurcated terminus, one lobe of which 

extends a short distance into the broad valley of Ptarmigan Creek at an elevation of 660 meters (2,165 feet).... This glacier was receding in 1957, continuing a recession which evidently had been in progress for many years, as 

evidenced by a large bare area, terminal and recessional moraines. Moderately crevassed and almost completely free of ablation moraine, this glacier 

is rather typical of the heavy accumulation, rapid velocity, and high ablation 

glaciers typical of the region. The greatest snow depth noted on the glacier in 

the first half of July 1957, was less than 3 meters (10 feet)....”

Viereck (1967) visited the glacier in 1957 and identified a major moraine 

located about 600 m beyond the 1957 ice margin and a set of inner moraines 

about 200 m from the 1957 terminus. He concluded that the glacier occupied 

the outer moraine sometime between 1837 and 1857 and the inner moraines 

sometime beginning in the 1930s. 

The glacier was revisited in 1961, 1964, and 1966 by AGS parties that included William Field and was photographed by Austin Post for the USGS in 

1968 and 1971. Analysis of these data by Field (1975b) show that the glacier 

retreated approximately 400 m between the middle 19th century and the 

middle 1930s (~4–5 m a–1); approximately 150 m between the middle 1930s 

and 1957 (~7 m a–1); approximately 50 m between 1957 and 1961 (~12 m 

a–1); at least 35 m between 1961 and 1964 (~12 m a–1); and at least 35 m between 1964 and 1966 (~17 m a–1). Retreat rates were similar through 1971.

On the basis of a comparison of the USGS map of the glacier based on 1949 

and 1950 aerial photography and data obtained during an airborne profiling 

survey conducted on 31 May 1994, Echelmeyer and others (1996) determined that the terminus of the north lobe of Worthington Glacier retreated 

about 250 m, and the terminus of the south lobe had retreated about 380 

m, an average of about 310 m during the 44 to 45 years between data sets; 

the average annual retreat rate was about 7 m a–1. The area of Worthington 

Glacier decreased from 8.8 to 8.6 km2 in 1994, a decrease of around 2.3 percent; however, its thickness increased an average of 11.1 m, and its volume 

increased 0.97×108 m3. The details of the thickening are actually more complicated than these values suggest. According to Sapiano and others (1998), 

during the 37 years from 1957 to 1994, the glacier thinned by more than 40 m 

at elevations of less than 800 m, thinned at all elevations below 1,200 m, and 

thickened at most locations above 1,200 m.

Between the middle 1990s and 1999, Worthington Glacier thinned by 

0.948 m a–1 annually, and its volume decreased by 0.00856 km3 a–1 (K.A. 

Echelmeyer, W.D. Harrison, V.B. Valentine, and S.I. Zirnheld, University 

of Alaska Fairbanks, written commun., March 2001). In the 1990s, Harper 

and others (1998) conducted studies of crevasses patterns and longitudinal 

strain rate. Between 1975 and 2001, the author estimates that the individual 

termini have retreated about 300 m, and the lower part of the glacier has 

thinned at least 25 m.

Tonsina Glacier 

Little is known about Tonsina Glacier, which has a length of 17 km and 

an area of 47 km2 (Field, 1975b, p. 466). A comparison of the position of the 

glacier’s terminus as shown on the USGS Valdez 1:250,000-scale topographic 

quadrangle map (1960) (appendix A), which is based on early 1950s surveys; 

a 25 August 1978 AHAP false-color infrared vertical aerial photograph (fig. 

240), and observations from the air by the author on 31 August 2000 and 3 

September 2002 show that the glacier has retreated about 2 km, and thinned 

by more than 100 m in the 50 years since the 1950s surveys. All of the other 

glaciers in the area have also retreated significantly, including Tsina Glacier 

K256 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
approximately 5 km to the south, many small unnamed cirque glaciers, and 

an unnamed glacier located about 2.5 km to the north.

Two unnamed glaciers, each having a length of about 4 km and an area 

of about 7 km2, are located between Tonsina and Klutina Glaciers. As are 

so many other glaciers in the north-central part of the Chugach Mountains, 

these two are actively thinning and retreating. Both have retreated as much 

as 2.5 km during the approximately 50-year interval between the time when 

they were mapped in the early 1950s and when they were observed from the 

air and photographed by the author in August 1993, on 31 August 2000, and 

on 2 September 2002.

Klutina and Stephens Glaciers

Field (1975b, p. 466) reported that Klutina Glacier (fig. 241) has a length 

of 11 km and an area of 45 km2; Stephens Glacier has a length of 16 km and 

an area of 56 km2. Both glaciers were photographed by Bradford Washburn in 

1937 and Austin Post in 1964. Comparison shows that both glaciers retreated 

between 300 and 500 m in the 27-year interval between the two sets of photographs. Individual comparisons of the positions of each glacier’s terminus 

as shown on the USGS Valdez 1:250,000-scale topographic quadrangle map 

(1960) (appendix A), which is based on early 1950s surveys, and observations made by the author from the air on 30 August 2000 (fig. 241) and 3 September 2002 show that each glacier has thinned significantly and retreated 

between 2 and 5.5 km in the ensuing 50 years, although little evidence of 

change is visible in the accumulation areas. When the author observed the 

glaciers from the air on 3 September 2002, both were actively retreating and 

thinning. Each had elevated lateral and medial moraines, and each had separated from former tributaries. The terminus of Klutina Glacier was about 

4 km upvalley from a conspicuous end moraine, perhaps marking its “Little 

Ice Age” maximum.

Glaciers draining into the Uranatina River and Haley Creek are also retreating and thinning. Many ice-free cirques suggest that a significant number of glaciers completely disappeared during the 20th century. When the 

author observed the glaciers from the air on 31 August 2000, less than 30 

percent of the cirques examined still had glacier ice.

Figure 240.—25 August 1978 AHAP falsecolor infrared vertical aerial photograph 

of the terminus of Tonsina Glacier and a 

number of adjacent small, unnamed cirque 

glaciers. All glaciers show evidence of 

ongoing thinning and retreat. AHAP photograph no. L107F7055 is from the GeoData 

Center, Geophysical Institute, University of 

Alaska, Fairbanks, Alaska. 

Figure 241.—30 August 2000 oblique aerial photograph of Klutina Glacier, looking 

north; the former western tributary is now 

more than 800 m from Klutina Glacier and 

nearly 200 m above it. Photograph by Bruce 

F. Molnia, U.S. Geological Survey. A larger 

version of this figure is available online. 

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K257
Prince William Sound Segment—Heney Range to the 

East Side of Valdez Arm Subdivision

Glaciers in this subdivision that have lengths of 8 km or more and areas determined by Field (1975b, p. 469–470) include two unnamed glaciers (9 km, 

26 km2; 9 km, 22 km2), Cordova (13 km, 45 km2), an unnamed glacier (9 km, 

13 km2), Bench (8 km, 8 km2), Deserted (17 km, 36 km2), Wortmanns (14 km, 

55 km2), Keystone (9 km, 20 km2), an unnamed glacier (15 km, 30 km2), and 

Valdez (34 km, 158 km2).

Shephard Glacier

Shephard Glacier is a small unstudied glacier located at the head of Power 

Creek northeast of Cordova. Although it was snow covered to within about 

200 m of its terminus when the author observed it from the air on 8 August 

2000, the terminus was fronted by a barren zone about 1 km in width. The 

bedrock became deglacierized following the mapping of the glacier in the 

early 1950s.

Glaciers of the Rude River Drainage

South of 2,350-m-high Cordova Peak, several unnamed debris-covered 

valley glaciers show signs of thinning, retreat, and stagnation. The largest, 

an unnamed glacier located at the head of the eastern fork of the Rude River 

(fig. 242A), has a length estimated by the author of approximately 8 km. 

More than half its length is mantled by a debris cover that is estimated to be 

as much as 1 m in thickness. Another unnamed glacier (fig. 242B) is located 

approximately 3 km to the northwest. Unlike its neighbor, its terminus is debris free. It is surrounded by an apron of abandoned moraine and freshly 

exposed bedrock, the result of late 20th century thinning and retreat. An 

unnamed west-flowing glacier located at the head of a northeastern fork of 

the Rude River has more than 80 percent of its length covered by debris. 

What is unusual about this glacier (fig. 242C) is that three of its four southern tributaries are in rapid retreat and terminate hundreds of meters above 

the surface of the glacier; the fourth descends all the way to the valley floor 

and connects with the thinning main trunk.

Cordova Glacier

Field (1975b) reported that the terminus of Cordova Glacier, which has a 

length of 13 km and an area of 45 km2 (Field, 1975b, p. 469) and is located at 

the head of the western fork of the Rude River, dammed a lake that was 1.8 km 

long and an average of 600 m wide in 1950. The distal end of the lake was adjacent to the terminus of an unnamed glacier that has an approximate length 

of 8 km. The unnamed lake has been described by both Stone (1963b) and 

Post and Mayo (1971). Field (1975b, p. 353) speculated—correctly—that, 

“Since all the glaciers in this part of the central Chugach appear to be shrinking, it is likely that some year the ice-dam will not form and this lake will 

disappear.” Although the date of the last formation of the lake is unknown, 

much of its former bed was covered by vegetation when the author observed 

the former area of the lake from the air on 8 August 2000. The terminus of 

Cordova Glacier had thinned and retreated so much that it was entrenched 

behind a large terminal and several large recessional moraines at least 1.5 km 

from the eastern wall of the former lake.

Glaciers South of Lowe River 

To the north and northwest of Cordova Glacier, more than a dozen glaciers 

flow northward and drain into the Lowe River. An unnamed glacier located 

at the head of a northeast-flowing creek west of Browns Creek and another 

unnamed glacier located in the Browns Creek drainage both show evidence 

of ongoing retreat. Like so many other glaciers in this subdivision, they have 

large areas of freshly deglacierized bedrock exposed around their margins. 

K258 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Figure 242.—Three 8 August 2000 

oblique aerial photographs of unnamed 

glaciers within the Rude River drainage. 

A, East-looking view of the debris-covered 

lower portion of an unnamed glacier at 

the head of the east fork of the Rude River. 

Note the vegetated, elevated lateral moraine along the north side of the glacier. 

Thermokarst pits and many other stagnation features are visible. B, North-looking 

view of an unnamed glacier on the southwest flank of Cordova Peak, with its debrisfree retreating terminus. Note the apron of 

abandoned moraine and freshly exposed 

bedrock. C, East-looking view of an unnamed glacier. Of its four southern tributaries, three are in rapid retreat and terminate 

hundreds of meters above the surface of 

the glacier, whereas the fourth descends 

all the way to the valley floor and connects 

with the thinning main trunk. Photographs 

by Bruce F. Molnia, U.S. Geological Survey. 

Larger versions of these figures are available online. 

Four of the larger glaciers to the east of Browns Creek—Wortmans, 

Bench, Heiden, and Deserted Glaciers—were photographed by Bradford 

Washburn in 1938 and again by Post in 1960. Field (1975b, p.353) characterized all four glaciers as having “terminal and marginal barren zones in the 

1950s and 1960 which indicate recent net recession.”

Wortmanns Glacier 

The largest of the four glaciers is Wortmanns Glacier (fig. 243), a retreating wishbone-shaped glacier that is 14 km long and has an area of 55 km2

(Field, 1975b, p. 469). Field (1975b) reported that, in 1950, its terminus was 

about 1.5 km behind an outer moraine of unknown age. When the terminus 

was photographed by the AHAP Program on 25 August 1978 (fig. 243), it had 

retreated another 250 m. When the author observed it from the air, it had retreated approximately an additional 300 m (August 1996), 350 m (8 August 

2000), and 400 m (3 September 2002). A comparison of 1950 map data of the 

glacier and data obtained during an airborne profiling survey in the middle 

1990s, showed that Wortmanns Glacier thinned by an average of 0.5228 m a–1

and decreased in volume by 0.0305 km3 a–1 (K.A. Echelmeyer, W.D. Harrison, V.B. Valentine, and S.I. Zirnheld, University of Alaska Fairbanks, written 

commun., March 2001).

Bench Glacier

Bench Glacier, which has a length of 8 km and an area of 8 km2 (Field, 1975b, 

p. 469), is located immediately to the east of Wortmanns Glacier. It was photographed by the AHAP Program on 25 August 1978 (fig. 243) and observed from 

the air by the author in August 1996, on 8 August 2000, and on 3 September 

2002. Characterized by Field (1975b) as retreating, its terminus had retreated 

an additional 50 m by 1978. When the author observed it from the air and photographed it in 2000 and 2002, the terminus had retreated at least another 

275 m. Comparison of 1950 map data of the glacier with data obtained during 

an airborne profiling survey in the middle 1990s showed that Bench Glacier 

thinned by an average of 1.168 m a–1 and decreased in volume by 0.0138 km3 a–1

(K.A. Echelmeyer, W.D. Harrison, V.B. Valentine, and S.I. Zirnheld, University 

Wortmanns Glacier

Bench Glacier

Heiden Glacier

Deserted Glacier

N

Figure 243.—25 August 1978 AHAP falsecolor infrared vertical aerial photograph of 

the thinning and slowly retreating terminus of Wortmanns Glacier, Bench Glacier, 

Heiden Glacier, all but the terminus of 

Deserted Glacier, and several small retreating cirque and valley glaciers. AHAP photograph no. L110F7288 from the GeoData 

Center, Geophysical Institute, University 

of Alaska, Fairbanks, Alaska. Every glacier 

shown presents evidence of thinning and 

retreat.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K259
of Alaska Fairbanks, written commun., March 2001). Glacier hydrology studies 

of Bench Glacier, including jökulhlaups associated with the glacier, have been 

carried out by Howard and others (1996) and Anderson (2003).

Heiden Glacier

Heiden Glacier, the smallest of the four glaciers south of Lowe River, was 

photographed by the AHAP Program on 25 August 1978 (fig. 243) and was 

observed from the air by the author in August 1996, on 8 August 2000, and 

on 3 September 2002. Between 1978 and September 2002, the terminus retreated at least 400 m.

Deserted Glacier

The longest glacier of the four is Deserted Glacier, which is 17 km long 

and 36 km2 in area (Field, 1975b, p. 469). A comparison of its position on 

the USGS Cordova D–5, 1:63,360-scale topographic quadrangle map (1953) 

(appendix B), which is based on 1950 photography, with observations made 

by the author from the air, including oblique aerial photographs of the glacier 

taken on 8 August 2000 and on 3 September 2002, indicates that the terminus of the glacier retreated by at least 1.6 km. Similarly, a comparison of 1950 

map data of the glacier with data obtained during an airborne profiling survey in the middle 1990s shows that Deserted Glacier thinned by an average 

of 0.816 m a–1 and had a volume decrease of 0.03 km3 a–1 (K.A. Echelmeyer, 

W.D. Harrison, V.B. Valentine, and S.I. Zirnheld, University of Alaska Fairbanks, written commun., March 2001).

Glaciers North of Lowe River and West of Keystone Canyon

Three named glaciers—Corbin, Rubin, and Camicia Glaciers—and about 

10 unnamed glaciers are all west-flowing glaciers and ultimately drain into Valdez Arm. All of these glaciers and the adjacent Valdez and Hogback Glaciers 

have been remapped by the USGS in a revision of the USGS 1:63,360-scale Valdez A–6 topographic quadrangle map (1953) (appendix B). Although it was 

printed in 2002, the revised map has a 1993 date because it was based on 1993 

imagery. Since the 1953 edition of the map was compiled, every one of these 

glaciers has undergone conspicuous thinning and retreating. Aerial observations made on 8 August 2000 and 3 September 2002 show that every glacier 

was characterized by trimlines well above the ice surface and that there was 

an apron of vegetation-free bedrock adjacent to the terminus of each glacier.

Valdez Glacier 

Valdez Glacier (fig. 244), which is 34 km long and 158 km2 in area (Field, 

1975b, p. 470), is located 6 km northeast of the pre-l964 Alaska earthquake 

location of the town of Valdez. Before Valdez was relocated about 4 km to the 

west, the glacier presented a significant flood threat to the town’s inhabitants 

(Field, 1975b). At the end of the 19th century, when Schrader (1900) first 

described the glacier, it was thinning and retreating. This was further documented by a series of measurements made by L.S. Camicia, a local optician, 

between 1901 and 1905 and again in 1908. Reid (1909) and Tarr and Martin 

(1914) provide summaries of Camicia’s measurements. Reid (1909, p. 670) 

stated that “Dr. L.S. Camicia has been keeping a record since 1901 of the 

position of the Valdez Glacier, Prince William Sound, Alaska. A stone monument was made on the moraine in front of glacier and the distance to the ice 

determined. He found the following variations, measurements having been 

made in June of each year: 1901–2, a retreat of 39 feet; 1902–1904, 165 feet; 

1904–1905, 138 feet. The next observation was made in October 1908; as the 

monument had been destroyed, he estimated its position as well as he could, 

and found a retreat since the last observation of 244 feet, making a total retreat from 1901 to 1908 of 568 feet.” Tarr and Martin (1914) also commented 

on Camicia’s measurements.

These early observations, along with Moffit’s 1905 photograph (fig. 244A), 

documented that, with the exception of a short-lived advance in 1906, the 

K260 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
glacier was in retreat at the beginning of the 20th century. Camicia’s measurements continued until 1911, during which time the glacier retreated 179 

m (average retreat of 18 m a–1). According to Grant and Higgins (1913), the 

1906 advance was as much as 76 to 91 m. Field (1932) visited the glacier in 

1931 and determined that an additional 390 m of retreat had occurred in the 

20 years since 1911 (average retreat of 19.5 m a–1). Field (1937) again visited 

the glacier in 1935 and determined that an additional 45 m of retreat had 

occurred between 1931 and 1935 (average retreat of 11 m a–1). Therefore, 

in the 34-year-period from 1901 to 1935, the terminus of Valdez Glacier retreated 614 m (average retreat of 18 m a–1).

Field (1975b) reported that, in the 25 years between 1935 and 1961, the 

terminus retreated an additional 325 m (average retreat of 13 m a–1). He stated that “Since there was a great quantity of stagnant ice in the terminal part 

of the glacier during the 1950s and 1960s, it was difficult to identify the actual 

terminus and the position of the lower end of the active ice” (Field, 1975b, p. 

363). This active ice edge was 150 to 175 m further back from the terminus. 

By 1971, when Austin Post photographed the edge of the retreating active ice 

for the USGS, it was about 175 m from Field’s 1964 position. When the author 

photographed the terminus from the air on 8 August 2000 (fig. 244B) and on 

3 September 2002, it had retreated north of the valley of its former eastern 

tributary, Camicia Glacier. Valdez Glacier was fronted by an ice-marginal lake 

about 2 km in diameter and was calving, producing large tabular icebergs.

The history of Valdez Glacier is closely tied to the gold rush at the turn of 

the 20th century. Between 1898 and 1900, the glacier served as a major highway for prospectors traveling from the port of Valdez to the gold fields of the 

interior (Tarr and Martin, 1914, pl. XCV, ff p. 240). The Valdez Glacier route 

bypassed the rugged and dangerous route through Keystone Canyon and 

Thompson Pass (Schrader, 1900) and provided a relatively easy 29-km-long 

route to the head of Klutina Glacier and from there to Klutina Lake. About 

1910, mining began in the bedrock exposed on both walls of the valley of Valdez Glacier. 20th century thinning of the glacier left these mining claims more 

than 100 m above the present ice surface. Hence, during the 20th century, 

Valdez Glacier retreated more than 2 km and thinned by more than 100 m.

A comparison of 1950s map data of the glacier with data obtained during a 

geodetic airborne laser altimeter profiling survey in the middle 1990s, shows 

that Valdez Glacier thinned by an average of 1.23 m a–1 and decreased in volume by 0.201 km3

 a–1 (K.A. Echelmeyer, W.D. Harrison, V.B. Valentine, and 

S.I. Zirnheld, University of Alaska Fairbanks, written commun., March 2001).

An unnamed glacier located north of Prospectors Peak (1975 length estimated by the author of about 12 km, area of about 42 km2

) and Camicia Glacier were both connected to Valdez Glacier in the early 20th century. By the 

beginning of the 21st century, Camicia Glacier had retreated about 4.2 km, 

and the unnamed glacier had retreated about 2.5 km. Both are incorrectly 

mapped on the 1993 revision of the USGS Valdez A–4 topographic quadrangle map (appendix B).

Camicia Glacier separated from Valdez Glacier soon after the beginning 

of the 20th century. By 1909 (Tarr and Martin, 1914), an ice-marginal lake 

dammed by the flank of Valdez Glacier separated the two glaciers. In 1931, 

when Wentworth and Roy (1936) observed the glaciers, the lake still was 

present. Field (1975b) reported that, by 1950, Valdez Glacier had narrowed 

to the point where no lake was evident. Field also reported that a comparison 

of two maps—the first surveyed in 1911 and 1912 and the second based on 

1950 photography—showed that, between 1912 and 1950, the terminus of 

Camicia Glacier retreated 2.75 km and thinned by 335 m (average retreat of 

72 m a–1, average thinning of 9 m a–1). Thinning and retreat were continuing 

when both the unnamed glacier and Camica Glacier were observed from the 

air by the author on 3 September 2002.

Figure 244.— Two photographs showing 

changes at Valdez and Camicia Glaciers 

during the 20th century. A, 1905, northeast-looking photograph by F.H. Moffit 

across the terminus of Valdez Glacier 

toward Camicia Glacier. Bare bedrock on 

the west side of the glacier and a trimline 

on the east side document 19th century 

thinning of the glacier. Prospectors Peak 

can be seen above Camicia Glacier. USGS 

Photo Library photograph, Moffit 344. 

B, 8 August 2000 oblique aerial photograph of the termini of Valdez and Camicia 

Glaciers. Valdez Glacier is fronted by an 

ice-marginal lake approximately 2 km 

in diameter. Camicia Glacier retreated 

approximately 5 km during the 20th century. Photograph by Bruce F. Molnia, U.S. 

Geological Survey. Larger versions of 

these figures are available online. 

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K261
Prince William Sound Segment—The Northern Prince 

William Sound Subdivision

Northern Prince William Sound contains one of the greatest concentrations 

of calving tidewater glaciers in Alaska (figs. 41, 245, tables 2, 3). The Chugach 

Mountains fjords that have tidewater glaciers are located on the northern and 

Matanuska Glacier

Valdez

Surprise Gl.

Lake George

Glacier

Co

ul mb ai Glacier

Yale Glacier

Harvard Glacier

Knik Glacier

Prince William Sound

Valdez

Turnagain Arm Whittier

Harriman Gl.

Knik Glacier

Harvard Glacier

Yale Glacier

Co

ul mb ai Glacier

Upper Lake 

George

Upper Lake 

Lake George

Glacier

Colony Gl.

Colony Gl.

Meares Gl.

Surprise Gl.

Barry Gl.

Matanuska Glacier

Nelchina Glacier

Tazlina Glacier

Shoup

Gl.

Shoup

Gl.

10 0 10 20 30 KILOMETERS

APPROXIMATE SCALE

148°W

62°N

61°30'N

61°

147° 146°

149°W

Figure 245.—Annotated Landsat 3 MSS image of the western 

Chugach Mountains on 26 August 1978 showing the location of many 

of the tidewater and valley glaciers in the region. Of the tidewater glaciers, Surprise and Barry Glaciers were slowly retreating; Harriman, 

Harvard, and Meares Glaciers were advancing slowly; and Yale and 

Columbia Glaciers were retreating rapidly (Meier and others, 1980). 

Shipping lanes used by tankers transporting oil from Valdez are 

within 20 km of Columbia Bay at the terminus of Columbia Glacier. 

Numerous small icebergs enter these lanes, creating a possible 

hazard to shipping. Knik Glacier dammed the outflow from the Lake 

George basin annually from 1918 to 1962 and in 1964 and 1965, resulting in annual glacier-outburst floods (jökulhlaups). Since 1966, no 

ice dam has formed (Post and Mayo, 1971). Matanuska and Nelchina 

Glaciers are both slowly retreating. Landsat image (30174–20290, 

band 7; 26 August 1978; Path 73, Row 17) and caption courtesy of 

Robert M. Krimmel, U.S. Geological Survey.

K262 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
northwestern sides of Prince William Sound and include the following bays, 

inlets, and fjords: Shoup Bay, Columbia Bay, Unakwik Inlet, Harvard Arm and 

Yale Arm of College Fiord, Barry Arm, Harriman Fiord, and Port Wells. Glaciers 

in this subdivision that have lengths of 8 km or more and areas determined by 

Field (1975b, p. 470–472) [lengths and areas calculated later by Viens (1995) 

(table 2) are shown in brackets] include: Shoup (30 km, 146 km2 [29 km, 156 

km2]), Columbia (66 km, 1,370 km2 [59.5 km, 1,121 km2]), Meares (25 km, 130 

km2 [25.7 km, 142 km2]), Amherst (8 km, ~10 km2, estimated by the author), 

Yale (35 km, 220 km2 [32.2 km, 194 km2]), Harvard (39 km, 500 km2 [39.4 km, 

524 km2]), Smith [10 km, 20 km2], Bryn Mawr [8 km, 26 km2], Coxe (11 km, 

19 km2 [11.3 km, 20 km2]), Barry (24 km 75 km2 [26.5 km, 95 km2]), Cascade 

(9 km, 15 km2 [8 km, 15 km2]), Serpentine (10 km, 23 km2 [10 km, 30 km2]), 

Surprise (13 km, 66 km2 [12.1 km, 80 km2]), Harriman (13 km, 49 km2 [12.9 km, 

60 km2]), and Billings (8 km, 12 km2). Information about many of the glaciers 

in the Prince William Sound region has been presented by Lethcoe (1987).

Shoup Glacier

At the end of the 20th century, Shoup Glacier (Post and Viens, 2000, pl. 2) 

was located approximately 6 km from the mouth of Shoup Bay, a sinuous 

embayment located on the northwestern shore of Valdez Arm. At its “Little 

Ice Age” maximum position, approximately 250 years ago, its terminus was 

astride the Valdez Arm shoreline, where it deposited a terminal moraine (Post 

and Viens, 2000). Hence, in the 250-year period between 1750 and 2000, 

Shoup Glacier retreated about 6 km, an average annual retreat of 24 m a–1.

Originally named Canyon Creek Glacier by Abercrombie in 1898 (Orth, 

1971), Shoup Glacier was first photographed the same year by Schrader 

(1900). At that time, it was located at the head of a shallow 2.5-km-long bay 

where it discharged into tidewater (2.5 km of retreat in 148 years, an average retreat of ~17 m a–1). Tarr and Martin (1914) commented that, before 

Schrader’s visit in 1898, there were no known previous observations of the 

glacier by either the Russians or by Whidbey, who visited Valdez Arm in 1794. 

Tarr and Martin (1914) further stated that the glacier also was photographed 

by the C&GS in 1901, by Grant in 1905 and 1908 (fig. 246), by the NGS in 

1909 and 1910, and by Bradford Washburn on 14 June 1937. The area containing the glacier was surveyed in 1911, 1912, and 1916 by J.W. Bagley, C.E. 

Giffin, and R.H. Sargent for the USGS topographic quadrangle mapping program. Grant and Higgins (1913, p. 15), commented that Shoup glacier is “of 

economic importance in that it furnishes ice for Valdez and Fort Liscum, the 

detached bergs being lifted upon barges and being taken to these towns.”

Field (1975b) stated that, from 1898 through 1957, there was relatively 

little change in the position of the glacier’s terminus; the largest change was 

a recession of less than 200 m. The most significant change was more than 

100 m of downwasting of the stagnant terminus. To complicate matters, small 

advances occurred between 1898 and 1901 (Tarr and Martin, 1914), between 

1910 and 1914 (Keen, 1915a), and between 1935 and 1942 (Field, 1975b).

By 1961, the glacier had begun to retreat. Field (1975b) stated that, during the next 7 years, the glacier retreated between 500 and 600 m. In an 

unpublished map of the terminus of Shoup Glacier based on 1957 aerial 

photography and 1961 and 1964 field observations (American Geographical 

Society Glacier Studies Map No. 64–3–G5), Field showed that, at that time, 

the terminus of Shoup Glacier was separated from Shoup Bay by the terminal moraine, an outwash plain, and a tidal flat. He also showed that a 250-mdiameter tidal lake, the precursor to the present lake, had already formed.

A bathymetric map (Post and Viens, 2000, pl. 2) shows the position of the 

terminus of Shoup Glacier in 1916, 1966, 1978, 1982, and 1990. In 1990, the 

terminus sat at the western end of a 1.9-km-long lake named Shoup Basin

by Post and Viens (2000). The eastern end was bounded by the moraine deposited by the glacier between 1957 and the early 1960s. When the author 

Figure 246.—Two photographs of Shoup 

Glacier showing the position of its terminus near the start (A) and at the end of the 

20th century (B). Note the position of the 

triangular snow accumulation just behind 

the terminus in A. This feature is common 

to both photographs. A, 13 July 1908 photograph by U.S. Grant of the terminus of 

Shoup Glacier (Grant and Higgins, 1911). A 

push moraine is located along much of the 

terminus, suggesting that Shoup Glacier 

was advancing when it was photographed. 

The terminus is fronted by an outwash 

fan delta. B, 8 August 2000 north-looking 

oblique aerial photographic mosaic showing most of the area exposed by 20th 

century retreat. Note the large barren area 

around the margin. The proximal edge of 

the 1908 outwash fan delta is located on the 

right edge of the photograph. Photograph 

by Bruce F. Molnia, U.S. Geological Survey.

Larger versions of these figures are available online. 

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K263
photographed the glacier from the air in August 1996, on 8 August 2000 

(fig. 246B), and on 3 September 2002, he noted evidence of continued thinning and retreat. The terminus of Shoup Glacier was located a maximum of 

about 850 m behind its 1990 position, and the southwestern one-third of the 

margin of the terminus was fringed by a large area of bare bedrock and stagnant, debris-covered ice. In the 34 years between 1968 and 2002, the glacier 

retreated approximately another 2.85 to 3.15 km. During the 20th century, 

the glacier retreated a maximum of approximately 3.6 km.

In the early 1990s (Viens, 1995) (tables 2, 3), Shoup Glacier had a length 

of about 29 km, an area of 156 km2, a width at its face of 1.3 km, and an AAR 

of 0.61. Its accumulation area was about 95 km2, and its ablation area was 

about 62 km2.

Columbia Glacier

The largest glacier in Prince William Sound, Columbia Glacier is located 

at the head of Columbia Bay (figs. 43, 44, 45, 46), a fjord with depths greater 

than 300 m. Previously called Fremantle Glacier, Live Glacier, and Root 

Glacier, Columbia Glacier had a pre-retreat length of 66 km and an area of 

1,370 km2 (Field, 1975b, p. 470). The ice speed at the terminus ranged between 5 and 6 m d–1. Named in 1899 by the Harriman Alaska Expedition for 

Columbia University, it has been rapidly retreating and calving large quantities of icebergs since 1979. Until early 1979, part of the terminus of Columbia 

Glacier was grounded on Heather Island and an adjacent submarine moraine 

that protected the terminus from significant loss of ice through calving, as 

a 24 August 1978 AHAP photograph (fig. 247) shows. But, in January 1979, 

the glacier retreated from Heather Island and lost contact with its submarine 

terminal moraine. Thus, Columbia Glacier began a “drastic irreversible, retreat” (Meier and others, 1980, p. 10) that is well documented in this volume 

in the section authored by Robert M. Krimmel, “Columbia and Hubbard Tidewater Glaciers.” Columbia Glacier has since retreated more than 12 km and 

thinned as much as 400 m. By 2001, the length had decreased to about 54 km, 

and, according to Meier and others (2001), the velocity at the terminus inFigure 247.—24 August 1978 AHAP falsecolor infrared vertical aerial photograph of 

the terminus of Columbia Glacier. Note that 

although part of the terminus of the glacier 

is in contact with Heather Island (at center 

of terminus), some retreat is underway 

along the southeastern margin. AHAP photograph no. L110F6623 from the GeoData 

Center, Geophysical Institute, University of 

Alaska, Fairbanks, Alaska. 

K264 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
creased nearly fivefold to 25 m d–1 (more than 9 km a–1). Columbia Glacier 

has its source on the southern side of the Chugach Mountains at maximum 

elevations that exceed 3,500 m. Four principal tributaries combine to form a 

south-flowing main trunk nearly 5 km wide.

Because of Columbia Glacier’s proximity to the port of Valdez, which is 

the southern terminus of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, icebergs produced by its 

retreat pose a real threat, especially to oil tankers transiting shipping lanes 

in Prince William Sound. These concerns resulted in a USGS comprehensive, 

multi-year investigation into the glacier’s dynamics and an attempt to quantify the potential impacts of increased iceberg production. In addition to 

the summary provided by Krimmel in this volume, many of these data were 

released by the USGS in September 2001 (Krimmel, 2001). [Editors’ note: 

According to Mark F. Meier (written commun., 2004), Columbia Glacier—a 

tidewater glacier in the retreat phase of the cycle of tidewater glacier stability (fig. 42)—is the best-documented and most thoroughly studied glacier in 

Alaska. Studies done on Columbia Glacier are comparable to studies of the 

surge-type Variegated Glacier. More than 120 aerial photogrammetric survey missions provided the data to compile an accurate record of its changing 

velocity and strain-rate fields. Studies of Columbia Glacier provide much of 

the scientific knowledge about calving of icebergs from a grounded glacier 

terminus.] Because Krimmel’s section of this volume describes the late 20th 

century retreat of the tidewater glacier, the remainder of this discussion will 

focus on the early history of Columbia Glacier, which was the subject of much 

attention at the beginning of the 20th century.

Vancouver’s 1794 voyage provided the first mention of the glacier as well 

as the first map showing its location (Vancouver, 1798). Tarr and Martin 

(1914) mentioned three other early maps—Applegate’s in 1887 (Davidson, 

1904), Mahlo’s in 1898 (USGS, 1899), and Schrader’s in 1900 (Schrader, 

1900)—that also show the location of the terminus. All show the glacier at 

about the same location, leading Tarr and Martin (1914, p. 257) to conclude 

that “The only fact indicated by these maps is that the glacier was not strikingly different in the years of observation between 1794 and 1900.” It must be 

kept in mind, however, that none of these earlier (pre-1970s) observations 

were made in the context of tidewater glacier stability (fig. 42), a theory first 

set forth by Post (1975).

Tarr and Martin (1914, p. 259) reported that, in 1898, the first water depth 

sounding of approximately 90 m (50 fathoms) near the face of Columbia Glacier was made by the steamship SS Dora, captained by A.O. Johansen. In 

1899, the Harriman Alaska Expedition arrived in Columbia Bay and named 

and studied the glacier. From 25 to 28 June 1899, USGS geologist Grove Karl 

Gilbert (Gilbert, 1904) photographed and mapped the lower 15 km of the 

glacier (figs. 248, 249, 250), documenting an advance that occurred about 

1892 and a retreat underway in 1899.

Grant visited and photographed the glacier in 1905. He was joined by 

Higgins in both 1908 and 1909 (Grant and Higgins, 1910, 1913). Their collaboration on 23 and 24 June 1909 produced a map of the terminus that 

compares the 1899 and 1909 terminus positions. They concluded that the 

glacier retreated between 1899 and 1905, advanced between 1905 and 1908, 

and advanced even more through June 1909. Tarr and Martin (1914) visited 

the glacier for the NGS in 1909, twice in 1910, and again in 1911 and observed that the glacier continued to advance through their 1911 visit. Their 

topographic map shows the terminus of an unnamed eastern branch, most of 

whose length is separated from the main trunk of the glacier by the Nunatak, 

making contact with the glacier just below the 1,000-ft contour line (Tarr and 

Martin, 1914). Gilbert (1904) showed that the two were in only minimal contact on his 1899 map. Tarr and Martin quantified the changes that they and 

Gilbert observed: (1) 1892–July 1899, retreat of 243 m (800 ft), an average 

retreat of about 35 m a–1; (2) July 1899–24 June 1909, advance of about 150 m 

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K265
(500+ ft), an average advance of about 15 m a–1; (3) 23 August 1909–5 July 

1910, advance of 213 m (700 ft), an average advance of about 245 m a–1; (4) 5 

July 1910–5 September 1910, advance of 33 m (~110 ft), an average advance 

of about 200 m a–1; and (5) 5 September 1910–21 June 1911, advance of less 

than 30 m (<100 ft), an average advance of about 38 m a–1. Hence, during the 

19-year period from 1892 thru 1911, Columbia Glacier advanced approximately 290 m, an average advance of about 15 m a–1.

In 1910, Bean (1911) investigated the “submerged lands” of Prince William 

Sound. He described his study as follows: “The aim of this thesis is to study 

the soundings of this embayment (Prince William Sound) and from this study 

outline the history of the fiords, and determine as far as possible the extent 

of former glaciers and their influence upon preglacial valleys. Especial attention will be paid to that part of the fiord which is now submerged” (Bean, 

1911, p. 2). Working in July and August 1910 as part of an NGS Expedition 

under the direction of Lawrence Martin, Bean took about 300 soundings in 

about 150 miles of Prince William Sound using a 20-lb lead weight obtained 

from the C&GS. He took soundings for his cross sections every 1/8 to 1/2 mi. 

Along the long axes of the fjord, he spaced soundings at 1- or 2-mi intervals. 

A sounding taken approximately 400 m in front of Columbia Glacier showed 

182 m (600 ft) of water (Tarr and Martin, 1914). Bean found that depths increased with distance from the ice margin—275 m at a point 5.6 km from the 

glacier and 310 m at a point 8 km from the glacier—and that water depths 

Figure 248.—Photographs by USGS geologist Grove Karl Gilbert of the lower 

Columbia Glacier. A, 25 June 1899 photograph of the Harriman Alaska Expedition’s 

vessel S.S. George W. Elder in Columbia 

Bay, with the grounded terminus (on 

submarine moraine) of Columbia Glacier 

in the background. USGS Photo Library 

photograph Gilbert 339. B, 26 June 1899 

photograph from the highest point on 

Heather Island, a 107-m-high hill, of the 

lower reaches of Columbia Glacier. Note 

the debris-covered eastern margin. USGS 

Photo Library photograph Gilbert 343.

K266 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Figure 249.—25–28 June 1899 map by USGS geologist Grove Karl Gilbert of 

the lower 15 km of Columbia Glacier. Contours are in feet. Published as Plate 

XI in Gilbert (1904).

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K267
Figure 250.—Three 26 June 1899 ground 

photographs by USGS geologist Grove 

Karl Gilbert, with Professor Charles 

Palache (Harvard University geologist) for 

scale, showing late 19th century features 

at the terminus of Columbia Glacier. A, An 

arcuate lobe of a push moraine formed 

by an advance of Columbia Glacier before 1892. Immediately adjacent to the 

moraine are a number of trees that were 

killed by the advance. USGS Photo Library 

photograph Gilbert 356. B, A recessional 

moraine formed after 1892. Note the trees 

that were killed by the advance of the glacier. Between the moraine and Columbia 

Glacier are numerous flutes exposed by 

the retreating ice. USGS Photo Library 

photograph Gilbert 354. C, The retreating 

margin of Columbia Glacier and an approximately 0.75-m-high flute exposed 

by the retreating ice. USGS Photo Library 

photograph Gilbert 352.

K268 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
increased uniformly by about 30 m with every 1,600-m increment away from 

the face of the glacier. A complete bathymetric survey of Columbia Glacier’s 

margin and approaches was published by Post (1978).

According to Field (1975b), no additional observations were made of the 

glacier until 1931. In 1931, Field (1932) attempted to reoccupy many of the 

earlier photographic stations of Gilbert, Grant and Higgins, and Tarr and 

Martin. He reported that “All the earlier moraines and trimlines had been destroyed by an advance which was then tentatively assigned to the early 1920s 

and which was later determined by vegetation studies to have occurred at 

various points along the terminus between 1917 and 1922...” (Field, 1975b, 

p. 369). He did not specify the magnitude of the advance. Following the 1917 

to 1922 advance, the glacier began to retreat. By 1931, Field (1932) measured 275 m of recession at the western margin of the glacier, about 60 m of 

recession on Heather Island, and from 120 to 250 m of recession along the 

land-based eastern margin.

This retreat was quickly followed by another advance. Field (1937) revisited Columbia Glacier in 1935 and measured 1,045 m of advance at the 

western margin of the glacier, 72 m of advance on Heather Island, and 25 m of 

advance on the land-based eastern margin. Field (1937) described a massive 

moraine deposited by this advance on Heather Island as a prominent feature 

that protrudes through the 1920 moraine.

Maynard M. Miller visited Columbia Glacier in 1947 and described a recession of several hundred feet since the 1935 advance (Miller, 1948a). Field 

(1975b) reported that an advance of 100 m or more was underway between 

1947 and 1949. Eight years later, he observed that the glacier was slowly 

retreating from the moraine formed by the late 1940s advance.

Field (1975b) reported that observations of Columbia Glacier were made 

by a variety of individuals in 1960, 1961, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 

1969, 1970, and 1971. During this period, Columbia Glacier experienced several small advances between 1957 and 1961, recession or minimal change 

between 1961 and 1968, a slight advance of a few tens of meters on land between 1968 and 1969, and an advance on Heather Island and on the eastern 

land-based terminus between 1969 and 1971. Field (1975b, p. 369) remarked 

that “Each of the advances since the maximum of 1920 have in most places 

not extended as far as the previous one, so that their end-moraines have been 

preserved.” Most of the fluctuations in terminus position described here are 

for the land-based part of Columbia’s terminus where the moraine records 

serve as near-permanent markers to document change. Field (1975b, p. 370) 

noted that the marine-based termini on either side of Heather Island “have 

tended to fluctuate with the land termini, but on the whole have remained 

remarkably stable, in so far as appreciable net change is concerned. Their 

general appearance in the 1960s was essentially the same as in 1899.”

Post (1975), Field (1975b), and Sikonia and Post (1979) described observed changes in the tidal ice-cliff termini of Columbia Glacier and suggested that the increasing size and frequency of seasonal embayments in the 

terminus might be a precursor to a rapid retreat. Retreat from the terminal 

moraine shoal, over which water depths are about 20 m or less, formed deep 

embayments in the ice margin during the summer and fall. Until 1979, winter and spring readvances were normally sufficient to refill the embayment 

and recover stability on the submarine moraine. Field (1975b) noted that, 

in a 1938 Washburn photograph, deep embayments existed on both sides 

of Heather Island. He speculated that, if they had joined north of Heather 

Island, “they would have probably caused a wide retreat of the whole terminus” (Field, 1975b, p. 370–71). A complete inventory of years in which 

embayments formed does not exist. However, they were observed in 1938, 

1939, 1940, 1941, 1960, 1961, 1964, 1965, 1968, and throughout the 1970s. 

The lack of embayments between the middle 1940s and 1960 is more likely 

owing to an absence of observation rather than to an absence of embayments. 

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K269
The 1964 embayment was 900 m deep and 1,300 m wide, whereas the 1971 

embayment was 1,200 m deep and 800 m wide (Field, 1975b). Sequential 

changes at the terminus of Columbia Glacier from 1966 to 2000 are shown in 

figure 251. Figure 252 shows different views of the margin of the Columbia 

Glacier on 8 August 2000. The author began observations from the air in 1974 

and has continued them into the 21st century (fig. 252).

Figure 251.—Four aerial photographs show changes in the terminus region 

of Columbia Glacier between 1966 and 2000. A, 3 September 1966 oblique 

aerial photograph of the lower reaches of Columbia Glacier. Note that 

part of the terminus of Columbia Glacier is in contact with Heather Island. 

USGS photograph no. 664–18 by Austin Post, U.S. Geological Survey. B, 15 

August 1981 north-looking oblique aerial photograph of the lower reaches of 

Columbia Glacier. Note that the terminus of the glacier is retreating and has 

lost contact with Heather Island and the mainland to the east. Note also the 

calving embayment. Photograph by Bruce F. Molnia, U.S. Geological Survey. 

A larger version of this figure is available online.

K270 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Figure 251.—C, 13 August 1990 north-looking oblique aerial 

photograph of the lower reaches of Columbia Glacier. Note 

that the terminus of the glacier is actively retreating and 

that the newly exposed part of Columbia Bay bounded on 

the south by Heather Island is filled by approximately 5 km 

of icebergs that are contained by the Heather Island terminal moraine. Photograph by Larry Mayo, U.S. Geological 

Survey. D, 8 August 2000 north-looking oblique aerial photograph of the lower reaches of Columbia Glacier. Note that 

the terminus has retreated approximately 12 km and that the 

newly exposed part of Columbia Bay is filled with icebergs. 

Photograph by Bruce F. Molnia, U.S. Geological Survey. 

A larger version of D is available online. 

Figure 252.—Three 8 August 2000 oblique 

aerial photographs of features along the 

margin of Columbia Glacier. A, Northwestlooking view of the retreating and thinning 

eastern Land Lobe of Columbia Glacier. 

B, North-looking view of a lake and an 

unnamed ice remnant left behind by the 

rapidly retreating main trunk. The lake at 

the upper right separates the remnant of 

ice from the southern margin of the retreating Land Lobe that can be seen on A. 

Iceberg-filled Columbia Bay is to the left. 

C, Southeast-looking view of Kadin Lake, 

an ice-dammed lake on the west side of the 

Columbia Glacier, currently dammed by an 

unnamed remnant of ice left behind by the 

rapidly retreating main trunk. The remnant 

is actively calving icebergs into Kadin Lake 

and Columbia Bay. The ice remnant of B 

can be barely seen at the top left of the photograph. Photographs by Bruce F. Molnia, 

U.S. Geological Survey. Larger versions of 

these figures are available online. 

A comparison of 1950s map data of the glacier with data obtained during 

geodetic airborne laser altimeter profiling surveys in the middle and late 1990s 

showed that, on an annual basis, Columbia Glacier thinned by 1.44 m a–1 and 

decreased in volume by 1.54 km3 a–1. However between the middle 1990s and 

1999, Columbia Glacier thinned by an average of 7.42 m a–1 and decreased in 

volume by 7.64 km3 a–1 (K.A. Echelmeyer, W.D. Harrison, V.B. Valentine, and 

S.I. Zirnheld, University of Alaska Fairbanks, written commun., March 2001). 

In the early 1990s (Viens, 1995) (tables 2, 3), Columbia Glacier had a length 

of about 60 km, an area of about 1,120 km2

, a width at its calving terminus of 

8 km, and an AAR of 0.67. Its accumulation area was about 753 km2, and its 

ablation area was about 368 km2.

Meares Glacier

Meares Glacier is located at the head of Unakwik Inlet, a 32-km-long 

northward-trending fjord between College Fiord and Columbia Bay. The first 

European explorer to visit the inlet was Whidbey on 4 June 1794 (Vancouver, 

1798). Although he did not sail close enough to observe the glacier and determine its position, floating pieces of ice that he noted in the fjord suggested 

that Meares Glacier was a tidewater glacier at that time. Meares Glacier was 

first investigated by Grant and Higgins (1910, 1911a, b, 1913) in l905 and 

1909 and again by Lawrence Martin in 19l0 (Martin, 1913). At the beginning 

of the 21st century, Meares Glacier was an advancing, iceberg-calving, tidewater glacier (fig. 253).

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K271
Meares Glacier has been advancing since it was first observed in 1905. 

Field (1975b) summarized the reported changes of the terminus of Meares 

Glacier as follows: 1910–31, advance of 250 to 300 m, annual advance of 12 to 

14 m a–1; 1931–66, advance of 200 to 425 m, an annual advance of 6–12 m a–1. 

Hence, in the 56 years between 1910 and 1966, the terminus of Meares Glacier advanced between 500 and 675 m, an average advance of 9 to12 m a–1. 

When the author visited by boat on 3 September 2000, the terminus of 

Meares Glacier was slowly advancing and pushing down trees. However, the 

author’s observations from the air in 1999, 2000, and 2002 showed some evidence of thinning along the margins of the terminus, especially on its eastern 

side. Between 1910 and 2000, the terminus advanced about 1.1 km, an average advance of 12.2 m a–1 (fig. 254). In the 36-year-period between 1966 and 

2002, the glacier advanced a maximum of about 550 m, for an average annual 

advance of about 15 m a–1. A large terminal moraine about halfway between 

the glacier and the mouth of the fjord represents the maximum neoglacial 

advance of Meares Glacier and presents a significant hazard to navigation. 

In 1910, Bean (1911) determined that much evidence of former glacial 

erosion existed in the submerged lands downfjord from the glacier margins. 

At Meares Glacier he found that “The depth of water ranges from 534 feet 

about a half mile south of the glacier to over 1,000 feet near the entrance of 

the inlet. There is much topographic evidence of former glaciation. The fiord 

walls are straight and steep, with all spurs truncated, there are numerous 

hanging valleys from which streams cascade to the sea, and there is abundant 

rounding of knobs, grooving, plucking and striation. The soundings prove 

quite conclusively that the Meares Glacier formerly extended much farther, 

and eroded this great valley.”

Bean (1911, p. 19–20) also determined that Meares Glacier was not floating 

but was grounded on its bed: “On the assumption that the water does not shallow from the nearest sounding to the glacier, it seems certain that the Meares 

is not afloat even now, but has great erosive power. Since the height of the ice 

front is at least 200 feet and the depth of the water is 534 feet, there is a total 

thickness of 734 feet. If glacier ice floats in sea water with one-sixth of its volume above water, the total thickness of the glacier would have to be 1,200 feet 

or 456 feet more than it is, in order to be afloat. Five hundred and thirty-four 

Figure 253.—17 August 1999 vertical aerial photograph of the terminus of Meares 

Glacier. Before the date of the photograph, 

Meares Glacier advanced into Ranney 

Creek (to the left of the terminus), diverting its waters to the south. Subsequent 

calving and retreat of the ice at the western 

margin resulted in the stranding of a block 

of ice along the edge of Ranney Creek. 

Subsequently, the ice was incorporated 

into the advancing terminus of the glacier. 

Photograph no. R3–FL7–FR119 from the 

U.S. Bureau of Land Management.

K272 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
feet of water is sufficient to float a mass of ice with but 107 feet above water. 

Hence the Meares Glacier is at present resting on the valley floor with the 

weight of 93 cubic feet of ice or about 4,650 pounds per square foot....”

In the early 1990s (Viens, 1995) (tables 2, 3), Meares Glacier had a length 

of 26 km, an area of 142 km2, a width at its face of 1.2 km, and an AAR of 0.86. 

Its accumulation area was 121 km2, and its ablation area was 20 km2.

Pedro and Brilliant Glaciers

Pedro Glacier and Brilliant Glacier, both located on the eastern side of 

Unakwik Inlet, are two small retreating valley glaciers that were tributaries 

to a much larger Meares Glacier at the time when it was extended to the 

position where it deposited its middle fjord moraine. Tarr and Martin (1914) 

described Brilliant Glacier as descending to an elevation near sea level and 

being separated from the inlet by a 2.2-km-long outwash plain and delta. By 

the 1950s (Field, 1975b) observed that its terminus had retreated to an elevation of between 200 and 250 m and that the outwash plain complex had 

extended to be about 2.5 km long. When the author observed it from the air 

in 1999, 2000, and 2002, the terminus was located at an elevation of about 

1990

2000

1992

Figure 254.—Map of the terminus of 

Meares Glacier showing fluctuations in the 

position of its terminus from 1910 to 2000. 

Base map is derived from AGS Glacier 

Studies Map no. 64–3–G4 (Field, 1965). Year 

1990, 1992, and 2000 positions (approximate) are based on observations made by 

the author.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K273
350 m, and the margin of Brilliant Glacier showed much evidence of continuing retreat.

Ranney and Baby Glaciers

Ranney Glacier, a hanging glacier located on the northwestern wall of the 

Unakwik Inlet, is also retreating. The 1964 earthquake generated a large 

rockslide that covered much of the lower part of the glacier as it continued 

down below the terminus to the delta of Ranney Creek (Post, 1967a), the 

stream that heads at the glacier’s terminus. Ranney Glacier has been retreating since it was first observed. Similarly, Baby Glacier—a 2-km-long valley 

glacier—drains into the western side of the inlet. Like Ranney Glacier, it has 

been retreating throughout the 20th and early 21st centuries.

Glaciers of College Fiord

College Fiord (figs. 255, 256), located at the northern end of Port Wells, is 

about 40 km long and 5 km wide at most. At the beginning of the 21st century, 

it contained five calving tidewater glaciers: Harvard Glacier and Yale Glacier 

(fig. 34) (AGS Glacier Studies Map No. 64–3–G10) (Field, 1965), in two arms 

(Harvard Arm and Yale Arm) at the fjord’s head, and Smith, Bryn Mawr, and 

Wellesley Glaciers on its western wall. Named non-tidewater glaciers in the 

fjord and in the eastern side valleys include Cap, Tommy, Crescent, Amherst, 

Lafayette, Williams, Muth, Dartmouth, Downer, Lowell, Eliot, Radcliffe, 

147°45’W

61°15’N

N

Figure 255.—24 June 2000 Advanced 

Spaceborne Thermal Emission and 

Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) image 

of upper College Fiord. The ASTER multispectral sensor on the Terra spacecraft 

has 15-m-pixel multispectral resolution 

and is another type of satellite image used 

to monitor changes in Alaskan glaciers. 

ASTER image (AST_LIB.003:2012687866) 

from the U.S. Geological Survey, EROS 

Data Center, Sioux Falls, S. Dak.

K274 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Baltimore, Vassar, Barnard, and Holyoke Glaciers. With the exception of 

previously named Cap and Tommy Glaciers, nearly all of these glaciers were 

named by the geologists of the Harriman Alaska Expedition of l899, by Grant 

and Higgins between 1908 and 1912, and by Lawrence Martin in 1910 for 

Ivy League colleges and eastern universities with which they had affiliations. 

Included are all seven of the “Seven Sisters” colleges at that time, women’s 

colleges associated with what were then all-male Ivy League colleges, about 

half of the Ivy League colleges, two other woman’s colleges, and two past 

presidents of Harvard University. Baltimore Glacier was named by Grant and 

Higgins in 1908 for the Woman’s College of Baltimore, now Goucher College; 

Eliot Glacier was named by Martin in 1910 for Charles William Eliot, former 

president of Harvard (Tarr and Martin, 1914). Downer Glacier was named for 

the Milwaukee-Downer College for Women by Martin in 1910; Lowell Glacier, 

first reported by the USGS in 1915, took its name from the first non-native 

settler in the Seward area (Orth, 1967). 

Most of College Fiord’s glaciers have shown a general trend of slow recession since first being mapped at the beginning of the 20th century. Harvard Glacier, however, has been slowly advancing for nearly 100 years. Yale 

Glacier retreated rapidly with more than 6 km of recession during the 20th 

century. The l964 earthquake caused rockslides and avalanches on Smith, 

Vassar, Harvard, and Yale Glaciers.

Figure 256.—8 August 2000 north-looking 

view of College Fiord shows all five of 

the tidewater glaciers located on the west 

side. Photograph by Bruce F. Molnia, U.S. 

Geological Survey.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K275
Cap and Tommy Glaciers

Cap Glacier, an unnamed glacier, and Tommy Glacier are the three southernmost glaciers that ultimately drain into College Fiord. Cap Glacier, located 

on the northern wall of its valley, is a retreating hanging glacier surrounded 

by exposed bedrock. Its outlet stream enters Davis Lake. The unnamed glacier, located at the head of the Avery River, is a small retreating valley glacier. 

Tommy Glacier, located on the northern wall of the Avery River valley, is a 

retreating hanging glacier surrounded by exposed bedrock. When the author 

observed them from the air on 8 August 2000, all showed evidence of continued retreat.

Crescent and Amherst Glaciers

In 1957, Crescent and Amherst Glaciers were visited by an AGS field party 

(AGS Glacier Studies Map No. 64–3–G3) (Field, 1965) that included Field 

and Viereck (Field, 1975b). This party established photographic stations and 

mapped the glacier termini. The termini of both glaciers had been photographed previously from the deck of the Harriman Alaska Expedition vessel 

SS George W. Elder by Merriam in June 1899. Viereck’s 1957 investigation 

found an end moraine that was 800 m beyond the 1957 margin of Crescent 

Glacier and a trimline about 60 m above the 1957 ice surface. On the basis 

of dendrochronology, Viereck concluded that the moraine had formed about 

125 years earlier, or ca. 1830. A second moraine 125 m from the 1957 terminus was dated to the middle 1930s. The author has photographed the glacier 

several times from the air between 1975 and 2002. When he observed it on 5 

September 2000, the terminus of Crescent Glacier had retreated about 1.5 km 

from its 1957 position. Hence, in the 170 years since abandoning its probable 

“Little Ice Age” maximum position, the glacier has retreated almost 2.3 km, 

yielding an average retreat rate of 13.5 m a–1. Between 1830 and 1957, the 

glacier retreated at an average rate of 6.3 m a–1 and thinned an average of 

0.47 m a–1. Between 1957 and 2000, the average rate of retreat was 34.9 m a–1.

The 1957 AGS visit to Amherst Glacier was the first on record. Other than 

subsequent aerial reconnaissance, it is still the only recorded visit to date. 

Field (1975b) summarized the 1914–71 history of the glacier by analyzing 

maps and aerial photography. He reported that, when the glacier was first 

mapped, it ended on an outwash plain. By 1935, when Bradford Washburn 

photographed it, the terminus had retreated and caused the formation of 

an ice-marginal lake. Aerial photographs taken in 1941 by the U.S. Army Air 

Forces, in 1950 and 1957 by the USAF, in 1964 by the C&GS, in 1965 by the 

USGS, and in 1966 and 1971 by the AGS all showed continuing retreat and 

expansion of the lake. This trend was continuing when the author observed 

Amherst Glacier on 14 July 1978 (fig. 257).

Field (1975b) noted that an end moraine is located on the outwash plain 

about 1.5 km in front of the 1957 terminus. Unlike the terminal moraine of 

Crescent Glacier, it could not be dated. The distance between the position 

of the terminus when it was first surveyed in 1914–16 and again in 1950 is 

between 500 and 600 m, suggesting a retreat at an average rate of about 

15 m a–1. Between 1935 and 1950, the glacier retreated about 200 m, suggesting a retreat at an average rate of about 13 m a–1. Between 1950 and 1957, the 

glacier retreated about 100 m, suggesting a retreat at an average rate of about 

14 m a–1. Field (1975b) speculated that the undated end moraine could be 

contemporary with the moraine at adjacent Crescent Glacier. When the author observed the terminus of Amherst Glacier from the air on 4 August 2000 

and 3 September 2002 and from a boat on 3 September 2000, it had retreated 

about 1.4 km from its 1957 position. Therefore, since first being mapped in 

1914–16, the glacier has retreated about 2.0 km, with an average retreat rate 

of approximately 24 m a–1. Because the glacier margin is ringed by an icemarginal lake, part of this retreat may have been caused by calving.

Figure 257.—14 July 1978 east-looking 

photograph of Amherst Glacier. A trimline 

flanks each lateral margin, and an apron 

of bedrock surrounds the terminus, which 

has been retreating at a rate of approximately 15 m a–1 for most of the 20th century. Photograph by Bruce F. Molnia, U.S. 

Geological Survey. A larger version of this 

figure is available online. 

K276 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Lafayette Glacier

Lafayette Glacier is another small west-flowing valley glacier that has received minimal scientific attention. Baird and Field (1951) reported that, 

during the 2-year period between observations in 1947 and 1949, the glacier’s 

terminus retreated 85 m. Similarly, Field (1975b) reported that a comparison 

of Bradford Washburn’s 1935 photograph and a vertical aerial photograph 

taken in 1957 by the USAF shows a retreat of 600 to 700 m. When the author 

observed the glacier from a boat on 3 September 2000 and from the air on 3 

September 2002, it had retreated about another 1.2 km from its 1957 position. Hence, in the 67 years between 1935 and 2002, the glacier retreated 

about 1.85 km, yielding an average retreat rate of about 28 m a–1. 

Glaciers Draining into Coghill Lake

Coghill Lake, which drains into College Fiord through the Coghill River, is 

a 5-km-long lake that is a part of the sediment-filled eastern arm of College 

Fiord. The Coghill Lake and Coghill River basin are separated from College 

Fiord by a ridge with maximum elevations exceeding 710 m. A number of 

small west-flowing glaciers descend from the ridge that separates College 

Fiord and Unakwik Inlet. The named glaciers are Williams, Muth, and Dartmouth Glaciers.

Williams Glacier.—Williams Glacier is an approximately 2-km-long unstudied glacier that is sheltered from sunlight by the ridge that separates 

College Fiord from Unakwik Inlet. When the author observed it from the air 

on 8 August 2000, it showed evidence of retreat.

Muth Glacier.—In l908, Grant and Higgins gave the name Muth Glacier 

to a previously unnamed glacier located on the ridge between Unakwik Inlet and College Fiord. However, it is uncertain which glacier they actually 

named. The USGS Anchorage A–2 1:63,360-scale topographic quadrangle 

map (1960) (appendix B) shows Muth Glacier as a westward-flowing glacier that drains into Coghill Lake. However, Bean (1911), who mapped the 

bathymetry of Port Wells and College Fiord in 1910, showed Muth Glacier as 

being on the eastern side of this divide, approximately 7.5 km to the south. 

Bean’s Muth Glacier is an eastward-flowing glacier within the Unakwik Inlet 

drainage, draining into Jonah Bay. Both glaciers show signs of continuing 

retreat and thinning.

Dartmouth Glacier.—Dartmouth Glacier is a 3.5-km-long southwestflowing unstudied valley glacier that has been retreating since it was first 

photographed in 1941. The 1941 terminus sits nearly 800 m behind a trimline 

that marks a major previous undated expansion of the glacier. Field (1975b) 

stated that, between 1941 and 1966, the terminus retreated about 750 m, an 

annual average rate of 30 m a–1. When the author photographed the terminus 

from the air in August 2000, it was approximately 1.3 km behind the 1966 

terminus. During this 34-year interval, the average rate of retreat was around 

38 m a–1. Between 1941 and 2000, the glacier retreated about 2.1 km, an average rate of retreat of about 35 m a–1.

Bathymetry of College Fiord 

Bean (1911) performed the first bathymetric survey of College Fiord in 

1910. He found that the fjord walls were very steep both above and below 

the water line, that all spurs were truncated, and that water depths in the 

fjord ranged from 38 to 245 m, being approximately 194 m deep about 300 m 

from the 1910 face of Harvard Glacier, and 86 m deep about 540 m from Yale 

Glacier (Tarr and Martin, 1914, pl. CXXVI, ff p. 320). This shallowing of the 

water is now known to be the result of a submarine moraine at the grounded 

terminus of an advancing tidewater glacier, in conformance with the theory 

of tidewater glacier stability (Post, 1975) (fig. 42).

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K277
Glaciers of Yale Arm

Yale Glacier.—Yale Glacier, an active calving tidewater glacier, sits at the 

head of Yale Arm. It originates in snowfields around Mount Witherspoon, 

which has a summit elevation of more than 3,500 m. In 2002, the terminus 

of Yale Glacier consisted of two parts—a southeastern tidewater calving terminus with an estimated 15- to 20-m-high ice face and an approximate width 

of 1 km and a land-based northwestern terminus about 1.2 km wide that lies 

within a basin of bedrock bosses and knobs that it previously covered. Yale 

Glacier has retreated nearly 8 km from its “Little Ice Age” maximum position 

adjacent to College Point at the southern end of Dora Keen Ridge, which 

separates Yale Arm from Harvard Arm.

In 1887, Yale Glacier was first mapped by Applegate (Davidson,1904) 

from a location adjacent to Coghill Point. In late April 1898, it was visited and 

photographed by Mendenhall (see USGS Photo Library photograph Brooks 

1114) and visited by Castner (Glenn, 1899). Castner walked over much of 

the terminus on snowshoes. That summer, the glacier was mapped again by 

Glenn (1899). In 1899, it was also observed by the Harriman Alaska Expedition (Tarr and Martin, 1914, pl. CXXI, ff p. 320) and mapped again by Gannett (Gannett, 1899; Gilbert, 1904). Detailed investigations were performed 

in 1905 and 1909 by Grant and Higgins (1910, 1911a, b, 1913) and by Martin 

(1913) and Bean (1911) in 1910. In 1910, field surveys were conducted under the direction of Martin for the NGS, with topography by W.B Lewis and 

F.E. Williams and soundings by E.F. Bean (Tarr and Martin, 1914, pl. CXXII, 

ff p. 320). The resulting contour map, published by Tarr and Martin (1914), 

depicted the lower reaches of Yale, Downer, Lowell, Harvard, Eliot, Radcliffe, 

Baltimore, Smith, Bryn Mawr, Vassar, and Wellesley Glaciers. Not only did 

Martin’s observations serve as the basis for his doctoral dissertation, but the 

map produced by his field party is also the first precise map made of the upper College Fiord region.

Glenn (1899, p. 19–20) described Yale Glacier and adjacent Harvard Glacier as follows: 

The day was dry and clear. Directly in our front was the most imposing sight we 

had yet seen—I might add more imposing than any we saw during the season. 

Glistening in the sun were two large glaciers, which we named the “Twin Glaciers,” the pair being separated by a short ridge of hogback that runs down to salt 

water. In front of the one on our right (Yale) the sea ice extended for over three 

miles, while in front of the other (Harvard) this sea ice extended at least twice 

that distance. The ice was covered with snow several feet in depth. We soon discovered that it would bear up the weight of a man and that we could make no 

headway against it with the boat. Each of these glaciers is what is termed “live” 

or “working” glaciers. The front of each was an almost perpendicular mass of 

ice, from which immense pieces were constantly breaking off and falling into 

the sea with a great roaring noise, due principally to the action of the tides.

Cooper’s (1942) observations of the area around the glacier in 1935 led 

him to conclude that Yale Glacier had been both thicker and longer quite 

recently. Development of alder (Alnus sp.) thickets about 200 m above the 

southeastern side of the glacier led Cooper to conclude that the terminus of 

Yale Glacier had previously reached the mouth of Yale Arm, about 3.2 km in 

front of its 1935 terminus. Twenty-two years later, Field (1975b) reported 

that Viereck, a member of the 1957 AGS field party, examined a trimline that 

he found on the northeastern side of the glacier. On the basis of dendrochronological information that he collected, he concluded that Yale Glacier 

had reached its most recent maximum position sometime 130 to 150 years 

before his study (between 1807 and 1827). He also concluded that no larger 

glacier advance had occurred since at least 1650.

The distance between this 1807–27 limit and the 1910 position of the 

terminus ranges from 3.5 to 5.0 km. The average rate of retreat during this 

interval ranges from a minimum of 34 m a–1 to a maximum of 60 m a–1. Vegetative evidence indicates most of the 19th century retreat occurred before 

1860. Grant and Higgins (1913, p. 29) stated that “The presence of a mature 

K278 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
alder thicket close to the ice front indicates that the glacier is now very near 

its maximum advance in a period of perhaps 50 or more years.”

Tarr and Martin (1914) presented evidence that the position of the terminus was relatively unchanged between 1899 and 1910. In 1910, Martin 

observed as much as 230 m of change in the position of the terminus, an indication that a strong advance was underway. In one location, Tarr and Martin 

(1914) reported that trees at least 33 years old were being overtopped. When 

Field (1932) visited Yale Glacier in 1931, he found evidence of a pre-1931 advance of as much as 400 m. Following a short period of retreat, Field (1937) 

noted that, by 1935, a maximum advance of about 60 m had occurred. On 

the basis of 1949 photography, Baird and Field (1951) concluded that, aside 

from thinning, the position of the terminus at most locations was similar to 

its 1935 position. The major exception was a recession of several hundred 

meters along the southeastern margin of the terminus.

In addition to using the 1949 photography, Field (1975b) compared aerial 

photographs of Yale Glacier made by the USAF in 1950, 1954, and 1957 and 

by the AGS in 1957 with field observations and photographs made by a group 

from Brigham Young University in 1961 and by the AGS in 1964, 1966, and 

1971. He concluded that, between 1950 and 1957, the southern part of the 

glacier’s terminus advanced from 50 to150 m, so that “At the southeastern 

end, the 1957 terminus was within 50 m of its 1899 position” (Field, 1975b, 

p. 385). Retreat began quickly; between 200 and 450 m of retreat occurred 

between 1957 and 1961. By 1966, the terminus had retreated about 1,350 m, 

yielding an average annual retreat rate of about 150 m a–1. Rapid retreat 

continued, and, by 1971, the terminus had retreated approximately 2.5 km 

from its 1957 location. By 1964, retreat had exposed a 2-km-long bedrock 

island, parts of which had been exposed previously as bedrock ledges in the 

1899–1910 period.

Field (1975b) commented that, in 1964, the height of the iceface was measured at 112 m. In all of his observations, which at that time spanned a period 

approaching 40 years, he had not seen as high an ice face (nor has the author 

in more than 35 years of observations). 

 From an analysis of the same photographs and field observations, Field 

(1975b) reported that the recession of the northwestern part of the terminus 

was significantly slower than that of the active tidewater southeastern part; 

between 0.5 and 1.0 km of retreat occurred between 1910 and 1961. This 

part of the terminus entered tidewater until the 1940s. Between the 1940s 

and 1957, much of this margin retreated onto land. However, the USGS Anchorage A–2, 1:63,360-scale topographic quadrangle map (1960) (appendix B), which was based on 1957 photography, still shows the presence of a 

tidewater embayment on the northwestern margin of Yale Glacier.

Sturm and others (1991) summarized historic data on the retreat of Yale 

Glacier and provided new information about its retreat between 1974 and 

1990. Their findings are based on aerial photography acquired in 1987, 1989, 

and 1990 and on a Landsat image acquired in 1985. They determined that, between 1974 and 1990, the southern side of the glacier retreated 2,070 m, and 

the northern side retreated 1,640 m. Hence, maximum retreat rates ranged 

from 103 to129 m a–1. Specifically, for the southern side, they measured 1,380 

m of retreat between 1974 and 1978 (an average retreat of 345 m a–1), 260 m 

of retreat between 1978 and 1985 (an average retreat of 37 m a–1), 320 m of 

retreat between 1985 and 1987 (an average retreat of 160 m a–1), and 120 m 

of retreat between 1987 and 1990 (an average retreat of 40 m a–1). For the 

northern side, they measured 920 m of retreat between 1974 and 1978 (an 

average retreat of 230 m a–1), 280 m of retreat between 1978 and 1985 (an 

average retreat of 40 m a–1), 440 m of retreat between 1985 and 1987 (an average retreat of 220 m a–1), and no retreat between 1987 and 1990. Hence, at 

times, the retreat of the land-based northern part of the terminus exceeded 

the rate of retreat of the tidewater southern terminus.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K279
The author has observed and photographed the glacier more than a dozen 

times between 1974 and 2004. During that period, the southeastern tidewater terminus has retreated between 2.7 and 3.1 km, and the northwestern 

grounded part of the terminus has retreated a maximum of about 2 km. This 

retreat has been accompanied by significant thinning of the entire terminus 

area. During the 26-year period between 1974 and 2000, including observations on 15 August 1978 (fig. 258), 13 August 1994 (oblique aerial photograph 

no. 94VE–88 by Austin Post, USGS), and 17 August 1999 (BLM photograph 

no. Yale GL.R3, FR–186), Yale Glacier retreated at an average annual rate 

that ranged between 74 m a–1 (western side) and 110 m a–1 (eastern side).

In the early 1990s (Viens, 1995) (table 2), Yale Glacier had a length of 

32.2 km, an area of 194 km2, a width at its face of 1.0 km, and an AAR of 0.79. 

Its accumulation area was approximately 153 km2, and its ablation area was 

approximately 41 km2.

Unnamed Glaciers of Yale Arm.—On the southern side of Yale Arm opposite Dora Keen Ridge, several unnamed west- to north-flowing retreating 

hanging glaciers descend from the flanks of 1,687-m-high Mount Castner. Two 

unnamed glaciers were pre-20th century tributaries to Yale Glacier. A third 

unnamed glacier was still connected to Yale Glacier in 2001. A fourth unnamed 

glacier has retreated more than 1 km since being photographed in 1957.

Figure 258.—View of the retreating Yale 

Glacier on 15 August 1978. Northeastlooking view of ice extending to the right 

(east) edge of the photograph and newly 

emergent bedrock to the left of center. 

Photograph by Bruce F. Molnia, U.S. 

Geological Survey. A larger version of this 

figure is available online. 

Glaciers of Harvard Arm

Harvard Glacier.—Harvard Glacier, located at the head of Harvard Arm, 

is the second largest and second longest glacier in Prince William Sound. It 

is an active calving tidewater glacier with a face that is approximately 2.5 km 

wide. It is fed by more than 20 major tributaries that originate in snow- and 

ice fields on the flanks of some of the highest peaks of the Chugach Mountains, including 4,017-m-high Mount Marcus Baker, many unnamed summits, 

Mount Thor, Mount Gilbert Lewis, and Mount Elusive, all having summits 

higher than 3,500 m. In 2004, the terminus of Harvard Glacier, which has advanced nearly 3 km since first being photographed in the late 19th century, 

was advancing. Harvard Glacier has four present or former named tributaries: Downer and Lowell Glaciers on its eastern side and Radcliffe and Elliot 

Glaciers on its western side.

Like Yale Glacier, Harvard Glacier was first mapped from a distance by 

Applegate in 1887 (Davidson, 1904). Martin (1913) stated that this map and 

earlier maps are not detailed enough to determine pre-1887 changes. During 

July 1899, the glacier was observed by the Harriman Alaska Expedition and 

mapped again by Gannett (Gannett, 1899; Gilbert, 1904). Detailed investigations were performed in 1905 and 1909 by Grant and Higgins (1910, 1911a, 

b, 1913), and by Martin (1913), and Bean (1911) in 1910. Between 1899 and 

1905, the glacier changed very little. However, during the next 4 years, an 

advance occurred that Grant and Higgins (1911a) reported as being from 

400 to 800 m but that Martin (1913) reported as being only about 200 m. Between 1909 and 1910, the glacier advanced another 30 to 45 m. The contour 

map of upper College Fiord published by Tarr and Martin (1914) shows the 

relationship of Harvard Glacier and its southern tributaries (Downer, Lowell, 

Eliot, and Radcliffe Glaciers) and Baltimore Glacier. 

Dora Keen visited and mapped the glacier’s terminus position in 1914 

and reported that the eastern side of the margin showed some recession, 

although the western side continued to advance (Keen, 1915a). Her observations were made as she attempted to be the first woman to traverse the western Chugach Mountains from south to north. Her route over the lower 26 km 

of Harvard Glacier (Keen, 1915b) permitted her to map and observe Harvard 

Glacier and many of its larger tributaries. 

Field monitored changes in Harvard Glacier for more than 50 years. A map 

that he prepared showing positions of its terminus between 1899 and 1964 

has been updated by the author to 2000 (fig. 259). Field first visited Harvard 

Figure 259.—Map of Harvard Glacier 

showing fluctuations in the position of its 

terminus from 1899 to 2000. Base map is 

derived from AGS Glacier Studies Map no. 

64–3–G2 (Field, 1965). Year 1978, 1992, and 

2000 positions (approximate) are based on 

observations made by the author. Positions 

of the termini of Smith Glacier and several 

other glaciers are also shown.

K280 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
2000

1992

1978

Glacier in 1931 (Field, 1932, p. 378–379) and determined that, in comparison with its 1905 position, the terminus had advanced “at least 2000 feet 

(~610 m) at the eastern margin and somewhat less on the western.” Field 

(1937) visited the glacier again in 1937 and determined that, between 1931 

and 1937, the glacier had advanced another 30 to 60 m. A decade later and 

again in 1949, D.M. Brown (1952) visited the glacier and documented a continuing advance, although he did not quantify the amount of change.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K281
Field (1975b) compared aerial photographs of the glacier made by the 

USAF in 1950, 1954, and 1957, and the USN in 1957, the C&GS in 1964, and 

Austin Post between 1960 and 1971 with field observations and photographs 

made by a group from Brigham Young University in 1961 and the AGS in 

1957, 1964, 1966, and 1971. He concluded that, between 1899 and 1971, the 

terminus of Harvard Glacier advanced about 1.4 km and stated that this location is “its most advanced position since at least the seventeenth century” 

(Field, 1975b, v. 2, p. 388). Field based this conclusion on Cooper’s (1942) 

observation that, in 1935, the advancing terminus of the glacier was pushing 

into a forest of spruce trees (Picea sp.) having as many as 246 growth rings. 

Since then, the glacier has continued to advance. Additional aerial photographs have been acquired by many agencies, including the AHAP Program 

on 25 August 1978 (fig. 260) and the BLM in 1999 (see BLM vertical aerial 

photograph no. Harvard GL.R3, FR–208 acquired on 17 August 1999).

S

mith Glacier

H a r v a rd A rm

R

a

d

cliffe Gla

cier

Baltimore Glacier

S

mith Glacier

Bryn

M

a

wr Glacier

N

Harvard Glacier

Figure 260.—25 August 1978 AHAP falsecolor infrared vertical aerial photograph 

of upper Harvard Arm and the Harvard 

Glacier. AHAP photograph no. L107F7037 

from the GeoData Center, Geophysical 

Institute, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, 

Alaska.

K282 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Sturm and others (1991) summarized historical data on the changes in 

Harvard Glacier and provided new information about its advance during the 

second half of the 20th century. These new findings are based on data presented by Brown and others (1982) and Meier and Post (1987). Sturm and 

others (1991) determined that, between 1899 and 1989, the western side 

of the glacier advanced 1,520 m; the eastern side advanced 2,056 m. Hence, 

maximum long-term advance rates ranged from 16.9 to 22.9 m a–1. Specifically, for the western side, there was no change between 1899 and 1905, 270 m 

of advance between 1905 and 1910 (an average advance of 54 m a–1), 300 m 

of advance between 1910 and 1931 (an average advance of 14 m a–1), 100 m of 

advance between 1931 and 1935 (an average advance of 25 m a–1), 490 m of 

advance between 1935 and 1957 (an average advance of 22 m a–1), 170 m of 

advance between 1957 and 1961 (an average advance of 43 m a–1), 40 m of retreat between 1961 and 1964 (an average retreat of 13 m a–1), 80 m of advance 

between 1964 and 1976 (an average advance of 7 m a–1), no change between 

1976 and 1978, and 150 m of advance between 1978 and 1989 (an average 

advance of 14 m a–1). For the eastern side, there was no change between 1899 

and 1905, 370 m of advance between 1905 and 1910 (an average advance of 

74 m a–1), 240 m of advance between 1910 and 1931 (an average advance of 

11 m a–1), 160 m of advance between 1931 and 1935 (an average advance of 

40 m a–1), 130 m of advance between 1935 and 1957 (an average advance of 

6 m a–1), 320 m of advance between 1957 and 1961 (an average advance of 

80 m a–1), 140 m of advance between 1961 and 1964 (an average retreat of 

47 m a–1), 250 m of advance between 1964 and 1976 (an average advance of 

21 m a–1), no change between 1976 and 1978, and 446 m of advance between 

1978 and 1989 (an average advance of 41 m a–1).

The author has observed and photographed Harvard Glacier more than 

a dozen times between 1974, 14 August 1978 (fig. 261A), 31 August 2002 

(fig. 261B), and 2004. During that period, the tidewater terminus has advanced about 1.0 km. This advance has been accompanied by some thinning along the entire margin of the terminus area. Hence, during the 27-year 

Figure 261.—Two photographs showing details of the advancing Harvard 

Glacier. A, 14 August 1978 north-looking view shows the advancing terminus 

of Harvard Glacier and its two primary northwestern tributaries, Radcliffe and 

Elliot Glaciers. B, 31 August 2000 south-looking view from a point approximately 10 km north of the terminus of Harvard Glacier shows that the volume 

of ice delivered by the entering Radcliffe Glacier is sufficient to deflect the 

central medial moraine complex of Harvard Glacier to the east. Photographs 

by Bruce F. Molnia, U.S. Geological Survey. A larger version of B is available 

online. 

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K283
period between 1974 and 2001, the glacier has advanced at an average annual rate of approximately 37 m a–1. In the early 1990s (Viens, 1995) (tables 

2, 3), Harvard Glacier had a length of 40 km, an area of 524 km2, a width at its 

face of 2.4 km, and an AAR of 0.81. Its accumulation area was 423 km2, and its 

ablation area was 101 km2.

Radcliffe Glacier.—Radcliffe Glacier (fig. 260) is a primary tributary of 

Harvard Glacier that joins it from the west about 6 km above its terminus. It is 

composed of two principle east-flowing tributaries that coalesce about 2 km 

above its juncture with Harvard Glacier. When its ice was combined with the 

main trunk of Harvard Glacier, it made up approximately one-third of the 

width of the terminus in 2000. Since first being observed in the later part of 

the 19th century, Radcliffe Glacier has always been connected to Harvard 

Glacier.

Gilbert (1904, p. 84) described the 1899 relationship of Radcliffe Glacier 

to Harvard Glacier as follows: “The Radcliffe joins the Harvard so close to the 

water front that it does not become fully merged with the greater stream, 

but merely coalesces at one edge on its way to the sea. A conspicuous medial 

moraine of the Radcliffe maintains its high declivity quite to the water’s edge, 

and the cliff where the Radcliffe ends is notably lower than the confluent cliff 

along the front of the Harvard.”

The 1910 position of Radcliffe Glacier and its relationship to Harvard Glacier are shown on Tarr and Martin’s (1914, pl. CXXVI, ff p. 320) topographic 

map of glaciers in College Fiord. When Martin observed Radcliffe in 1910, it 

occupied a larger part of the face of Harvard Glacier than it did at the beginning of the 21st century. Tarr and Martin (1914, p. 298) stated that, “The position of the medial moraine formed by the north lateral moraine of the Radcliffe Glacier, indicates that in 1910 the Radcliffe was almost as strong as the 

main Harvard Glacier above the junction; for this medial moraine reaches the 

terminal cliff of Harvard Glacier nearly in the middle, showing that at least 

in the upper layers the ice from Radcliffe Glacier compresses the Harvard 

stream to half of its normal width.” When the author observed the glacier in 

September 2000, a recently exposed bare area along its northern margin was 

evidence of minor thinning. Otherwise, Radcliffe Glacier appeared to be an 

active and healthy glacier.

Baltimore Glacier.—Baltimore Glacier (fig. 260), a small retreating 

hanging glacier on the western side of Harvard Arm, just south of Radcliffe 

Glacier, was named by Grant and Higgins in 1908 for the Woman’s College of 

Baltimore, now Goucher College. Its 1910 position is shown on Tarr and Martin’s (1914, pl. CXXVI, ff p. 320) topographic map of glaciers in College Fiord. 

When Tarr and Martin observed it in July 1910, they described it as “a clean 

white ice mass, with no moraine except small medials near the terminus. 

Half a mile from the end it bifurcates, the north lobe being larger and ending 

lower (1,004 feet) than the south lobe. A barren zone about its terminus indicates that the glacier is less extensive than it was a few years ago....” (Tarr 

and Martin, 1914, p. 300).

Field (1975b) reported that a significant amount of retreat occurred during the period through 1931. However, between 1931 and 1935 (Field, 1937), 

the glacier advanced. From 1935 through 1938, it retreated. This retreat 

was followed by an advance between 1938 and 1941. Little change occurred 

through 1954. The glacier resumed its retreat through 1964. Field (1975b) 

reported no appreciable change between 1964 and 1971 and concluded that, 

during the 47-year-period 1910 through 1957, the glacier retreated between 

500 and 600 m and thinned between 120 and 150 m. The average annual rate 

of retreat ranged from 10.6 to 12.7 m a–1, whereas the average rate of thinning ranged from 2.6–3.2 m a–1.

 Observations by the author were initiated in 1974 and have continued 

through 2004. During that 30-year-period, the terminus separated into a 

K284 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
number of fingerlike projections, retreated as much as 600 m, and thinned 

appreciably. 

Smith Glacier.—Smith Glacier, an iceberg-calving tidewater glacier located about 2.5 km south of Harvard Glacier, has a length of 10 km (Field, 

1975b, p. 471) (fig. 260). It was first described by the Harriman Alaska Expedition in 1899 (Gannett, 1899; Gilbert, 1904, p. 86), as follows: “Smith Glacier 

reaches the fiord three or four miles from the Radcliffe, and is of the same 

order of magnitude. Fed by several tributaries among the crests of the range, 

it gathers in a high mountain valley and then descends in magnificent cascades down the mountain front to the sea. In the last part of its course it has 

scarcely any valley, the outer surface of the ice being flush with the face of 

the mountain; and there is no flattening of its profile as it reaches the water.”

Through 1909, each margin of the glacier was marked by a narrow barren 

zone (Tarr and Martin, 1914). However, between 1909 and 1910, the glacier began to advance and widen. By July 1910, the barren zones had been 

overridden by advancing ice, which was pushing into the adjacent alders 

(Alnus sp.). The 1910 position is shown on Tarr and Martin’s (1914, pl. CXXVI, ff p. 320) topographic map of glaciers in College Fiord. Tarr and Martin 

described this advance as follows: “Along the advancing margin the alders 

were being destroyed in three ways,—by actual overriding of the spreading 

glacier, by stream encroachment, and by ice-block avalanches which rolled 

some distance out into the forest knocking down and breaking off shrubs and 

removing their bark 6 or 8 feet above the ground (Tarr and Martin, 1914, pl. 

CXVI, ff p. 320) [Editors’ note: a ground photograph taken on 22 July 1910]. It 

was impossible to tell exactly how much the tidal terminus of the glacier had 

moved forward since 1909 but there was undoubtedly several hundred feet 

of advance, accompanying the spreading on the north and south margins...” 

Tarr and Martin (1914, p. 301–302) observed “a flat tidal terminus extending 

a short distance out into the fiord, where Gilbert says there was none in 1899. 

The extreme southern edge of ice cliff was a black, crevassed precipice, the 

lateral moraine of 1899 having been pushed forward into the sea.”

Smith Glacier was next observed by Keen (1915a) in 1914. She reported 

no change from 1910. Field (1932) visited the glacier in 1931, and noted a 

significant amount of retreat. Upon his return in 1935, Field (1937) noted an 

increase in terminus activity. He later reported that, except for several minor 

fluctuations in the position of the terminus, “the glacier did not change appreciably from 1931 to 1971” (Field, 1975b, v. 2, p. 392). Observations by the 

author were made first in 1974, repeated on 15 August 1978 (fig. 262A) and 

8 August 2000 (fig. 262B), and have continued through 2004. During that 

30-year-period (1974–2004), the terminus has maintained a calving face in 

the fjord, but the barren zone along the margins of the glacier has increased 

significantly in width. The extent of the terminus in 2004 was larger than 

that of the terminus in 1910 and was at least 150 m more advanced than the 

terminus in 1899.

In the early 1990s (Viens, 1995) (tables 2, 3), Smith Glacier had a length 

of 9.7 km, an area of 20 km2, a width at its face of 400 m, and an AAR of 0.81. 

Its accumulation area was 16 km2, and its ablation area was 4 km2.

Bryn Mawr Glacier.—Bryn Mawr Glacier, an iceberg-calving tidewater glacier located about 2.5 km south of Smith Glacier, is 8 km long (Field, 

1975b, p. 471) (fig. 260); it is formed by the joining of two eastward-flowing 

tributaries about equal in size. When the Harriman Alaska Expedition visited 

it in 1899, Bryn Mawr’s terminus reached tidewater. Gilbert (1904, p. 88) 

noted that it is somewhat larger than Smith Glacier. He described its tidewater terminus as follows: “As tide is reached, there is a tendency to flatten 

the profile, and the central portion of the stream becomes nearly or quite 

horizontal for a few hundred feet before breaking off in the terminal cliff.”

According to Grant and Higgins (1910, 1911a, b), little change occurred 

through 1905. By 1909, they noted that the glacier had advanced as much as 

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K285
150 m. Tarr and Martin (1914, p. 302–303) reported that, when they visited 

in 1910, the glacier was advancing: “On each side of the glacier a small stream 

emerges from the ice, and at the time of our visit the borders of the glacier 

were encroaching on these stream courses. All along its northern margin the 

Bryn Mawr Glacier was advancing into the forest, where it was killing spruces 

up to 5 inches in diameter, suggesting that the glacier had not been so large 

for a half century or thereabouts.” Bryn Mawr’s 1910 position is shown on 

Tarr and Martin’s (1914) topographic map of glaciers in College Fiord.

By 1931, Field (1932) reported that the glacier had retreated more than 

450 m. Upon his return in 1935, he noted that the glacier had advanced and 

had spread laterally as much as 60 m (Field, 1937). Brown (1952, p. 43) reported that, by 1949, the glacier had readvanced and recovered the area lost 

before 1931: “Laterally, the tongue has elongated southward over six hundred feet and is tearing up trees with greater than fifty annual rings.” Field 

(1975b) again visited the glacier in 1957 as part of an AGS field party and 

measured about 100 m of retreat from the late 1940s maximum position. According to Field (1975b, v. 2, p. 393), the late 1940s advance “was the greatest on the southern margin since at least the 1860s.” Retreat continued until 

sometime between 1961 and 1964 (AGS Glacier Studies Map No. 64–3–G8) 

(Field, 1965). Between 1964 and 1971, the last observation reported by Field 

(1975b), the glacier underwent a small readvance. In summary, during the 

72-year period between the observations of the Harriman Alaska Expedition in 1899 and 1971, the position of the terminus of Bryn Mawr Glacier 

Figure 262.—Two photographs show 

changes of Smith Glacier during the last 

quarter of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century. Although Smith 

Glacier continues to maintain its tidewater 

terminus, it is clearly thinning and retreating. A, 15 August 1978 northwest-looking 

view of most of Smith Glacier. A trimline 

on the left and newly emergent bedrock 

at several locations document the recent 

thinning of the glacier. Its tidewater calving 

terminus is located close to its 20th century maximum position. B, 8 August 2000 

northwest-looking oblique aerial photograph shows nearly all of Smith Glacier 

(left half of photograph). Emergent bedrock 

lies along much of the lower lateral margins of both sides of the glacier and at the 

southern side of its terminus. Note the difference in the position of the southern versus the northern part of the terminus. The 

northern part of the terminus has retreated 

several hundred meters since the 1970s; 

the southern part shows little change. The 

tidewater terminus of Harvard Glacier is 

on the right; Radcliffe Glacier is the large 

tributary glacier that merges with Harvard 

Glacier. Photographs by Bruce F. Molnia, 

U.S. Geological Survey. A larger version of 

B is available online. 

K286 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
fluctuated as much as 575 m, reaching maxima in 1910–14 and again in 1949. 

By 1971, the glacier was again retreating, although it was still less than 50 m 

from its 1949 position.

Observations by the author were made first in 1974 and repeated on 8 

August 2000 (fig. 263) and have continued through 2004. During the 30-

year-period between 1974 and 2004, the terminus first advanced and then 

retreated. It has continued to maintain a calving face in the fjord, although 

bedrock is beginning to crop out at sea level along the face of the glacier. The 

position of the terminus in 2004 is less advanced than in 1978, and at least 

250 m more retreated than that of the glacier in 1910. The position of the 

1978 terminus is approximately the same as it was in 1949.

In the early 1990s (Viens, 1995)( tables 2, 3), Bryn Mawr Glacier had a 

length of 7.6 km, an area of 26 km2, a width at its face of 900 m, and an AAR of 

0.84; its accumulation area was 22 km2, and its ablation area was 4 km2. 

Vassar Glacier.—Vassar Glacier was a tidewater glacier when it was first 

visited by the Harriman Alaska Expedition in 1899, but it is no longer. Gilbert 

(1904, p. 88) described it as a cascading glacier similar to Smith and Bryn 

Mawr Glaciers “but of smaller size and less direct in its course. It is cumbered, 

especially in its lower part, by rock debris, and close inspection was necessary to determine that it was actually tidal.” Early 20th century observations 

were made in 1905 and 1909 by Grant and Higgins (1910, 1911a, b, 1913) and 

by Martin in 1910 (Martin, 1913). Between 1899 and the summer of 1909, the 

glacier was ringed by a barren zone and showed very little change. However, 

by 21 July 1910, an advance was underway. Tarr and Martin (1914, p. 304) reported that, “At the time of our visit the glacier touched tidewater along the 

whole portion of the front between the flanking alluvial fans, but with a low, 

sloping moraine-veneered margin along the southern half, and with a low, 

dirty, nearly vertical cliff in the northern half... portions of the barren zone 

were covered. That on the north side near sea level was not completely overridden by July 21, 1910, but higher on the fiord wall it was almost covered... 

The southern edge of the glacier at sea level was also obviously advancing... 

Near sea level the glacier extended right up to the forest which included 

mature spruces.” The amount of the 1910 advance and its duration are unknown but the advance is estimated to be about 30 to 45 m. The contour 

map of upper College Fiord, published by Tarr and Martin (1914, pl. CXXVI, 

ff p. 320), shows the 1910 position and extent of Vassar Glacier.

Vassar Glacier was next observed by Keen (1915a) in 1914. She reported 

that the glacier was continuing to advance but did not quantify the amount of 

change from its 1910 position. Field (1932, 1937) visited the glacier in 1931 

and again in 1935. He stated that changes from 1910 were not appreciable, 

but he was unable to make any quantitative comparison of change. However, 

he noted that between 1931 to 1935, there was evidence of shrinkage in the 

terminus area and of lateral expansion above the terminus.

Field (1975b) stated that the glacier was photographed in 1941 by the U.S. 

Army Air Forces and numerous additional times through 1968. He reported 

that during this period, “the moraine-covered terminal lobe has slowly diminished in volume and has shrunk in height and area since the turn of the century. This shrinkage is especially noticeable in a comparison of vertical aerial 

photographs taken between 1941 and 1968. Alders are steadily encroaching 

along the margins and on the moraine-covered, apparently stagnant, ice of 

the terminal lobe” (Field, 1975b, v. 2, p. 396). 

Observations by the author were begun in 1974 and have continued 

through 2004. When the author observed Vassar Glacier on 15 June 1978 

(fig. 264), vegetation was well established near the shoreline on the stagnant 

debris-covered terminus. It was impossible to tell if any ice remained in the 

terminus area. During the next 26 years, the width of the cascading lower 

portion of the glacier diminished by about 30 percent. In 2004, retreat and 

thinning were apparent along all of the bare-ice margins of the glacier.

Figure 263.—8 August 2000 oblique aerial 

photograph shows bare bedrock along 

each lateral margin and the retreated 

central part of the terminus of Bryn Mawr 

Glacier. Photograph by Bruce F. Molnia, 

U.S. Geological Survey. A larger version of 

this figure is available online.

Figure 264.—15 June 1978 photograph 

shows the debris-covered terminus of 

Vassar Glacier and a large area of exposed 

bedrock in the middle of the glacier. Vassar 

Glacier shows evidence that it has thinned 

along each lateral margin and retreated, 

especially along the south side of its terminus. Photograph by Bruce F. Molnia, U.S. 

Geological Survey. A larger version of this 

figure is available online.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K287
Wellesley Glacier.—Wellesley Glacier, a tidewater glacier (fig. 41) situated at the head of a small inlet, has a terminus that is about1 km wide. The 

inlet has water depths of 6 to 39 m. The shores of the inlet are composed of 

an undated older breached terminal moraine. Wellesley Glacier, then surrounded by a large barren zone, was first described by the Harriman Alaska 

Expedition in 1899 (Harriman, 1902). Gilbert (1904, p. 88) characterized it 

as flowing “with gentle grade through a mountain trough joining the fiord at 

right angles, and then cascades to the sea, into which it plunges without notable modification of profile. Beyond it are small glaciers occupying alcoves 

on the mountain front but ending far above the water.”

When Martin next visited in 1910 (Tarr and Martin,1914), the position of 

the terminus was essentially unchanged from 1899. Its location is shown on 

their contour map of upper College Fiord. However, Tarr and Martin (1914, 

p. 305) presented several lines of evidence that an advance was underway: 

“Although at the time of our visit there was a very much larger barren zone 

around the glacier terminus than around any other ice tongue in College 

Fiord, it was then actively advancing, and the northern and southern margins had partly covered the lateral barren zone previously exposed.”

The glacier was next observed by Keen (1915a) in 1914, who reported that 

a slight recession had occurred from its 1910 position. Field (1932) visited 

the glacier in 1931 and found that the 1931 terminus position was advanced 

beyond the 1910 position. However, he described evidence suggesting that 

the glacier had first retreated before its advance. Between 1931 and 1935 

(Field, 1937), there was evidence of lateral expansion above the terminus, 

but no evidence of change in the terminus region. Between 1935 and 1968, 

the glacier changed very little; it experienced a small advance between 1968 

and 1971 (Field, 1975b).

The author began his observations in 1974 and continued them through 

2004. When he first observed the southern margin of the glacier, it was surrounded by a large vegetation-free, barren bedrock area; the northern margin 

was composed of a broad area of stagnant, debris-covered ice. By 8 August 

2000 (fig. 265), retreat and thinning were apparent along all margins of the 

glacier, and bedrock was exposed at several locations along its face.

In the early 1990s (Viens, 1995) (tables 2, 3), Wellesley Glacier had a 

length of 7.2 km, an area of 16 km2, a width at its face of 550 m, and an AAR of 

0.78; its accumulation area was 12 km2, and its ablation area was 4 km2.

Barnard Glacier.—Barnard Glacier is one of the “small glaciers occupying alcoves on the mountain front but ending far above the water” mentioned 

by Gilbert (1904, p. 88). This hanging glacier had an extensive barren zone 

around its margin when first described, but an advance that began after 1899 

and before 1910 reduced the size of the zone. Tarr and Martin (1914, p. 306) 

stated that Barnard Glacier, with two ice tongues, “has not descended much 

farther toward the fiord for a century or more; but a barren zone between the 

ice and forest, present in 1899 as well as in 1910, proves that it has been retreating in recent years. Between 1899 and 1910 there was an advance of the 

south lobe down the lip of the hanging valley, and a slight advance of the north 

lobe.... We are inclined to believe that the advance was still going on in 1910.” 

Keen (1915a) noted no change of the margin’s position in 1914. Between 1914 

and 1937, when the glacier was photographed by Bradford Washburn, it had 

retreated. Retreat continued through Field’s (1975b) last data set, which was 

based on 1971 aerial photography. Field (1975b, p. 397) described this retreat 

as a “very considerable net recession of the terminus during that interval.”

The author began his observations in 1974 and continued them through 

2004. During this 30-year period, the glacier has retreated and thinned significantly. The author’s initial observation of the perimeter of the glacier indicated that it was surrounded by a large vegetation-free, barren bedrock area and 

that an abandoned lateral moraine was developing a dense vegetative cover. 

In 2004, retreat and thinning were continuing along all margins of the glacier.

Figure 265.—8 August 2000 west-looking 

oblique aerial photograph shows the 

calving, retreating terminus of Wellesley 

Glacier. The debris-covered northern part of 

the terminus projects beyond the bare ice. 

Barren zones are visible along both sides of 

the glacier. Photograph by Bruce F. Molnia, 

U.S. Geological Survey. A larger version of 

this figure is available online. 

K288 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Holyoke Glacier.—Holyoke Glacier heads in a large cirque. In 1910, when 

the glacier was first described by Tarr and Martin (1914), it was fed by two 

tributaries and surrounded by a large barren zone. At that time, Tarr and 

Martin (1914, p. 306) reported that “No distinct signs of recent advance were 

seen.” By 1914, Keen (1915a) noted that an advance was underway. Field 

(1975b) reported that recession was underway in 1935 and that observations 

in 1957 and again in 1966 indicated that it was continuing. He reported that 

the glacier advanced more between 1966 and 1971. The author’s observations were initiated in 1974 and continued through 2004. During this 30-year 

period of observation, the glacier has retreated and thinned significantly. 

When the author first observed it, he noted no evidence of the advance underway in 1971. By 2001, the perimeter of the glacier was surrounded by 

a large vegetation-free, barren bedrock area and the glacier had separated 

into two distinct ice masses. Retreat and thinning were apparent along all 

margins of the glacier.

Barry Arm and Harriman Fiord

Barry Arm and Harriman Fiord (fig. 266) are connected fjords that comprise the northwestern extension of Port Wells. Between them, they host 

five tidewater glaciers—Barry, Coxe, Cascade, Surprise, and Harriman Glaciers (fig. 41)—and several former tidewater glaciers, including Serpentine 

(tables 2, 3) (Viens, 1995) and Cataract Glaciers. With the exception of Harriman Glacier, all of the glaciers in this area have long histories of 20th and 

early 21st century retreat. Before and including the 1899 visit by the Harriman Alaska Expedition, Barry Arm and the glaciers at its head were mapped 

with varying degrees of accuracy by Vancouver in 1794 (Vancouver, 1798), 

Applegate in 1887 (Davidson, 1904), Glenn (1899) in 1898, Castner (1899) 

in 1898, Mendenhall (1900) in 1898, and the Harriman Alaska Expedition in 

1899 (Gannett, 1899; Gilbert, 1904; Tarr and Martin, 1914). Formally named 

Barry Arm Port Wells by Glenn in 1898 for Col. Thomas Barry, Assistant Adjutant General of the U.S. Army, Barry Arm is a 15-km-long fjord that extends 

from Barry Glacier at its northern end to Pakenham Point at its mouth. 

When they were mapped at the end of the 19th century, three connected 

glaciers (from west to east)—Cascade, Barry, and Coxe Glaciers—were 

located at the head of Barry Arm. In 1899, when the Harriman Alaska Expedition explored Barry Arm, Barry Glacier was retreating from a recent, 

although undated, maximum position. At that time, its terminus extended 

Surprise Glacier

H a rriman F iord

Ba rr y

A rm

Coxe

Gl.

Barry

Glacier

Cascade Glacier

Serpentine

Glacier

Cataract Gl.

Surprise Glacier

Baker

Gl.

Penniman

Glaciers

N

Figure 266.—24 August 1978 AHAP falsecolor infrared vertical aerial photographic 

mosaic of lower Harriman Fiord and 

Barry Arm. The positions of the termini of 

Cascade, Barry, Coxe, Surprise, Serpentine, 

Penniman, Baker, and Cataract Glaciers 

and several unnamed glaciers indicate that 

all have retreated since first observed in 

1899. AHAP photograph nos. L109F6595 

and L109F6597 from the GeoData Center, 

Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska, 

Fairbanks, Alaska.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K289
a significant distance down the fjord, nearly completely closing what then 

was the unknown entrance to Harriman Fiord. When the SS Elder reached 

a location just to the south of the point now known as Point Doran, which 

juts into Barry Arm from the southwest, the local pilot felt it was no longer 

safe to pass and returned control of the ship to its captain, Peter Doran. The 

following description, presented by Muir in 1911 (Lethcoe, 1987, p. 86) summarized what followed: 

Then Mr. Harriman asked me if I was satisfied with what I had seen and was ready 

to turn back, to which I replied: “Judging from the trends of this fiord and glacier, 

there must be a corresponding fiord or glacier to the southward, and although 

the ship has probably gone as far as it is safe to go, I wish you would have a boat 

lowered and let me take a look around that headland into the hidden half of the 

landscape.” “We can perhaps run the ship there,” he said and immediately ordered 

the captain to “go ahead and try to pass between the ice wall and the headland.” 

The passage was dangerously narrow and threatening, but gradually opened into 

a magnificent icy fiord about twelve miles long, stretching away to the southward. 

The water continuing deep, as the soundline showed, Mr. Harriman quietly ordered the captain to go right ahead up the middle of the new fiord. “Full speed, 

sir?” inquired the captain. “Yes, full speed ahead,” The sail up this majestic fiord 

in the evening sunshine, picturesquely varied glaciers coming successively to 

view, sweeping from high snowy foundations and discharging their thundering 

wave-raising icebergs, was, I think, the most exciting experience of the whole trip. 

The result was the discovery that would become Harriman Fiord, an inlet 

previously unknown to all but possibly indigenous seal hunters.

Glaciers of Barry Arm

Barry Glacier.—Tarr and Martin (1914, p. 321–322) presented the following compilation of early descriptions of Barry Glacier: 

Mendenhall relates that in 1898 Barry Glacier was more extensive than either 

Harvard or Yale Glaciers. Glenn ... said that it was “one of the most formidable as 

well as the most interesting” of the glaciers that they saw. Coming from it they 

saw “immense icebergs that had evidently broken off from the glacier. Many of 

these were from ten to twenty times as large as our boat.” When they were near 

Yale Glacier ... a “noise caused by the falling of the immense ice floes from Barry 

Glacier, could be heard like the rumbling of distant thunder and which seemed 

to shake the mountains on either side of us.” In May 1898, Castner went up Barry 

Arm to “within a half mile of the sea end of the great glacier.” Photographs were 

taken and the interesting manufacture of icebergs watched. The later consisted of 

a breaking off and tumbling into the sea of tons of blue ice from the face of the 

glacier, accompanied by the roar of a Niagara, as the berg started on its ocean voyage, eventually to melt and become a part of the tides which now carried it away. 

Some confusion exists about where the terminus of Barry Glacier was located during the later part of the 19th century and about its behavior. Applegate’s 1887 sketch map of Port Wells shows a glacier with two tributaries filling the entire width of the fjord at a location about 10 km north of Pakenham 

Point but no evidence of an entrance to Harriman Fiord.

The NGS’s expedition to Alaska mapped Barry Glacier in 1910 (fig. 267). 

An arcuate shallow moraine located north of and within 250 m of Point Doran 

was mapped by Grant and Higgins (1911a, fig. 7) and by Bean (1911) in 1910. 

It has shoaling depths as shallow as 5.5 m and spans the width of the fjord. 

Although its age is unknown, it is probably the “Little Ice Age” maximum terminal moraine of an expanded Barry Glacier. Whether Applegate’s mapped 

terminus position for Barry Glacier and the location of this submarine moraine are coincident is unknown. However, given the geometry of the fjord 

and the distance from which he observed its head, he could have easily erred 

in depicting the length of the fjord and the actual 1887 location of the terminus of Barry Glacier.

When the Harriman Alaska Expedition visited Barry Glacier on 26 June 

1899, it did not observe the discharge of large icebergs or hear the thunderous noises described the previous year. Gannett’s 1899 map of Barry Glacier 

shows its terminus about 1 km north of Point Doran. Gannett (1899) used 

the name Washington Glacier, although it was not officially adopted. At the 

same time, C. Hart Merriam of the U.S. Biological Survey photographed the 

glacier, and Gilbert (1904) described a barren zone on the eastern margin of 

K290 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Barry Glacier that he suggested was evidence that retreat from a recent, earlier maximum position was already underway. Grant and Paige visited Barry 

Arm in 1905; Grant and Higgins (1913) visited in 1910. All noted that Barry 

Glacier was still connected to Coxe and Cascade Glaciers but that, in the 

decade between 1899 and 1909, it had retreated approximately 2.6 km. The 

face of the combined glacier was about 75 m high in 1905 and in 1908 but had 

diminished to only about 37.5 m in 1909. The height of the exposed barren 

zone along the margin of the glacier was approximately 120 m, indicative of 

Figure 267.—Map of Harriman Fiord and 

Barry Arm showing the position of the 

combined termini of Cascade, Barry, and 

Coxe Glaciers as mapped by the National 

Geographic Society’s 1910 Expedition 

(Martin, 1911; Tarr and Martin 1914). 

Soundings (in fathoms) were performed 

by E.F. Bean.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K291
an average rate of retreat of about 260 m a–1 and an average rate of thinning 

of about 12 m a–1. Tarr and Martin (1914) described a large ice mass that had 

detached from the retreating glacier and was left stranded on the eastern 

wall of the fjord in 1910. They described its size as being 400×200 m and extending to elevations of 75 to 85 m. The detached ice mass was located more 

than 3 km from the face of Barry Glacier in 1910. 

A summary of Barry Glacier’s behavior through 25 July 1910 was presented 

by Tarr and Martin (1914): (1) Before Whidbey’s 8 June 1794 visit, unknown; 

(2) 8 June 1794 until Applegate’s visit in June 1887, unknown; (3) June 1887 

until Castner’s visit on 6 May 1898, unknown amount of advance; (4) 6 May 

1898 until the Harriman Alaska Expedition on 26 June 1899, retreat of approximately 805 to 1,210 m; (5) 26 June 1899 until Grant and Paige’s visit 

on 20 August 1905, retreat of about 1,930 m; (6) 5 August 1905 until Grant’s 

visit of 20 August 1908, retreat of about 650 m; (7) 11 August 1908 until 

Grant and Higgins’ 29 June 1909 visit, retreat of about 805 m; and (8) 29 June 

1909 until Martin’s 25 July 1910 visit, retreat of about 150 to 300 m. Hence, 

in the 3,733 days (10.2 years) between 6 May 1898 and 25 July 1910, Barry 

Glacier retreated between 4,304 and 4,895 m (as much as 1.3 m d–1 or nearly 

480 m a–1).

Bertrand Johnson, a USGS geologist, visited Barry Arm in 1913 and again 

in 1914 (Johnson, 1917). He noted the continuing retreat of Barry Glacier 

and the separation of Coxe Glacier from Barry in 1913. Between 1910 and 

1913, ongoing retreat of the eastern side of Barry Glacier amounted to about 

2 km; on the western side, it was about 750 m. Along the retreating western 

margin, bedrock was exposed at the base of the ice for the first time. By 1914, 

the eastern part of the terminus had retreated another 500 m.

In the ensuing 90 years, the glacier has been observed, monitored, and 

photographed many times. Individuals providing information about Barry 

Glacier include Keen in 1914 (Keen, 1915a) and again in 1925; Field in 1931 

(Field, 1932); Field and Cooper in 1935 (Field, 1937; Cooper, 1942); Robert E. Fellows of the USGS in 1943 (Field, 1975b); and Brown in 1947 and 

again in 1949 (Brown, 1952). Barry Glacier was photographed by Bradford 

Washburn in 1937 and 1938, the U.S. Army Air Forces in 1941 and 1942, the 

USAF in 1950 and 1957, the USN in 1957, Austin Post between 1960 and 

1983, and Robert M. Krimmel between 1984 and 1990, among others. These 

observations document that Barry Glacier had a small advance between 1925 

and 1931, advanced more in 1935 and 1937, retreated between 1938 and 

1943, and changed little through 1947. A slight recession occurred during 

the 1950s, followed by an advance beginning about 1961. Since then, the 

location of the western part of Barry’s terminus has remained within a few 

hundred meters of its 1914 location; the eastern part of the margin has retreated several hundred meters, as two oblique aerial photographs taken by 

the author on 8 August 1981 (fig. 268A) and 8 August 2000 (fig. 268B) show; 

the entire glacier has continued to thin.

Although the amount of exposed bedrock has fluctuated substantially 

(Lethcoe, 1987), at no time has it been reported that the glacier has retreated above sea level. The author has noted substantial exposures of bedrock 

along the base of the glacier several times. In September 2000, two small 

bedrock outcrops were noted near the central face of the terminus.

In the early 1990s (Viens, 1995) (tables 2, 3), Barry Glacier had a length of 

26.5 km, an area of 95 km2, a width at its face of 2.2 km, and an AAR of 0.74; 

its accumulation area was 70 km2, and its ablation area was 25 km2. 

Coxe Glacier.—Coxe Glacier separated from the retreating Barry Glacier in 1913. Between 1913 and the late 1930s, it retreated about 2.5 km; its 

terminus retreated into its fjord, where it maintained a tidewater terminus 

(figs. 41, 266). Since then, its terminus has fluctuated: a small advance in 

the 1941–49 period (Brown, 1952), a period of retreat between 1952 and 

1957 (Field, 1975b), and a small advance between 1979 and the late 1980s 

Figure 268.—Two north-looking oblique 

aerial photographs showing changes in 

Cascade (left), Barry (center), and Coxe 

(right) Glaciers between 1981 and 2000. 

A, 8 August 1981 photograph shows the 

tidewater calving termini of all three glaciers 

and much of their accumulation areas. The 

most extended part of the combined Barry 

and Cascade Glaciers is the central part of 

their combined termini. Harvard Glacier 

can be seen in the distance. B, 8 August 

2000 photograph shows the tidewater calving termini of all three glaciers and much of 

their areas of accumulation. The continued 

retreat and thinning of Cascade Glacier 

has exposed bedrock along the western 

part of its terminus. It is thinner than Barry 

Glacier at their junction. The east side of 

Barry Glacier retreated several hundred 

meters since an earlier visit by the author 

in 1992. Coxe Glacier also thinned and retreated. Photographs by Bruce F. Molnia, 

U.S. Geological Survey. Larger versions of 

these figures are available online.

K292 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
(Lethcoe, 1987). During the past 17 years, the terminus has retreated slightly but maintained some contact with tidewater. During the second half of the 

20th century, Coxe Glacier has thinned significantly and narrowed appreciably, producing wide bedrock exposures along both lateral margins of the 

glacier. When the author visited the glacier on 5 September 2000, bedrock 

was exposed along the base of the entire southern half of the terminus and at 

the northernmost edge of the terminus at the base of the glacier. In the early 

1990s (Viens, 1995) (tables 2, 3), Coxe Glacier had a length of 11 km, an area 

of 20 km2, a width at its face of 1.1 km, and an AAR of 0.74. Its accumulation 

area was 15 km2, and its ablation area was 5 km2.

Cascade Glacier.—Cascade Glacier is a steep south-flowing valley glacier 

that joins the western edge of Barry Glacier at tidewater (figs. 41, 266, 267, 

268). During the last few years of the 20th century the two glaciers barely 

touched. At the beginning of the 20th century, Cascade Glacier was the westernmost tributary to the extended Barry Glacier. By 1913 (Johnson, 1917), 

Cascade Glacier had become independent from the rapidly shrinking Barry 

Glacier, although it still made contact with its western margin. At times, retreat of the terminus of Cascade Glacier exposes a large bedrock area just 

above sea level. During much of the 20th century, fluctuations in the glacier’s 

margin have covered and uncovered this bedrock. Field (1975b) reported 

that bedrock exposed in the middle 1930s was covered by a minor advance 

that continued through about 1950 and was followed by recession through 

1957. An advance that began in 1968 resulted in the tidewater terminus of 

Cascade Glacier pushing into Barry Glacier in 1971. In both 1981 (fig. 268) 

and 1992, when the author visited the eastern margin of Cascade Glacier at 

its junction with Barry Glacier, it was the most extended part of the terminus. At the start of the 21st century, Barry and Cascade Glaciers remained 

barely connected. In the early 1990s (Viens, 1995) (tables 2, 3), Cascade 

Glacier had a length of 8 km, an area of 15 km2, a width at its face of 600 m, 

and an AAR of 0.89; its accumulation area was 14 km2, and its ablation area 

was 2 km2.

Glaciers of Harriman Fiord

Harriman Fiord contains more than a dozen glaciers. The largest and longest is Harriman Glacier at its head. With the exception of Harriman Glacier, 

all of the glaciers in the fjord have retreated since first being observed.

Serpentine Glacier.—In the early 1990s, Serpentine Glacier had a length 

of 10 km, an area of 30 km2, and an AAR of 0.70; its accumulation area was 

21 km2 and its ablation area was 9 km2 (Viens, 1995) (tables 2, 3). In 1899, 

when the glacier was first photographed by Curtis (fig. 269A) and described 

by Gilbert (1904), it was tidal, although much of its margin was fronted by a 

developing moraine. Gilbert (1904, p. 93) described the glacier as follows:

“It is a broad stream, of low grade, fed by four or five tributaries descending 

steeply from amphitheaters in the encircling mountains. Though it reaches 

the sea, it yields few bergs, but is building a moraine barrier along most of 

its front....” When the author visited on 6 September 2000 (fig. 269B), the 

northern part of the terminus was surrounded by a subcircular-shaped outwash plain about 500 m in diameter; the southern part of the terminus was 

fronted by a vegetated ridge composed of ablation till and moraine.

Following the Harriman Alaska Expedition’s visit in 1899 (Harriman, 1902), 

Serpentine Glacier was observed in 1905 and again in 1909 by Grant and Higgins (1910, 1911a, b, 1913), and by Martin and the NGS party, who produced 

a map of its terminus in 1910 (Tarr and Martin, 1914, fig. 45, p. 327). Their 

studies showed that, in 1910, the terminus of Serpentine Glacier was situated 

at the head of a 1.6-km-long inlet bounded at its junction with the main part 

of Harriman Fiord by a breached lobate terminal moraine approximately 2.5 

km long. On the basis of dendrochronological evidence, Martin recognized 

that this terminal moraine consisted of two separate nested moraines that 

Figure 269.—A pair of photographs taken 

from the east shore of Harriman Fiord 

show changes in Serpentine Glacier between 1899 and 2000. A, 1899 Harriman 

Alaska Expedition photograph (Harriman, 

1902) by Edward Curtis from the east shore 

of Harriman Fiord shows most of the terminus and source area of Serpentine Glacier. 

The dark area at the foot of the glacier is 

an older terminal moraine, dating from 

circa 1800, that forms much of the entrance 

to the inlet in front of Serpentine Glacier. 

B, 6 September 2000 photograph from the 

same vantage point shows that Serpentine 

Glacier has thinned by approximately 70 

to 100 m and has retreated approximately 

2.5 km. The terminus is now debris covered and barely visible above the terminal 

moraine. Photograph by Bruce F. Molnia, 

U.S. Geological Survey. Larger versions of 

these figures are available online. 

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K293
he concluded were formed by advances in the early 1800s and again in about 

1870. Grant and Higgins (1913) observed little change in the terminus position from 1899 until their first visit in 1905 and about 400 m of terminus retreat 

between 1905 and 1909. Piecing this information together suggests that the 

glacier reached a maximum—perhaps its “Little Ice Age” maximum—about 

1800. For the next 70 years, its position may have fluctuated, but, in 1870, 

its terminus was near the 1800 maximum. By 1900, the glacier had retreated 

about 1.2 km, with an average retreat rate of about 40 m a–1. From 1900 until 

1905, the position of the terminus of Serpentine Glacier was stable. Approximately 400 m of retreat followed between 1905 and 1909, with an average 

retreat rate of about 100 m a–1. Little change was observed in 1910.

Keen (1915a) visited the glacier in 1914 and found no changes from Martin’s 1910 position. Field (1932) observed the glacier in 1931 and noted a 

recession of about 400 m from its 1910–14 position. Field and Cooper visited in 1935 (Field, 1937) and noted a slight advance since 1931. Bradford 

Washburn’s 1938 photograph of the terminus showed a continuation of this 

advance. U.S. Army Air Forces photographs taken in 1941 show the glacier 

retreating but close to its 1931 position. When Brown visited in 1947 and 

again in 1949 (Brown, 1952), Serpentine Glacier was advancing. A comparison of an aerial photograph acquired by the USAF in 1950 with the 1941 

photograph shows that the terminus was between 200 and 300 m forward of 

the 1941 position. Between 1957, when it was photographed by the USN, and 

1971, when it was photographed by the USGS, the glacier had retreated, although it was less than 50 m. A comparison of the USGS 1960 Anchorage A-4 

1:63,360-scale topographic quadrangle map (appendix B), which was based 

on the 1957 photography, with oblique aerial photographs taken by the author on 8 August 2000 (fig. 270) shows that the lower part of the glacier has 

retreated approximately 400 m and is now covered by a thick brown-andblack debris cover. The northern perimeter of the glacier consists of stagnant 

ice-cored moraine.

Compilation and analysis of this information suggests that, between 1910 

and 2000, Serpentine Glacier retreated and thinned significantly and that its 

stagnating debris-covered terminus was located about 2.1 km behind the moraine marking the “Little Ice Age” maximum position. From 1900 until 1914, 

there was no change in the position of the terminus of Serpentine Glacier. 

This period of stability was followed by about 400 m of retreat, beginning after 1914 and lasting until 1931, with a minimum average retreat rate of about 

23.5 m a–1. Little change was observed between 1931 and 1941. By 1950, the 

Figure 270.—8 August 2000 oblique aerial 

photograph of Serpentine Glacier. The 

lower 4 km of the glacier is mantled by 

thick debris. Note that the terminus of 

Serpentine Glacier is fronted by a outwash 

plain fan delta and is no longer at tidewater. Note also that, of the glaciers visible 

above the terminus, only the northernmost 

on the right, an unnamed tributary glacier, 

makes contact with Serpentine Glacier. 

Photograph by Bruce F. Molnia, U.S. 

Geological Survey.

K294 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
terminus of Serpentine Glacier had advanced between 200 and 300 m, yielding an average advance rate of between about 22 and 33 m a–1. Little change 

was observed between 1950 and 1957. From 1957 until 1971, the glacier’s 

terminus position retreated minimally, with an average retreat rate of about 

7 m a–1 (AGS Glacier Studies Map No. 64–3–G9) (Field, 1965). From 1971 

until 2000, the terminus of Serpentine Glacier retreated about 400 m, and ice 

became stagnant along most of its terminus area. The average rate of retreat 

during the latter part of the 20th century was about 14 m a–1.

Penniman Glaciers, Baker Glacier, and Detached Glacier.—The Penniman Glaciers, Baker Glacier, and Detached Glacier are all small cirque and 

hanging glaciers on the eastern and southern flanks of Mount Muir. All have 

retreated significantly during the 20th century. Baker and Detached Glaciers 

were investigated and photographed by many scientists, including the Harriman Alaska Expedition in 1899 and Grant and Higgins in 1905 and 1909 

(fig. 271A) (Grant and Higgins, 1910, 1911a, b, 1913, pl. XXIA), described 

and mapped by Martin and the NGS party in 1910 (Tarr and Martin, 1914), 

and photographed by the author on 6 September 2000 (fig. 271B).

The two Penniman Glaciers were named and described in 1914 by Keen 

(1915a). Since 1914, both have retreated as much as 700 m, with most of the 

retreat coming at the end of the 20th century. Field (1975b) reported that, 

between 1914 and 1931, the glaciers experienced a small retreat. Between 

1931 and 1935, they advanced slightly. A significant, although not quantified, 

retreat occurred through 1961, with little change through 1971. During the 

30 years since being first observed by the author in 1974, the glaciers have 

retreated about 500 m.

Martin investigated a large end moraine located adjacent to the shoreline 

below Baker Glacier (Tarr and Martin, 1914, fig. 47, p. 332). He discovered 

that some time between the end of the 18th century and the early part of 

the 19th century, an expanded Baker Glacier reached the shore of Harriman 

Fiord with a bulb-shaped terminus that was approximately 800 m in diameter. 

Between the time of the early 18th century maximum and 1910, the glacier 

had retreated about 400 to 500 m. Since then, Baker Glacier has retreated 

as much as 1.2 km. However, there have been several intervals of significant 

advance. Between 1910 and 1914 (Keen, 1915a), Baker Glacier advanced 

about 300 m to the foreland at the base of Mount Muir. By 1925, when Keen 

again visited the glacier, a substantial retreat was underway. When the glacier was next observed in 1931 and 1935 by Field (1932, 1937), it was again 

advancing. Between 1931 and 1935, this advance was as much as 50 to 60 m. 

Between 1935 and 1949, there was minimal change (Field, 1948; Baird and 

Field, 1951). Field (1975b) reported that, between 1949 and 1964, there was 

some recession, followed by a period of no appreciable change through 1971. 

During the author’s 30-year period of observation from 1974 to 2004, Baker 

Glacier has retreated about 700 m. 

Similarly, at the end of the 20th century, Detached Glacier was rapidly retreating. Grant and Higgins (1913) described a barren zone present in 1905 

and 1909 below the hanging terminus of the glacier, which they interpreted 

to indicate that Detached Glacier was recently much larger and was connected to an extended and larger Surprise Glacier. Martin, who visited the 

glacier in 1910, found no evidence of change since the 1899 visit of the Harriman Alaska Expedition (Tarr and Martin, 1914). Similarly, Keen (1915a) 

saw no evidence of change through 1914. A significant amount of retreat occurred through 1931, followed by about 30 m of advance between 1931 and 

1935 (Field, 1937). By 1957, the glacier was approximately 1.5 km long, and 

about 200 m of the lower hanging tongue of the glacier had disappeared. 

Field (1975b) reported that, between 1957 and 1961, there was some recession, followed by a decade of no appreciable change through 1971. During 

the author’s 30 years of observation, from 1974 to 2004, Detached Glacier 

has retreated about 500 m.

Figure 271.—Two northwest-looking views 

showing changes in Baker and Detached 

Glaciers between 1909 and 2000. A, 1909 

photograph by Grant and Higgins shows 

Baker Glacier (right) and Detached Glacier 

(left). Baker Glacier descends to near sea 

level, but Detached Glacier terminates 

at approximately 300 m above sea level. 

(Published as Plate XXI A, Grant and 

Higgins, 1913.) B, 6 September 2000 photographic mosaic from nearly the same 

vantage point as A shows the changes 

that occurred in both glaciers during the 

91 years between photographs. Baker 

Glacier thinned everywhere and retreated 

a maximum of more than 1 km. Although 

Detached Glacier has not retreated as much, 

it also thinned significantly. Photographic 

mosaic by Bruce F. Molnia, U.S. Geological 

Survey. Larger versions of these figures 

are available online. 

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K295
Surprise Glacier.—Surprise Glacier, located at the head of Surprise Inlet, is so named because it was the first glacier the Harriman Alaska Expedition saw when it entered Harriman Fiord. The Harriman Alaska Expedition 

photographed the glacier’s tidewater terminus and much of its lower reaches 

from a distance, and Gannett (Gilbert, 1904) prepared a map showing its 

terminus position but did not conduct any detailed examination of its margin. A detailed analysis, however, was first accomplished in 1905 and again in 

1909 by Grant and Higgins (1913). They noted a large barren zone extending 

about 160 m beyond Surprise Glacier’s 1899 terminus position, suggesting 

that the glacier was in retreat when Gannett had mapped it. Grant and Higgins (1913) noted that the retreat was continuing in 1905 and that, by 1909, 

the total recession was about 1.8 km. Bedrock began to appear at the base of 

the southern part of the margin at that time.

By the time Martin visited the glacier in 1909 (Tarr and Martin, 1914), 

retreat totaled 2 km. Martin also noted vegetation-free marginal zones up 

to 90 m wide above the location of the 1909 terminus. Field (1932) reported 

that little change had occurred in the terminus position through 1931. But 

when Field (1937) observed the glacier in 1935, a slight advance had taken 

place. Minor fluctuations occurred, with both short periods of advance and 

retreat noted through 1971.

The author made several observations of the glacier between 1974 and 

2004. During this 30-year period, the terminus retreated about 300 m, 

thinned, and narrowed, as an 8 August 2000 oblique aerial photograph taken 

by the author shows (fig. 272). A small bedrock outcrop began to become 

visible at the base of Surprise Glacier along its southern side, and several 

tributaries thinned, retreated, and even lost contact with the main glacier. In 

the early 1990s, Surprise Glacier had a length of 12.1 km, an area of 80 km2, 

a width at its face of 1.2 km, and an AAR of 0.80; its accumulation area was 

64 km2, and its ablation area was 16 km2 (Viens, 1995) (tables 2, 3). Stairway 

Glacier is the name that the Harriman Alaska Expedition gave to the large 

southeast-flowing tributary that contributes a substantial amount of ice to the 

northern side of the trunk of Surprise Glacier. Part of Surprise Glacier and all 

of the glaciers in the northern half of Harriman Fiord are shown in figure 266, 

a 24 August 1978 AHAP false-color infrared vertical aerial photograph.

Cataract Glacier.—Cataract Glacier, a 2.5-km-long northeast-flowing 

hanging glacier that drains into the southern side of Surprise Inlet, had a 

tidewater terminus that was in contact with Surprise Glacier when it was 

first observed by the Harriman Alaska Expedition in 1899. Grant and Higgins (1913) visited the glacier in 1905 and 1909, photographing it in 1909 

Figure 272.—8 August 2000 northwestlooking oblique aerial photograph shows 

Surprise Inlet and Surprise and Cataract 

Glaciers. Cataract Glacier (far left), which 

had a tidewater terminus in 1910, retreated 

approximately 600 m. Photograph by Bruce 

F. Molnia, U.S. Geological Survey.

K296 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
(fig. 273A). They noted that it experienced no appreciable change through 

1909. They described “a narrow bare zone along the west side of the glacier, 

but the extent to which the shrubs have encroached upon this zone indicates 

that the ice stream has not in recent years (perhaps 25 years) been much 

larger than at present” (Grant and Higgins, 1913, p. 37). 

Cataract Glacier was advancing and overriding shrubs and willows 

(Salix sp.) along the margin when Martin visited the glacier in 1910 (Tarr 

and Martin, 1914). In 1914, Keen (1915a) visited the glacier and observed 

that the terminus of the glacier had not changed its position since Martin’s 

visit. Eleven years later, in 1925, she observed that the glacier had experienced a small recession since 1914 but that its terminus was still at tidewater. In 1931, Field (1932) noted that the terminus had retreated from tidewater but that it was thickening at higher elevations. By 1935 (Field, 1937), 

the glacier had readvanced to tidewater but was showing signs of narrowing 

along its margins. Retreat was underway again when Bradford Washburn 

photographed it in 1938. This retreat, greater than 500 m, continued through 

Field’s last reported observation of the glacier in 1968 (Field, 1975b). The 

author made several observations of the glacier between 1974 and 2004, and 

photographed it on 6 September 2000 (fig. 273B). During this 30-year-period, the terminus retreated about 300 m, thinned, and narrowed.

Roaring Glacier.—Roaring Glacier, a hanging glacier with a reconstituted 

glacier at its base, has retreated since 1899. Gilbert (1904, p. 96) described 

why it was named Roaring Glacier as follows: “Roaring Glacier, between the 

Cataract and the Harriman, owes the peculiarity suggesting its name to an 

abrupt change of grade. From a comparatively gentle slope it passes to one 

so steep that loose masses find no lodgement, and as its movement steadily 

projects its end beyond the point of inflection, fragments of ice break away 

and tumble down the steep incline, to gather in a heap far below, where they 

lie until melted.” On the basis of the size of the ice and snow accumulation 

at its base, Grant and Higgins (1913) concluded that the glacier was less active in 1905 than it was in 1899 and more active in 1909. In August 1910, the 

terminus of Roaring Glacier was between 200 and 300 m above the fjord. By 

1957, it was approximately 500 m above the beach. During that 47-year period from 1910–1957 (Field, 1975b), the glacier retreated an additional 300 m. 

Field also reported that little additional change occurred through 1971. Between 1974 and 2004, the interval of the author’s observations, the glacier 

thinned and retreated another 50 to 100 m up the face of its steep bed. A 12 

July 1978 photograph shows the glacier in retreat (fig. 274).

Harriman Glacier.—As was the case with all of the other glaciers in Harriman Fiord, Harriman Glacier was first described by scientists of the Harriman Alaska Expedition in 1899. Gilbert (1904, p. 94–95) described Harriman 

Glacier as follows: “The valley containing Harriman Glacier is a continuation 

of the main trough of the fiord and holds the same general southwest trend. 

The glacier curves toward the west and then toward the south, disappearing 

from view at a distance of nearly ten miles. As the most distant portion seen 

has a gentle slope and lies far below the bordering mountains, it is probable 

that the sources are still several miles beyond. Its general width is about a 

mile and a half, but its high-grade tributaries are so thick-set as practically to 

coalesce, especially on the south-east side, giving a broad expanse of nearly 

continuous ice and snow. This expanse, fully commanded from the water, 

makes the view of the glacier a most impressive spectacle.”

Gilbert (1904, p. 95) described a “detrital bank,” probably an outwash fan, 

delta, or moraine along the “eastern” (southern) side of the terminus. He 

stated: “Above this bank the frontal cliff is low and irregular, but elsewhere 

it is lofty, ranging in height from 200 to 300 feet. From such a cliff an active 

discharge of bergs might be assumed, but our parties encountered only a 

moderate quantity of floating ice near the head of the fiord.” According to 

tidewater glacier cycle theory (fig. 42), the absence of bergs indicates that 

Figure 273.—Two southwest-looking photographs showing changes at Cataract 

Glacier during the 91-year period from 1909 

to 2000. A, 1909 photograph by Grant and 

Higgins shows the terminus of Cataract 

Glacier reaching tidewater, although some 

bedrock is exposed at sea level (Grant and 

Higgins, 1913). B, 6 September 2000 view 

of Cataract Glacier shows that its terminus 

retreated approximately 700 m and is now 

located more than 200 m above sea level. 

Exposed bedrock completely surrounds the 

ice margin. Photograph by Bruce F. Molnia, 

U.S. Geological Survey. Larger versions of 

these figures are available online. 

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K297
the terminus of the glacier was grounded and sitting on the back side of its 

submarine moraine. Gilbert (1904, p. 95) could not determine if the glacier 

was advancing or retreating: “The glacier is not closely approached by forest 

growth, but shrubs were seen on the shore of the fiord within a few hundred 

yards of the ice. If the ice is diminishing, the recent retreat of the glacier 

front would appear not to have been rapid.” In 1899, Gilbert and Curtis made 

several photographs of the terminus.

In 1905 and again in 1909, Grant and Higgins (1913) visited Harriman Glacier and determined that the southern part of the terminus had retreated about 

105 m between 1899 and 1905 and another approximately 210 m through 

1909. They noted no change in the position of the northern part of the terminus during the same decade. Martin visited the glacier in 1910 (Tarr and Martin, 1914, p. 335) and reported that, on 10 August 1910, the western margin 

had advanced about 210 m beyond its 1909 position: “The eastern [southern] 

margin also advanced, coming forward the whole distance that it had retreated 

from 1899 to 1909. In 1910 it seemed to be slightly beyond the 1899 position 

and there was much thickening of the eastern terminus....” Gilbert’s detrital 

bank was not visible, and iceberg production was much greater than in 1899.

Martin (Tarr and Martin, 1910) also noted that, in addition to the advance 

and thickening of the part of the eastern margin on the shores of the bay, the 

glacier was advancing on the land. Annual plants in the barren zone were 

being buried, and a ridge of push moraine a foot or two high lay at the base 

of a lofty, uncrevassed ice cliff. On 1 August 1910, the cliff was about 48 m 

from an older terminal moraine that marked the maximum of a former advance, doubtless before 1899. An analysis of vegetation in the fjord led Cooper (1942) to conclude that Harriman Glacier had not advanced beyond the 

moraine that it was approaching in 1910 for at least 500 years.

Figure 274.—12 July 1978 photograph 

shows the retreating terminus of Roaring 

Glacier. Avalanching built a small reconstituted glacier at the base of the near-vertical 

rock face. Photograph by Bruce F. Molnia, 

U.S. Geological Survey.

K298 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Keen (1915a) noted that Harriman Glacier was continuing to advance in 

1914. By 1931 (Field, 1932), the terminus on the southern side of the glacier 

had advanced approximately 975 m from its 1909 position, an average annual advance of about 44 m a–1. Four years later, Field (1937) returned and 

measured another 47 m of advance, for a total of about 1,022 m between 

1909 and 1935. Field measured 470 m of advance on the northern side of the 

terminus during this 25-year period.

Field (1975b) reported that, by 1957, the terminus of Harriman Glacier 

had advanced about another 100 m. The southern side had advanced about 

150 m by 1961. By 1964, when it was next observed, the southern margin had 

retreated about 25 m, and the fjord-based ice cliff had retreated about 100 

m. Field (1975b) attributed this retreat to the 2.4 m of regional subsidence 

caused by the 1964 Alaska earthquake. By 1966, most of the terminus had 

resumed advancing. By 1971, the year of Field’s last recorded observation, 

the terminus on the north had advanced 30 to 50 m, and the ice cliff on the 

southern side had increased in height.

Field (1975b) summarized the changes of Harriman Glacier’s southern 

margin between 1899 and 1971 as follows: (1) From the unknown date of 

its pre-20th century maximum to 1899, a recession of about 350 m; (2) from 

1899 to 1905, a recession of about 100 m, yielding an average rate of retreat of 

about 17 m a–1; (3) from 1905 to 1909, a recession of about 200 m, yielding an 

average rate of retreat of about 50 m a–1; (4) from 1909 to 1910, an advance of 

about 300 m, yielding an average rate of advance of about 300 m a–1; (5) from 

1910 to 1931, an advance of about 675 m, yielding an average rate of advance 

of about 32 m a–1; (6) from 1931 to 1935, an advance of about 47 m, yielding an 

average rate of advance of about 12 m a–1; (7) from 1935 to 1957, an advance 

of about 97 m, yielding an average rate of advance of about 4 m a–1; (8) from 

1957 to 1961, an advance of about 151 m, yielding an average rate of advance 

of about 38 m a–1; (9) from 1961 to 1964, a retreat of about 28 m, yielding an 

average rate of retreat of about 9 m a–1; (10) from 1964 to 1966, an advance of 

about 26 m, yielding an average rate of advance of about 13 m a–1; and (11) no 

change between 1966 and 1971. Hence, between 1899 and 1971, the net 

change on the southern margin of the glacier was an advance of 1,268 m. For 

the northern margin, Field reported an advance of 750 to 850 m.

The author observed Harriman Glacier more than a dozen times between 

1974 and 2004. Between 1974 and 1984, the glacier was advancing. With the 

exception of the extreme southern margin of the terminus, which was fronted 

by a delta, the entire terminus was tidewater in 1976 (fig. 41) and consisted 

of a vertical face with three semicircular calving embayments, as an 8 June 

1976 oblique aerial photograph taken by the author (fig. 275A) shows. On 

15 July 1978, a push moraine adjacent to the southern margin indicated that 

the glacier was recently advancing (figs. 64, 275B), while the northern half of 

the terminus still maintained a vertical iceberg-calving face. Lethcoe (1987) 

Figure 275.—Three photographs show characteristics of Harriman Glacier 

during its late-20th century advance. A, 8 June 1976 north-looking oblique 

aerial photograph shows the width of the terminus of Harriman Glacier. 

Note the near-vertical character of the ice face, except along the southern 

edge of the terminus, and the three calving embayments cut into the margin. 

B, 15 July 1978 photograph shows a push moraine formed by a small advance 

of the terminus earlier in the year. Similar push moraines were seen in both 

1998 and 2000 in front of the central part of the terminus, indicating that, even 

with a cessation of annual advance, winter flow may result in seasonal advances of the terminus. C, In this 6 September 2000 photograph, the terminus of Harriman Glacier is more than 750 m more advanced than in 1899 and 

approximately 50 m forward of its 1978 position and is beginning to change 

its profile from subrounded to more vertical. By 2002, the northern terminus 

was near vertical in profile. Photographs by Bruce F. Molnia, U.S. Geological 

Survey. Larger versions of these figures are available online. 

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K299
reported that, in 1979 and 1981, two large calving embayments developed 

in the terminus, with radii of more than 150 m. Similar embayments developed at Bering and Columbia Glaciers before their recent rapid retreats. In 

1984, the northern margin of the glacier was adjacent to a triangular-shaped 

vegetation-free area that served as a major accumulation area for snow sliding off the northern wall of the valley. Lethcoe (1987) stated that, by 1986, 

both embayments had refilled, and the margins of the glacier advanced about 

15 m, causing the abandonment of a kittiwake (Rissa sp.) rookery.

By 6 September 2000, the profile of nearly the entire terminus of Harriman Glacier had changed from vertical to subrounded (fig. 275C). With the 

exception of one calving embayment located adjacent to the delta along the 

southern margin of the glacier, the entire face of the terminus is fronted by an 

exposed sediment plain. In 1999, the embayment had a radius of more than 

120 m. Since 1984, the position of the northern part of the terminus of the 

glacier had receded slightly from the snow chute, and a barren zone was developing along the northern margin. Several aerial and ground observations 

made by the author between 1999 and 2004 confirm that no recent advance 

of the terminus has occurred. Although the elevation of the terminus has 

continued to decrease, no evidence of significant retreat along the southern 

margin or the face of the glacier has been observed. In August 1999, a push 

moraine was observed about 5 m in front of the glacier along part of the face 

fronted by the sediment plain. In the early 1990s, Harriman Glacier had a 

length of 12 km, an area of 60 km2, a width at its face of 1.9 km, and an AAR 

of 0.79. Its accumulation area was 48 km2, and its ablation area was 13 km2

(Viens, 1995) (tables 2, 3).

Dirty and Wedge Glaciers.—Dirty and Wedge Glaciers are two small 

northwest-flowing ice tongues that descend the southern wall of Harriman 

Fiord. Both have retreated more than 1 km since they were first observed. In 

1899, Dirty Glacier terminated close to the shoreline. By 1909, the terminus 

was about 400 m upvalley from the beach (Grant and Higgins, 1913). By 1935 

(Field, 1937), the glacier’s debris-covered terminus was about 600 m from 

the beach, with bare ice about 200 m further upglacier. Field (1975b) reported that an additional 425 m of retreat had occurred by 1961. Hence, between 

1899 and 1961, the terminus of Dirty Glacier retreated about 1.25 km, yielding an average annual retreat rate of about 20 m a–1. Between 1961 and 2000, 

the terminus retreated about an additional 250 m. When the author observed 

the glacier from the air in 2000, it was continuing to thin and retreat and was 

on the verge of separating into two distinct ice tongues. 

In 1899, Wedge Glacier had a steep upper section and a low-relief section 

terminating close to sea level. The terminus area changed little through 1935 

(Field, 1937). By 1961 (Field, 1975b), the low-relief lower part of the glacier 

had melted away. Between 1950 and the middle 1960s, Field estimated that 

the glacier had retreated about 500 m (Field, 1975b). Through the end of the 

20th century, the terminus retreated an additional 750 to 800 m. When the 

author observed it from the air in August 2000, all that remained of the glacier was a small ice mass hanging on the valley wall below the divide between 

Harriman Fiord and Bettles Bay.

Toboggan Glacier.—Toboggan Glacier, a small retreating valley glacier 

flowing from Mount Doran toward the southern side of Harriman Fiord was 

visited and photographed by Grant and Paige in 1905 and was visited by 

Grant and Higgins in 1909 and by Martin in 1910. Martin (Tarr and Martin, 

1914) mapped both moraine segments and a trimline that was formed by a 

19th century advance of the glacier that reached to the shore of the fjord, a 

distance of about 400 to 500 m beyond the 1910 terminus. He speculated that 

this advance had occurred in the 1830s. A second moraine located within 

the outer moraine represents an advance dating to ca. 1880. The 1905 terminus position was about 325 m behind the outer moraine (Grant and Higgins, 1913). Between 1905 and 1909, the glacier fluctuated, advancing about 

K300 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
120 m and then retreating about 195 m. When Toboggan Glacier was photographed in 1909, a trimline was located more than 80 m above the glacier 

on both sides of its valley. Between 1909 and 1910, the glacier retreated an 

additional 23 m. Between 1910 and 1931 (Field, 1932), the glacier retreated 

an additional 282 m, for an average annual rate of about 13.5 m a–1. By 1935 

(Field, 1937), the glacier had retreated another 22 m.

During the next 22 years, Toboggan Glacier continued to retreat. It had 

lost an additional 416 m when it was observed by an AGS party that included 

Field (1975b) in 1957 at the start of the IGY. Four years later, in 1961, a 

Brigham Young University field party measured an additional 64 m of retreat, 

which placed the terminus more than 775 m behind its 1910 position (Field, 

1975b). When the author observed the glacier in 1978, 2000, and 2004, it was 

continuing to retreat, losing at least 325 m of its length through 2000. Hence, 

in the 90-year period between 1910 and 2000, the terminus of Toboggan Glacier retreated about 1.1 km, for an average rate of 12.2 m a–1.

Glaciers of Port Wells

Bettles and Pigot Glaciers.—Bettles and Pigot Glaciers are two small 

retreating glaciers that drain into Port Wells. Field (1975b), reported that 

Bettles Glacier retreated about 1 km between 1910 and 1950. Since then, it 

has retreated at least 1 km. 

Pigot Glacier has a similar history, retreating about 1.5 km in the 40-year 

period between 1910 and 1950. Since 1950, it also has retreated at least 1 

km. Debris from a large landslide (Post, 1967a) covers the terminus, as an 8 

August 2000 oblique aerial photograph made by the author (fig. 276) shows. 

This debris could be the product of slides that occurred during earthquakes 

in the 1940s and 1964.

Figure 276.—8 August 2000 oblique aerial 

photograph, looking northwest, of Pigot 

Glacier, which has retreated more than 

2 km since the beginning of the 20th century. Debris from a large landslide covers the 

terminus. Photograph by Bruce F. Molnia, 

U.S. Geological Survey.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K301
Glaciers of Passage Canal

Seth and Billings Glaciers.—Seth and Billings Glaciers are two small, 

poorly studied but actively retreating glaciers that drain into Passage Canal. 

Field (1975b) noted that Seth Glacier retreated about 1.6 to 1.8 km between 

1910 and 1950. Since then, it has retreated about an additional 1.5 km. 

Field (1975b) reported that Billings Glacier retreated about 1.5 km between 1910 and 1971. At that time, the glacier was separating into a pair 

of termini, located on either side of an emerging bedrock ledge. Continued 

retreat through the author’s last observation on 8 August 2000 (fig. 277) has 

accentuated the separation and has also revealed a light-colored bedrock 

apron, exposed around the margin of the glacier. This light-colored bedrock, 

possibly aplite, is unlike any other rock unit in the immediate area. Since 

1910, the glacier has retreated approximately 1.8 km.

Figure 277.—8 August 2000 north-looking 

oblique aerial photograph of the retreating and thinning Billings Glacier. Note the 

elevated lateral moraine and the lightcolored outcrop of bedrock, possibly aplite, 

around the retreating terminus of the glacier. Photograph by Bruce F. Molnia, U.S. 

Geological Survey.

Northwestern Chugach Mountains Segment— North-Flowing Large Valley Glacier Subdivision

The western part of this subdivision, which is the northwesternmost part 

of the Chugach Mountains (fig. 278), includes a number of small unnamed 

retreating glaciers located at the heads of Wolverine, Carpenter, Coal, and 

Monument Creeks and several unnamed creeks, all draining into the westward-flowing Matanuska River. All glaciers showed evidence of significant 

retreat and thinning when the author observed them from the air in September 2000 and again in September 2002. Some have extensive debris-covered 

termini, and some have newly vegetated, formerly barren zones around their 

margins. In this subdivision, glaciers lengthen to the east. 

Glaciers that have lengths greater than 8 km and areas determined by 

Field (1975b, p. 465, 475) include (from west to east): an unnamed glacier 

(16 km, 74 km2

), an unnamed glacier (12 km, 21 km2), Matanuska Glacier 

(46 km, 324 km2), Powell Glacier (26 km [author’s estimate]), Nelchina 

Glacier (39 km, 328 km2), an unnamed glacier (9 km, 16 km2), an unnamed 

glacier (8 km, 16 km2), and Tazlina Glacier (47 km, 398 km2). Each glacier 

shows significant evidence of thinning and retreat.

K302 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Harvard Glacier

Knik Glacier

Knik Glacier

Marcus Baker Gl.

Yale Glacier

Meares Gl.

Columbia Glacier

Tazlina Glacier Tazlina Glacier

Nelchina Gl.

Tarr Gl.

Sylvester Gl. Sylvester Gl.

Columbia Glacier

Columbia Glacier

Matanuska Gl.

Matanuska Gl.

Powell Gl.

Powell Gl.

College

Fiord

147°W

61°N

0 5 10 20 KILOMETERS

APPROXIMATE SCALE

Figure 278.—1 August 2002 Landsat 7 

ETM+ image of the northwestern part of the 

Chugach Mountains. Shown is the area that 

includes the large glaciers on the northwest 

side of the Chugach Mountains and northwestern College Fiord, including Columbia, 

Meares, Yale, Harvard, Knik, Marcus 

Baker, Matanuska, Powell, Sylvester, Tarr, 

Nelchina, and Tazlina Glaciers. Landsat 7 

ETM+ image (7067017000221350; 1 August 

2002; Path 67, Row 17) from the U.S. 

Geological Survey, EROS Data Center, 

Sioux Falls, S. Dak.

Matanuska Glacier

Matanuska Glacier, which is 46 km long and visible from the Glenn Highway (fig. 279), drains more than 600 km2

 of the central Chugach Mountains 

between Mount Marcus Baker and Mount Thor. The glacier ranges in width 

from about 2.2 km near its source to about 5 km near its terminus. Most of 

the terminus area consists of debris-covered ice, the outer part of which is 

stagnant. On the western side of the glacier is a zone of active ice with a 

debris-free surface. Several times during the 20th century, the terminus of 

Matanuska Glacier has advanced and overridden stagnant ice and ablation 

moraine.

Nineteenth and early 20th century information about changes in Matanuska Glacier is very limited. In 1898, Mendenhall (1900) observed and photographed the terminus of the glacier and noted that a forest was growing 

on the surface of the debris-covered, stagnant eastern margin. Reid (1909) 

noted that the glacier was retreating in 1905. In 1954, Williams and Ferrians (1961) duplicated photographs taken by Mendenhall from Glacier Point. 

They determined that, in the ensuing 56 years, little horizontal retreat had 

occurred but noted that enlargement of areas of ablation moraine indicated 

considerable thinning of the ice. They also determined that a small advance 

had recently occurred over a till ridge on the west side of the glacier. Stone 

(1955) dated this advance at about 1945. Williams and Ferrians (1961) described a moraine located about 400 m in front of the terminus that is less 

than 200 years old. They also mapped earlier Holocene advances about 4,000 

and 8,000 years ago that had left conspicuous moraines about 1.4 km and 

about 8 km, respectively, beyond the present terminus.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K303
Figure 279.—30 August 2000 south-looking 

oblique aerial photograph shows that 

much of the terminus of Matanuska Glacier 

is debris covered. Both the east and west 

margins of the glacier show evidence of recent thinning and narrowing. Photograph 

by Bruce F. Molnia, U.S. Geological Survey.

Field (1975b) examined aerial photography of the terminus acquired in 

1938, 1941, 1948, 1957, and 1964. He reported that, in the 19 years between 

Bradford Washburn’s 1938 photograph and a 1957 USAF photograph, the 

terminus “is without significant change” (Field, 1975b, v. 2, p. 453). However, between 1957 and 1964, “slight recession can be seen” (Field, 1975b, 

v. 2, p. 453). Recession continued through the late 1970s. Between 1969 and 

1974, Lawson (1979) reported but did not quantify ongoing retreat. During 

the summer of 1979, this retreat was interrupted, as the terminus advanced 

more than 30 m in 60 days. A comparison of Lawson’s 1969 photograph and 

a BLM vertical photograph acquired on 17 August 1999 (BLM vertical aerial 

photograph No. R3–FL6–FR–15) shows about 1 km of terminus retreat during the 30-year period of coverage. When the author observed the glacier 

from the air on 30 August 2000 (fig. 279), the glacier showed multiple signs 

of continued thinning and retreat. 

Since the l970s, research has been conducted at the western terminus of 

the Matanuska Glacier by scientists from the Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory of the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers and by the academic 

community. Topics include sediment transport and deposition (Lawson, 

1979), present-day formation of basal ice (Strasser and others, 1996), and 

short-pulse radar analysis of subglacier structure (Arcone and others, 1995).

Nelchina Glacier

Although it has been photographed from the air since 1938, Nelchina Glacier, which is 39 km long and 328 km2

 in area (Field, 1975b, p. 465), has 

not been the subject of any published field investigations. Field (1975b, v. 2, 

p. 357) reported that, in the 28 years between Bradford Washburn’s 1938 

photograph and a 1964 photograph of the glacier by Austin Post, “there was 

no conspicuous change in the position of the terminus. However, the lateral 

barren zone on the eastern side of the lower part of the glacier appears to 

have widened, indicating a lowering of the ice surface. Above this barren zone 

a conspicuous lateral moraine appears to mark the limit of a recent maximum 

in which the terminus was more advanced, perhaps as much as 500 m.”

Between 1964 and 2000, Nelchina Glacier continued to thin and retreat. 

When the author observed it from the air on 30 August 2000 (fig. 280), several small ice-marginal lakes had developed adjacent to the eastern and central terminus regions of the glacier. Elevated lateral moraines and distinctive 

trimlines were clearly visible. As much as 2 km of retreat had occurred in 

K304 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Figure 280.—30 August 2000 south-looking 

oblique aerial photograph of the thinning 

and retreating terminus of Nelchina Glacier 

and its western tributaries, Sylvester and 

Tarr Glaciers. The absence of any deflection 

of the moraine where Sylvester and Tarr 

Glaciers join the Nelchina Glacier suggests 

that they no longer contribute ice to the 

Nelchina Glacier. Much of the central part 

of the terminus of Nelchina Glacier is debris covered and extends beyond the bare 

ice lobes on either side. Both the east and 

west margins of Nelchina Glacier show 

evidence of recent thinning. Photograph 

by Bruce F. Molnia, U.S. Geological Survey.

the 36 years since the 1964 photograph by Austin Post. Sylvester and Tarr 

Glaciers, the two western tributaries to Nelchina Glacier, both have thinned 

significantly as well. At their junction with Nelchina Glacier, their flow has 

decreased so much that they no longer deflect the medial moraine that separates them from the western side of Nelchina Glacier.

Tazlina Glacier

Tazlina Glacier, another glacier that was not studied before the IGY, was 

visited in 1957 by an AGS field party that included Field and Viereck. Viereck 

(1967) examined the vegetation and confirmed that the terminus had not 

been more than 2.5 km further advanced since at least 1450 A.D. A terminal 

moraine located about 1.5 km from the 1957 terminus was formed between 

1800 and 1820. Viereck (1967) estimated recession during the first half of 

the 20th century to be at a rate of 15 to 21 m a–1 and to be between 24 to 

28 m a–1 since the middle 1940s. The author compared the USGS 1960 Valdez 

C-7 1:63,360-scale topographic quadrangle map, compiled in 1950, with a 

1993 Landsat image. The comparison showed that an ice-marginal lake filling 

the area of post-1950s retreat formed along much of the terminus of Tazlina 

Glacier, leaving most of its former outwash plain as a sandflat at the head of 

Tazlina Lake. When the author observed the glacier from the air on 30 August 2000, continued retreat had all but separated it from its outwash plain 

(fig. 281). However, the upper part of the glacier, at an elevation of about 

1,500 m, showed no evidence of thinning or retreat. Observations on the 

same day to the east of Tazlina Glacier showed large glacial cirques occupied 

only by small ice patches, another sign of ongoing glacier retreat.

Comparing 1950s map data of Tazlina Glacier with data obtained during geodetic airborne laser altimeter profiling surveys in the middle 1990s 

showed that, on an annual basis, Tazlina Glacier thinned by 0.687 m a–1, had a 

volume decrease of 0.252 km3 a–1, and retreated 17 m a–1 (K. A. Echelmeyer, 

W. D. Harrison, V. B. Valentine, and S. I. Zirnheld, University of Alaska Fairbanks, written commun., March 2001).

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K305
Figure 281.—30 August 2000 oblique aerial 

photograph of Tazlina Glacier. The southlooking view of the terminus region shows 

that continued retreat had all but separated 

the glacier from its middle 20th century 

outwash plain. Note the 1950s end moraine. Photograph by Bruce F. Molnia, U.S. 

Geological Survey. 

Northeastern Chugach Mountain Segment—The Turna- gain Arm–Western Chugach Mountains Subdivision

In this subdivision, glaciers that have lengths greater than 8 km and areas determined by Field (1975b, p. 473–475) include Marcus Baker Glacier 

(39 km), an unnamed glacier (9 km), Knik Glacier (49 km, 380 km2), Gannett 

Glacier (14 km, 24 km2), Colony Glacier (29 km, 237 km2), Lake George Glacier (24 km, 88 km2

), an unnamed glacier (8 km, 15 km2), another unnamed 

glacier (12 km, 43 km2), Whiteout Glacier (15 km [author’s estimate]), an 

unnamed glacier at the head of Troublesome Creek (11 km, 20 km2), Twentymile Glacier (15 km, 32 km2

), Eagle Glacier (14 km, 49 km2), Eklutna Glacier (13 km, 31 km2

), Hunter Creek Glacier (9 km, 14 km2), and Metal Creek 

Glacier (9 km, 12 km2).

Marcus Baker Glacier

Marcus Baker Glacier, which is 39 km long (Field, 1975b, p. 475) and has 

an area estimated by the author of about 20 km2, is located at the head of 

Grasshopper Valley and may have been a “Little Ice Age” tributary glacier 

to Knik Glacier, joining it from the north. Today, its terminus is more than 6 

km from Knik Glacier. Marcus Baker Glacier originates on the western flank 

of Mount Marcus Baker (4,107 m), one of the highest peaks in the Chugach 

Mountains. Although it has not been the subject of any scientific investigations, its terminus was photographed by Bradford Washburn in 1938 and 

the U.S. Army Air Forces in 1941. At that time, the lower 1.75 km of the 

glacier was covered by debris and showed little evidence of retreat (Field, 

1975b). When it was mapped in the 1950s, the terminus of Marcus Baker 

Glacier had begun to retreat. By 1996, an outwash plain about 2 km in length 

fronted the terminus. When the author photographed the glacier from the 

air on 30 August 2000, it had retreated about 2.5 km from its 1950s terminus 

position and showed conspicuous evidence of thinning along both margins 

(fig. 282).

Knik Glacier

Knik Glacier (fig. 6), which is 49 km long and 380 km2 in area (Field, 1975b, 

p. 474), terminates in a small piedmont lobe, the perimeter of which is more 

than 16 km, as a 30 August 2000 oblique aerial photograph taken by the author shows (fig. 283). Several moraines located up to 1 km from the terminus 

document the fact that Knik Glacier was larger in the early 20th century. At 

various times during the past, the southern part of the terminus, which flows 

Figure 282.—30 August 2000 north-looking 

oblique aerial photograph of the debriscovered terminus area of Marcus Baker 

Glacier. The unnamed tributary that enters 

from the north has separated from Marcus 

Baker Glacier. Note the difference in elevation between the ice surface and the vegetation on the bedrock knob on the west side 

of Marcus Baker Glacier, evidence of recent 

thinning. Photograph by Bruce F. Molnia, 

U.S. Geological Survey. A larger version of 

this figure is available online. 

K306 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
towards the eastern flank of Mount Palmer, would occasionally make contact with the mountain, blocking meltwater flow, forming a lake, and creating 

flood potential. Hulsing (1981, p. 10) reported that, before 1900, one flood 

destroyed three Native villages: “No previous damage along the Knik River 

had been recorded although, according to the Indians living in the area, the 

lake emptied once every 15 or 20 years.”

In 1915, Capps (1916, p. 169) visited Knik Glacier and described the terminus: “No facts were observed that would indicate any great amount of recent 

retreat of Knik Glacier. ... The presence of ... bushes and trees so near the 

ice front shows conclusively that the glacier is now almost as far advanced 

as it has been for many years.” He also provided some details about the lake 

formed by Knik Glacier: “Natives and prospectors report a lake many miles 

long that occupies a valley along the east side of the southwest fork of Knik 

Glacier. This lake fills gradually and at intervals of six or seven years breaks 

out through Knik Glacier and sends great floods of water down Knik River 

and Knik Arm” (Capps, 1916, p. 169). Capps reported that such a flood occurred in September 1915, causing significant damage to a railroad being 

constructed across Knik Arm. 

After 1915, the lake formed and emptied more regularly. Every winter 

between l9l5 and l966, with the exception of 1963, the southwestern terminus of Knik Glacier (fig. 284) advanced against the eastern side of Mount 

Palmer, closing the 10-km-long ice-marginal drainage channel known as 

The Gorge. This blockage impounded meltwater flowing from Lake George 

Glacier, Colony Glacier, and the southeastern part of the terminus of Knik 

Glacier and prevented it from entering the Knik River. Meltwater would 

pond behind the ice dam each spring and form a large lake (Lake George) 

that covered an area of as much as 75 km2. By late June or early July, the 

lake would overtop its ice dam and begin a flood that would last for about 

2 weeks. During the peak of the jökulhaup, discharge could be as much as 

9.45×106 l s–1 (1.5 ×108 gal min–1), as predicted by Meier in an unpublished 

report submitted to the U.S. Department of the Interior in the late 1950s 

(Mark F. Meier, written commun., 2004). Since l966, owing to late 20th century thinning and retreat (fig. 285), Knik Glacier has failed to seal the flood 

channel (Trabant and Mayo, 1980; Mayo and Trabant, 1982). During the 

early 1970s, the channel had a width of about 300 m (Post and Mayo, 1971). 

When the author observed it from the air on 12 April 2002, the width was 

less than 100 m, but the height of the ice wall was significantly smaller. 

In 1951, Stone (1955) visited the glacier and studied evidence of higher 

lake levels. He found evidence of an undated maximum lake level as much 

as 45 m higher than the 1951 level and a 1940s level as much as 2 m higher. 

Stone (1955, p. 43–44) concluded that “Knik Glacier’s two ice faces appear 

to have been in about the same position for at least the past 50 years and the 

lake probably has existed for as much as 75 years.”

Photographs of the glacier obtained between 1938 and 1968 (Field, 

1975b) document that, between 1938 and 1957, the terminus retreated between 150 and 200 m and that its location was 600 to 1,000 m from its most 

advanced position. An additional 200 m of retreat had occurred by 1964, with 

100 m more by 1968. Hence, in the 30 years between 1938 and 1968, the terminus of Knik Glacier retreated between 450 and 500 m, an average retreat 

of about 15 m a–1, the greatest retreat being at the end of the interval. Since 

1968, the glacier has continued to thin and retreat. By 2000, when the author 

photographed it from the air, the terminus had retreated about 600 m from 

its 1968 position.

Figure 283.—30 August 2000 east-looking 

oblique aerial photograph of the northern 

part of the terminus of Knik Glacier. The 

perimeter of this small piedmont lobe is 

more than 16 km. Thinning and retreat of 

the terminus have reduced the chance that 

the volume of water in the glacier-dammed 

Inner Lake George (off the photograph to 

the right) would reach a critical level and 

trigger a jökulhlaup. Photograph by Bruce 

F. Molnia, U.S. Geological Survey. A larger 

version of this figure is available online. 

Figure 284.—17 August 1999 vertical aerial 

photograph of the southwestern part of the 

terminus of Knik Glacier. North is at the top 

of the photograph. The Gorge is visible on 

the west side of the photograph. Inner Lake 

George is at the bottom. Photograph no. 

R3–FL2– FR–224 from the U.S. Bureau of 

Land Management. A larger version of this 

figure is available online.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K307
Figure 285.—30 August 2000 south-looking 

oblique aerial photograph of the westernmost part of Knik Glacier and the entire 

length of The Gorge. The Lake Fork of 

the Knik River flows through The Gorge. 

Inner Lake George is in the background 

with Colony Glacier behind it. Although 

Knik Glacier is closer to the bedrock wall 

of Mount Palmer now than it has been in 

the past few decades, the height of the 

terminus is too low to impound much water because the terminus is fractured and 

may even be floating, permitting water 

to drain through the Lake Fork of the Knik 

River. Photograph by Bruce F. Molnia, U.S. 

Geological Survey.

Gannett Glacier

Gannett Glacier, named because of its proximity to Mount Gannett, has 

a length of 14 km and an area of 24 km2 (Field, 1975b, p. 475). It flows in 

a northwestwardly direction toward Knik Glacier but ends more than 2 km 

short of merging with it. According to Field (1975b), relatively fresh trimlines seen in the valley of Gannett Glacier on Bradford Washburn’s 1938 photograph of these two glaciers suggests that they were formerly connected. 

On the USGS Anchorage B-7 1:63,360-scale topographic quadrangle map 

(1960) (appendix B), which was based on mid-1950s photography, the terminus of Gannett Glacier was about 500 m from the margin of Knik Glacier. 

By 17 August 1999, the closest point of the debris-covered terminus of Gannett Glacier was about 2.0 km from Knik Glacier, and exposed ice was about 

3.9 km from Knik Glacier (fig. 286).

Colony Glacier

Colony Glacier, which has a length of 29 km and an area of 237 km2 (Field, 

1975b, p. 474), fronts on and calves into ice-marginal Inner Lake George. 

The northern side of the lake, which has an approximate diameter of 6 km, is 

dammed by Low Ridge, a subcircular terminal moraine that formed around 

the bulbous terminus of a formerly extended Colony Glacier. Bradley and 

others (1972) stated that this moraine has an age of less than 200 radiocarbon years. The location of the northern part of Low Ridge is about 1.2 km 

south of the southernmost terminal moraine previously deposited by Knik 

Glacier. This interglacier area between moraines is the bed of Lower Lake 

George, which has been essentially dry since at least the middle 1950s, at 

which time the terminus of Colony Glacier had retreated approximately 5 

km from Low Ridge and had thinned about 150 m. In 1951, Stone (1955) 

examined the moraine area and concluded that the last 3.5 km of retreat had 

occurred in the previous 35 years (since 1916).

The termini of Colony and Knik Glaciers were photographed by the AHAP 

Program on 25 August 1978 (fig. 287A). By that time, the terminus of Colony 

Glacier had retreated a maximum of 2 km from its middle 1950s position. The 

author visited Colony Glacier in 1998 and 1999 and photographed it from the 

air on 15 August 2000 (fig. 287B) and in July 2001. Between August 1978 and 

July 2001, the glacier retreated at least 1.5 km.

K308 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Figure 286.—17 August 1999 vertical aerial 

photograph of the retreating and thinning 

terminus of Gannett Glacier, a former tributary to the Knik Glacier. Landslide debris 

covers much of the terminus. North is at 

the top of the photograph. Photograph 

no. R3–FL1–FR–219 from the U.S. Bureau 

of Land Management.

Inner Lake George

Lower Lake George

Colony Glacier

Knik Glacier

N

Knik Glacier

Gannett Glacier Gannett Glacier

Low Ridge

The Gorge

A

Figure 287.—Two aerial photographs of Colony Glacier 

and the surrounding area. A, 25 August 1978 AHAP falsecolor infrared, vertical aerial photograph of the terminus 

of Colony Glacier, Inner Lake George, the dry bed of Lower 

Lake George, the southwestern part of Knik Glacier, The 

Gorge, and the terminus of Gannett Glacier. The bedrock 

projection that is in contact with the debris-covered western terminus of Colony Glacier is Colony Point. AHAP 

photograph no. L107F7031 from the GeoData Center, 

Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, 

Alaska. B, 15 August 2000 high-altitude north-looking 

oblique aerial photograph of the terminus of Colony 

Glacier and Inner Lake George. In the 22 years between 

photographs, Colony Glacier retreated at least 1.5 km. 

Photograph by Bruce F. Molnia, U.S. Geological Survey. 

A larger version of B is available online. 

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K309
Lake George Glacier

The western part of Low Ridge serves as the dam of the presently dry Upper Lake George, a former proglacial lake bed that is approximately 15 km 

long and extends from near the terminus of the retreating Lake George Glacier to the western side of Inner Lake George. Lake George Glacier has a 

length of 24 km and an area of 88 km2 (Field, 1975b, p. 474). Field (1975b) 

reported that, in 1957, the terminus of Lake George Glacier was located 

about 800 m behind a moraine representing an undated recent maximum. 

When the author observed the terminus in 1998 and 1999, it had retreated 

another 2.5 km from its 1957 location, and a triangular-shaped ice-marginal 

lake had formed in front of the terminus.

Glaciers West of Knik Glacier, Upper Lake George, and Lake George 

Glacier

West of a line connecting Knik Glacier, Upper Lake George, and Lake 

George Glacier are a number of small unnamed glaciers and a dozen more 

with names, including Hunter Creek Glacier (fig. 288). All are retreating, and 

all were observed from the air by the author in August 2000. An unnamed 

glacier at the head of Troublesome Creek and Whiteout Glacier are two 

Figure 288.—30 August 2000 oblique 

aerial photograph of Hunter Creek Glacier 

made during an aerial survey of the western Chugach Mountains area west of a 

line connecting Lake George Glacier and 

Knik Glacier. All of the glaciers observed 

were retreating. The south-looking view of 

Hunter Creek Glacier shows its terminus is 

approximately 2 km from the terminal moraines that mark its most recent, undated 

advances. Elevated lateral moraines and 

trimlines document that this glacier was recently much thicker. Photograph by Bruce 

F. Molnia, U.S. Geological Survey.

K310 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
eastward-flowing glaciers that drain into the bed of Upper Lake George. In 

1957, both the unnamed glacier and Hunter Creek Glacier were about 1.5 km 

from terminal moraines that marked their most recent undated advances. By 

30 August 2000 (fig. 288), both glaciers had retreated approximately another 

1.0 to 1.5 km upvalley.

Glaciers of the Eagle River and Crow Creek Drainages

Milk, Crow, Raven, Clear, Flute, Icicle, and Organ Glaciers are located 

along the drainage of Eagle River or Crow Creek. 

Eagle Glacier

Eagle Glacier at the head of the Eagle River is the largest glacier in the 

drainage. Its retreating terminus continues to expose bedrock as it thins 

and narrows. At the foot of its valley is a former ice-marginal lake with an 

outwash fan delta at its head. The lake is the product of post-1915 retreat. 

In 1915, Capps (1916) photographed (see USGS Photo Library photograph 

Capps 732) and described the terminus area of Eagle Glacier. He reported 

that several crescentic lines of terminal moraines were located in the valley 

below the glacier and that the glacier had 

retreated more than 1 km in the recent 

past. His photograph shows that an icemarginal lake of unknown size was located 

adjacent to the terminus. According to 

Field (1975b), the location of the terminus 

in 1915 corresponds to the distal end of 

the present lake. The most distal moraine, 

probably corresponding to the “Little Ice 

Age” maximum position of Eagle Glacier is 

about 1.5 km beyond the 1915 moraine. A 

second younger large undated moraine is 

located about 400 m closer to the glacier. A 

1957 photograph shows the terminus position at that time to be about 2.9 km from 

the outermost moraine. Between 1915 and 

1931, Eagle Glacier retreated about 225 m. 

By 1938, when Bradford Washburn photographed the glacier, another 175 m of 

retreat had occurred, placing the terminus 

of the glacier in the emerging lake basin. 

Another 750 m of retreat occurred in the 

12 years between 1938 and 1950. By 1957, 

Eagle Glacier had retreated another 250 m 

and receded above the proximal end of the 

lake, ending on an outwash plain. When 

the author photographed it from the air on 

30 August 2000 (fig. 289), the retreating 

and thinning terminus was more than 2 km 

from the distal end of the lake.

Figure 289.—30 August 2000 oblique 

aerial photograph shows the location of 

the retreating terminus of Eagle Glacier 

with a delta at the end of the 2-km-long 

lake. The terminus is more than 2 km from 

the end of the lake where it was located in 

1915. Photograph by Bruce F. Molnia, U.S. 

Geological Survey.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K311
Eklutna Glacier

Eklutna Glacier, which covers about 50 percent of the West Fork of the 

Eklutna Lake drainage basin, is 13 km long and has an area of 13 km2 (Field, 

1975b, p. 473). When it was mapped by the USGS in 1957 (Anchorage B–6 

1:63,360-scale) (appendix B), the terminus was located at an elevation of 

about 350 m. Thirty-one years later, during field observations made in 1988 

by Brabets (1993), the terminus had retreated to an elevation of about 700 

m. The East Fork Eklutna Creek basin has an area of about 100 km2, of which 

20 percent is glacierized. The West Fork Eklutna Creek basin has an area of 

approximately 67 km2, about 50 percent of which is glacierized. As with Eagle 

Glacier, Eklutna Glacier was visited and photographed by Capps in 1915 (see 

USGS Photo Library photograph Capps 698). At that time, its terminus was 

situated at the head of an outwash plain about 2 km above the proximal end 

of Eklutna Lake. The lake occupies an elongated, glacially steepened depression dammed by a older terminal moraine of Eklutna Glacier, produced by a 

pre-19th century advance of the glacier. Field (1975b) stated that the glacier 

retreated about 1 km between 1915 and 1957, for an average rate of about 

24 m a–1. Eklutna Glacier was photographed by the BLM on 17 August 1999 

(BLM vertical aerial photograph nos. R3–FR–272 and R3–FR–274). When 

the author observed it from the air in August 1996 and again on 30 August 

2000 (fig. 290), the retreating and thinning terminus was about 7 km from 

the head of Eklutna Lake.

Twentymile Glacier

Twentymile Glacier is a southwest-flowing retreating glacier that is the 

primary source of the Glacier River, which is the eastern source of Twentymile River. At the end of the 20th century, the terminus of Twentymile 

Glacier calved icebergs into a large ice-marginal lake. Its southeastern side 

and its northwestern side—each the product of different tributaries—have 

retreated at different speeds throughout its observed history. Twentymile 

Glacier has received little scientific attention, but it has been photographed 

and observed from the air since 1938. Field (1975b) examined photographs 

collected at six different times (1938, 1941, 1950, 1957, 1964, 1971) and 

derived a history of recent changes in Twentymile Glacier. When Bradford 

Washburn photographed it in 1938, the terminus of Twentymile Glacier was 

about 1.2 km from a prominent undated terminal moraine. This moraine was 

about 2.5 km upvalley from an even older terminal moraine, located adjacent 

to the south side of Carmen Valley, which Field (1975b) speculated dates 

from approximately 1870 or earlier. The 1938 position of the terminus of 

Twentymile Glacier is separated from dense vegetation by a 200-m-wide barren zone. This zone suggests that, sometime after 1920, the glacier resumed 

retreat after a period of perhaps several decades of stability. An ice-marginal 

lake was also beginning to form adjacent to the southeastern part of the terminus. By 1941, the lake fronted the entire ice face, and the terminus continued to retreat.

Between 1938 and 1941, the southeastern side of Twentymile Glacier retreated 150 m, while the northwestern side of the glacier retreated 100 m. 

The average annual rates of retreat were 50 m a–1 and 33 m a–1, respectively. 

Between 1941 and 1950, the southeastern side retreated 550 m, while the 

northwestern side retreated 100 m. The average annual rates of retreat were 

61 m a–1 and 11 m a–1, respectively. Between 1950 and 1957, the southeastern 

side retreated 350 m, while the northwestern side retreated 400 m. The average annual rates of retreat were 50 m a–1 and 57 m a–1, respectively. Between 

1957 and 1964, the southeastern side retreated 300 m, while the northwestern side retreated 100 m. The average rates of retreat were 43 m a–1 and 

14 m a–1, respectively. Between 1964 and 1971, the southeastern side retreated 300 m, while the northwestern side retreated 200 m. The average rates of 

retreat were 43 m a–1 and 28 m a–1, respectively. For the entire 33-year-period 

Figure 290.—30 August 2000 oblique aerial 

photograph of the location of the retreating 

terminus of Eklutna Glacier. The glacier has 

retreated approximately 5 km since photographed in 1915. Photograph by Bruce 

F. Molnia, U.S. Geological Survey. A larger 

version of this figure is available online. 

K312 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Figure 291.—18 July 1978 north-looking 

oblique aerial photograph of the thinning 

and retreating terminus of Twentymile 

Glacier. Note that the proglacial lake has 

a length of approximately 2 .5 km and that 

the northwestern side of the glacier extends several hundred meters beyond the 

southeastern side. Photograph by Bruce F. 

Molnia, U.S. Geological Survey.

from 1938 to 1971, the southeastern side of the glacier retreated 1,650 m, 

while the northwestern side retreated 900 m. The average rates of retreat 

were 50 m a–1 and 27 m a–1, respectively. By 18 July 1978, the lake was about 

2.5 km long (fig. 291). By 2000, when it was last observed from the air by the 

author, the lake had a maximum length of about 4 km.

Summary

During the entire period of the Landsat baseline (1972–1981), Meares and 

Harvard Glaciers were advancing. Bryn Mawr, Harriman, and Columbia Glaciers advanced during the early part of the baseline. Smith Glacier was stable 

for most of the baseline period, with the position of its termini fluctuating 

from year to year. Available evidence suggests that all other valley and outlet 

glaciers in the Chugach Mountains were thinning and retreating.

At the end of the 20th century, Meares and Harvard Glaciers were still 

advancing. The terminus of Harriman Glacier was stable. All other valley and 

outlet glaciers in the Chugach Mountains were thinning or retreating or had 

become stagnant.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K313
Kenai Mountains

Introduction

The Kenai Mountains (figs. 1, 292, 293), which have maximum elevations 

approaching 2,000 m, are a 195×35-km mountain range that extends southwest from Turnagain Arm, Portage Pass, and Passage Canal to the southern 

end of the Kenai Peninsula. Most of the outlet glaciers in the Kenai Mountains 

originate from two large ice fields, the Sargent and the Harding Icefields, and 

two smaller unnamed ice fields, one north of the Sargent Icefield between 

Kings Bay and Portage and the other southwest of the Harding Icefield 

Figure 292.—A, Index map of the glacierized Kenai Mountains (index map modified 

from Field, 1975a), with its four ice fields, 

two named and two unnamed, and numerous outlet glaciers. B, see opposite page.

K314 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Figure 292.—B, Enlargement of NOAA 

Advanced Very High Resolution 

Radiometer (AVHRR) image mosaic of the 

Kenai Mountains in summer 1995. National 

Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 

image mosaic from Michael Fleming, 

Alaska Science Center, U.S. Geological 

Survey, Anchorage, Alaska. 

between Nuka Bay and Kachemak Bay. A number of other generally smaller 

glaciers descend from other isolated accumulation areas along the crests of 

many ridges and mountains. The total area of glaciers in the Kenai Mountains 

is 4,600 km2 (Post and Meier, 1980, p. 45).

The Sargent and the Harding Icefields have many outlet glaciers that 

descend toward or into Prince William Sound, Cook Inlet, and the Gulf of 

Alaska. Many of these outlet glaciers reach to near sea level, and more than 

a dozen have calving termini, 11 directly into tidewater (fig. 41; tables 2, 3). 

The region contains several hundred glaciers; almost all of the larger ones 

have names. Seven have lengths of about 20 km, and 2 exceed 30 km. Unless 

otherwise noted, lengths and areas given are by Field (1975d) from USGS 

1:250,000-scale topographic maps (appendix A), generally compiled from 

aerial photographic and other surveys performed between 1950 and 1963 

and supplemented by the author. Landsat 1–3 MSS images that cover the 

Kenai Mountains have the following Path/Row numbers: 72/18, 73/17, 73/18, 

74/18, 75/17, and 75/18 (fig. 3; table 1).

Wiles and others (1999a) and Barclay and others (1999) performed 

dendrochronological studies at a number of Kenai Mountain tidewater and 

former tidewater glaciers. Their work involved both living trees, some more 

than 680 years old, and a 1,119-year tree-ring-width chronology derived from 

more than 100 logs recovered from about a dozen glaciers in the western 

Prince William Sound area. Each of these logs had been sheared or uprooted 

by a past glacier advance. Their work showed that glacier fluctuations during the “Little Ice Age” were strongly synchronous on decadal time scales at 

many glaciers (fig. 294). Studies at eight locations indicated that advances 

occurred during the late 12th through 13th centuries and from the middle 

17th to early 18th centuries. Nine glaciers showed evidence of a late 19th 

century advance. Glaciers studied include Tebenkof, Cotterell, Taylor, Wolverine, Langdon, Kings, Nellie Juan, Ultramarine, Princeton, Excelsior, and 

Ellsworth Glaciers. They also investigated Billings Glacier in the southern 

Chugach Mountains. 

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K315
151°W

152°W

150° 149°

60°N

Skilak Gl.

A

Chenega

Gl.

Aialik Gl.

McCarthy Gl.

Harding

Icefield Tustumena Gl.

Icefield

Sargent

Seward

Bear Gl.

Homer

Northwestern Gl.

Holgate Gl.

Aialik Gl.

Wolverine 

Gl.

10 0 10 20 30 KILOMETERS

APPROXIMATE SCALE

Figure 293.—A, Annotated Landsat 1 MSS image of the Harding and Sargent 

Icefields and numerous tidewater glaciers on the Kenai Peninsula. McCarthy, 

Northwestern, Holgate, Aialik, and Chenega Glaciers are all retreating tidewater glaciers at the head of their fjords (Meier and others, 1980) (see fig. 41 

and tables 2 and 3). Wolverine Glacier has been studied by the U.S. Geological 

Survey since 1966 and was nearly stable from 1966 to 1976, but from 1977 to 

1982 thickened more than 8 m (Mayo and Trabant, 1984). It has since thinned 

and retreated. Landsat image and caption courtesy of Robert M. Krimmel, U.S. 

Geological Survey. Landsat 1 image (1390–20452, band 7; 17 August 1973; 

Path 74, Row 18) is from the U.S. Geological Survey, EROS Data Center, Sioux 

Falls, S. Dak. B, see opposite page.

K316 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
K

E

N

A

I

M

O

U

N

T

A I N

S

Grewingk Gl.

Petrof Gl.

Yalik Gl.

McCarty Gl.

Tustumena Gl.

Portage

Pass Whittier

Excelsior

Gl.

Spencer Gl.

Chenega Gl. MONTAGUE ISLAND

Sargent 

Icefield

Icefield

Harding

C

o

o

k Inlet

G u l f o f A l a s k a

Turnagain Arm

Passage Canal

Blackstone Bay

Kings Bay Seward

Blackstone

Gl.

Princeton

Gl.

Ellsworth Gl.

Anchorage

Prince William Sound Whittier

Bear Glacier

Skilak Gl.

Skilak Gl.

10 0 10 20 30 KILOMETERS

APPROXIMATE SCALE

B

60°N

149°W

Figure 293.—B, Annotated Landsat MSS false-color image mosaic of the Kenai Mountains showing two named 

ice fields, Harding and Sargent Icefields, two unnamed 

ice fields, and numerous outlet glaciers, some ending on 

land, some ending in fjords. All or part of the following 

Landsat images used to construct the mosaic (30174–

20290, bands 4, 5, and 7; 26 August 1978; Path 73, Row 

17), (2907–20062, bands 4, 5, and 7; 17 July 1977; Path 73, 

Row 18), (1390–20452, bands 4, 5, and 7; 17 August 1973; 

Path 74, Row 18), (22043–20390, bands 4, 5, and 7; 26 

August 1980; Path 75, Row 17), (22043-20393, bands 4, 5, 

and 7; 26 August 1980; Path 75, Row 18) are from the U.S. 

Geological Survey, EROS Data Center, Sioux Falls, S.Dak.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K317
Figure 294.—Lifespans of cross-dated, glacially overridden subfossil trees collected 

from areas adjacent to the termini of seven 

glaciers in the Kenai Mountains and one 

glacier in the Chugach Mountains, western Prince William Sound. Dates indicate 

the timespan for each population of logs. 

General times of glacier advance in the 

western Prince William Sound area are colored orange. Figure modified from Wiles 

and others (1999). 

Unnamed Ice Field North of the Sargent Icefield

The northernmost of the Kenai Mountains ice fields, the unnamed ice field 

north of the Sargent Icefield, covers an area of about 500 km2 (fig. 295A). It 

consists of a series of connected accumulation areas that support several 

dozen outlet glaciers. It is bounded on the west by Trail Creek and Placer 

River and on the east by Kings Bay and Nellie Juan River. Aside from the 

glaciers of Blackstone Bay—Concordia, Northland, Blackstone, Beloit, Marquette, Lawrence, and Ripon Glaciers—other major named glaciers that 

drain from this ice field include Portage, Burns, Whittier, Tebenkof, Rainey, 

Cotterell, Taylor, Claremont, Wolverine, Trail, Bartlett, Spencer, and Skookum Glaciers. Blackstone and Beloit Glaciers have tidewater termini (fig. 41; 

tables 2, 3). All of these glaciers have retreated significant distances since 

they were first observed. Wolverine Glacier has been monitored annually 

since 1966 by USGS glaciologists.

Portage Glacier

During the 1990s, Portage Glacier retreated around a bend in its valley 

and was no longer visible from a USFS Visitors Center constructed at the 

position of its late 19th century “Little Ice Age” maximum advance. Prior to 

1794, the glacier was at a position several kilometers to the southeast, permitting an ice-free passage (a portage) between Turnagain Arm and Prince 

William Sound. After 1794, Portage Glacier advanced and, according to Tarr 

and Martin (1914), reached its most recent maximum position about 1880. 

[Editors’ note: According to Austin Post (written commun., 2004), the start 

of the advance of Portage Glacier occurred considerably earlier than the 

late 18th century. Crossen’s (1990) recent fieldwork confirmed the early advance.] Viereck (1967) dated its maximum forward position at about 1895 on 

the basis of botanical evidence. A portage was still possible but required an 

overice journey of more than 7 km (Mendenhall, 1900). During the advance, 

the terminus bifurcated, and a limb of the much thicker glacier extended 

K318 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
about 1.5 km into a side valley flowing toward the head of Passage Canal. 

Much of the ice was contributed by Burns Glacier, then a tributary of Portage 

Glacier that merged with it from the east. Retreat and thinning led to the 

limb’s disappearance early in the 20th century. The maximum advance of the 

western lobe of the glacier is marked by a late 19th century end moraine that 

serves as the topographic high, damming the western end of Portage Lake. 

Portage Glacier was near this position when it was first photographed in 1914, 

but the presence of a small ice-marginal lake may indicate that the terminus 

has retreated somewhat on its southwestern side. By 1950, the date of the 

first USGS map of the area (Seward D-5, 1:63,360-scale topographic map) 

(appendix B), the terminus had retreated about 2.5 km from the moraine for 

an average rate of about 70 m a–1. By 8 August 2000, the glacier had retreated 

almost another 2 km, creating a lake about 4 km long (fig. 295B) (see also 

3 September 1966 oblique aerial photograph by Austin Post, USGS photograph no. 644–58). Burns Glacier maintained contact with Portage Glacier 

until the early 1980s, when its continued thinning caused it to lose contact.

The maximum advance, which ended in the late 1800s, caused a major 

change in the basin now occupied by Portage Lake. Before the advance, 

the sediment-filled basin created a land passage to Prince William Sound. 

During the advance, the basin sediments were overridden, eroded, and replaced by advancing ice to the limit of the end moraine. Eroded sediment 

was transported toward Turnagain Arm by Portage Creek. When Portage 

Marquette Gl.

Ripon Gl.

Concordia Gl. 

Blackstone Gl.

Kings

Bay

Trail Creek

Spencer Glacier

Bartlett Gl.

Trail Gl.

Trail Gl.

Portage Gl. Portage Gl.

Burns Gl. Burns Gl.

Blackstone

Bay

Tebenkof Gl.

Northland

Glacier.

Skookum Gl. Skookum Gl.

Placer River

Ripon Gl.

Taylor Glacier

Claremont Gl.

Lawrence Gl. Lawrence Gl.

Cotterell Gl.

Whittier Gl.

Beloit Gl. Marquette Gl.

Rainy Gl.

Nellie Juan River

Wolverine Gl.

A

60°30’N

148°45’W

0 10 KILOMETERS

Figure 295.—A Landsat image and an 

oblique aerial photograph of an unnamed 

ice field north of Sargent Icefield, and 

Portage Glacier one of its major outlet glaciers. A, Annotated digital enlargement of a 

Landsat 7 ETM+ image (7067018009926950; 

26 September 1999; Path 67, Row 18) from 

the U.S. Geological Survey, EROS Data 

Center, Sioux Falls, S. Dak. Burns Glacier, 

the tributary that joined Portage Glacier 

from the east is closest to its terminus. 

B, see following page.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K319
Figure 295.—B, 8 August 2000 southwestlooking oblique aerial photograph showing Portage Glacier and the entire length of 

the lake formed by its retreat. Also barely 

visible are fuel storage tanks at Whittier in 

the lower right corner of the photograph. 

Photograph by Bruce F. Molnia, U.S. 

Geological Survey.

Glacier subsequently retreated, the basin did not refill with sediment but remained relatively sediment free. R.A.M. Schmidt (reported by Field, 1975d) 

determined that the basin had a maximum depth of 181 m at a location about 

300 m in front of the 1964 terminus position. 

Whittier Glacier

Whittier Glacier was investigated by Barnes (1943), who reported that, 

between 1913 and 1939, the terminus of Whittier Glacier had retreated “several hundred feet” and that the elevation of the terminus had increased from 

180 to about 300 m. The terminus was in this position when it was mapped in 

1950 (USGS, 1950) (Seward topographic quadrangle maps, appendix B) and 

when it was photographed by Post in 1964 (Field, 1975d). When the author 

flew over the glacier in 2000 and again in 2002, it showed evidence of recent 

thinning and retreat.

Glaciers of Blackstone Bay

Blackstone Bay (fig. 296) and Blackstone Glacier were named in l899 for a 

miner who lost his life on the glacier in l896 (Mendenhall, 1900). The glaciers 

of the bay were first mapped by Grant and Higgins (1913, fig. 5) on 5 July 

1909. Nearly a dozen glaciers descend to near sea level; Blackstone and Beloit Glaciers, both located at the head of the bay, reach tidewater. Blackstone 

Glacier had a length of 12.1 km, an area of 32 km2

, an accumulation area of 

29 km2, an ablation area of 2 km2, a width at its face of 0.5 km, and an AAR of 

0.92 (Viens, 1995) (table 2). Beloit Glacier had a length of 10.1 km, an area of 

25 km2, an accumulation area of 24 km2, an ablation area of 1 km2, a width at 

its terminus of 0.44 km, and an AAR of 0.95 (Viens, 1995) (table 2). Although 

both glaciers were still tidewater glaciers when the author visited them in 

September 2000 and observed them from the air on 3 September 2002 and 

in 2004, they showed exposed bedrock along their margins and evidence of 

recent thinning.

As in nearby College Fiord [Editors’ note: Fjord is used throughout the 

text in its geological, glaciological, and geomorphological sense as it applies 

to the glaciated and glacierized coast of Alaska (Jackson, 1997, p. 237). Its 

anglicized variant, fiord, is used in geographic place-names of Alaska and is 

used in the identical sense as fjord.], many of the glaciers here were named 

for colleges. Northland, Ripon, Lawrence, Marquette, and Beloit Glaciers 

were all named in 1910 by Martin (1913) for schools in Wisconsin. Northland Glacier, named for Northland College in Ashland, Wisc., is about 9 km 

long and previously reached tidewater, probably in the middle 19th century. 

Figure 296.—Two aerial photographs of 

Blackstone Bay. A, 8 August 1981 southlooking oblique aerial photograph showing 

the southern half of Blackstone Bay including Willard Island. Most of the glaciers that 

drain into or near the bay can be seen (left to 

right): Ripon, Lawrence, Marquette, Beloit, 

Blackstone, Northland, and Concordia. All 

are retreating and thinning. Photograph by 

Bruce F. Molnia, U.S. Geological Survey. 

B, 12 August 1984 AHAP false-color vertical photograph (L113F7087) of the upper 

two-thirds of Blackstone Bay, including 

Willard Island and its “Little Ice Age” end 

moraine. All of the glaciers that drain into 

or near the bay can be seen. These include 

Tebenkof Glacier, which flows into the 

north end of the bay; Ripon, Lawrence, 

Marquette, Beloit, Blackstone, Northland, 

and Concordia Glaciers and four unnamed 

glaciers on the northeast side of the bay. 

Also visible are Rainy and Whittier Glaciers, 

located in basins to the east and west. All 

of the valley glaciers shown on this image, located in the southeastern part of 

the unnamed ice field north of the Sargent 

Icefield, show evidence of thinning and retreat. AHAP photograph from the GeoData 

Center, Geophysical Institute, University of 

Alaska, Fairbanks, Alaska.

K320 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
unnamed glacier

Whittier Glacier

Northland

Blackstone

Beloit Glacier

Glacier

Glacier

M

arquette Glacier

Lawrence Glacier

R

pi on

Glacier

WILLARD ISLAND

Te b e n k o f

G l a c i e r

Rainy Glacier

Little Ice Age

End

Moraine

u

g

nnamed lacier

glacier

unnamed

unnamed

unnamed

glacier

glacier

Blackstone

Bay

Concordia Gl.

N

B

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K321
Lawrence Glacier (fig. 297), named for Lawrence College in Appleton, Wisc., 

is about 4 km long. As have all the valley glaciers on the eastern side of Blackstone Bay, it has thinned and retreated during the 20th century. Between 

the author’s visits in 1978 and 2000, Lawrence Glacier retreated more than 

100 m and thinned as much as 40 m.

A conspicuous submarine terminal moraine, part of which is exposed under most tidal conditions, connects Willard Island in the middle of Blackstone 

Bay with its eastern shore. Grant and Higgins (1913), who first studied the 

bay in 1909, suggested that the moraine predates the early 18th century.

Tebenkof Glacier (fig. 298), which drains into Blackstone Bay near its 

mouth and was named for the last Governor General of Russian America, 

is 13 km long and has an area of about 28 km2 (Field, 1975d, p. 527; Tarr 

and Martin, 1914, pl. CXII, ff p. 352.) Until the 19th century, it had a small 

piedmont lobe and probably had a terminus ending in the tidewater (see 

map by Wiles and others, 1999a). Today, it is fronted by several large icemarginal lakes and a large glacial outwash plain. Through the early 21st century, Tebenkof Glacier retreated more than 3.0 km and thinned by several 

hundred meters. As do all the other glaciers in Blackstone Bay, it continues 

to retreat and thin. 

Wiles and others (1999a), found evidence that Tebenkof Glacier has advanced several times during the past 1,500 years (fig. 294). Seven logs that 

grew between A.D. 328 and A.D. 695 were found about 1.5 km in front of 

the 1992 ice margin, suggesting an early glacier advance at approximately 

A.D. 700 (approximately 1300 years B.P.). Twelve logs that grew between 

A.D. 960 and A.D. 1300, were found between 0.7 and about 1.5 km in front of 

the 1992 ice margin, suggesting a second glacier advance beginning between 

A.D. 1289 and A.D. 1300 (approximately 700 years B.P.). Another group of 

11 logs represent trees felled by the advancing glacier between A.D 1633 

and A.D. 1653 and suggest a third advance approximately 350 years B.P. 

Wiles and others’ (1999a) analysis of recent moraines suggested that ice retreat from this approximately 350-year-old maximum position of the glacier 

began before 1891. They stated (Wiles and others,1999a, p. 167) that “the 

1891 maximum was the greatest extent of Tebenkof Glacier since at least 

A.D. 1189.” They also documented an 1891 to 1992 retreat of 2.7 km, with 

1 km of retreat between 1983 and 1992.

Glaciers of the Western Side and South of Kings Bay

Kings Bay is the western extension of the bay called Port Nellie Juan. Taylor Glacier (fig. 299) (see also 13 August 1982 AHAP photograph L115F1490) 

has a length of 8 km and an area of 23 km2 (Field, 1975d, p. 527) and has been 

retreating since it was first observed in the latter part of the 19th century. 

About 1870, it had a tidewater terminus; in 1887, when it was first mapped by 

Applegate, its terminus failed to reach tidewater (Grant and Higgins, 1913). 

About 25 year later, when Grant and Higgins (1913) mapped it on 8 and 9 

August 1909, its terminus again reached tidewater. The 1909 terminus position was about 400 m behind a trimline, probably related to the 1870 maximum (Field, 1975d) (AGS Glacier Studies Map No. 64–4–G6; Field, 1965). 

By 1924, Taylor Glacier had retreated another 200 m, and its terminus was 

adjacent to the inland side of a tidewater-influenced lake. When it was photographed in 1966, it had retreated another 600 m and barely made contact 

with the back edge of the lake basin. During the Landsat baseline period, 

retreat and thinning continued at an even more rapid rate. When the author 

observed the glacier from the air in July and August 2000, it had retreated 

about 2.2 km from its late 19th century position.

Cotterell Glacier, now 4 km long [8 km long, 18 km2

 in area, according to 

Field (1975d, p. 527)], is another glacier that has experienced a significant 

amount of recent retreat. Aerial photographs taken in 1966, 1977, and 2000 

Figure 297.—15 July 2000 southeastlooking oblique aerial photograph of the 

terminus of the Lawrence Glacier showing 

retreat of the terminus and thinning of the 

margin. Photograph by Bruce F. Molnia, 

U.S. Geological Survey. A larger version of 

this figure is available online.

Figure 298.—15 July 2000 south-looking 

oblique aerial photograph of the terminus 

of Tebenkof Glacier showing ice-marginal 

lakes formed by terminus retreat and the 

expanding outwash plain. Former positions of its terminus are marked by lakes, 

trimlines, and moraines. Since 1891, the 

glacier has thinned by more than 100 m, 

and parts of its terminus have retreated 

by more than 3 km. Photograph by Bruce 

F. Molnia, U.S. Geological Survey. A larger 

version of this figure is available online. 

K322 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
show that the glacier has retreated more than 1.5 km and thinned by more 

than 50 m during that period of time.

Wiles and others (1999a) found five transported logs that represent trees 

felled between A.D. 1611 and A.D. 1630, suggesting an advance of the glacier 

approximately 370 to 390 years B.P. (fig. 294). Their analysis of recent moraines suggested that the “Little Ice Age” maximum position—3.1 km inland 

from Kings Bay—was reached in 1891.

Claremont Glacier, 6 km long, was named in 1910 by U.S. Grant, who 

intended to name it for Robert Fulton’s steamboat Clarmont, but he misspelled the name. When Grant and Higgins (1913) first observed Claremont 

Glacier in 1909, it was located about 300 m behind a moraine that marked 

its late 19th century position. Subsequent retreat has caused the glacier to 

separate into two retreating tributaries, as a 3 September 1966 oblique aerial 

photograph (fig. 300A) shows. The southern tributary is now located 2.5 km 

behind the 1909 moraine; the northern one is 3.5 km behind it. When the 

author observed them from the air on 15 July 2000 (fig. 300B), both tributary 

glaciers showed evidence of continued retreat and thinning; the southern 

tributary showed significantly more retreat than the northern tributary.

Figure 299.—3 September 1966 oblique 

aerial photograph of much of Taylor 

Glacier. Also visible is the adjacent 

Cotterell Glacier. USGS photograph no. 

664–62 by Austin Post, U.S. Geological 

Survey.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K323
Figure 300.—Two aerial photographs showing changes of the Claremont 

Glacier between 1966 and 2000. A, 3 September 1966 oblique aerial photograph of the terminus of Claremont Glacier showing the two separated former 

tributaries of the glacier. At the end of the 19th century, they were connected 

and reached close to the location of the large right-angle bend in the river, 

near the mouth of the valley. USGS photograph no. 664–63 by Austin Post, 

U.S. Geological Survey. B, 15 July 2000 northwest-looking oblique aerial 

photograph of Claremont Glacier showing the two retreating, formerly joined 

tributaries. The northern lobe shows only a small amount of retreat, but the 

southern lobe appears to have lost an icefall to melting and has retreated 

about 800 m. Photograph by Bruce F. Molnia, U.S. Geological Survey. A larger 

version of B is available online. 

K324 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Glaciers of Upper Kings River

Several large unnamed glaciers serve as the source of the upper Kings River. All, including the two largest, show multiple signs of thinning and retreat. 

During the last quarter of the 20th century, each retreated about 500 m.

Wolverine Glacier

Wolverine Glacier, as shown on a 3 September 1966 oblique aerial photograph (fig. 301A) (see also 14 August 1984 AHAP photograph L116F0251), 

has retreated nearly 3 km since the early 18th century (Wiles and others, 

1999a). Three moraines dated at A.D. 1713, A.D. 1777, and A.D. 1807, located 

between 2 and 3 km downvalley from the glacier’s terminus in the year 2000, 

document Wolverine Glacier’s “Little Ice Age” maximum position and the location of two recessional moraines (fig. 301B). Wolverine Glacier is one of 

three long-term glacier-monitoring sites operated 

by the USGS. The other two are Gulkana Glacier in 

the Alaska Range and South Cascade Glacier in the 

State of Washington. Climate, weather, glacier-motion, mass-balance, terminus position, and streamflow data are recorded at the three monitoring sites 

to develop a better understanding of glacier-related 

hydrologic processes. Wolverine Glacier, which has 

a terminus elevation of about 400 m, has been studied by the USGS since 1966 (Tangborn and others, 

1977) and was nearly stable from 1966 to 1976 but 

thickened more than 8 m from 1977 to 1982 (Mayo 

and Trabant, 1984; Mayo and others, 1985). It has 

since thinned more than 20 m. In the 29 years of 

measurements from 1966 to 1995, negative mass 

balances have occurred in 19 of those years. The 

annual range has varied from a low of -2.37 m in 

2500

3000

1500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

1000

3000

Nellie Juan River

2000

0 1 KILOMETER

148°52'30"W

60°22'30"W

B

Wolverine Glacier

2000

1992

1950

1807

1777

1713

Figure 301.—Oblique aerial photograph and sketch 

map of Wolverine Glacier. A, 3 September 1966 

oblique aerial photograph showing Wolverine 

Glacier. USGS photograph no. 664–65 by Austin 

Post, U.S. Geological Survey. B, Sketch map showing retreat of Wolverine Glacier between 1713 and 

2000.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K325
1991 to a high of +2.33 m in 1980. Mass balance has been positive every winter, ranging from a high of 4.21 m in 1977 to a low of 0.84 m in 1972. Mass 

balance has been negative every summer, ranging from a low of -4.23 m in 

1981 to a high of -1.34 m in 1973 (Meier and others, 1971; Trabant and March, 

1999). Between the 1950s and the middle 1990s, on an annual basis, Wolverine Glacier thinned by 0.519 m, had a volume decrease of 0.00957 km3

, and 

had its length shortened by 6 m a–1. Between the middle 1990s and 1999, on 

an annual basis, the glacier thinned by 1.025 m and had a volume decrease 

of 0.0188 km3 (K.A. Echelmeyer and others, University of Alaska Fairbanks, 

written commun., March 2001). A 30-year record of surface mass balance and 

shorter records of motion and surface altitude were recently published by the 

USGS (Mayo and others, 2004).

The Wolverine climate station is located at an altitude of 990 m on the 

crest of a tundra-covered glacial moraine along the western boundary of the 

basin. The station is slightly lower than the glacier’s average ELA and about 

500 m from the western edge of the glacier. The average annual air temperature at the recorder site is about -1°C, and the average annual precipitation 

gage total is about 1,100 mm. Snow is the dominant form of precipitation and 

usually accumulates on the glacier from September through mid-June. Daily 

average temperatures range from a low of -25°C to a high of +15°C. Daily 

precipitation totals range from a low of 0 to a high of approximately 110 mm 

(Kennedy, 1995; Mayo and others, 1992).

Glaciers of Snow River

Several unnamed glaciers on the western side of the ice field serve as the 

source of the Snow River. The largest is about 13 km long and has an area of 

about 75 km2. When it was photographed in 1941 and again in 1950 (Field, 

1975d), it was “at or close to” its “Little Ice Age” maximum position. Since 

then, it has retreated more than 0.5 km.

Trail Glacier

Trail Glacier, previously named Notch Creek Glacier, was first studied 

during the construction of the Alaska Railroad, near the beginning of the 

20th century (Tarr and Martin, 1914). The part of the glacier photographed 

by Capps (USGS Photo Library photograph Capps, S.R.12), sometime before 

1910, had a large mass of morainic debris covering much of its surface. It was 

also photographed on 21 September 1911 by the USGS (Martin and others, 

1915), but its terminus was obscured by trees. Wentworth and Ray (1936) 

reported that it had retreated about 1.2 km by 1931. By 1957, it had retreated another 500 m (Field, 1975d). When the author observed it from the air in 

2000, the glacier was estimated to have retreated at least another 750 m.

Glaciers of Placer River

Bartlett, Spencer, Deadman, and Skookum Glaciers and several unnamed 

glaciers, all located on the northwestern part of the ice field north of the Sargent Icefield, all drain into the Placer River. At the beginning of the 20th century, the terminus of Bartlett Glacier was located on the floor of the Placer 

River valley (21 September 1911 USGS photograph presented by Martin and 

others, 1915, pl. IXB). Because the terminus covered the only feasible railroad route through the valley, a 2-km-long looping elevated trestle had to be 

constructed to bypass it. By 1931, the glacier had retreated between 150 and 

300 m from its maximum position (Wentworth and Ray, 1936). In the early 

1940s, the glacier had retreated enough that the track could be lain over the 

preferred route, so the trestle was dismantled. Retreat has continued at a 

slow rate, so that, at the beginning of the 21st century, the terminus was a 

little more than 1 km from its maximum position. 

A similar railroad construction problem was encountered at Spencer Glacier (20 September 1911 photograph presented by Martin and others, 1915, 

K326 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
pl. VIII; 12 August 1984 AHAP photograph L113F7084). At the beginning of 

the 20th century, the terminus of Spencer Glacier (19 km long and 82 km2 in 

area) (Field, 1975d, p. 528) was within 60 m of its 19th century “Little Ice 

Age” maximum terminal moraine (Viereck, 1967), a position that the glacier reached about 1880. When track was laid on the surface of this moraine, 

drainage channels were blasted and constructed in the glacier ice and on 

the adjacent outwash plain to prevent washouts (Tarr and Martin, 1914). By 

1931, the glacier had retreated about 640 m (Wentworth and Ray, 1936). By 

1964, retreat totaled about 1.2 km (Field, 1975d). When the author observed 

it from the air in 2000, he estimated that the glacier had retreated at least 

another 800 m.

Sargent Icefield 

More than 25 outlet glaciers descend from the central accumulation area 

of the 60×40-km Sargent Icefield (fig. 302). Many of the glaciers draining the 

Tigertail Gl.

Chenega

Glacier

SARGENT

ICEFIELD

Excelsior G al c ei r

Ellsworth Glacier

Nellie

Juan

River

Kings

Bay

Contact Gl.

Falling Gl.

Ultramarine

Gl. Princeton

Glacier

Tiger Gl.

Bainbridge

Glacier

Puget Gl.

Langdon Gl.

Kings Gl.

Applegate 

Glacier

Nellie Juan

Glacier

Icy Bay

Nassau 

Fiord

Port Bainbridge

148°30’W

60°15’N

Figure 302.—Digital enlargement of a 

Landsat 7 ETM+ (Enhanced Thematic 

Mapper Plus) false-color composite image showing the Sargent Icefield. Landsat 

7 ETM+ image (7067018009926950; 

26 September 1999; Path 67, Row 18) from 

the U.S. Geological Survey, EROS Data 

Center, Sioux Falls, S.Dak.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K327
northern, eastern, and southern margins of the ice field end at or near sea 

level in Kings Bay, Port Nellie Juan, Nassau Fiord, Icy Bay, Port Bainbridge, 

Puget Bay, Johnstone Bay, and Whidbey Bay. Glaciers flowing from the western side of the ice field all end on land and drain into the Nellie Juan River. 

Only a few of these have official names. The largest glaciers draining the ice 

field are 27-km-long Ellsworth and 24-km-long Excelsior Glaciers (Field, 

1975d, p. 529–530) and the 24.1-km-long Chenega Glacier (Viens, 1995) 

(table 2). Three glaciers—Nellie Juan, Chenega, and Tiger—have tidewater 

termini. All the outlet glaciers of the Sargent Icefield show significant evidence of retreat and thinning.

Glaciers on the Eastern Side of Kings Bay

Several named and unnamed glaciers drain into the southeastern side of 

Kings Bay, the western extension of Port Nellie Juan. The largest, Falling 

Glacier (11 km long, 35 km2 in area, according to Field, 1975d, p. 528) was 

first observed and its terminus position mapped on 8 and 9 August 1908 by 

Grant and Higgins (1913). At that time, “a small tongue from the ice just 

reached the sea” (Grant and Higgins, 191, p. 46). Based on vegetative evidence, Viereck (1967) dated the formation of its “Little Ice Age” maximum 

terminal moraine at about 1875 to 1885. As late as 1950, although part of 

the terminus was adjacent to the end moraine and may have been in contact 

with Kings Bay, the margins of the glacier were in retreat (Field, 1975d). 

By 1982, the terminus had retreated more than 1 km from its 1950 position. 

Since then, the glacier has retreated at least 600 m and thinned significantly 

(fig. 303). When they were photographed from the air in 1966 and again on 

15 July 2000, Applegate, Kings, and Langdon Glaciers and an unnamed glacier, all located near the head of the fjord, showed evidence of continuing 

thinning and retreat (fig. 304).

According to Wiles and others (1999a), Kings Glacier was a former tributary to Langdon Glacier, and together they produced a “Little Ice Age” maximum moraine located about 2.3 km downvalley from their individual late 

20th century positions. Two logs found about 1.8 km in front of the 1992 ice 

margin were from trees overridden in A.D. 1624 and A.D. 1650, suggesting a 

Figure 303.—Three photographs, dating 

from 1924 to 2000, showing changes in 

the terminus of Falling Glacier. A, 1924 

photograph by Fred Moffit of the lower 

reaches of Falling Glacier from the west 

side of Kings Bay. At the time of this photograph, the central part of the glacier’s 

terminus still reached tidewater. USGS 

Photo Library photograph Moffit 1014. 

B, 3 September 1966 southeast-looking 

oblique aerial photograph of the terminus 

of Falling Glacier, which is located about 

350 m from the shore of Kings Bay. The glacier has thinned appreciably along its western margin. USGS photograph no. 664–71 

by Austin Post, U.S. Geological Survey. 

C, 15 July 2000 east-looking oblique aerial 

photograph of the lower third of Falling 

Glacier showing its retreating terminus 

and newly formed ice-marginal lake. Total 

retreat from its early 20th century position 

approaches 3.5 km. Photograph by Bruce 

F. Molnia, U.S. Geological Survey. Larger 

versions of A and C are available online. 

K328 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
significant advance approximately 350 years B.P. Between 1889 and the end 

of the 20th century, Langdon Glacier retreated more than 2 km. However, 

Wiles and others (1999a) reported that, in 1992, the glacier was advancing 

and overriding alders that were estimated to be 10 to 20 years old. The author observed no evidence of a continued advance from the air in 2000.

Glaciers of Port Nellie Juan

The glaciers of Port Nellie Juan were first mapped on 8 and 9 August 1908 

by Grant and Higgins (1913). Deepwater Bay, Derickson Bay, and Blue Fiord 

are embayments at the head of Port Nellie Juan. The westernmost of the 

three named glaciers is Contact Glacier (fig. 302), located about 2 km from 

the head of Deepwater Bay. When it was observed in 2000, the terminus of 

Contact Glacier showed multiple evidence of continuing rapid thinning and 

retreat. Between 1909 and 2000, the terminus of Contact Glacier retreated 

about 1 km.

Adjacent Nellie Juan Glacier has changed as dramatically as any glacier 

in the Sargent Icefield. Viereck (1967) stated that Nellie Juan Glacier had 

Figure 304.—3 September 1966 oblique 

aerial photograph looking southeast 

shows the termini of Applegate Glacier 

(left) and Langdon Glacier (right). Both 

show evidence of significant recent thinning and retreat. Langdon Glacier has several elevated medial moraines, whereas 

Applegate Glacier has a very large elevated 

lateral moraine on its southeast side. USGS 

photograph no. 664–72 by Austin Post, U.S. 

Geological Survey.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K329
reached its late “Little Ice Age” maximum position between 1860 and 1880. 

Wiles and others (1999a) identified an advance of the glacier that felled trees 

between A.D. 1594 and A.D. 1605. They stated that Nellie Juan Glacier had 

reached its “Little Ice Age” maximum by 1842 and oscillated at this position 

until general retreat began around 1893. By 1908, retreat was minimal, ranging from 30 to 150 m (Grant and Higgins, 1913). When Moffit photographed 

the terminus position in 1924, little had changed; one area had actually advanced beyond the 1908 position. By 1935, the glacier had retreated 470 m 

on its eastern side and 580 m on its western side (Field, 1937) and had deposited a large moraine that blocked much of the head of Derickson Bay. By 3 

September 1966, the glacier had retreated another 950 to 1500 m (fig. 305). 

A tidal river flowing through the 1935 moraine connected the ice-marginal 

basin, which expanded in area as the glacier continued to retreat, with Derickson Bay. When the author observed it from the air in 2000, the glacier was 

about 3 km from its 1935 position. It had a length of about 14.5 km, an area of 

56 km2, an accumulation area of 51 km2, an ablation area of 5 km2, a width at 

Figure 305.—3 September 1966 oblique 

aerial photograph showing the terminus 

and most of the accumulation area of Nellie 

Juan Glacier. Fresh bedrock and trimlines 

near the terminus document ongoing thinning and retreat. USGS photograph no. 

664–75 by Austin Post, U.S. Geological 

Survey.

K330 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
its face of 0.5 km, and an AAR of 0.91 (Viens, 1995) (table 2). The terminus is 

now located in a vegetation-free granite fjord.

Wiles and others (1999a) described a sequence of logs dated between 

A.D. 1692 and A.D. 1715 that represent trees killed by an advance of 8-kmlong Ultramarine Glacier. Other stumps were overridden about A.D. 1766 

(fig. 294). Viereck (1967) determined that Ultramarine Glacier, which had a 

length of 9 km and an area of 30 km2 (Field, 1975d, p. 529), sat at its “Little Ice 

Age” maximum position from about 1880 to 1890. Wiles and others (1999a) 

dated the stabilization of the glacier’s terminus at 1889. By 1908, when Grant 

and Higgins (1913) observed the glacier, it had retreated about 400 m; it retreated another 300 m through 1935 and another 300 m through 1964 (Field, 

1975d). Because the end moraine is nearly 3 km from the present margin, 

the glacier retreated nearly 2 km between 1964 and 2000. In 2000, the terminus of Ultramarine Glacier was surrounded by an apron of morainic-debriscovered stagnant ice and was located at the head of a 2.25-km-long proglacial 

lake about 4 km from Blue Fiord. The terminus was surrounded by a halo of 

fresh vegetation-free deglacierized bedrock. 

Glaciers of Icy Bay

The glaciers of Icy Bay and Nassau Fiord, its northwestern arm, were 

mapped on 5 August 1908 by Grant and Higgins (1913). Chenega, Princeton, 

and Tiger Glaciers are the three largest glaciers. Chenega Glacier (fig. 306), 

a tidewater glacier and the largest of the three, has a length of 24.1 km and 

an area of 369 km2 (AGS Glacier Studies Map. No. 64–4–G5; Field, 1965) 

(see also 1924 photograph by Fred Moffit, USGS Photo Library Moffit 974; 

3 September 1966 oblique aerial photograph by Austin Post, USGS Photograph no. 664–79). Chenega Glacier has an accumulation area of 346 km2

, 

an ablation area of 23 km2, a width at its terminus of 0.2 km, and an AAR of 

0.94 (Viens, 1995) (table 2). From vegetative evidence, Viereck (1967) determined that Chenega Glacier sat at its “Little Ice Age” maximum position 

during the second half of the 19th century (about 1857–72). At that time, 

Chenaga, Princeton, and Tigertail Glaciers were joined and reached to the 

head of Nassau Fiord. Wiles and others (1999a) described several dozen detrital logs from around the perimeter of Princeton Glacier that confirm that 

the glacier was advancing towards its “Little Ice Age” maximum position before A.D. 1250 (fig. 294). 

By 1908, when it was observed by Grant and Higgins (1913), Chenega Glacier had retreated about 5.5 km and had separated from Tigertail and Princeton Glaciers. Since 1908, Chenega Glacier’s terminus has stayed within 1 km 

of this position (fig. 307). When the author observed the glacier from the air 

in 2000, freshly exposed bedrock and evidence of minor thinning suggested 

that it had recently retreated several hundred meters.

When Grant and Higgins (1913) viewed Princeton Glacier in August 1908, 

it had a massive moraine along its front, but its western side reached tidewater. Between 1908 and 1950, Princeton Glacier retreated about 1.5 km from 

shore and thinned by at least 60 m. Since then, it has retreated an additional 

2.5 km. Similarly, Tigertail Glacier (fig. 306) retreated from the shore in the 

first decades of the 20th century and now sits a few hundred meters from the 

fjord. Field (1975d) reported that two small moraines dating from 1950 and 

1960 mark brief mid-20th century advances. When the author observed the 

glacier from the air in 2000, freshly exposed bedrock and evidence of thinning suggested that it is continuing its retreat. 

Tiger Glacier (fig. 308) is located at the head of Icy Bay (see 13 August 

1984 AHAP photograph L118F1580). The glacier has a length of 11.3 km, 

an area of 56 km2, an accumulation area of 50 km2, an ablation area of 6 km2, 

a width at its face of 0.8 km, and an AAR of 0.89 (Viens, 1995) (table 2). 

Tiger Glacier slowly advanced during the first third of the 20th century. Field 

(1975d, p. 513) reported that, in 1935, it was “slightly” in advance of its 1908 

Figure 306.—15 July 2000 southwestlooking oblique aerial photograph of the 

terminus of Chenega Glacier. Tigertail 

Glacier can be seen on the left side of the 

photograph. An apron of freshly exposed 

bedrock documents recent thinning of 

the glacier. Several calving embayments 

mark the front of the glacier. Photograph 

by Bruce F. Molnia, U.S. Geological Survey. 

A larger version of this figure is available 

online.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K331
Figure 307.—Two photographs showing 

late 20th century changes in Nassau Fiord 

between 1966 and 2000. A, 3 September 

1966 oblique aerial photograph showing part of the terminus of Chenega 

Glacier and nearly all of Princeton Glacier. 

Chenega Glacier is little changed since 

1908. Princeton, however, is retreating and 

thinning significantly. USGS photograph 

no. 664–78 by Austin Post, U.S. Geological 

Survey. B, 15 July 2000 northwest-looking 

oblique aerial photograph of the termini of 

Chenega and Princeton Glaciers. Although 

Chenega Glacier shows a retreat of only 

several hundred meters, the terminus 

of the retreating and thinning Princeton 

Glacier has retreated more than 1 km since 

the 1966 photograph. Photograph by Bruce 

F. Molnia, U.S. Geological Survey. 

K332 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
position, but that, by the 1960s (fig. 308A), “considerable recession” had occurred. When it was observed on 15 July 2000 (fig. 308B), Tiger Glacier’s 

margins were very close to those displayed in a 1908 photograph made by 

Grant and Higgins (1913). Many small glaciers on the walls of the fjord have 

almost completely melted away.

Glaciers of Port Bainbridge

At the beginning of the 21st century, the terminus of 16-km-long Bainbridge Glacier (Viens, 1995) (table 2) sat about 300 m from the head of a 

short western arm of the Port Bainbridge fjord. According to Grant and Higgins (1913), who mapped the position of the glacier on 3 August 1908, the 

glacier was located on an outwash plain that was covered by normal high 

tides (3 August 1908 photograph by Grant and Higgins, 1913, pl. XXIXB). 

They observed fresh push moraines along the glacier’s margin, some with 

fresh tree material incorporated into them. They stated (p. 51), “In 1908, the 

ice was practically, if not absolutely, at its limit of maximum advance since 

the growth of the present forest.” Viereck (1967) determined that the glacier 

experienced a small advance about 1934 and overrode its 1908 moraine. The 

glacier had an area of 56 km2

, an accumulation area of 39 km2, an ablation 

area of 17 km2, and an AAR of 0.70 (Viens, 1995) (table 2); it had retreated 

several hundred meters by 2000 and had most of its terminus fronted by an 

arcuate ice-marginal lake. A braided outwash plain was located on the southern side of the glacier’s terminus, as a 15 July 2000 oblique aerial photograph 

taken by the author shows (fig. 309). Small glaciers also exist south of Claw 

Peak on the western side of Port Bainbridge (13 August 1982 AHAP photograph L118F1582).

Glaciers of the Puget Bay Region

Puget Glacier, located about 2.5 km north of the head of the bay, is the only 

named glacier among the half-dozen or so that drain into Puget Bay (3 September 1966 oblique aerial photograph by Austin Post, USGS photograph 

Figure 308.—Two photographs showing 

the late 20th century position of Tiger 

Glacier between 1966 and 2000. 

A, 3 September 1966 oblique aerial photograph of the terminus of Tiger Glacier. 

USGS photograph no. 664–80 by Austin 

Post, U.S. Geological Survey. B, 15 July 

2000 southwest-looking oblique aerial photograph of the terminus of Tiger Glacier. 

Little evidence of change in Tiger Glacier 

can be seen in this photograph. Photograph 

by Bruce F. Molnia, U.S. Geological Survey. 

A larger version of B is available online.

Figure 309.—15 July 2000 west-looking 

oblique aerial photograph of the lower part 

of Bainbridge Glacier showing its retreating terminus and ice-marginal lake. Total 

retreat from its early 20th century position 

is about 300 to 400 m. Photograph by Bruce 

F. Molnia, U.S. Geological Survey. A larger 

version of this figure is available online.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K333
no. 664–83). This glacier was depicted on 19th century maps made by the 

Russian-America Company (Teben’kov, 1852) and was first investigated and 

mapped on 11 July 1909 by Grant and Higgins (1913). Investigations in 1966 

determined that the valley below the glacier contained several moraines dating from before 1750, 1830, 1930, and 1950. The pre-1750 moraine was located about 1 km from the 1966 terminus. The distance between the 1950 moraine and the 1966 moraine was about 90 m. When the author photographed 

the glacier from the air in 2000, it showed continued thinning around its margins and retreat of its terminus. The 2000 terminus position was 250 to 400 m 

from its 1966 position. 

Glaciers of Johnstone Bay 

When Grant and Higgins (1913) sailed past the terminus of 19-km-long 

Excelsior Glacier (fig. 310) in 1909, it was located on an outwash plain about 

1 km from the head of Johnstone Bay. They commented that a very large 

bare area surrounding the glacier indicated that it had been much larger in 

the recent past and that it might have had a marine terminus.

Wiles and others (1999a) identified a late 19th century moraine seaward 

of and close to the 1908 location of the glacier but found no evidence of a marine terminus. By 1950, the distance from the head of Johnstone Bay to the 

retreating terminus had increased to about 3 km; a large ice-marginal lake 

occupied the 2 km adjacent to the glacier’s margin. By 3 September 1966, 

the glacier had retreated an additional kilometer (fig. 310A). Between 1966 

and 1991, the lake lengthened by an additional 2 km, with a maximum length 

of 5 km. Field (1975d, p. 529) stated that Excelsior Glacier was 24 km long 

and 170 km2 in area. When the author photographed it from the air on 15 July 

2000, Excelsior Glacier showed continued thinning and retreat of its terminus (fig. 310B). The area in 2000 was about 160 km2

, and the terminus position was more than 3.5 km from its 1966 location. Both the 1966 and 2000 

aerial photographs show that Excelsior Glacier calves large tabular icebergs. 

Figure 310.—Three aerial photographs 

of Excelsior Glacier showing changes 

between 1966 and 2000. A, 3 September 

1966 oblique aerial photograph showing 

the terminus and much of the accumulation area of Excelsior Glacier. The fractures 

that cut across the entire terminus suggest 

that it was actively calving, retreating, and 

disintegrating when photographed. USGS 

photograph no. 664–86 by Austin Post, U.S. 

Geological Survey. B and C, see opposite 

page.

K334 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Excelsior Glacier’s southeasternmost unnamed tributary separated from 

the main glacier and experienced about 4 km of retreat, resulting in a conspicuous ice-free valley on the eastern side of Excelsior Glacier’s valley. 

Thinning and retreat of this former tributary, probably in the 1950s, resulted 

in a reversal of flow direction, the creation of a distributary glacier, and the 

formation of a 4-km-long ice-marginal lake, as a 3 September 1966 oblique 

aerial photograph shows (fig. 310C).

Figure 310.—B, 15 July 2000 north-looking 

oblique aerial photograph of most of 

Excelsior Glacier, its ice-marginal lake, and 

the head of Johnstone Bay. In the 34 years 

between photographs, the glacier significantly thinned and retreated as much 

as 5 km. Note the large tabular icebergs, 

evidence of continued calving and disintegration. Photograph by Bruce F. Molnia, 

U.S. Geological Survey. C, 3 September 

1966 oblique aerial photograph showing 

a distributary of the Excelsior Glacier. The 

pre-1966 retreat of the tributary glacier, 

probably in the 1940’s and 1950’s, which 

was previously joined with the Excelsior 

Glacier on its eastern margin, resulted in 

a reversal of flow direction (from tributary 

to distributary glacier) and the formation 

of a 4-km-long ice-marginal lake. USGS 

photograph no. 664–84 by Austin Post, U.S. 

Geological Survey.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K335
Glaciers of Day Harbor

Ellsworth Glacier (fig. 311), 27 km long and 137 km2 in area (Field, 1975d, 

p. 530), empties into a moraine-dammed lake above the head of Day Harbor. 

When Grant and Higgins (1913) visited and mapped it on 12 July 1909, the terminus of Ellsworth Glacier was retreating and was located about 2.5 km from 

the head of Day Harbor. This location was close to Ellsworth’s “Little Ice Age” 

maximum position, which was reached before 1855 (Wiles and others, 1999a). 

Figure 311.—Two aerial photographs of Ellsworth Glacier showing changes 

between 1966 and 2000. A, 3 September 1966 oblique aerial photograph 

showing the lower part of Ellsworth Glacier. The glacier retreated about 3 km 

from its position on the 1909 sketch map by Grant and Higgins (1913). USGS 

photograph no. 664–87 by Austin Post, U.S. Geological Survey. B, 15 July 

2000 north-looking oblique aerial photograph of most of Ellsworth Glacier. 

Compared to its 1966 position, the glacier shows significant thinning of its surface and margins and retreat of its terminus, especially on the west side. The 

2000 terminus position was from 2.5 to 3 km from the 1966 position. Note the 

large tabular icebergs produced by calving. Photograph by Bruce F. Molnia, 

U.S. Geological Survey. A larger version of B is available online.

K336 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
By 1950, this distance had increased to a maximum of about 5 km; a large 

U-shaped ice-marginal lake, which began forming after 1918, occupied the 

2 km adjacent to the glacier’s margin. By 3 September 1966, the glacier had 

retreated an additional kilometer and had lost more than a third of its width 

(fig. 311A). When the author photographed the glacier from the air on 15 July 

2000, it showed significant thinning of its surface and margins and retreat of 

its terminus, especially on the western side (fig. 311B). The 2000 terminus 

position was from 3.5 to 4.5 km from the 1908 position. Both the 1966 and 

2000 aerial photographs document that Ellsworth Glacier, like its eastern 

neighbor Excelsior Glacier, calves large tabular icebergs into its proglacial 

lake.

Although not part of the Sargent Icefield, several small glaciers (both 

named and unnamed) flow into the western side of Day Harbor from Resurrection Peninsula. They are discussed below, in the Glaciers of Resurrection 

Peninsula section. 

Glaciers of Nellie Juan River

More than a dozen unnamed glaciers drain in a westerly direction into the 

Nellie Juan River and eventually into Kings Bay. All show evidence of retreat 

and thinning (see two 3 September 1966 oblique aerial photographs by Austin Post, USGS photograph nos. 664–68 and 664–69). Retreat ranges from 

about 400 m to more than 1 km.

Glaciers of Resurrection Peninsula

Not connected to either the ice field north of the Sargent Icefield or the 

Sargent Icefield itself are a number of glaciers, mostly unnamed, that drain 

into Nellie Juan River, Day Harbor, Resurrection Bay, or Resurrection River. 

Named glaciers include Spoon, Prospect, Porcupine, Godwin, Bear Lake, and 

Mother Goose Glaciers. According to Field (1975d), the termini of Spoon, 

Prospect, and Porcupine Glaciers have all retreated, so that their elevations 

in 1950, as shown on the USGS 1950 Seward A-7 1:63,360-scale topographic 

map (appendix B), were 60 to 150 m higher than they were on Grant and 

Higgins (1913) map, which was based on their 1909 observations. All the 

Resurrection Peninsula glaciers have received minimal attention since their 

early 20th century studies.

Wentworth and Ray (1936) reported that the surface of Bear Lake Glacier—an IGY AGS glacier—lowered between 45 and 60 m during the 

20- to 25-year period before their 1931 visit. When the AGS mapped the 

6.3-km-long glacier in 1957 at 1:10,000 scale, it had a large elevated moraine 

on its southern side. Surface elevation profiling surveys (Sapiano and others, 

1998) showed that, between 1957 and 1996, the terminus retreated a total of 

515 m (an average retreat of 13 m a–1) and that the elevation of the glacier surface decreased an average of 9.7 m, with a maximum of more than 60 m at an 

elevation of about 520 m near the terminus. Total volume lost was 6.5×107

m3

of ice. Between the 1950s and the middle 1990s, on an annual basis, Bear Lake 

Glacier thinned by 0.277 m a–1, its volume decreased by 0.00192 km3 a–1, and 

its terminus receded by 10 m a–1. From the middle 1990s to 1999, on an annual basis, the glacier thinned by 0.953 m a–1 and had its volume decrease by 

0.00652192 km3 a–1 (K.A. Echelmeyer, W.D. Harrison, V.B. Valentine, and S.I. 

Zirnheld, University of Alaska Fairbanks, written commun., March 2001). The 

long-term mass balance between 1957 and 1996 averaged -0.30 m a–1. 

Harding Icefield

The Harding Icefield (fig. 312) has a maximum length of 80 km, a maximum width of about 50 km (Field, 1975d, p. 497), and an area of about 

1,800 km2. It is the largest of the ice fields in the Kenai Mountains and the 

largest single ice field located entirely in the United States. The ice field has 

nearly 40 outlet glaciers, 16 of which have lengths greater than 8 km. Alone, 

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K337
Tustumena

Lake

Tustumena Gl.

Chernof Gl.

Dinglestadt Gl.

Northwestern Gl.

Portlock Gl.

Dixon Gl.

Grewingk Gl.

Yalik Gl.

Petrof Gl.

McCarty

Fiord

West Arm

North Arm

McCarty Gl.

Northwestern Fiord

Bear Glacier

Aialik Gl.

Aialik Bay

Holgate Arm

Holgate Gl.

HARDING

ICEFIELD

60°N

150°W

0 20 KILOMETERS

APPROXIMATE SCALE

Skilak

Glacier

Skilak Lake

Kachemak Gl.

Resurrection

Bay

Exit Glacier

Figure 312.—Digital enlargement of a Landsat 7 ETM+ (Enhanced Thematic 

Mapper Plus) image showing the Harding Icefield and the unnamed ice 

field to the southwest of the Harding Icefield. Landsat 7 ETM+ image 

(7069018000022250; 9 August 2000; Path 69, Row 18) from the U.S. Geological 

Survey, EROS Data Center, Sioux Falls, S. Dak.

K338 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
these glaciers have an area of about 1,380 km2

. Four of these glaciers exceed 25 km in length. According to Field (1975d, p. 530–533), Bear Glacier 

(fig. 313) is 27 km long and has an area of 178 km2; an unnamed glacier is 

29 km long and has an area of 183 km2; Tustumena Glacier is 32 km long and 

has an area of 390 km2; and Skilak Glacier is 34 km long and has an area of 

160 km2. Meier and Post (1962) estimated the ice field’s ELA to be about 

600 m and determined that the AAR was 0.68.

Most of the northward-draining glaciers are unnamed and drain into the 

Resurrection River or Skilak Lake. Southward-draining glaciers generally 

reach sea level or near to it. Many others—including Aialik Glacier at the 

head of Aialik Bay, Holgate Glacier in Holgate Arm of Aialik Bay, Northwestern Glacier and two unnamed glaciers in Northwestern Fiord, and McCarty 

Glacier in McCarty Fiord—have tidewater termini. An unnamed glacier in 

Holgate Arm had a tidewater terminus in the late 1990s but retreated from 

tidewater by 2001.

Rice (1987) made planimetric measurements of all of the ice field’s glaciers, using 1:63,360-scale topographic maps prepared between 1950 and 

1951 (appendix B), and compared them with 1980s aerial photography. He 

calculated that the ice field had decreased in area as much as 5 percent during the intervening 34 years. The greatest changes were near sea level along 

the Gulf of Alaska and at the 300- to 600-m elevations on the northern and 

western sides of the ice field. Many smaller glaciers located at elevations below 1,000 m had disappeared.

Aðalgeirsdóttir and others (1998) obtained airborne surface elevation 

profiles of 13 Harding Icefield glaciers and the upper accumulation area of 

the ice field in 1994 and 1996 (table 5). These profiles were compared with 

1:63,360-scale topographic maps (appendix B) and the aerial photographs 

used in their preparation (2 August 1950 and 15 August 1952). They concluded that the ice field has been thinning and shrinking since the 1950s and 

estimated that it has lost about 34 km3 of ice in the more than 40-year period 

between being mapped in the early 1950s and profiled in the middle 1990s. 

Bear Glacier

Skee Glacier

Lechner Gl.

N

Figure 313.—14 August 1984 AHAP 

false-color vertical aerial photograph 

(L120F0313) of much of Bear Glacier, a 

Harding Icefield outlet glacier. The glacier 

has retreated from its position on its outwash plain and is now surrounded by a 

large ice-marginal lake. During the early 

21st century, it retreated 2 km through 

calving of its floating terminus.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K339
This corresponds to an ice field-wide lowering of about 21 m, the equivalent of an average mass balance of –0.4 m a-1 of water. They also concluded 

that the rate of change of surface elevation between 1994 and 1996 is significantly greater than the long-term average. The glaciers that they profiled 

were Aialik, Bear, Exit, Holgate, Skilak, Tustumena, Chernof, Dinglestadt, 

and Kachemak Glaciers, Little Dinglestadt Glacier (informally named by 

Aðalgeirsdóttir and others, 1998), McCarty Glacier, Northeastern Glacier, 

and Northwestern Glacier.

The northeastern part of the Harding Icefield supports about a dozen 

glaciers that drain into Resurrection Bay or Resurrection River. Two have 

names—Exit and Lowell Glaciers. Aðalgeirsdóttir and others (1998) reported retreat of almost 500 m and other changes between the 1950s and 

middle 1990s of 7-km-long Exit Glacier (table 5). Lowell Glacier’s terminus 

retreated a similar amount.

Glaciers of Lower Resurrection Bay

When the 26-km-long Bear Glacier was mapped on 20 and 21 July 1909, it 

sat at the head of a tidal-flat outwash plain a maximum of about 300 m from 

the shore of Resurrection Bay (Grant and Higgins, 1913, fig. 11; two 21 July 

1909 photographs—pl. XXXIIA, pl. XXXIB). At that time, the central part 

of the terminus was much closer to the bay. Grant and Higgins stated (p. 56) 

that “Along the center of the ice front high tide reaches the glacier.” An earlier trimline seaward of the 1909 position was dated by Viereck (1967) as 

having formed between 1835 and 1845. Trees beyond it were as much as 350 

years old. By 1950, the glacier had retreated an additional 400 m, and a small 

ice-marginal lake had developed along its eastern margin. During the second 

half of the 20th century, the glacier retreated about 1.5 km.

Aðalgeirsdóttir and others (1998) reported on changes between the 1950s 

and the middle 1990s of Bear Glacier (table 5). In 2000, the retreating terminus of Bear Glacier was actively calving large numbers of tabular icebergs. By 

2004, Bear Glacier had retreated more than 2 km farther.

Glaciers of Aialik Bay

Named glaciers in Aialik Bay include Aialik, Addison, Pedersen, and 

Holgate Glaciers. The 12.9-km-long Aialik Glacier (Viens, 1995) (table 2; 

fig. 314) is a tidewater glacier located at the head of Aialik Bay. Between 22–

24 July 1909, when Grant and Higgins (1913, pl. XXXIII) first investigated 

Table 5.—Changes in outlet glaciers of the Harding Icefield: 1950s to middle 1990s

1950 Mid 1990’s1 On annual basis2

Glacier Area

(km2

)

Terminus 

change 

(m)

Area change 

(km2)

Ice volume 

change

(km3

)

Average elevation 

change 

(m)

Mean annual 

mass balance 

(m)

Thickness 

change 

(m a–1)

Volume 

change 

(km3 a–1)

Length 

change 

(m a–1)

Aialik 118 +540 0 –2.6 –11.0 –0.2 –0.25 –0.0295 +13

Bear 228.5 –1550 –8.75 –9.7 –38.4 –0.7 –0.872 –0.195 –36

Chernof 95.3 –750 –1.0 –2.3 –22.6 –0.4 –0.493 –0.0467 –17

Dinglestadt 79.4 –2300 –4.25 –2.7 –32.4 –0.6 –0.717 –0.0554 –50

Exit 42.8 –490 –0.25 –0.1 –2.6 –0.1 –0.063 –0.00267 –12

Holgate 64.3 –260 –0.25 –1.3 –16.3 –0.3 –0.364 –0.0233 –6

Kachemak 54.9 –900 –0.75 –0.9 –16.3 –0.3 –0.375 –0.0205 –21

Little Dinglestadt 31.5 –370 –0.5 –0.6 –18.6 –0.4 –0.4 –0.0125 –9

McCarty 108.6 –690 –1.38 +1.5 +6.2 +0.1 +0.131 +0.141 –16

Northeastern 15.4 –1350 –1.63 –1.4 –97.1 –1.8 –2.087 –0.0304 –30

Northwestern 66.25 –4200 –8.0 –5.0 –80.2 –1.5 –1.746 –0.109 –92

Skilak 217 –3200 –5.63 –0.9 –4.5 –0.1 –0.104 –0.0222 –74

Tustemena 296.7 –690 –1.75 –8.9 –25.1 –0.5 –0.572 –0.169 –17

1. Aðalgeirsdóttir and others (1998).

2. K.A. Echelmeyer, W.D. Harrison, V.B. Valentine, and S.I. Zirnfeld, University of Alaska Fairbanks (written commun., March 2001).

K340 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
and mapped it, and 1950, the terminus position changed very little. In 1909, 

Aialik Glacier was a tidewater calving glacier and showed a large area of exposed bedrock along its margin (fig. 314) (21 July 1909 photograph by Grant 

and Higgins, 1913, pl. XXXIVA). Grant and Higgins stated that the glacier 

may have retreated as much as 400 m in the decade before 1909. Two gravel 

bars in Aialik Bay indicate significant recessions in the past (Post, 1980a). 

Aðalgeirsdóttir and others (1998) reported on changes in Aialik Glacier between the 1950s and the middle 1990s (table 5). The glacier both retreated 

and advanced in that time period; about 300 m of the 540 m of post-1950s retreat occurred between 1950 and 1964 (Field, 1975d). Aialik Glacier has an 

area of 70 km2, an accumulation area of 62 km2, an ablation area of 8 km2, and 

an AAR of 0.88 (Viens, 1995) (table 2); the width of its terminus is 0.6 km. 

When the author visited on 13 August 2004, it was slowly retreating.

Pedersen Glacier (fig. 315) has been retreating since before it was first 

mapped on 22–24 July 1909 by Grant and Higgins (1913). Its 1909 terminus 

position was from 400 to 500 m behind its most recent maximum position. 

Even then, part of the terminus was reached by high tide. Grant and Higgins 

speculated that the glacier may have been at its maximum position as recently as 15 years earlier. By 1950, the glacier had retreated an additional 400 to 

1,200 m. A 600- to 800-m-wide tidal embayment fronted part of the glacier. 

According to Field (1975d, p. 531), Pedersen Glacier has a length of 9 km 

and an area of 23 km2. By 1964, another 250 of retreat had occurred. At the 

start of the 21st century, retreat and thinning were continuing. Aðalgeirsdóttir and others (1998) stated that Pedersen Glacier thinned an average of 5 m 

between the 1950s and the middle 1990s.

Holgate Glacier is a tidewater glacier at the head of Holgate Arm (fig. 316). 

An unnamed former tributary glacier, located to its southeast, retreated 

from tidewater before 2001. During the first decade of the 20th century, just 

before it was mapped on 22–24 July 1909 by Grant and Higgins (1913), the 

terminus of 8.5-km-long Holgate Glacier retreated about 1.5 km. When they 

visited it in 1909, the glacier terminus flowed on both sides of a bedrock outcrop that formerly had been a nunatak in the middle of the terminus. By 

1950, the southern side of the glacier retreated another 400 m, while the 

northern side showed no change (Field, 1975d). Aðalgeirsdóttir and others 

(1998) reported on changes between the 1950s and the 1990s of Holgate 

Glacier (table 5), which has a length of 12.9 km, an area of 69 km2, an accumulation area of 63 km2

, an ablation area of 6 km2, a width at its terminus of 

0.6 km, and an AAR of 0.92 (Viens, 1995) (table 2). When the author visited 

and photographed part of the terminus of Holgate Glacier on 13 August 2004, 

it had retreated more than 1 km from its 1909 position.

Figure 314.—15 July 2000 west-looking 

oblique aerial photograph of the terminus of Aialik Glacier. During the 91 years 

since it was first photographed, the glacier retreated slightly. When observed by 

the author on 13 August 2004, the glacier 

showed signs of recent thinning and retreat. Photograph by Bruce F. Molnia, U.S. 

Geological Survey. A larger version of this 

figure is available online.

Figure 315.— 15 July 2000 west-looking 

oblique aerial photograph of the terminus of Pedersen Glacier. During the 91 

years since it was first photographed, the 

glacier has retreated as much as 1.5 km. 

Photograph by Bruce F. Molnia, U.S. 

Geological Survey. A larger version of this 

figure is available online.

Figure 316.—15 July 2000 northwest-looking oblique aerial photograph of the 

terminus of Holgate Glacier. Since 30 May 1964, when it was photographed 

by the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey (photograph no. W9372), Holgate 

Glacier has retreated as much as 300 m. Photograph by Bruce F. Molnia, U.S. 

Geological Survey. A larger version of this figure is available online.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K341
Glaciers of Harris Bay

 The 12-km-long Northwestern Glacier (fig. 317), which extends from the 

southeastern side of the Harding Icefield to tidewater in Northwestern Fiord 

at the head of Harris Bay, was named by U.S. Grant for Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill. The glacier, which had its terminus position mapped for 

the first time on 23 July 1909 by Grant and Higgins (1913, fig. 12), has been 

retreating since the beginning of the 20th century, with a total 20th century 

retreat of about 27 km. A 385-m-high rock knob located in the middle of 

Northwestern Fiord was completely icecovered in 1909. By 1950, it was a nunatak at the margin of the retreating Northwestern Glacier. Aðalgeirsdóttir 

and others (1998) reported on its changes between the 1950s and the middle 

1990s (table 5). When the author observed the glacier on 15 July 2000 (fig. 

317B) and visited it on 11 August 2004, he noted that a ridge of bedrock had 

separated its terminus into two adjacent ice tongues. Much of the margin of 

the eastern tongue was located above tidewater. Exposed bedrock along the 

margins of both tongues documents recent thinning. Northwestern Glacier 

has a length of 12.1 km, an area of 60 km2, an accumulation area of 54 km2, an 

ablation area of 6.0 km2, a width at its terminus of 0.9 km, and an AAR of 0.89 

(Viens, 1995) (table 2).

A 6-km-long glacier, named Northeastern Glacier by Post (1980c), is located on the eastern side of the fjord, about 5 km south of Northwestern 

Glacier. Aðalgeirsdóttir and others (1998) reported on its changes between 

the 1950s and the middle 1990s (table 5). When the author flew over the 

terminus on 3 September 2002, it had retreated nearly 2 km from its position 

in the early 20th century.

59°57’N

150°W

Figure 317.—A, Part of a mosaic of the USGS 

Seldovia (1963, limited revision 1985) and 

Blying Sound (1953, limited revision 1982) 

1:250,000-scale topographic maps (appendix A) of Northwestern Glacier and 

environs, showing the position of its terminus at that time. B, 15 July 2000 northwestlooking oblique aerial photograph of the 

terminus of Northwestern Glacier and the 

head of Northwestern Fiord. The glacier 

has retreated more than 25 km since 1909 

and substantially since the maps were 

printed. Continuing retreat has exposed a 

ridge of bedrock that separates the terminus into two adjacent ice tongues. Much of 

the margin of the eastern tongue is above 

tidewater. Exposed bedrock along the margins of both tongues documents recent 

thinning. Photograph by Bruce F. Molnia, 

U.S. Geological Survey.

K342 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Two previously unnamed glaciers named Anchor Glacier and Ogive Glacier (fig. 318) by Post (1980c) [see Viens (1995) (table 2)], reach tidewater 

southwest of Northwestern Glacier. At each glacier, recent retreat has all but 

separated the terminus from its upper source area. Anchor Glacier had a 

length of 4.8 km, an area of 7 km2, an accumulation area of 5 km2, an ablation 

area of 2 km2, a width at its terminus of 0.3 km, and an AAR of 0.77 (Viens, 

1995) (table 2). Ogive Glacier had a length of 6.8 km, an area of 9 km2, an 

accumulation area of 6 km2, an ablation area of 2 km2, a width at its terminus 

of 0.4 km, and an AAR of 0.73 (Viens, 1995) (table 2). An unnamed glacier 

(fig. 319) just southwest of Anchor Glacier is located a few meters above 

tidewater. Its terminus is completely separated from its upper source area. 

Southwestern Glacier (fig. 320) is located south of Anchor Glacier at the 

head of an outwash plain about 1.5 km from the fjord. Elevated trimlines 

and medial moraines indicate a significant amount of recent thinning and retreat. Many other glaciers that were tributary to the lower part of Northwestern Glacier at the turn of the 20th century are now small relict ice patches 

stranded high above Harris Bay.

Glaciers of Nuka Bay

McCarty Glacier, a tidewater glacier located at the head of the fjord, and 

Little Dinglestadt Glacier are the dominant glaciers in McCarty Fiord, 

the eastern Arm of Nuka Bay. McCarty Glacier, which was first studied and 

mapped on 30 July 1909 by Grant and Higgins (1913, fig. 13), retreated about 

3.2 km between 1909 and 1927, another 19 km between 1927 and 1950 (Mercer, 1961b), and another 1.4 km through 1978 (Post, 1980b). Between 1978 

and the middle 1990s, the terminus advanced about 700 m. When the author 

visited McCarty Glacier on 9 August 2004, it had retreated about 400 m from 

the position of its terminus in the middle 1990s. Aðalgeirsdóttir and others 

(1998) reported on changes between the 1950s and middle 1990s (fig. 321, 

table 5). McCarty Glacier has a length of 19.3 km, an area of 111 km2, an accumulation area of 88 km2

, an ablation area of about 23 km2, a width at its terminus of 1.3 km, and an AAR of 0.79 (Viens, 1995) (table 2). Aðalgeirsdóttir 

Figure 318.—15 July 2000 northwest-looking oblique aerial photograph showing 

the terminus of Ogive Glacier. Continued 

retreat and thinning of the glacier has all 

but separated the terminus from its upper source area. Photograph by Bruce F. 

Molnia, U.S. Geological Survey. A larger 

version of this figure is available online.

Figure 319.—15 July 2000 west-looking 

oblique aerial photograph showing an unnamed glacier southwest of Anchor Glacier. 

Continued retreat and thinning of the glacier have separated the terminus from its 

upper source area, producing a relict and 

reconstituted glacier. Photograph by Bruce 

F. Molnia, U.S. Geological Survey. A larger 

version of this figure is available online.

Figure 320.—View of Southwestern Glacier, a former tributary to Northwestern 

Glacier. 15 July 2000 northwest-looking oblique aerial photograph showing 

the glacier’s terminus with adjacent exposed bedrock, several elevated lateral 

moraines, and a large abandoned trimline. Parts of the adjacent unnamed 

glacier and Ogive Glacier can be seen on the west wall of the fjord. Photograph 

by Bruce F. Molnia, U.S. Geological Survey.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K343
59°36’N

150°21’W

Figure 321.—A, Part of the USGS Seldovia 1:250,000-scale topographic map 

(1963, limited revision 1985) of McCarty Glacier and environs, showing the 

position of its terminus at that time. B, 15 July 2000 north-looking oblique 

aerial photograph of the terminus of McCarty Glacier, located at the head of 

McCarty Fiord. The glacier retreated, more than 3 km between 1909 and 1928 

and 20 km since 1928. An advance in the 1980s and early 1990s was followed 

by retreat beginning at the end of the 20th century. A fan delta is developing 

on the east side of the terminus. The central margin has a well-formed calving 

embayment. Photograph by Bruce F. Molnia, U.S. Geological Survey.

and others (1998) reported on changes between the 1950s and the middle 

1990s of 7-km-long Little Dinglestadt Glacier (table 5).

Glaciers of the Western Harding Icefield 

According to Field (1975d, p. 531–532), who measured lengths and areas, 

Kachemak (8 km, 23 km2), Dinglestadt (19 km, 69 km2), Chernof (17 km, 

61 km2), Tustumena (32 km, 390 km2), and Skilak Glaciers (34 km, 160 km2) 

are the major named glaciers of the western Harding Icefield. All have terrestrial or lacustrine termini. Aðalgeirsdóttir and others (1998) reported 

on changes between the 1950s and the middle 1990s of Kachemak Glacier 

(table 5). 

Field (1975d) stated that aerial photographs of Dinglestadt Glacier show 

evidence of 1.5 km of retreat between 1942 and 1965, including formation 

and enlargement of the proglacial lake at its terminus. Aðalgeirsdóttir and 

others (1998) reported on changes between the 1950s and the middle 1990s 

in 15.5-km-long Dinglestadt Glacier (table 5).

Field (1975d) stated that aerial photographs of Chernof Glacier show evidence of retreat as early as 1942. Aðalgeirsdóttir and others (1998) reported 

on changes between the 1950s and the middle 1990s in 24-km-long Chernof 

Glacier (table 5). 

K344 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Aðalgeirsdóttir and others (1998) reported on changes between the 1950s 

and the middle 1990s in 35-km-long Tustumena Glacier (fig. 322, table 5). 

Aðalgeirsdóttir and others (1998) reported on changes between the 1950s 

and the middle 1990s in 26-km-long Skilak Glacier (table 5). With the exception of the 1978 to the middle 1990s advance of McCarty Glacier, all Harding 

Icefield glaciers show evidence of ongoing thinning and retreat. 

Unnamed Ice Field Southwest of Harding Icefield

Southwest of Harding Icefield and east of Kachemak Bay is another unnamed ice field (fig. 312). The ice field has a maximum width of about 35 km 

from east to west and 25 km from north to south. The four largest glaciers 

have lengths of between 14 and 19 km (Field, 1975d, p. 533). None reach 

tidewater. According to Field (1975d, p. 533–534) who measured lengths 

and areas, Yalik (16 km, 151 km2) and Petrof (14 km, 46 km2) Glaciers are the 

major glaciers draining the eastern side of the complex, whereas Doroshin 

(13 km, 28 km2

), Wosnesenski (11 km, 33 km2), Grewingk (19 km, 72 km2), 

Portlock (14 km, 41, km2), and Dixon (11 km, 41 km2) Glaciers are the major 

outlet glaciers that drain the western side. None reach tidewater, but several 

terminate at elevations below 100 m. Comparison of recent aerial photography with maps and early observations shows that each of these glaciers 

substantially retreated during the 20th century.

In 1909, Grant and Higgins (1913) examined Yalik Glacier. At that time, the 

terminus was separated from the forest by a deglacierized zone of unspecified length. During the next 41 years, part of the glacier‘s terminus retreated 

as much as 400 m. However, the middle of the terminus showed little change. 

The author visited Yalik Glacier on 10 August 2004 and observed that about 

1.5 km of retreat had occurred since the 1950s.

On 8 August 1909, Grant and Higgins (1913) mapped and examined Petrof 

Glacier [see 8 August 1909 map (fig. 18) and two 8 August 1909 photographs 

presented by Grant and Higgins (1913, pls. XLA, XXXIXB)]. At that time, the 

Arctic Lake

Tustumena

Lake

Truuli Gl.

Tustumena Glacier

N

Arctic Lake

Green Lake

Truuli Creek

Figure 322.—14 August 1984 AHAP falsecolor vertical photograph (L120F0304) of 

much of the lower Tustumena Glacier and 

the retreating terminus of Truuli Glacier. 

Exposed bedrock around the entire perimeter of the Tustumena Glacier documents 

recent rapid thinning and retreat. When 

it was mapped in 1958, the glacier filled 

the entire basin at its terminus with ice. 

Since the 1990s, an ice-marginal lake has 

developed around the terminus. AHAP 

photograph from the GeoData Center, 

Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska, 

Fairbanks, Alaska. 

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K345
terminus was separated from the forest by a 300- to 400-m-wide deglacierized zone. During the next 42 years, the glacier’s terminus retreated as much 

as 1.5 km, and an ice-marginal lake developed. When the AHAP program 

photographed the lake in 1978, it had a length of nearly 3 km.

Dall (1896) visited Grewingk Glacier as early as 1880 and produced its first 

map. Grove Karl Gilbert, accompanied by Dall and other scientists of the Harriman Expedition, visited the glacier in 1899 (21 July 1899 photograph by G.K. 

Gilbert, USGS Photo Library photograph Gilbert 456). Gilbert (1904), reported that, between 1880 to 1895, the glacier retreated 75 m; between 1895 and 

1899, it retreated another 100 m. During the next half century, no new information was available. By 1951, the date of the USGS Seldovia 1951 1:63,360-

scale C-3 topographic map (appendix B), a lake between 1.0 and 1.5 km in 

width had developed around the northern margin of its terminus. By 1978, the 

lake surrounded the entire terminus and was as much as 2.5 km wide. 

Glaciers of the Islands of Prince William Sound

Of all of the islands of Prince William Sound, Montague Island (fig. 323) is 

the only one that supports small glaciers. More than 20 are mapped along a 

20-km-long part of the crest of the island at elevations of 600 to 800 m. All are 

confined to relatively small cirques; when the author observed them from the 

air in July 2000, all showed significant evidence of thinning and retreat.

N

Figure 323.—13 August 1982 AHAP falsecolor vertical photograph of central 

Montague Island. In the approximately 20 

years between the production of the USGS 

Seward A–1 and A–2 and Blying Sound 

D–1 and D–2, 1:63,360-scale topographic 

maps in the 1950s and 1960s and the date 

of this photograph, many glaciers shown 

at lower elevations on Montague Island 

disappeared. A likely explanation is that a 

cartographer incorrectly mapped the unmelted previous winter snow pack as glacier ice. AHAP photograph no. L118F1591 

from the GeoData Center, Geophysical 

Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks, 

Fairbanks, Alaska.

Summary

During the period of the Landsat baseline (1972–81), with the exception 

of Aialik and McCarty Glaciers, all of the valley and tidewater glaciers in the 

Kenai Mountains were stagnant, thinning, and (or) retreating. Into the early 

21st century, all of the outlet glaciers in the Kenai Mountains continued to 

thin, stagnate, and retreat. Aialik and McCarty Glaciers each advanced more 

than 500 m during the second half of the 20th century but were both retreating by 2004. When Tiger Glacier was observed in 2000, it was at about the 

K346 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
same location as it was in 1908. Having retreated during much of the 20th 

century, Tiger Glacier must have experienced a late 20th century advance to 

regain its former position.

Kodiak Island

Kodiak Island is located in the western Gulf of Alaska, south of Cook Inlet 

and east of Shelikof Strait (figs. 1, 324). At a length of about 160 km and 

a maximum width of nearly 100 km, Kodiak is the largest island in Alaska. 

Landsat 1–3 MSS images that cover Kodiak Island have the following Path/

Row coordinates: 74/19, 75/19, 76/19, 74/20, 75/20, and 76/20 (fig. 3, table 1). 

Figure 325 is an annotated Landsat MSS false-color composite image mosaic (2908–20125, bands 4, 5, 7; 18 July 1977; Path 74, Row 20; 2909–20183, 

bands 4, 5, 7; 19 July 1977; Path 75, Row 20) of Kodiak Island showing all 

of the glacierized mountainous regions. Numerous fjords, several of which 

Kodiak

A

0 5 10 15 20 KILOMETERS

154°W 153° 152°

155°W

58°N

57°N

K O

D

I

A

K

I

S

L

A

N

D

Figure 324.—A, Index map of Kodiak Island 

showing the glacierized areas on the 

island. B, Enlargement of NOAA Advanced 

Very High Resolution Radiometer 

(AVHRR) image mosaic of Kodiak Island 

in summer 1995; National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration image mosaic from Mike Fleming, EROS Data Center, 

Alaska Geographic Science Center, U.S. 

Geological Survey, Anchorage, Alaska.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K347
nearly bisect the island, are evidence of the extent of Pleistocene glacier erosion on Kodiak Island.

The USGS Kodiak, Alaska (1952), 1:250,000-scale topographic quadrangle map (appendix A) which is based on 1948–52 observations and aerial 

photography, depicts more than 40 cirque glaciers (Denton, 1975b, p. 630; 

Wahrhaftig, 1965, p. 40), mostly in a narrow upland region located on the 

mountainous backbone of the island between Koniag Peak (1,362 m) to the 

south and Mount Glottof (1,343 m) to the north and in adjacent drainages 

(fig. 325). Koniag Glacier, the only named glacier on the island, is also the 

largest; it is about 2.5 km long and descends to elevations below 500 m. One 

cluster of five glaciers occurs approximately 12 km southwest of Koniag Peak 

at the head of an unnamed tributary to Uyak Bay. An isolated unnamed 1-kmlong-glacier, the southernmost and westernmost glacier on the island, can 

be seen on the western side of an unnamed 1,040-m-high peak about 32 km 

southwest of Koniag Peak and 6 km north of Deadman Bay on a 25 July 1979 

AHAP false-color infrared vertical aerial photograph (fig. 326). In all, the author estimates that the area of glaciers on Kodiak Island is less than 15 km2

.

Uyak 

Bay 

Mt. Glottof

Koniag Peak 

and Glacier

153°

152°W

58°N

57°

154°

10 0 10 20 30 KILOMETERS

APPROXIMATE SCALE

Figure 325.—Annotated Landsat 2 MSS false-color composite image mosaic of Kodiak Island. The locations of Mount Glottof, Koniag 

Peak, and Koniag Glacier are indicated. Landsat images (2908–

20125, bands 4, 5, 7; 18 July 1977; Path 74, Row 20; and 2909–20183, 

bands 4, 5, 7; 19 July 1977; Path 75, Row 20) from the U.S. Geological 

Survey, EROS Data Center, Sioux Falls, S. Dak.

K348 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
B

A

N

Figure 326.—25 July 1979 AHAP falsecolor infrared, vertical aerial photograph of 

south-central Kodiak Island showing part 

of the glacierized mountains that make up 

the backbone of the island. An unnamed 

1.5-km-long snow-covered glacier is located at the head of a valley near the center 

of the photograph (A). Its valley is fringed 

by vegetation-free exposed bedrock. Other 

than the crevasses that can be seen in an 

unnamed 1.0-km-long glacier (B), all glacier 

features were snow covered at the time of 

acquisition of the photograph. AHAP photograph no. L147F61 from the GeoData 

Center, Geophysical Institute, University of 

Alaska, Fairbanks, Alaska. 

Summary

During the period of the Landsat baseline (1972–81), all available evidence suggests that the glaciers of Kodiak Island were thinning and retreating. These conclusions are based on a comparison of the size and number of 

glaciers shown on Kodiak’s topographic maps made from 1948–52 data and 

AHAP photography from the middle of the baseline period (1977–79). No 

information exists about the status of these glaciers at the end of the 20th 

century and into the early 21st century. However, given their small size, low 

elevation, and location on an island experiencing a significant late 20th century temperature increase and surrounded by temperate ocean water, it is 

likely that they have continued to thin and retreat.

Aleutian Range

Introduction

The Aleutian Range (figs. 1, 327), which extends northeast-southwest 

along the spine and southeastern side of the Alaska Peninsula for nearly 

1,000 km, is bounded on the north by the Neacola River, Chakachamna Lake, 

and Chakachatna River and on the south by Isanotski Strait and False Pass. 

The range contains more than 30 glaciers having lengths of 8 km or more; 

Blockade Glacier is 44 km long (Denton and Field, 1975b, p. 601). Most glaciers, large and small, are unnamed. Seven areas support glaciers, including the Neacola and Chigmit Mountains of the northern Aleutian Range; the 

Kamishak Bay–Big River area; the Ninagiak River–Puale Bay area; the Mount 

Kialagvik, Icy Peak, and Mount Chiginagak area southwest of Wide Bay; the 

Aniakchak Crater area (see Landsat 2, MSS image 2534–20511, 9 July 1976, 

Path 78, Row 20); the Mount Veniaminof–Stepovak Bay area; and the Pavlof Volcano–Frosty Peak area. The area covered by glaciers in the Aleutian 

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K349
Figure 327.—A, Index map of the Aleutian 

Range (index map modified from Field, 

1975a), showing the glacierized areas. 

B, Enlargement of NOAA Advanced Very 

High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) 

image mosaic of the Aleutian Range in 

summer 1995. National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration image mosaic 

from Mike Fleming, Alaska Science Center, 

U.S. Geological Survey, Anchorage, Alaska.

K350 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Range is 1,250 km2

 (Post and Meier, 1980, p. 45). Landsat 1–3 MSS images 

that cover the Aleutian Range have the following Path/Row coordinates: 

76/17; 77/17; 76/18; 77/18; 75/19; 76/19; 77/19; 78/19; 76/20; 77/20; 78/20; 

79/20; 78/21; 79/21; 80/21; 81/21; and 81/22 (fig. 3, table 1).

Glaciers of the Neacola and Chigmit Mountains 

Together, the Neacola and Chigmit Mountains contain more than a thousand glaciers ranging in size from cirque glaciers to some of the largest valley 

glaciers in the Aleutian Range. Fleming (2000) compiled a 1:250,000-scale 

Landsat 7 ETM+ satellite image mosaic map of Lake Clark National Park and 

environs that shows glaciers of the Neacola and Chigmit Mountains and glaciers of the southern Alaska Range. Figure 328 is a modification of part of 

the Landsat 7 image mosaic. “Little Ice Age” advances of several of the larger 

valley glaciers resulted in the damming of rivers and the formation of large 

ice-dammed lakes in both ranges.

Glaciers of the Neacola Mountains

The 120×30-km Neacola Mountains (fig. 329), the northernmost range 

in the Aleutian Range, support more than 500 km2 of glacier ice, including 

the longest valley glaciers in the Aleutian Range. One, 26-km-long Shamrock 

Glacier (Denton and Field, 1975b, p. 600) (figs. 59, 330), flows north and 

reaches into Chakachamna Lake. In the late 19th or early 20th century, its 

large lobate terminus advanced across the lake and blocked it, forming Kenibuna Lake. In recent years, the glacier has retreated as much as 2.5 km, but 

the moraine still constrains the width of the lake to just a narrow channel. 

Between the 1950s and the middle 1990s, on an annual basis, Shamrock Glacier thinned by 0.379 m a–1 and had its volume decrease by 0.0503 km3

 (K. A. 

Echelmeyer, W. D. Harrison, V. B. Valentine, and S. I. Zirnheld, University of 

Alaska Fairbanks, written commun., March 2001).

About 15 km east of Shamrock Glacier, a pair of unnamed glaciers also 

extended into Chakachamna Lake (20 July 1980 AHAP false-color infrared 

vertical aerial photograph no. L108F6636), although only a small distance. 

They too are actively retreating.

Thirty kilometers to the south, 44-km-long Blockade Glacier (fig. 331), 

with an area of 254 km2 (Denton and Field, 1975b, p. 601), bifurcates. The 

lobe of its eastern terminus flows about 10 km to the northeast, where it 

drains into the McArthur River, and the lobe of its western terminus flows 

about 5 km to the southwest, where it dams Blockade Lake. Both termini 

are actively retreating and thinning. About 25 km to the southwest of the 

western tongue of Blockade Glacier, Tanaina Glacier (fig. 332), which has a 

length estimated by the author of approximately 30 km, and an area of approximately 150 km2

, flows into Lake Clark Pass and at times has completely 

filled its valley with ice, damming Summit Lake. Its retreat during the second 

half of the 20th century has left the pass ice free and the lake greatly reduced 

in size. Between the 1950s and the middle 1990s, on an annual basis, Tanaina 

Glacier thinned by 1.051 m a–1 and had its volume decrease by 0.173 km3

(K. A. Echelmeyer, W. D. Harrison, V. B. Valentine, and S. I. Zirnheld, University of Alaska Fairbanks, written commun., March 2001 ).

When they were observed on 8 August 2000, a number of unnamed southflowing southern Neacola Mountains glaciers, located in and adjacent to 

the through valley southwest of Blockade Glacier, were thinning, retreating, and losing contact with their former tributaries (20 June 1978 AHAP 

false-color infrared vertical aerial photograph no. L112F4732). Examples are 

the unnamed glacier at the head of the Glacier Fork of the Tlikakila River, 

another unnamed glacier located immediately west of Tanaina Glacier, two 

unnamed glaciers that are the western source of the Telaquana River, and an 

unnamed glacier that is the southwesternmost valley glacier in the Neacola 

Mountains. Between the 1950s and the middle 1990s, on an annual basis, this 

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K351
0 10 20 30 KILOMETERS

APPROXIMATE SCALE

Chakachamna Lake

Neacola River

Blockade Gl.

McArthur Gl. McArthur River

Shamrock Gl.

Tanaina Glacier

Black Gl.

Turquoise Lake

Aho Gl.

Double

Glacier

Iliamna Volcano

Umbrella Gl.

Tuxedni Glacier

Red Glacier Tongue Gl.

Redoubt 

Volcano

Lateral Gl.

C

H

I

G

M

I

T

M

O

U

N T A I

N

S

Lake Clark

Chakachatna River

60°

154°W 153° 152°

61°N

N E A C O L A

M O U N T A I N S

K352 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
glacier thinned by 0.4 m a–1 and had its volume decrease by 0.0179 km3

 (K. A. 

Echelmeyer, W. D. Harrison, V. B. Valentine, and S. I. Zirnheld, University of 

Alaska Fairbanks, written commun., March 2001 ).

Figure 328.—Part of an annotated 

Landsat 7 ETM+ false-color composite 

image mosaic of Lake Clark National Park 

and environs showing the glaciers of the 

Neacola and Chigmit Mountains. Landsat 

7 ETM+ images (7071017009924950 

and 707101800924950; bands 2, 3, 4; 6 

September 1999; Path 71, Rows 17, 18) 

courtesy of Mike Fleming, Alaska Science 

Center, U.S. Geological Survey, Anchorage 

Alaska.

Figure 329.—4 September 1966 oblique aerial photograph of the Neacola Mountains 

showing a number of unnamed cirque 

glaciers located in the remote central part 

of the range. Photograph No. 666–26 by 

Austin Post, U.S. Geological Survey.

Figure 330.—8 September 2000 south-looking oblique aerial photograph 

of the terminus of Shamrock Glacier showing the elevated end and lateral 

moraine complex, which dates from the first half of the 20th century, the 

retreating terminus, and the lower one-third of the glacier. Photograph by 

William R. Reckert, Volunteer for Science, U.S. Geological Survey. This photograph should be compared with figure 59, a 20 July 1980 AHAP false-color 

infrared vertical aerial photograph (L108F6633) of Shamrock Glacier, Chigmit 

Mountains, Aleutian Range, to determine changes during the 20 years between the photographs.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K353
Figure 331.—Two 8 September 2000 

oblique aerial photographs of the two 

retreating termini of Blockade Glacier. 

A, West-looking photograph showing the 

two lobes of the splayed eastern terminus of Blockade Glacier. Both lobes show 

evidence of recent retreat, especially the 

northern lobe. An elevated trimline parallels much of the northern margin of the 

glacier. B, Northeast-looking photograph 

showing the thinning western terminus of 

Blockade Glacier at the head of Blockade 

Lake. Elevated shorelines document the recently much thicker character of the glacier. 

An elevated trimline parallels much of the 

northern margin of the glacier. A copious 

discharge of icebergs documents that calving from the retreating margin is a significant factor in its retreat. On the south side of 

the valley, a pair of retreating former tributaries to a previously larger West Blockade 

Glacier can be seen. On the north side, 

lowering of the lake’s surface has exposed 

the formerly submerged fan-delta top of 

an unnamed and unseen glacier. Just to its 

east side, at the top of the valley wall, is the 

exposed bedrock threshold of an unseen 

retreating cirque glacier. Photographs by 

William R. Reckert, Volunteer for Science, 

U.S. Geological Survey. A larger version of 

B is available online. 

Figure 332.—Three oblique aerial photographs of Lake Clark Pass showing 

changes of Tanaina Glacier, an unnamed glacier, and Summit Lake from 1963 

to 2000. A, 25 August 1963 north-looking oblique aerial photograph of the 

terminus of Tanaina Glacier (left) and the terminus of the unnamed glacier 

(right). The adjacent termini are both in contact with an elevated former terminal moraine ridge of the unnamed glacier and fill the valley floor. Summit 

Lake is dammed by the iceberg-calving terminus of Tanaina Glacier. The exposed, elevated trimline on the north side of the terminus of Tanaina Glacier 

documents that the glacier was more than 50 m thicker in the recent past. 

Photograph no. F632–127 by Austin Post, U.S. Geological Survey. B and C, see 

following page. 

K354 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Figure 332.—B, August 1970 north-looking 

oblique aerial photograph of the terminus 

of Tanaina Glacier (left) and the terminus 

of the unnamed glacier (right). The termini 

are no longer in contact, and the draining 

of Summit Lake has exposed its bed. Both 

sides of the terminus of Tanaina Glacier 

have thinned. Retreat along the west 

side has exposed a significant amount 

of bedrock and sediment. Little change 

can be seen at the terminus of the unnamed glacier. Photograph No. 70–N2–55 

by Austin Post, U.S. Geological Survey. 

C, 8 September 2000 north-looking oblique 

aerial photograph of the retreating terminus of Tanaina Glacier and the recently 

re-formed Summit Lake. The lake, now at a 

much lower level, is dammed by sediment 

and an ice-cored moraine left by the retreat 

of Tanaina Glacier. A recessional moraine 

wraps around the west side of the retreating 

terminus of Tanaina Glacier. Photograph 

by William R. Reckert, Volunteer for Science, 

U.S. Geological Survey. A larger version of 

C is available online. 

Glaciers of the Chigmit Mountains 

The 195-km-long Chigmit Mountains contain more than 750 km2 of ice 

located within a rugged upland area. There are hundreds of cirque glaciers 

and dozens of outlet valley glaciers, including Double Glacier, the two lobes 

of which have lengths of 26 and 25 km (Denton and Field, 1975b, p. 602). Additionally, the Chigmit Mountains contain two of the largest glacier-covered 

volcanoes in the Aleutian Range—Redoubt Volcano (3,099 m) and Iliamna 

Volcano (3,044 m).

In the northeasternmost Chigmit Mountains, a number of small glaciers 

drain from an ice-covered upland topped by 1,940-m-high Black Peak. When 

they were observed on 8 August 2000, the termini of the two largest—8-kmlong Black Glacier and a 10-km-long unnamed glacier—showed evidence 

of recent thinning and retreat. Just to the south, Double Glacier (fig. 333), 

which has an area of 209 km2

 (Denton and Field, 1975b, p. 602), drains to the 

east from the largest ice field in the northern Chigmit Mountains. Located between the Tlikakila and Drift Rivers, the unnamed ice field covers an area estimated by the author to be approximately 400 km2

. Topped by 2,072-m-high 

Double Peak, more than 30 outlet glaciers flow radially from this ice field. 

Every outlet glacier shows evidence of recent thinning and retreat. Between 

the 1950s and the middle 1990s, on an annual basis, Double Glacier thinned 

by 1.067 m a–1 and had its volume decrease by 0.243 km3 (K. A. Echelmeyer, 

W. D. Harrison, V. B. Valentine, and S. I. Zirnheld, University of Alaska Fairbanks, written commun., March 2001).

Several hundred small unnamed glaciers are located adjacent to the 

southern side of the eastern end of Lake Clark, Little Lake Clark, and Chokotonk River. When they were observed on 8 August 2000, every one showed 

evidence of thinning and retreat.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K355
60°45’N

152°30’W

Figure 333.—Map and two 8 September 2000 west-looking 

oblique aerial photographs of the northeastern Chigmit 

Mountains showing Double Glacier. A, Photograph of the 

terminus of the retreating Big River Lobe, the northern of 

Double Glacier’s two termini. An elevated lateral moraine 

on its south side and an elevated trimline on its north side 

document recent retreat and thinning. During the 20th 

century, the glacier may have thinned by more than 100 m. 

B, Terminus of the retreating Drift River Lobe (right), and 

an unnamed former tributary (far left). The Drift River Lobe 

has retreated about 3 km since it was mapped in the mid1950s, retreating an average of approximately 65 m a–1. The 

unnamed former tributary has retreated more than 5 km. 

Photographs by William R. Reckert, Volunteer for Science, 

U.S. Geological Survey. C, Part of the USGS Kenai (1958, 

revised 1986) 1:250,000-scale map showing Double Glacier 

and other glaciers in the southeastern Chigmit Mountains. A 

larger version of A is available online. 

K356 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Glaciers of Redoubt Volcano

Redoubt Volcano, a steep-sided cone about 10 km in diameter at its base and 

with a volume of 30 to 35 km3, has been moderately dissected by the action of 

numerous alpine glaciers. More than a dozen unnamed glaciers descend from 

Redoubt Volcano’s summit. A 1.8-km-wide ice-filled summit crater is breached 

on the northern side by a northward-flowing glacier, which spreads out and 

forms a small piedmont lobe in the upper Drift River Valley (fig. 334). When 

the mountain last erupted in 1989 and 1990, significant melting of the summit 

glaciers took place, followed by jökulhlaups (glacier-outburst floods) on Drift 

River. Previously, jökulhlaups in 1966 covered the lower 3 km of Redoubt’s 

northernmost glacier with up to 2 m of volcanic debris. The unnamed glacier’s 

debris-covered terminus is currently about 100 m from Drift River Valley.

Eruptions between 14 December 1989 and 14 March 1990 melted snow 

and glacier ice and caused winter floods along Drift River that threatened an 

oil-processing facility at the valley mouth. Trabant and others (1994) reported that pyroclastic flows entrained snow and glacier ice and melted canyons 

into the unnamed glacier, resulting in the loss of much of the ice in the upper 

reach of the glacier. The eruption produced an unusual ice diamict consisting of fragments of glacier ice and rock debris in a matrix of snow grains and 

new volcanic tephra (Waitt and others, 1994). The diamict, which contained 

rounded fragments of glacier ice as large as 2.5 m, fragments of andesite and 

other crystalline rocks as large as a meter, and slabs of entrained snow pack 

as long as 10 m, was deposited on the northern and southern flanks of the 

mountain. On the northern flank, a northern flow traveled as much as 14 km 

and covered an area of about 5.7 km2

. On one unnamed glacier located on 

Redoubt Volcano’s southern side, the diamict was as thick as 20 m, even after 

traveling 4.3 km. Before the end of the eruption, newly erupted lava created 

flows that entrained additional snow-and-ice blocks from the crevassed glacier and transported them 35 km down valley to Cook Inlet.

When Trabant and Hawkins (1997) investigated Redoubt Volcano, they 

developed a model for evaluating glacier volumes. Their model determined 

that the 1989–90 eruptions removed 0.29 km3 of perennial snow and glacier 

ice from a 4.5-km segment of the unnamed summit outlet glacier, providing a 

unique opportunity for verification of their volume model. In a single 2.5-km 

reach of denuded glacier valley, the volume of ice removed was 9.9 ×107 m3, 

about 1 percent less than the model had estimated. The total volume of 

perennial snow and glacier ice on Redoubt Volcano was estimated to be 

4.1±0.8 km3, about 23 times the volume present on Mount St. Helens, Wash., 

before its 1980 eruption. Since the 1989–90 eruption, new snow and ice has 

accumulated in Redoubt's summit crater, replacing much of the snow and ice 

melted during the volcanic activity (McGimsey, 2001).

Figure 334.—Oblique aerial photograph of 

the summit and upper 1,500 m of Redoubt 

Volcano on 29 July 1978. The valley of the 

unnamed glacier, which has a conspicuous 

elevated lateral moraine along its south 

margin, documents recent thinning of the 

glacier. Photograph by Bruce F. Molnia, 

U.S. Geological Survey.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K357
Glaciers of Iliamna Volcano

Iliamna Volcano is a broad, deeply dissected and highly altered, roughly 

cone-shaped mountain at the north end of a 5-km-long ridge. Most of the 

volcano is covered by perennial snow and glacier ice, and more than a dozen 

large glaciers radiate from the summit area (fig. 335). Large avalanche deposits occur on the flanks of the volcano at several locations.

The northernmost and largest glacier is Tuxedni Glacier, which has a 

length of 25 km and an area of 106 km2 (Denton and Field, 1975b, p. 603) 

(fig. 336) and extends from Iliamna Volcano’s summit to nearly sea level. 

Between the 1950s and the middle 1990s, on an annual basis, Tuxedni Glacier thinned by 0.793 m a–1 and had a volume decrease of 0.0693 km3

 (K. A. 

Echelmeyer, W. D. Harrison, V. B. Valentine, and S. I. Zirnheld, University of 

Alaska Fairbanks, written commun., March 2001).

Red Glacier (figs. 335, 337), named for the iron-rich red-colored moraines 

that cover much of the glacier, has a length of 17 km and an area of 51 km2

(Denton and Field, 1975b, p. 603). It terminates at an elevation estimated by 

the author at approximately 65 m above mean sea level (amsl). Other named 

Iliamna glaciers include Umbrella (fig. 338) (26 August 1978 AHAP false-color infrared vertical aerial photograph no. L120F7552), Lateral (fig. 339), and 

Johnson Glaciers. All of these glaciers and all of Iliamna Volcano’s unnamed 

outlet glaciers show multiple evidence of terminus retreat and thinning in 

Figure 335.—Oblique aerial photograph 

of Iliamna Volcano. 8 August 2000 westlooking view of the summit showing a 

large volcanic-debris-rich avalanche that 

descended onto the surface of Red Glacier 

below. The glacier-dissected topography of 

the summit ridge can be seen on the south 

side of the summit. Photograph by Bruce 

F. Molnia, U.S. Geological Survey. A larger 

version of this figure is available online. 

Figure 336.—Two 8 August 2000 oblique 

aerial photographs of Tuxedni Glacier, 

the largest and longest glacier to head on 

Iliamna Volcano. A, South-looking view up 

the length of Tuxedni Glacier to its source 

area on the flanks of Iliamna Volcano. An elevated lateral moraine on its east side and 

a large elevated trimline and thermokarstpockmarked stagnant ice area on its west 

side document recent thinning of the glacier. B, East-looking view across the generally retreating and thinning terminus of 

Tuxedni Glacier. The trimline on the slope in 

front of the glacier in the upper center of the 

photograph suggests that the glacier was 

recently both thicker and more advanced. 

However, the push moraine on the glacier’s 

surface where the two lobes meet suggests 

that a tongue of ice had recently advanced 

from the western tributary of the terminus 

(lower lobe in the photograph), bulldozing 

sediment in its path. At the terminus of the 

western tributary, ice is in contact with a 

push moraine, suggesting that the western 

terminus had recently advanced. Its rounded terminus stands several meters higher 

than the eastern tributary. Many retreating 

glaciers experience short-lived advances, 

generally in winter. Photographs by Bruce 

K358 F. Molnia, U.S. Geological Survey. SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
A

Red Glacier

Red

River

Saddle Mountain

Lateral Glacier

Hickerson Lake

N

Figure 337.—Two aerial photographs of the terminus 

and lower reaches of Red Glacier, a large east-flowing 

glacier covered by iron-rich sediment. A, 26 August 

1978 AHAP false-color infrared, vertical aerial photograph of the terminus of Red Glacier. Several recessional moraine ridges are covered with vegetation. 

Circular thermokarst melt pits filled with blue water 

along much of both margins suggest melting of stagnant ice and ice-cored moraines. AHAP photograph 

no. L120F7549 from GeoData Center, Geophysical 

Institute, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, Alaska. 

B, 8 August 2000 west-looking oblique aerial photograph of the upper region of Red Glacier showing a 

complex surface consisting of multiple-nested moraines, avalanche debris, a recently drained supraglacial lake, stagnant ice, an ice-cored moraine, and 

an elevated lateral moraine on the glacier’s north margin. Photograph by Bruce F. Molnia, U.S. Geological 

Survey. A larger version of B is available online.

Figure 338.—8 August 2000 northeastlooking oblique aerial photograph of th

summit and southwestern quadrant of th

Iliamna Volcano showing Umbrella Glacier

the largest glacier on the southwester

flank. Its white-ice northwestern tributar

stands more than 20 m above the iron-rich

sediment-covered surface of the main gla

cier and does not appear to extend beyon

its elevated end moraine. Its former east

ern tributaries no longer make contact wit

the glacier. Photograph by Bruce F. Molnia

U.S. Geological Survey. A larger version o

this figure is available online.

e 

e 

, 

n 

y 

-

-

d 

-

h 

, 

f 

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K359

Figure 339.—8 August 2000 southwest-looking oblique aerial photograph 

of the summit and eastern quadrant of the Iliamna Volcano showing Lateral 

Glacier (left), Double Glacier (middle), and Johnson Glacier (right). Lateral 

Glacier’s iron-rich-sediment-covered terminus appears to be stagnant. 

Elevated moraines on the south side and exposed bedrock on the north document thinning of the glacier. Photograph by Bruce F. Molnia, U.S. Geological 

Survey. 
their lower reaches. Iliamna Volcano’s glaciers cover about four times the 

area of Redoubt Volcano’s glaciers.

On the basis of radio-echo-sounding measurements made in July 1988 

and volume modeling, Trabant (1999) estimated perennial snow and glacier 

ice volumes on Iliamna Volcano to be 8.6 km3 for Tuxedni Glacier, 0.85 km3

for Lateral Glacier, 4.7 km3 for Red Glacier, and 0.60 km3 for Umbrella Glacier. The estimated volume of perennial snow and glacier ice on the upper 

1,000 m of the volcano is about 1 km3. Errors are thought to be no more 

than ±25 percent. The volume estimated for the four largest glaciers is more 

than three times the total volume of perennial snow and glacier ice on Mount 

Rainier, Wash., and about 82 times the total volume of perennial snow and 

glacier ice on Mount St. Helens, Wash., before its 18 May 1980 eruption.

Glaciers West and South of Redoubt and Iliamna Volcanoes 

As of an 8 August 2000 observation, all of the outlet glaciers and many of 

the cirque glaciers located west and south of Redoubt and Iliamna Volcanos 

were thinning and retreating (fig. 340) (26 August 1978 false-color infrared 

vertical aerial photograph no. L120F7555). Many of the cirques located on 

the northern side of the Tuxedni River and in the Pile River and Iliamna River 

areas in the southernmost Chigmit Mountains appeared to have recently become ice free (26 August 1978 false-color infrared vertical aerial photograph 

no. L120F7599). In addition to other evidence of glacier thinning and retreat, numerous tarn lakes and ice-free cirques are evidence of recent glacier 

change and disappearance of some glaciers. 

Glaciers of the Kamishak Bay–Big River Area

It is nearly 80 km from the southernmost glacier in the Chigmit Mountains, 

located just west of Iliamna Bay, to the summit of Mount Douglas (2,153 m), 

the highest point on an unnamed ice field, that has an area of more than 300 

km2 and supports more than 20 outlet glaciers (fig. 341). Fourpeaked Mountain (2,104 m) is the highest point on the southern part of the ice field. Seven 

glaciers have lengths of 8 to14 km and termini more than 3 km wide. Two 

of the largest (and the only named) glaciers—Spotted Glacier (12 August 

1982 AHAP false-color infrared vertical aerial photograph no. L131F1827) 

and Fourpeaked Glacier—have debris-covered termini and show evidence 

of recent retreat. In 1904, Spotted Glacier’s terminus was about 1.5 km from 

Kamishak Bay, ending at an elevation of about 45 m amsl (Tarr and Martin, 

1914). By the time of compilation of the Afognak, Alaska, 1:250,000-scale 

1952 USGS topographic map (appendix A), the glacier had retreated several 

hundred meters and terminated at an elevation closer to 90 m amsl. An unnamed glacier just to the west of Spotted Glacier had a barren zone halo a kilometer wide around its margin in 1982. Since then, its western terminus has 

separated from the main ice tongue. A number of smaller unnamed glaciers 

occur on ridges immediately west and southwest of the ice field. The largest 

is about 4 km long.

Fifty-five kilometers to the west of Mount Douglas is another small concentration of upland glaciers that were last surveyed in 1951. Bounded by 

Pirate Lake and McNeil River to the north, Strike Creek to the east, and 

Kilik Lake to the west, about 25 small unnamed glaciers occupy cirques or 

ridge crests at elevations ranging from about 1,200 to 1,670 m on the USGS 

1:250,000-scale Mt. Katmai, Alaska, topographic map (appendix A). 

In July 1923, USGS geologist K.F. Mather photographed cliff and cirque 

glaciers at several locations north of the McNeil River and west of Kamishak 

Bay. His photographs show small retreating and thinning glaciers at locations 

that no longer support glacier ice (fig. 342) 

Figure 340.—8 August 2000 north-looking 

oblique aerial photograph of the southwestern Chigmit Mountains north of the 

Tuxedni River showing shrinkage and disappearance of cirque glaciers, including a 

number of recently ice-free cirques, several with tarn lakes. All of these abandoned 

cirques are located above an elevation of 

1,000 m. Photograph by Bruce F. Molnia, 

U.S. Geological Survey. A larger version of 

this figure is available online. 

Figure 341.—Annotated Landsat 7 

ETM+ false-color composite image of the 

Kamishak Bay-Big River area showing an 

unnamed ice field in the Mount DouglasFourpeaked Mountain area and numerous 

unnamed and several named outlet glaciers. Approximate scale 1:175,000. Landsat 

7 ETM+ image (7070019000022950, bands 

2, 3, 4; 16 August 2000; Path 70, Row 19) 

from USGS, EROS Data Center, Sioux Falls, 

S. Dak.

K360 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
153°30’W

58°45’N

Spotted Glacier

Fourpeaked Glacier

Mt.

Douglas

Fourpeaked

Mtn.

0 5 KILOMETERS

APPROXIMATE SCALE

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K361
Glaciers of the Ninagiak River–Puale Bay Area

More than a hundred glaciers, at least 20 of which have lengths of 5 km or 

greater, are located in central and southwestern Katmai National Park and 

Preserve (fig. 343) and immediately to its southwest. Most descend from a 80-

km-long area of ice-covered volcanoes and mountains extending from Devils 

Desk (1,954 m) on the northeast to Mount Martin (1,844 m) on the southeast. Peaks that support glaciers include Kukak Volcano (2,042 m), Mount 

Steller (2,225 m), Mount Denison (2,318 m), Snowy Mountain (2,161 m), 

Mount Katmai (2,047 m), Trident Volcano (1,832 m), Mount Griggs (2,316 

m), and Mount Mageik (2,210 m). More than a dozen glaciers are more than 8 

km long. The longest is east flowing Hallo Glacier, which is 19 km long and 88 

km2 in area (Denton and Field, 1975b, p. 631) (see Landsat 7 ETM+ browse 

image 7070019000022950; 16 August 2000, Path 70, Row 19) and originates 

on the flanks of Kukak Volcano, Mount Steller, and Mount Denison. Northflowing Hook Glacier and a western tributary glacier informally known as 

West Hook also originate on these same peaks. Both are known to surge, 

the latter as recently as 1984. Other named glaciers include Serpent Tongue 

Glacier and The Knife Creek Glaciers. There are also many unnamed glaciers 

in the area, such as the six that descend from the summit of Mount Griggs.

Mount Katmai is a large stratovolcano that is about 10 km in diameter 

and has a central lake-filled caldera about 4.5×3 km in size. The caldera that 

contains Crater Lake has a maximum wall elevation of 2,047 m, a floor elevation of about 1,036 m, and relief of more than 1 km. The volcano is one of 

five explosive eruption vents and calderas that encircle Novarupta Dome. 

Much of the volcano is mantled by perennial snow and glacier ice, and several 

valley glaciers radiate down its flanks. Three glaciers also originate from the 

upper caldera walls and descend into the crater to Crater Lake (Motyka and 

others, 1977). Before its 1912 eruption, Mount Katmai’s summit was similar 

to the summits of Redoubt and Iliamna Volcanoes, which were completely 

encircled by active glaciers. As a result of the eruption, about 600 m of the 

mountain’s summit (including snow fields and glaciers) disappeared, leaving many beheaded glaciers. Most lost major parts of their accumulation areas (Muller and Coulter, 1957a). Following the eruption, two small glaciers 

formed on the talus beneath the crater rim (Muller and Coulter, 1957b).

Because more than 30 km3 of volcanic material was ejected by the 1912 

eruption of Mount Katmai (Denton and Field, 1975b; Griggs, 1922), many glaciers on the mountain and on adjacent peaks are covered by tephra (including light-colored pumice) deposits; in places, the airfall deposits are many 

meters thick. At Knife Creek on nearby Trident Volcano, Muller and Coulter 

(1957b) described how one of the five Knife Creek Glaciers (which they referred to as First Knife Creek Glacier through Fifth Knife Creek Glacier), 

Figure 342.—A July 1923 photograph by 

K.F. Mather of small cirque and cliff glaciers 

located west of Kamishak Bay showing 

a complex of retreating unnamed cirque 

glaciers in a large north-facing basin of a 

1,230-m-high mountain, just south of the 

Paint River. The 1957 USGS topographic 

map of this area shows no glacier at this 

location. Photograph Alaska 207 from the 

USGS Photo Library, Denver, Colo. 

K362 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
156°W 155° 154°

58°30’

59°

59°30’

Snowy 

Mtn.

Hallo Gl.

Mt. Denison

Hook Gl.

“W. Hook” Gl.

A

Iliamna Lake

Kukaklek Lake

Nonvianuk Lake

Mt. Katmai

Katmai National Park

and Preserve

Lake Coville

Naknek Lake

10 0 10 20 30 KILOMETERS

APPROXIMATE SCALE

Figure 343.—A, Annotated Landsat 2 MSS image of Katmai National Park and 

Preserve and environs. Mount Katmai (2,047 m), Snowy Mountain (2,161 m), 

Mount Denison (2,301 m), and Mount Douglas (2,153 m) (just off the upper 

right edge of the image) all support large glaciers. The glaciers on Mount 

Katmai, barely visible on this image, lost major portions of their accumulation areas when Mount Katmai erupted in 1912 (Muller and Coulter, 1957b). 

The West Hook Glacier and Hook Glacier are known to surge; the latter glacier 

surged in 1984. The glaciers in this area have lengths of up to about 15 km. 

Evidence of past glaciation is striking. The basin of Iliamna Lake was once 

glacier filled, and the limit of ice is indicated by an arcuate line of small lakes 

35 km west of the present west shore. Other notable moraines occur west 

of Naknek Lake, Lake Colville, Nonvianuk Lake, and Kukaklek Lake. Landsat 

image and caption courtesy of Robert M. Krimmel, U.S. Geological Survey. 

Landsat 2 image (2983–20253, band 7; 10 October 1977; Path 77, Row 19) is 

from the USGS, EROS Data Center, Sioux Falls, S. Dak. B, see following page.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K363
was covered by pyroclastic debris that protected it from subsequent ablation 

despite the loss of most of its accumulation area during the eruption. The 18 

May 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens, Wash., also beheaded and destroyed 

glaciers on its northern side.

More than a dozen glaciers descend from the flanks of Mount Mageik and 

Mount Martin (27 August 1983 AHAP false-color infrared vertical aerial 

photograph no. L138F6708). Mount Mageik was visited in the early 1920s 

by Smith (1925) and Hubbard (1935), who described a small crevassed tephra-covered glacier that was located on its northern flank. Mount Martin is 

a largely ice-covered stratovolcano at the southern end of the Katmai group. 

Recent volcanic activity has deposited yellow sulfur on its snow- and ice-covered crater walls (6 October 1994 space shuttle photograph no. STS–068–

244–010). Several isolated unnamed glaciers located about 25 km southwest 

of Mount Martin near Kejulik Pass form the headwaters of Takayofo Creek.

The glaciers of the Ninagiak River–Puale Bay area were first described 

by Spurr (1900), who briefly noted that glaciers were common on mountain 

axes and also descended down the flanks of the volcanoes into the valleys. 

Beginning in 1915, Griggs (1922) led five expeditions to the Mount Katmai 

area to document the impacts of the 1912 eruption. He (Griggs, 1922, p. 171)

described the accumulation of volcanic deposits on the surface of glaciers 

that he traversed in 1916: 

“The appearance of these ice fields was curious in the extreme. Where a glacier 

was moving rapidly, the variously colored layers of ash were dumped about promiscuously among the glacial seracs, making a bizarre and highly colored picture, the 

reds, browns, blacks, yellows in vivid contrast to the pure blue ice. Where the glacial 

motion was slower and steadier the ash deposit still lay as it fell.... Glaciers of this peculiar type extended clear up to the very rim of the crater, above whose depths the 

loose blocks of ice hung with such a precarious hold that we dared not approach.”

Several days later, Griggs (1922, p. 173–4) described the glaciers of the 

crater rim: 

...we could see another notch in the rim at about the same altitude as the one where 

we stood, But this one was occupied by a wall of ice which rose vertically, flush with 

the crater walls, as though sheared off by the explosion. It was surprising at first sight 

to find that a glacier could have persisted on the crater rim, unmelted by the heat of 

Hallo Gl.

155°W

58°15’N

Mt. Katmai

Mt. Griggs

Mt. Mageik

Mt. Martin

Trident

Volcano

The Knife 

Creek Glaciers

Snowy

Mountain

Hook Gl.

Devils

Desk

Serpent Tongue Glacier Kukak

Volcano

Mt.

Steller

Mt. Denison

B

APPROXIMATE SCALE

0 10 KILOMETERS

Figure 343.—B, Annotated Landsat 7 

ETM+ false-color composite image of the 

Ninagiak River–Puale Bay area, providing 

coverage similar to A but 23 years later. 

Approximate scale 1:330,000. Landsat 7 

ETM+ image (7070019000022950, bands 

2, 3, 4; 16 August 2000; Path 70, Row 19) 

from USGS, EROS Data Center, Sioux Falls, 

S. Dak.

K364 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
the eruption....Ice cliffs, the exposed ends of beheaded glaciers, stretch for several 

miles along the crater rim. The glaciers bear little if any indication of having dwindled 

during the eruption. The parts preserved on the outer slope were outside the blast of 

the explosions, which must have been directed skyward....The crater wall has caved 

in considerably since the eruption and is still slumping away at short intervals. It is 

such an unstable condition that it is no infrequent experience, while standing on the 

crater rim, to be startled by a roar as something lets go, and on searching for the cause 

to find a mass of ice and rock bouncing down the half-mile precipices into the abyss.

Glaciers of the Icy Peak–Mount Kialagvik–Mount 

Chiginagak Area

The distance from Mount Martin to the eastern end of an unnamed ice field 

that includes as its highest points Mount Kialagvik (~1,596 m) and Icy Peak 

(1,370 m) is about 100 km. This small ice field, which has an area of about 

40 km2, supports more than a dozen small unnamed glaciers that combine for 

an area of approximately 15 km2. They descend from an upland more than 

12 km in length to elevations below 300 m. The glacier that forms the headwater of Glacier Creek is more than 8 km long and terminates at an elevation 

of less than 200 m amsl. A number of unnamed cirque and mountain glaciers 

are situated on Icy Peak; figure 344 shows some of them on the northern 

flank of Icy Peak in 1919.

More than a dozen outlet glaciers drain the summit and flanks of Mount 

Kialagvik. Three unnamed glaciers that form the headwaters of the eastern 

fork of the Dog Salmon River range in length from about 3 to about 4.5 km. 

The largest unnamed glacier, which is about 6 km in length, descends from 

Mount Kialagvik to an elevation of about 300 m and forms the headwaters of 

the central fork of the Dog Salmon River.

Mount Chiginagak (2,067 m) is a symmetric composite cone about 8 km in 

diameter. Glaciers cover about 20 to 25 km2

 of its summit and slopes (fig. 345) 

Figure 344.—Summer 1919 southwestlooking panorama of the unnamed cirque 

and mountain glaciers that descend from 

the north side of Icy Peak. Kialagvik Creek 

is in the foreground and the head of Wide 

Bay is to the east (left). Several cirques 

show significant evidence of recent glacier 

thinning and retreat. Photographs Capps 

993–995 from the USGS Photo Library, 

Denver, Colo. A larger version of this figure 

is available online. 

Figure 345.—August 1960 oblique aerial 

photograph of the glacier-covered summit 

of Mount Chiginagak. Fresh crevasses are 

indicative of bergschrund development 

in individual glacier basins. Photograph 

No. 12–50 by Austin Post, U.S. Geological 

Survey.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K365
at elevations above about 500 m. The earliest description of the glaciers of 

Mount Chiginagak was provided by Smith and Baker (1924.) From about 10 

to 25 km west of the summit of Mount Chiginagak, several ridges are covered 

by accumulations of ice. The largest, which is nearly 10 km long, forms the 

headwaters of Painter Creek. 

Glaciers of the Aniakchak Crater Area

Denton and Field (1975a) reported that several unnamed glaciers with 

a combined area of about 0.6 km2 are located inside the southern wall of 

1,340 m-high Aniakchak Crater (fig. 346). Formed during a catastrophic 

ash-flow eruption about 3,400 years ago, Aniakchak caldera is about 10 km 

Aniakchak

Crater

Mt. Chiginagak

SUTWICK ISLAND

Cape Kumliun

Mt. Kialagvik

Icy Peak

Portage 

Bay

Bristol

Bay

A

157°W

57°N

Figure 346.—A, Annotated Landsat 7 ETM+ image of the central Alaska Peninsula from Portage 

Bay to Cape Kumliun. Visible are Icy Peak, Mount 

Kialagvik, Mount Chiginagak, Aniakchak Crater, 

Bristol Bay, and Sutwik Island. Landsat 7 ETM+ image (7072020009930450; 31 October 1999; Path 72, 

Row 20) is from the USGS, EROS Data Center, Sioux 

Falls, S. Dak. B, 1977 oblique aerial photograph of the 

Aniakchak caldera. Photograph by M. Williams, U.S. 

National Park Service. From Neal and McGimsey 

(1997b).

K366 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
across and averages 500 m in depth (fig. 346). Glacier ice also fills the crater 

of 1,018-m-high Vent Mountain, a large cinder cone within the crater on the 

southern side (Knappen, 1929). Glaciers on the crater floor are covered by a 

thick deposit of pumice.

 Glaciers of the Mount Veniaminof–Stepovak Bay Area

Mount Veniaminof (fig. 347) is a broad cone-shaped volcano 2,507 m high 

and about 35 km across at its base. The size of its steep-walled summit caldera 

is approximately 8×11 km. The caldera is filled by a large ice accumulation 

ranging in elevation from about 1,750 to 2,000 m. Ice overflows the southern 

rim of the caldera and covers more than 200 km2 of the upper slopes on the 

southern side of the volcano. Knappen (1929) described the crater’s glaciers as 

follows: “The crater of Mount Veniaminof is filled with a great circular glacier, 

8 to 10 km in diameter, which overflows in three directions. To the northeast it 

flows through small cols, spilling down the mountain and forming Crab Glacier 

outside the crater; to the south the ice overtops the crater for a length of 3 km 

or more, but probably this ice stream is relatively shallow; to the west, the ice 

flows through a canyon estimated as 600 m deep, forming Cone Glacier. The 

western outlet is fully 300 m lower than either of the others, and a great river 

of crevassed and shattered ice, perhaps 200 m wide, grinds through the passageway and greatly depresses the level of the ice on that side of the crater.”

In the western part of the caldera, a 570-m-high active cone with a small 

summit crater reaches an elevation of 2,156 m, approximately 330 m above 

the surrounding glacier ice. In 1983, eruptive activity from this cinder cone 

melted about 0.15 km3 of the summit ice cap (fig. 347). The rim of a larger 

but lower cone protrudes just above the ice surface in the northwestern part 

of the caldera.

Eight named valley glaciers having a combined area of approximately 

15 km2 descend from the caldera through gaps on the western and northern 

sides of the rim, and other alpine glaciers occupy valleys on the north-, east-, 

and west-facing slopes of the mountain. Named glaciers include Cone, Fog, 

Island, Outlet, Crab, Harpoon, Finger, and Slim Glaciers. An unnamed glacier 

is located between Fog and Island Glaciers. The terminus of Slim Glacier extends to an elevation 275 m amsl and is 14 km from the summit crater (Denton and Field, 1975b, p. 633). A number of other unnamed glaciers are present to the southwest, east, and northeast. All of Mount Veniaminof’s outlet 

glaciers are tephra covered, so that it is difficult to assess their mass balance. 

Telltale signs indicate evidence of recent retreat, however.

From about 10 to about 75 km west of the summit of Mount Veniaminof, 

several ridges are covered by significant accumulations of ice, many with 

small unnamed outlet glaciers. The largest ridge, which is nearly 20 km long, 

is located north of Stepovak Bay (26 August 1983 AHAP false-color infrared 

vertical aerial photograph no. L161F6197) and supports several outlet glaciers up to 4 km long.

Glaciers of Pavlof Volcano–Frosty Peak Area

Located about 120 km southwest of Stepovak Bay, the Pavlof Sister 

(2,122 m)–Pavlof Volcano (2,507 m)–Little Pavlof (2,038 m)–Mount Hague 

(~1,450 m) complex hosts an ice accumulation about 20 km long that has 

more than a dozen outlet glaciers. The glaciers of the Pavlof Volcano area 

cover an area of more than 130 km2 (Denton and Field, 1975b, p. 629). Much 

of the upper slopes of Pavlof Volcano, Little Pavlof Volcano, Double Crater, 

Pavlof Sister, Mount Hague, and Mount Emmons are also covered by snowfields and glacier ice at elevations above 300 m (fig. 348). Pavlof Volcano is 

the most active volcano in the Aleutian Range with about 40 documented 

eruptions since 1790 (McGimsey and Miller, 1995).

The glaciers of this area were mapped by Kennedy and Waldron (1955), 

who described Mount Hague as having several individual glaciers in its crater 

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K367
Mt. Veniaminof

Bristol Bay

55°N

56°N

160°W 159°

161°W

10 0 10 20 30 KILOMETERS

APPROXIMATE SCALE

A

Figure 347.—The glaciers of the Western Aleutian Range 

and Aleutian Islands are difficult to observe using Landsat 

because they are relatively small and because the weather is notoriously poor. Most of these glaciers lie on volcanoes. A, Landsat 2 MSS image of Mount Veniaminof 

(2,507 m); the volcano was active in 1983 and 1984. 

Several eruptions have flowed from a cone within the icefilled caldera, melting a large amount of ice. This March 

scene is of little value for delineating present-day glaciers 

because of the snow cover. However, the ice-filled summit caldera and glacier-carved valleys radiating to the 

north from Mount Veniaminof are visible. Bristol Bay is 

covered with broken sea ice. Landsat image and caption 

courtesy of Robert M. Krimmel, U.S. Geological Survey. 

Landsat 2 image (2427–21001, band 7; 24 March 1976; 

Path 79, Row 21) is from the USGS, EROS Data Center, 

Sioux Falls, S. Dak. B, Oblique aerial photograph showing 

“Steam rising from the intracaldera cinder cone at Mount 

Veniaminof on 23 January 1984 in the waning stages of 

the 1983–1984 eruption. Cooling lava flows fill a pit about 

2.3×1.0 km that has been melted in the summit ice cap” 

(Neal and McGimsey, 1997b). Photograph by M.E. Yount, 

U.S. Geological Survey.

K368 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
and several more on its slopes. Mount Emmons supports a small glacier with 

an area of a few square kilometers; a glacier with an elliptical shape occurs 

on the highland immediately adjacent to the southern side of Emmons Lake. 

The Aghileen Pinnacles also support several small glaciers. Although none of 

these glaciers have been studied in recent years, Neal and McGimsey (1997a) 

noted that the most recent eruptive episode at Pavlof Volcano, which began 

about 11 September 1996 and continued into early 1997, melted a narrow 

channel through the snow and glacier-ice cover of the volcano.

Frosty Peak (1,746 m) hosts the westernmost and southernmost glaciers 

in the Aleutian Range. About a dozen descend from its summit ridge and 

slopes (fig. 349). The largest is an unnamed glacier about 4 km long and as 

much as 2.4 km wide. The northeastern side of the mountain contains several large Pleistocene and early Holocene cirques that extend as much as 6 km 

from its summit. Holocene moraines reach as far as 10 km from the peak. 

The age of the latest advance is unknown but is probably between 3,000 and 

10,000 yr B.P. (Funk, 1973; Black, 1976).

Cold Bay

Pavlof Bay

LIttle Pavlof

Mount Hague

UNGA

ISLAND

Mt. Dutton

Mt. Emmons

Pavlof Sister

Pavlof Volcano

10 0 10 20 30 KILOMETERS

APPROXIMATE SCALE

55°30’N

162°W

Figure 348.—Part of an annotated Landsat 

2 MSS false-color composite image of the 

southern Aleutian Range. The image shows 

part of the southern Alaska Peninsula from 

Pavlof Bay to Cold Bay. Visible are Pavlof 

Volcano, Pavlof Sister, Mount Emmons, 

Mount Dutton, and Unga Island. Landsat 

image (2168–821044, bands 4, 5, 7; 6 August 

1979; Path 80, Row 21) is from the USGS, 

EROS Data Center, Sioux Falls, S. Dak.

Summary

During the period of the Landsat baseline (1972–81), all of the surge-type 

and non-surge-type valley glaciers in the Aleutian Range were stagnant, 

thinning, and (or) retreating. Some surge-type glaciers were reported to 

have surged during the baseline period, but no terminus advances were reported. At the end of the 20th century, all of the observed valley and outlet 

glaciers in the Aleutian Range continued to thin, stagnate, and retreat. Some 

glaciers showed evidence of surging near the end of the 20th century, including Capps Glacier, which surged in 2000. However, no reported surge events 

resulted in terminus advance.

When the terminus of Tuxedni Glacier was observed in 2000, it showed 

evidence of a recent small advance. However, trimlines and abandoned moraines document a previous long-term history of retreat and thinning. Following the 1989–90 eruptions of Mount Redoubt, new snow and ice has accumulated in its summit crater, essentially replacing all of the glacier ice and 

snow that was lost during the eruptions. This situation is similar to that of 

a pair of glaciers that formed in the summit crater of Mount Katmai in the 

years following its 1912 eruption.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K369
Figure 349.—Part of the provisional 1:63,360-scale topographic map of the Cold Bay, Alaska A-3 

quadrangle. At the end of the 1990s, when the provisional 1:63,360-scale topographic maps of 

parts of the Cold Bay, Alaska quadrangle based on 1987 aerial photography were released, they 

showed extensive glacierization of Frosty Peak. No glaciers were shown on the 1943 Cold Bay, 

Alaska 1:250,000-scale USGS topographic map (appendix A). Because many glaciers are either 

completely or partially covered by tephra (airborne volcanic ejecta), cartographers, working only 

with aerial photographs for such areas, where there were no field surveys or very limited data, 

may have been unable to determine the presence and locations of glaciers. Snow cover would 

have made this task even more difficult.

K370 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Aleutian Islands

Introduction

The Aleutian Islands volcanic archipelago, the 1,900-km-long island arc 

that separates the Pacific Ocean from the Bering Sea, extends westward from 

False Pass at the western end of the Alaska Peninsula to about long 172°E., 

north of eastern Russia (figs. 1, 350). Wahrhaftig (1965) stated that the islands contain 57 volcanoes, 27 of which are active. “Most high volcanoes bear 

icecaps or small glaciers and there are a few cirque glaciers on the mountainous islands” (Wahrhaftig, 1965, p. 25). A recent summary of active Alaskan 

volcanoes by Wallace and others (2000) identified 24 that have been active 

since the middle 1700s.

At least 10 islands in the eastern and central part of the arc have been reported to have glaciers. From east to west, islands where glaciers have been 

reported are Unimak, Akutan, Unalaska, Umnak, Herbert, Atka, Great Sitkin, 

Tanaga, Gareloi, and Kiska (figs. 1, 350). All of the mapped glaciers of the 

Aleutian Islands descend from the summits of active or dormant volcanoes, 

extending either into calderas or down their flanks. All head at elevations 

greater than 1,200 m. Descriptions of the glaciers of the Aleutian Islands have 

been presented by Westdahl (1903), Tarr and Martin (1914), Finch (1934), 

Collins (1945), Sharp (1956), Denton (1975a), Molnia (1982, 1993, 2001), 

and Field (1990). The total area of glaciers is 960 km2 (Post and Meier, 1980, 

p. 45).

It is possible that glaciers may exist on other islands within the Aleutians 

because there is a lack of basic information on the physical geography of many 

of them. For instance, Mount Cleveland— a stratovolcano on Chuginadak 

Island, one of the Islands of the Four Mountains— has a summit elevation of 

about 1,730 m, higher than many peaks in the Aleutian Islands that support 

glaciers. Although no information could be found about glaciers on Mount 

Cleveland, Chuginadak Island shows evidence of recent glacial erosion.

Landsat MSS images that cover the glacierized Aleutian Islands have the 

following Path/Row coordinates: 81/22, 82/22, 83/22, 83/23, 84/23, 85/23, 

86/23, 87/24, 88/24, 89/24, 90/24, 91/24, 93/24, and 94/24 (fig. 3, table 1). 

These areas are mapped (from east to west) on the False Pass (1949), 

Unimak (1951), Unalaska (1951), Umnak (1951), Samalga Island (1951), 

Amukta (1951), Atka (1959), Adak (1957), Gareloi Island (1954), and Kiska 

(1951) USGS 1:250,000-scale topographic quadrangle maps of Alaska (appendix A). Regardless of the printed publication date for a specific map, the 

date of the source material used for map compilation is older.

Many of the 10 USGS 1:250,000-scale topographic quadrangle maps (appendix A) are based on old surveys and maps produced by the AMS (later 

DMA, then NIMA, now the NGA) between 1947 and 1958; on NOAA topographic manuscripts surveyed between 1953 and 1959; and on NOAA nautical charts. Two of the quadrangle maps state that plane-table surveys were 

the basis for mapping: the first was carried out in 1928 (False Pass map 

sheet) and the second between 1940 and 1944 (Unalaska map sheet). Only 

4 of 10 topographic quadrangle maps state that the topographic contours 

are based on aerial photography collected between 1934 and 1948: False 

Pass (1942–43 aerial photography), Unimak (“culture and drainage in part 

compiled from 1942 trimetrogon aerial photography”), Unalaska (1934, 1943 

aerial photography), and Umnak (1942–48 aerial photography). Very few 

topographic quadrangle maps have been field checked, a process generally 

restricted to islands where there are military facilities. Some of the maps, 

especially at higher elevations, are incomplete, showing only form lines for 

“elevation” and no contour lines. The lack of accurate, modern maps of the 

Aleutian Islands is the result of the remoteness of the area, nearly perpetual 

cloud cover on the highest peaks, and the absence of high-resolution, cloudfree photographs and/or images.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K371
K372 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Consequently, during the last 50+ years, the glaciers of the Aleutian Islands 

have received minimal scientific attention. As a result, little new information 

has been produced. Therefore, much of the information in the following descriptions of the individual glacierized islands is significantly outdated, and 

some of the glaciers described in earlier publications probably no longer exist 

because of regional climate warming in the 20th and early 21st centuries.

Unimak Island

At a length of about 120 km, Unimak Island is the easternmost and largest 

of the Aleutian Islands. Glacier ice and snow cover is concentrated on 2,857-

m-high Shishaldin Volcano, the Isanotski Peaks (2,446 m) (figs. 351, 352), 

and Roundtop Mountain (1,872 m) on the eastern part of the island (Denton, 

1975a). Field (1975a) stated that these three peaks support a continuous 

snow and ice cover for nearly 40 km and cover an area greater than 50 km2. An 

end-of-summer 1972 Landsat 1 MSS image acquired on 17 September 1972 

(see Landsat image 10562–13315; 17 September 1972; Path 82, Row 22), 

shows a snow-free view of the glacier cover on that date. On the southwestern 

end of the island, Pogromni Volcano (2,002 m), Faris Peak (1,628 m), and 

Westdahl Peak (1,560-m-high pyroclastic cone) host an unnamed ice cap, 

which Field (1990) described as having an area of 26 km2 from which at least 

two outlet glaciers flow. As delineated on the Unimak, Alaska, 1:250,000-scale 

USGS topographic quadrangle map (1951) (appendix A), which is based on 

1942 aerial photography, these two outlet glaciers have lengths of about 9 and 

about 12 km and retreated between 1942 and 1972. An eruption occurred 

through Westdahl Peak’s part of the ice cap in 1992. 

Akutan Island

Akutan Volcano, located in the west-central part of Akutan Island and largest of the Krenitzin Island group, is a 1,303-m-high composite stratovolcano 

having a circular summit caldera about 2 km wide and 60 to 365 m deep and 

an active intra-caldera cinder cone. A small section of the floor of Akutan’s 

summit caldera is covered with glacier ice. No information could be found 

about the status of the caldera’s glacier.

Unalaska Island

The greatest concentration of glaciers in the Aleutian Islands is on Makushin 

Volcano (2,004 m) on 107-km-long Unalaska Island. The summit is covered by 

a small ice cap, which feeds several small unnamed outlet glaciers (fig. 353) 

descending to elevations below 500 m. A map of the island by Drewes and others (1961) also depicts several small unnamed valley glaciers on the flanks of 

the Shaler Mountains, which are located in the south-central part of the island. 

The earliest descriptions of the glaciers on Unalaska Island in the scientific 

literature date back to the 1880s (Davidson, 1886). Other descriptions are presented by Tarr and Martin (1914), Collins (1945), and Bradley (1948). Sharp 

(1956) suggested that Unalaska Island has the largest ice cover of any island 

in the Aleutian chain. Although little new information exists about Unalaska’s 

glaciers, recent observations and maps suggest that all are retreating.

Figure 350.—A, Index map of glacierized 

Aleutian Islands (modified from Field, 

1975a). B, Enlargement of NOAA Advanced 

Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) 

image mosaic of the glacierized islands 

of the Aleutian Islands in summer 1995. 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration image mosaic from Mike 

Fleming, Alaska Science Center, U.S. 

Geological Survey, Anchorage, Alaska.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K373
A

B

Shishaldin Volcano

Shishaldin Volcano

Isanotski Peaks

Roundtop

Mountain

Frosty Peak

Pogromni Volcano

Faris Peak

N

Westdahl Peak

Figure 351.—Annotated Space Shuttle photographs of the glacierized volcanoes of Unimak Island in September 1992. A, Space Shuttle photograph of all 

of Unimak Island and the western end of the Alaska Peninsula. Many glaciercovered stratovolcanoes and pyroclastic cones can be seen. From west to east, 

these include Pogromni Volcano (2,002 m), Faris Peak (1,628 m), Westdahl 

Peak (1,560 m), Shishaldin Volcano (2,857 m), the Isanotski Peaks (2,446 m), 

Roundtop Mountain (1,872 m), and Frosty Peak (1,746 m) at the western end 

of the Peninsula. National Aeronautics and Space Administration photograph 

no. STS047–77–034. B, Enlargement of Space Shuttle photograph of the eastern end of Unimak Island. From west to east, Shishaldin Volcano (2,857 m), 

the Isanotski Peaks (2,446 m), and Roundtop Mountain (1,872 m), all glaciercovered stratovolcanoes, can be seen. Several large, north-trending valleys, 

evidence of significant recent glacial erosion can be seen on the north sides 

of the Isanotski Peaks and Roundtop Mountain. Vegetation-free areas around 

each peak indicate the recent extent of snow and ice cover. Photograph No. 

STS047–081–025 from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration .

K374 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Figure 352.—Oblique aerial photographs 

of Shishaldin Volcano and environs, 

Unimak Island, Aleutian Islands. A, View 

from the southeast of retreating, tephraor debris-covered glaciers on southeast 

flank of Shishaldin Volcano taken in 1932. 

Two fingers of ice labeled A and B extend 

to the north margin of the nearly circular, 

water-filled depression. The 1-km-diameter 

depression is mapped as being approximately 3 km from the closest ice margin on 

the False Pass 1:250,000-scale topographic 

map of the area, which is based on 1942 

and 1943 aerial photography. Photograph 

Capps 1544a from the USGS Photo Library, 

Denver, Colo. B, High-angle oblique, 

color aerial photograph from east of 

Isanotski Peaks and Shishaldin Volcano, 

Unimak Island, Aleutian Islands, taken 

21 September 1990. Photograph frame 

no. CF008 from AeroMap U.S. Used with 

permission. A larger version of A is available online.

Figure 353.—Oblique aerial photograph of the summit region of Makushin 

Volcano, Unalaska Island, in August 1982. The glacier-capped stratovolcano 

has several outlet glaciers flowing from its ice cap. A steaming volcanic crater in an ice cauldron can be seen in the middle background. Photograph by 

C. Nye, Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys (Neal and 

McGimsey, 1997b).

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K375
Umnak Island

A late summer Landsat 2 MSS image acquired on 2 September 1977 

(fig. 354) shows the glaciers of Umnak Island. Byers (1959) described nine 

unnamed valley glaciers descending from Mount Vsevidof (2,149 m) and 

Mount Recheshnoi (1,953 m) (21 August 1983 AHAP false-color infrared vertical aerial photograph no. L155F5808). Mount Vsevidof supports two valley 

glaciers, whereas Mount Recheshnoi supports at least seven glaciers. At least 

one small summit glacier and several hanging glaciers, all unnamed, also exist inside the southern rim of 1,073-m-high Okmok Caldera (21 August 1983 

AHAP false-color infrared vertical aerial photograph no. L155F5816). A 1945 

eruption melted a large area of the caldera’s glacier. Okmok Caldera and the 

eastern part of Mount Recheshnoi are also depicted on a winter Landsat MSS 

image acquired on 10 March 1976 (Path 83, Row 23). As of 1999, little, if any, 

glacier ice remained on Umnak’s peaks (USGS Alaska Volcano Observatory, 

oral commun., 2001).

HERBERT ISLAND

CHUGINADAK ISLAND

CARLISLE ISLAND

KAGAMIL ISLAND

UMNAK ISLAND

10 0 10 20 30 KILOMETERS

APPROXIMATE SCALE

Okmok Caldera

Mount Recheshnoi

Mount Vsevidof

169°W 168°

54°N

53°

Figure 354.—Annotated Landsat 2 MSS 

false-color composite image of glaciers 

on Umnak Island, Aleutian Islands. Byers 

(1959) described two valley glaciers on 

Mount Vsevidof and seven valley glaciers 

on Mount Recheshnoi. Glaciers have 

also been described in Okmok Caldera. 

However, little glacier ice may remain now. 

Landsat image (29542–10905, bands 4, 5, 7; 

2 September 1977; Path 84, Row 23) from 

the USGS, EROS Data Center, Sioux Falls, 

S. Dak.

K376 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Herbert Island

On 1 January 2001, NASA’s International Space Station acquired a photograph of Chuginadak, Carlise, and Herbert Islands (fig. 355A). A 27 September 1996 oblique color aerial photograph of the more than 900-m-high 

summit caldera of Herbert Island (fig. 355B) depicts at least two tongues of 

ice that descend to the crater floor and at least one hanging glacier. Acquired 

by AeroMap U.S., this photograph is not only perhaps the first cloud-free 

photograph of Herbert Island ever obtained, it is also the first documentation 

Chuginadak

Island

Herbert

Island

Carlisle

Island

A

N

Mount 

Cleveland

Figure 355.—A, Annotated International Space Station 

photograph of Chuginadak, Carlisle, and Herbert Islands. 

NASA photograph No. ISS001–5962 taken on 1 January 

2001. Evidence of recent glacial erosion can be seen on 

the east side of Chuginadak Island. Mount Cleveland, a 

stratovolcano and the highest point on Chuginadak Island, 

has a summit elevation of approximately 1,730 m. No information exists about the current status of glaciers on this 

island. Glaciers were only recently identified as being present on Herbert Island. B, Oblique color aerial photograph 

taken 27 September 1996 of the summit crater of Herbert 

Island, showing at least two tongues of ice that descend 

to the crater floor and at least one hanging glacier. This is 

the first documentation of the occurrence of glaciers on 

Herbert Island. Photograph from AeroMap U.S. Used with 

permission.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K377
of any glaciers on the Islands of Four Mountains. No information exists about 

the past or current status of these glaciers.

Atka Island 

The USGS topographic map of Atka (appendix A) shows two volcanoes 

on Atka Island that support unnamed summit glaciers. Korovin Volcano, a 

1,533-m-high stratovolcano that was last active in June 1998, and Mount Kliuchef (1,450 m) have a total glacier-covered area of about 20 km2 (fig. 356). 

Several unnamed ice tongues descend from the summit of Mount Kliuchef; 

one flowing to the northeast terminates at an elevation of about 525 m. No 

information exists about the past or current status of these glaciers.

Great Sitkin Island 

Great Sitkin Island, located northeast of Adak, was mapped in 1957 on 

USGS 1:250,000-scale Adak map, which was based on 1954–56 surveys (appendix A). The map shows that Great Sitkin Volcano, a 1,740-m-high stratovolcano with caldera and dome that was last active in September 1974, has 

an unnamed ring glacier on the eastern side of its crater and nine small unnamed glaciers of varying length descending from its summit. The largest of 

these glaciers was about 3 km in length. No information exists about the past 

or current status of these glaciers.

Tanaga Island

Tanaga Island is a semi-circular island with a length of about 40 km and 

a maximum width of about 15 km. The AMS (1957) 1:25,000-scale map of 

Tanaga Island shows a few unnamed glaciers about 1.6 km in length on 1,806-

m-high Tanaga Volcano, a stratovolcano flanked by two stratocones that were 

last active in 1914. Several unnamed smaller glaciers are also shown on an unnamed 1,449-m-high stratovolcano to the east. The largest glacier shown on 

this volcano headed at about 1,295 m and descended to about 875 m. No glaciers are shown on the most recent USGS 1:250,000-scale topographic quadrangle maps of the island (Adak, 1957; Gareloi Island, 1954) (appendix A). No 

information exists about the past or current status of these glaciers.

Gareloi Island

The Gareloi Island 1954 USGS 1:250,000-scale topographic map (appendix A) shows a small glacier-covered area on Mount Gareloi, a 1,573-m-high 

stratovolcano last active in August 1989. At least two small glaciers were 

situated on the northern side of its cone (Coats, 1956). A single, very small 

glacier (<0.04 km2) is also shown on the southeastern side of the summit 

of Mount Gareloi, according to the USGS 1:250,000-scale topographic quadrangle map (appendix A). No information exists about the past or current 

status of these glaciers.

Kiska Island 

In 1943, Kiska Island possessed a small glacier on Kiska Volcano, a 1,220-

m-high stratovolcano last active in June 1990. Henderson and Putnam 

(1947) visited the glacier at least once in 1943 and described it (p. 32) as being a “small, decadent, dirty piece of ice, but it still merited the name glacier.” 

However, no evidence of this or any glacier is shown on Kiska Volcano on the 

most recent 1951 USGS 1:250,000-scale topographic quadrangle map of the 

area (appendix A). No additional information exists about this glacier.

Summary

Less information exists about the glaciers of the Aleutian Islands than for 

any other area in Alaska. The extremely limited information that is available 

is generally four to six decades old. Glaciers for which information exists are 

retreating and (or) thinning.

10 0 10 20 30 KILOMETERS

APPROXIMATE SCALE

Korovin Volcano

Mount Kliuchef

AT K A

I S L A N D

53°N

52°

174°W

Figure 356.—Part of an annotated Landsat 2 

MSS false-color composite image of 

Korovin Volcano and Mount Kliuchef, 

Atka Island, Aleutian Islands. Both volcanoes have summit glaciers totaling about 

20 km2 in area. Landsat image (2975–21252, 

bands 4, 5, 7; 23 September 1977; Path 

87, Row 24) is from the USGS, EROS Data 

Center, Sioux Falls, S. Dak.

K378 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Wrangell Mountains

Introduction

The Wrangell Mountains (figs. 1, 357), a large young volcanic massif having 

a maximum length of about 155 km and width of 85 km, are located between 

Nabesna (to the north), Skolai Pass and the Chitistone River (to the east), 

the Chitina River (to the south), and the Copper River (to the west). They 

are included in the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska, 

Figure 357.—A, Index map of the glacierized Wrangell Mountains 

(modified from Field, 1975a). B, Enlargement of NOAA Advanced Very 

High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) image mosaic of the glacierized 

Wrangell Mountains in summer 1995. National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration image mosaic from Mike Fleming, Alaska Science Center, 

U.S. Geological Survey, Anchorage, Alaska.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K379
which is contiguous with Kluane National Park, Yukon Territory, Canada, on 

the east. The highest peaks are Mount Blackburn (4,996 m), Mount Sanford 

(4,949 m), Mount Wrangell (4,317 m—an active volcano with a summit caldera), Regal Mountain (4,220 m), Mount Jarvis (4,091 m), Mount Zanetti 

(3,965 m), Rime Peak (3,883 m), and Mount Drum (3,661 m). The peaks are 

either Quaternary volcanoes or are composed of layered volcanic material. 

Mount Drum and Mount Sanford are free-standing mountains that support a 

number of glaciers radiating from their summits.

In total, the Wrangell Mountains support about 50 outlet glaciers that have 

lengths of 8 km or more and have a glacier-covered area of 8,300 km2 (Post 

and Meier, 1980, p. 45) (fig. 358). Table 6, which is based on Krimmel’s analysis of an 18 August 1972 Landsat 1 MSS image (1026–20220) of the area, provides data on the AARs of 14 glaciers in the Wrangell Mountains. Many are 

surge-type glaciers. At the center of the west-central Wrangell Mountains 

Barnard Glacier

Kennicott Gl.

Nebesna Glac ei r

Chisana Gl.

10 0 10 20 30 KILOMETERS

A APPROXIMATE SCALE

143°W 142° 141°

Russell Glacier

62°N

61°N

144°W

Figure 358.—A, Annotated Landsat 1 MSS falsecolor composite image of the Wrangell Mountains 

and northwestern part of the St. Elias Mountains. 

An enlargement of this image, combined with 

topographic maps, was used to determine the 

accumulation area ratios (AARs) (see table 6) 

and snowline altitudes on 14 glaciers in this area. 

B, Contour map of equal snowline altitude (in 

meters) showing that snowline altitudes are higher 

to the northeast of the mountains and thus indicating less snow accumulation there. Landsat image 

and caption courtesy of Robert M. Krimmel, U.S. 

Geological Survey. Landsat image (1026–20220; 

bands 4, 5, 7; 18 August 1972; Path 70, Row 17) is 

from the USGS, EROS Data Center, Sioux Falls, 

S. Dak.

K380 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
is a broad upland ice field covering an area of about 750 km2

 and extending eastward from the crater of Mount Wrangell to the head of Nabesna Glacier, a distance of about 35 km. It is bounded on the north by Mount Sanford 

and Mount Jarvis. Nabesna Glacier, which is 87 km long, and has an area of 

819 km2 (Denton and Field, 1975c, p. 566), is the largest of the outlet glaciers 

in the Wrangell Mountains as well as the largest inland glacier in North America. In the eastern part of the mountains, a series of interconnected unnamed 

ice fields are drained by Chisana, Lime, Middle Fork, and Frederika Glaciers, 

and Nizina Glacier and its tributaries.

Landsat 1–3 MSS images that cover the Wrangell Mountains have the following Path/Row coordinates: 69/17, 70/16, 70/17, 71/16, 71/17, and 72/16 

(fig. 3, table 1). These areas are mapped on the USGS Gulkana, Alaska (1959), 

McCarthy, Alaska (1960), Nabesna, Alaska (1960), and Valdez, Alaska (1960) 

1:250,000-scale topographic maps (appendix A). Landsat 7 ETM+ images of 

the Wrangell Mountains also have been acquired, and several are included in 

this section.

Topographic information, including information about glaciers of this 

area, was collected as early as 1885 (Allen, 1887); the first sketch maps 

appeared as early as 1892 (Rohn, 1900). A 1:750,000-scale map (fig. 359) 

depicting the location of many of the glaciers of the Wrangell Mountains 

and 1:250,000-scale topographic maps showing details of individual glacier 

TABLE 6.—Wrangell Mountains accumulation 

area ratios (AAR)

[Data courtesy of Robert M. Krimmel, USGS, derived from Landsat 1 

MSS image 1026–20220, 18 August 1972]

Glacier name AAR

Hawkins 0.39

Barnard 0.67

Russell 0.64

Chisana 0.73

Nabesna 0.64

Kuskulana 0.55

Kennicott 0.60

Nizina 0.67

Lakina 0.65

Kluvesna 0.64

Giffin 0.56

Twaharpies 0.55

Chitistone 0.63

Lime 0.62

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K381
termini appeared in 1902 and were printed in USGS Professional Paper 41 

(Mendenhall, 1905). Much of these early topographic data were collected 

by T.G. Gerdine, W.J. Peters, and D.C. Witherspoon, all of the USGS. Gerdine was often assisted by W.C. Mendenhall, who was mapping the geology of 

the region (Mendenhall, 1905). Remarkably, the map, made in a remote, unknown region and using late 19th century planetable and telescopic-alidade 

methods, remains accurate. A 1908 topographic survey by Witherspoon and 

H.M. Lafollette produced a 1:62,250-scale topographic map that included the 

eastern margin of Kennicott Glacier and was published in USGS Bulletin 448 

(Moffit and Capps, 1911).

Rock glaciers are abundant throughout the Wrangell Mountains (fig. 360), 

as 1905 photographs by Moffit (USGS Photo Library photographs Moffit 384 

and 390) and 1908 photographs by Capps (USGS Photo Library photographs 

Capps 141 and 142) show. Capps (1910b) mapped more than 30 rock glaciers in the area to the south and east of Kennicott Glacier, describing features common to rock glaciers in the Wrangell Mountains as follows: “They 

vary greatly in size, but are usually many times longer than wide, occupying, 

as they do, the bottoms of cirque-like valleys. Some have wide, fan-shaped 

heads and narrow down to a tongue below. Others are narrow above, and deploy into spatulate lobes below.......but the greater number are narrow bodies 

of nearly uniform width, from one-tenth to one-fourth of a mile wide and from 

one-half to 21⁄2 miles long. The surface slopes vary in different cases from 

9° to 18° for the whole course of the rock glacier.” (Capps. 1910b, p. 360). 

Capps thought there was a resemblance to true glaciers. In many of the rock 

glaciers, fragmental rocks extend all the way to the head of the cirque; no ice 

Figure 359.—Part of a map of the Mount 

Wrangell District, Alaska, a 1:750,000-scale 

map based on data collected between 1885 

and 1902, depicting the location of many 

of the glaciers of the Wrangell Mountains. 

From Mendenhall (1905, plate number XI). 

A larger version of this figure is available 

online. 

Figure 360.—1961 northeast-looking 

oblique aerial photograph of a rock glacier 

on the west side of Bonanza Peak, east 

of Kennicott Glacier. A road is shown on 

this rock glacier on the 1911 topographic 

map. The buildings constructed on the 

northwest side of the rock glacier, below 

the snowline, and the roads on its surface 

suggest that the surface of this rock glacier is stationary and stable and has been 

for many years. University of Washington 

photograph No. F7–61 by Austin Post, U.S. 

Geological Survey.

K382 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
is visible, and there is little or no snow on the surface. In several cases, however, the rock glaciers grade into true glaciers at their upper ends, without 

any sharp line of demarcation, so that gradation between the two is complete 

(fig. 360).

Glaciers of the Regal Mountain – Frederika Mountain 

Area and the Eastern Wrangell Mountains

Outlet glaciers of the eastern Wrangell Mountains (Chisana, Lime, Middle 

Fork, Frederica, Shelter Valley, and Whiskey Hill Glaciers) originate from a 

20×10-km unnamed upland ice field surrounded by several isolated peaks 

with elevations higher than 2,500 m. The highest of these is 3,150-m-high 

Mount Frederika. Glaciers of the southeastern Wrangell Mountains (Rohn, 

Regal, West Fork, Root, and Gates Glaciers) originate mainly on the southern 

flanks of Regal Mountain. Rohn and Regal Glaciers descend from the eastern flank of Regal Mountain as well, and Rohn Glacier is also fed from the 

northern flank of Regal Mountain and the unnamed upland ice field. Other, 

generally smaller glaciers, flow from isolated accumulation areas located on 

upland ridges and isolated peaks.

Chisana Glacier (fig. 361), which is 39 km long and 440 km2 in area (Denton and Field, 1975c, p. 567), is the northeasternmost and third largest glacier in the Wrangell Mountains. It drains several large interconnected accumulation areas north of Regal Mountain and Frederika Mountain. Chisana 

Glacier has been also named Tanana Glacier (Rohn, 1900) and was locally 

called Shushana Glacier (Orth, 1967).

The terminus of Chisana Glacier was visited independently in 1899 by 

Brooks and then by Rohn and again in 1908 by Capps, who stated that “a 

comparison of the photographs taken by Rohn in 1899 with those taken by 

the writer nine years later show surprisingly little change in the aspect of 

the glacier.....” (Capps, 1910a, p. 45). At one place, a slight recession had 

occurred in the edge of the glacier. Although there was little change, Capps’ 

1908 photograph (USGS Photo Library photograph S.R.15) clearly shows an 

arcuate ridge located more than 500 m downvalley of the terminus that was 

deposited by the glacier some time in the recent past.

Denton and Field (1975c) reported that little change can be seen when the 

1908 terminus position is compared with the one shown in Washburn’s 1938 

photograph. Denton and Field (1975c) stated that the glacier had retreated 

about 600 m and showed a pronounced lateral recession and a shrinkage of its 

first tributary by 1957, the date of the photography used to produce the first 

Figure 361.—30 August 2000 northwestlooking oblique aerial photograph of the 

retreating terminus of Chisana Glacier. 

The exposed bedrock along its margin appeared after 1957. Its appearance suggests 

thinning of as much as 50 m during the second half of the 20th century. Photograph by 

Bruce F. Molnia, U.S. Geological Survey.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K383
1:63,360-scale topographic map of the glacier (USGS, Nabesna A–3, Alaska, 

1960) (appendix B). After 1957, the terminus of Chisana Glacier fluctuated; 

even though the glacier experienced a number of small surges, it continued 

to thin and retreat. In August 1978, Austin Post (written commun., 1978) reported that three or four recent moraines were located adjacent to the active 

ice margin. When the author observed it from the air on 30 August 2000, the 

terminus of Chisana Glacier showed much evidence of active thinning and 

retreat (fig. 361).

To the southeast of Chisana Glacier, in the area west of Bow Pass, a number of small glaciers originate from isolated accumulation areas that are 

independent of the larger interconnected accumulation area. Several drain 

into Boomerang Creek. All show evidence of thinning and retreat. The only 

Wrangell Mountains’ glacier observed surging on 30 August 2000 is also located near Bow Pass (fig. 362).

Middle Fork Glacier, a surge-type glacier that is 13 km long and 38 km2 in 

area (Denton and Field, 1975c, p. 567), is located to the northeast of Frederika Peak. It was last reported surging between 1964 and 1966 (Post, 1967a). 

When the author observed it from the air on 30 August 2000 (fig. 363), its 

upper part showed evidence of thinning.

Frederika Glacier, another surge-type glacier, is 19 km long and 58 km2

in area (Denton and Field, 1975c, p. 562) (1905 Moffit photograph, USGS 

Photo Library photograph Moffit 338); 1908 Capps photograph, USGS Photo Library Capps 104). The earliest description of the glacier was made by 

Hayes (1892, p. 133) in 1891 during a surge: “The glacier terminates in a 

nearly vertical ice cliff stretching across the lateral valley a mile in length and 

about 250 feet high. Its surface is free from moraine, but is extremely rough 

and broken, wholly unlike the surface of stagnant ice at the end of a retreating glacier. At the foot of the cliff is a small accumulation of gravel and ice 

fragments being pushed along by the advancing mass.”

When Capps (1910a) visited in 1908, melting and erosion had removed all 

signs of the former surge. He described the glacier’s surface as being remarkably smooth and sloping evenly to a thin edge, stating that “It was easier 

to take a pack train across this low ice-tongue than to ford the torrential 

Figure 362.—30 August 2000 northwestlooking oblique aerial photograph of an 

unnamed surging glacier in the Bow Pass 

area, northeastern Wrangell Mountains. 

This glacier was the only one in the 

Wrangell Mountains observed to be surging in 2000. Photograph by Bruce F. Molnia, 

U.S. Geological Survey. A larger version of 

this figure is available online.

Figure 363.—Two 30 August 2000 northwest-looking oblique aerial photographs of parts 

of Middle Fork Glacier showing much evidence of thinning and retreat of upper reach tributaries. A, View of the junction area of the two primary tributaries of Middle Fork Glacier. 

The northern tributary has an elevated trimline on its north margin, at the right edge of 

the photograph. The glacier, which enters the northern tributary from the cirque to the 

left of center, has retreated into the cirque, leaving an elevated loop moraine that extends 

several kilometers downglacier. The southern tributary also has an elevated trimline on 

its north margin, and its height suggests more than 50 m of recent thinning. B, Slightly 

overlapping view of the width of Middle Fork Glacier just downglacier from A, showing an 

elevated trimline on its north margin, the elevated loop moraine, and many other elevated 

moraines. Although the terminus of the glacier was not observed, upglacier evidence suggests significant thinning. Photographs by Bruce F. Molnia, U.S. Geological Survey. Larger 

versions of these figures are available online.

K384 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Figure 364.—Two 20th century views of the 

Hole-in-the-Wall Glacier. A, 1905 view from 

the north, looking south at the edge of the 

then-surging margin of Hole-in-the-Wall 

Glacier. The duration and displacement of 

the surge are unknown. Photograph Moffit 

339 from the USGS Photo Library, Denver, 

Colo. B, A 1966 photograph showing that 

Hole-in-the-Wall Glacier has retreated and 

thinned since the 1905 surge. Elevated 

lateral moraines are present along both 

margins of the glacier. Shortly after this 

photograph was taken the glacier surged 

again. U.S. Geological Survey photograph 

by E.M. MacKevett, Jr. From Winkler (2000, 

fig 39). A larger version of A is available 

online.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K385

stream below.” (Capps, 1910a, p. 56). This gently sloping terminus was photographed by Moffit in 1905.

North-flowing Hole-in-the-Wall Glacier, which is 9 km long and 19 km2

 in 

area (Denton and Field, 1975c, p. 562), is a surge-type glacier that originates 

from an isolated accumulation area west of Chitistone Pass. Its terminus is 

within a few kilometers of the terminus of Frederika Glacier. Capps (1910a) 

saw its terminus in 1908 when it was surging (1908 Capps photograph, USGS 

Photo Library photograph Capps 105) and described it (p. 56) as “a beautiful cascade glacier [that] tumbles out from between castellated peaks and 

pushes northward to Skolai Creek.” Hole-in-the-Wall was the only advancing 

glacier that Capps observed during the field season, and he concluded that 

he was “...unable to account for the singular change in conditions which has 

caused Frederika Glacier, which 17 years ago was advancing, to retreat, and 

at the same time has brought about the advance of a glacier just to the south, 

which in 1891 was retreating.” (Capps, 1910a, p. 56). The dates of the onset 

and completion of the surge are unknown, but a 1905 photograph by Moffit 

(fig. 364A) shows that the glacier was surging at that time. Several years 

of retreat followed (fig. 364B). Hole-in-the-Wall Glacier surged again late in 

1966 (Meier and Post, 1967). Winkler (2000) stated that the glacier has recently retreated 0.7 to 1.4 km and thinned by as much as 80 m.

Nizina Glacier (fig. 365A–C) is the name given to the ice tongue formed 

by the joining of Rohn and Regal Glaciers. Both its principal tributaries descend from the eastern slopes of Regal Mountain, although Rohn Glacier also 

receives ice from the northern flank of Regal Mountain and the unnamed 

upland ice field to the north. Nizina Glacier, which is 51 km long and 429 km2

in area (Denton and Field, 1975c, p. 562), is the southeasternmost large valley glacier in the Wrangell Mountains. When a gold rush began at Chisana in 

1913, the shortest route from the Chitina Valley was a 60-km-trek over the 

Nizina, Rohn, and Chisana Glaciers. The surface of the Nizina Glacier became 

a popular highway. When it was photographed in 1905 by Moffit and again in 

1913 by Capps (1905 Moffit photograph, USGS Photo Library photograph 

Moffit 341; 1913 Capps photographs, USGS Photo Library photographs 

Capps 519, 520, and 521), its eastern margin blocked the valley of Skolai 

Creek and formed a lake at least 3 km long. By 1937, when Bradford Washburn photographed it, the glacier thinned enough to permit the lake to drain 

and a stream channel to develop along the eastern margin of Nizina Glacier 

(Denton and Field, 1975c). Little net change had occurred when it was next 

photographed in 1964 by Post (Denton and Field, 1975c). When the author 
143°30’W

61°45’N

0 10 KILOMETERS

A

Figure 365.—Map, Landsat image, and photograph of the Nizina Glacier. A, Section of 

USGS McCarthy, Alaska (1960, revised 1981) 

1:250,000-scale map showing the Nizina 

Glacier and its tributaries. B, Enlarged section of annotated Landsat 7 ETM+ falsecolor composite image of Nizina Glacier. 

Landsat 7 image (LE7064017000125350; 

10 September 2001; Path 64, Row 17) from 

the USGS, EROS Data Center, Sioux Falls, 

S. Dak. C, 30 August 2000 south-looking 

oblique aerial photograph of the terminus 

of Nizina Glacier. Since 1957, a 3-km long 

ice-marginal lake has developed due to the 

retreat of the glacier. Photograph by Bruce 

F. Molnia, U.S. Geological Survey.

K386 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD

observed it from the air on 30 August 2000 (fig. 365C), a 3-km-long ice marginal lake had developed at its terminus, and large tabular icebergs were 

calving into the lake. Compared to 1957 aerial photographs, the terminus 

has retreated at a rate of approximately 90 m a-1. The author also observed 

the upper regions of both Rohn and Regal Glaciers from the air on 30 August 

2000 (fig. 366) and noted that both showed much evidence of thinning. 

West Fork Glacier, which is 18 km long and about 49 km2

 in area, (Denton and Field, 1975c, p. 562), originates from several small interconnected 

accumulation areas on the southern side of Mount Regal. When the author 

observed it from the air on 30 August 2000, its upper part showed evidence 

of thinning.

Between West Fork and Root Glaciers, several small glaciers flow from isolated accumulation areas located on upland ridges at the head of McCarthy 

Creek. Moffit photographed two of these glaciers—McCarthy Creek Glacier 

and an unnamed glacier—in 1919 and 1922 (1919 Moffit photographs, USGS 

Photo Library photographs Moffit 849 and 850; 1922 Moffit photograph, 

USGS Photo Library photograph Moffit 844), and the author photographed 

them from the air on 30 August 2000. In 1919, little could be said about the 

status of McCarthy Creek Glacier, but the unnamed glacier was thinning and 

retreating. Eighty-one years later, both showed evidence of thinning, and the 

unnamed glacier was retreating.
Regal Glacier

Nizina Glacier

Rohn Glacier

West Fork Glacier

Fred

erika

Glacier

B

0 5 KILOMETERS

APPROXIMATE SCALE

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K387
Root and Gates Glaciers are the principal eastern tributaries of Kennicott 

Glacier (1919 Moffit photograph, USGS Photo Library photograph Moffit 

832). Both descend from the southern flank of Regal Mountain. The western 

side of Kennicott Glacier dams the mouth of Hidden Creek Valley, located approximately 16 km north of Kennicott Glacier’s stagnant terminus. Annually, 

3-km-long Hidden Creek Lake forms, dammed by the margin of Kennicott 

Glacier. Between July and September, the lake drains subglacially, releasing as much as 4 to 5×107

 m3 of water (Cunico and others, 2001), causing a 

jökulhlaup on the Kennicott River. In 2000, a year in which the lake drained 

completely in approximately 75 hours, Cunico and others (2001) studied 

the mechanics of the glacier to understand the evolution of the flood. They 

placed 22 survey targets on the glacier’s surface over an area about equal in 

width to the lake, from near the glacier/lake margin to a distance of about 1 

km from the margin. They surveyed the targets over a 24-day period as the 

lake filled and then drained. Independent monitoring of changes in the lake’s 

level revealed that, as the lake filled, targets 300 to 400 m away from the lake 

rose at nearly the same rate as the lake, typically about 0.5 m d-1. Several 

rose faster than the lake. The rate of vertical movement fell off rapidly with 

distance from the lake. At a distance of about 1 km, vertical movement of 

the targets seemed to be uncorrelated with lake stage. Cunico and others 

(2001) concluded that the general pattern of observed displacement is consistent with a wedge of water extending beneath the glacier to a distance 

of perhaps 300 to 400 m from the visible margin of the lake and exerting 

buoyant stresses on the ice that were then transmitted into the main body of 

the glacier and caused flexure. For a given value of lake stage, target elevations were invariably higher as the lake drained than they were as the lake 

filled. Moreover, survey targets at a distance of about 400 m or more from the 

lake continued to rise for some time even after the lake began to drain. The 

lag time between the beginning of lake drainage and the beginning of target 

dropping increased with distance from the lake, the lag being about 14 hours 

400 m from the lake. They concluded that movement of water from the lake 

into temporary storage—a sort of hydraulic jacking—was responsible for 

the observed ice displacements. Using the vertical downdrop of the ice as a 

guide, they calculated that the volume of the subglacial water “wedge” plus 

the water released from distributed storage is about 7.0 ×106 to 1.1 ×107 m3

(Cunico and others, 2001).

The surfaces of both Root and Gates Glaciers possess multiple ogive-like 

undulations; a USGS photograph from the early 1980s shows that the surface 

of Root Glacier features many pits (Winkler, 2000, fig. 71). When the author 

observed them from the air on 30 August 2000, the upper regions of both 

glaciers showed much evidence of thinning, and the terminus of Kennicott 

Glacier was stagnant.

With only a few exceptions, almost every glacier in the Wrangell Mountains that descends below 2,000 m shows evidence of thinning, retreat, or 

stagnation. However, at higher elevations such as the Frederika Peak area, 

temperatures remain cold enough and precipitation is sufficient to nourish 

existing ice accumulations in spite of changing climate. Hence, in the eastern 

Wrangell Mountain, glaciers at elevations above 2,500–3,000 m show no evidence of ice loss.

Glaciers of Mount Blackburn and the Southeastern 

Wrangell Mountains 

Mount Blackburn, the highest peak in the Wrangell Mountains, is an erosional remnant of a large shield volcano. The mountain is covered with ice 

and gives rise to several large glaciers: Kennicott Glacier (fig. 367) which 

flows to the southeast; part of Nabesna Glacier which flows to the northeast; 

and Kuskulana Glacier, which flows to the south and west. Other, generally 

Figure 366.—30 August 2000 oblique aerial 

photograph of the central Rohn Glacier 

adjacent to Chimney Mountain, looking to 

the northwest. In the 88 years since Rohn 

Glacier was photographed by S.R. Capps, 

the glacier has thinned as much as 30 m. 

The trimlines and the barren zone adjacent 

to the eastern tributary are evidence of this 

change. Photograph by Bruce F. Molnia, 

U.S. Geological Survey. A larger version of 

this figure is available online.

K388 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
smaller glaciers, flow from isolated accumulation areas located on upland 

ridges and isolated peaks (fig. 368).

Kennicott Glacier 

Kennicott Glacier (figs. 367A–D), which is 44 km long and 551 km2 in 

area (Denton and Field, 1975c, p. 562), is the second largest in the Wrangell 

Mountains. It heads on the eastern side of Mount Blackburn but also receives 

ice from a 10-km-long ridge capped with Rime Peak, the Atna Peaks, and 

Parka Peak. Its primary eastern tributaries, Root Glacier and Gates Glacier, 

descend from the southern flanks of Regal Mountain. Much of the glacier’s 

surface is debris-covered and has been since at least 1900 (1905 Capps photographs, USGS Photo Library photograph Capps 123, 124, and 125; 1919 

Moffit photograph, USGS Photo Library photograph Moffit 826).

As early as the end of the first decade of the 20th century, questions were 

being asked about whether the glacier was stagnant. After visiting the glacier 

in 1910, Reid (1913a) wrote that the glacier was stagnant and inactive, as it 

had been since before 1899. Two years later, he repeated his assertion, stating 

0 10 KILOMETERS

61°45’N

61°30’

143°30’W 143°

A

Figure 367.—Map, Landsat image, and aerial photographs of the Kennicott Glacier. 

A, Section of the USGS McCarthy, Alaska 

(1960, revised 1981) 1:250,000-scale map 

showing the Kennicott Glacier and its tributaries. B–D, see following page.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K389
Figure 367.—B, Enlarged section of annotated Landsat 7 ETM+ falsecolor composite image of the Kennicott Glacier area. Landsat 7 image 

(LE7064017000125350; 10 September 2001; Path 64, Row 17) from the USGS, 

EROS Data Center, Sioux Falls, S. Dak. C and D, see opposite page. 

Mt.

Blackburn

Atna

Peaks

Ke

n

nic

ott Gla

cier

Gates

Gla

cier

Root Gla

cier

Kuskulana Gl.

B

APPROXIMATE SCALE

0 5 KILOMETERS

K390 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
that Kennicott Glacier was unchanged from 1911 to 1912 (Reid, 1913b). In 

September 1918, Bateman (1922) placed a line of stakes on the surface of 

the glacier at a location about 6.5 km above the terminus. Upon returning the 

following year, he determined that the stakes had moved as much as 25 m in 

the ensuing 374 days, a confirmation that very slow motion was taking place.

When Bradford Washburn photographed Kennicott Glacier in 1937 and 

1938, the terminus had retreated several hundred meters (Denton and Field, 

1975c). Little net change had occurred when it was next photographed by 

Post in 1964 (Denton and Field, 1975c). When the author observed it from 

the air on 30 August 2000 (fig. 367C), its upper region showed evidence of 

thinning.

Figure 367.—C, 30 August 2000 northlooking oblique aerial photograph of the 

head of Kennicott Glacier with Rime Peak, 

the Atna Peaks, and Parka Peak. Elevated 

lateral moraines and vegetation growing 

on the eastern margin document continued thinning of the glacier. Photograph by 

Bruce F. Molnia, U.S. Geological Survey. 

D, 30 August 1999 black-and-white vertical 

aerial photograph of part of the eastern 

margin of Kennicott Glacier showing a marginal sediment zone, possibly with some 

ice-core remaining and a pitted, hummocky 

ice-cored moraine zone with several waterfilled thermokarst pits. Photograph from 

U.S. Bureau of Land Management, roll 3, 

frame 14. A larger version of D is available 

online.

Figure 368.—A 1919 photograph by F.H. Moffit of a small unnamed glacier located at the head of Rock Creek, a tributary to the Kotsina River. Located on 

the flanks of an unnamed 2,332-m peak, this glacier, the southwesternmost 

glacier in the Wrangell Mountains, shows several signs of thinning and retreat. The glacier is typical of small cirque and mountain glaciers that originate 

from isolated accumulation areas southwest of Mount Blackburn. Photograph 

Moffit 644 from the USGS Photo Library, Denver, Colo.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K391
The apparently stagnant Kuskulana Glacier, its southern half covered by 

moraine, is 25 km long and has an area of 156 km2 (Denton and Field, 1975c, 

p. 563) (fig. 369). Little information could be found about changes in Kuskulana Glacier. Denton and Field (1975c) stated that the glacier changed little 

from the late 1930s to the late 1950s. They attributed a lateral barren zone, 

seen in photographs made by Bradford Washburn in 1937 and 1938, to recent surface lowering. It is very apparent in several early 1980s photographs 

of the junction of the eastern and northeastern tributaries of the glacier that 

the surface lowering of the stagnant terminus continued during the Landsat baseline period. When the author observed it from the air on 30 August 

2000, no evidence of terminus advance or glacier thickening could be seen. 

Kuskulana Glacier is difficult to discern in its entirety on Landsat 7 ETM+ 

false-color composite images because supraglacier morainic debris masks 

the underlying ice.

Figure 369.—31 August 1984 oblique aerial 

photograph of the junction of the northeast tributary of the Kuskulana Glacier 

and the main trunk of the glacier. Elevated 

lateral moraines and thinning tributaries 

document recent thinning of the glacier. 

Photograph 84–R3–032 by Robert M. 

Krimmel, U.S. Geological Survey.

K392 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Glaciers of Mount Wrangell

Mount Wrangell, the youngest and only currently active volcano in the 

Wrangell Mountains, is a large andesitic shield volcano with a volume of 

about 900 km3 (Nye, 1983) (fig. 370A) (1902 Brooks photograph, USGS Photo Library photograph Brooks 1111). Nearly all of the mountain is covered 

by glacier ice and perennial snow. Its glaciers drain into both the Copper 

River and Yukon River drainages. Its top is capped by a 4×6 km ice-filled 

summit caldera (fig. 370B), the depth of which approaches 1 km (Benson 

and Motyka, 1978; Clarke and others, 1989). Three craters are located along 

its northern rim, (from west to east): Mount Wrangell Crater, North Crater, 

and East Crater. Studies by Benson and others (1975), Benson and Motyka 

(1975, 1978), Benson and others (1985), and Benson and Follett (1986) 

showed that the volume of ice in the North Crater has decreased significantly 

since studies began during the IGY. Between 1957 and 1984, the crater’s ice 

thinned significantly, and its surface elevation decreased by nearly 200 m. 

Between 1965 and 1976, about 3.2×107 m3 of ice was lost to melting and evaporation. In the 20 years between 1965 and 1984, about 85 percent of the crater’s ice disappeared. An increase in heat flux, a result of the 27 March 1964 

Alaskan earthquake, is thought to be responsible for the crater’s ice loss. To 

account for the ice lost between 1965 and 1976, an average volcanic heat 

flux of 62 W m-2—approximately 1,400 times Earth’s average heat flux—is 

required. Elsewhere in the summit caldera, little change has been noted in 

the surface elevation of the caldera’s ice cover.

Copper River

Nabesna

Gl.

Long Gl.

Kuskulana Gl.

caldera

ablation

zone

Sanford Gl.

wet snow 

zone

Copper Gl.

Kennicott

Gl.

Kluvesna Gl.

percolation zone Mt. Drum dry snow zone

Mt. Sanford

A

N Figure 370.— Two views of Mount Wrangell. A, Digital 

radar image of part of the Wrangell Mountains and 

Copper River Valley showing the caldera of Mount 

Wrangell (4,317 m), Mount Drum (3,660 m) and Mount 

Sanford (4,950 m). Mount Wrangell’s 4×6 km summit 

caldera holds approximately 10 km2

 of ice. There are approximately 150 km2

 of ice on its flanks. This scene also 

illustrates the concept of glacier facies (Williams and 

others, 1991). The ice in the summit caldera is in the dry 

snow zone. The surrounding area of bright tone is probably the percolation zone, where melt features such as 

ice lenses, layers, and pipes contribute to the stronger backscatter. Beyond 

the percolation zone is the wet snow zone with a dark tone caused by low 

backscatter from the wet surface. Below the wet snow zone is the ablation 

zone, illustrated by the many glaciers flowing away from Mount Wrangell, 

particularly Nabesna Glacier at the upper right of the scene. Copyright for 

this image rests with the European Space Agency (ESA). Printed with permission. Caption modified from the Alaska Science Facility (ASF). B, 1981 oblique 

aerial photograph of a part of Mount Wrangell’s ice-filled caldera. Photograph 

by Roman Motyka, Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys. 

From Neal and McGimsey (1996). A larger version of B is available online.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K393
Glaciers Descending from Mount Wrangell’s Summit Caldera

More than a dozen glaciers radiate from Mount Wrangell’s summit. Starting from the southeasternmost and moving in a clockwise direction, Denton 

and Field (1975c, p. 563–564, 566) determined the following lengths and areas: Kluvesina Glacier (22 km, 71 km2

); Long Glacier, which originates within 

the caldera of Mount Wrangell (fig. 371) (39 km, 121 km2); Cheshnina Glacier (14 km, 28 km2

); East Chetaslina Glacier; Chetaslina Glacier (17 km, 

60 km2); East Fork Glacier (16 km, 43 km2); Chichokna Glacier; Dadina 

Glacier (18 km, 32 km2); Betseli Glacier; North Mackeith Glacier; Center 

Mackeith Glacier; South Mackeith Glacier; Athna Glacier (26 August 

1981 AHAP false-color infrared vertical aerial photograph no. L99F4733); 

and Copper Glacier (29 km, 172 km2).

Seasonal studies (Sturm, 1995) and photogrammetric investigations 

(Sturm and others, 1991) show that the 30-km-long Athna Glacier and the 

smaller South and Center Mackeith Glaciers have been advancing from 5 

to 18 m a-1 since the onset of increased heat flux following the 1964 earthquake. All of Mount Wrangell’s other outlet glaciers have remained stationary 

or retreated. Sturm stated that the advancing glaciers display little seasonal 

variation in surface velocity, whereas other glaciers, such as East Chetaslina 

Glacier and West Chetaslina Glacier, experience a 50-percent increase in 

surface velocity in spring and summer. These glaciers have a common accumulation zone located around North Crater.

Analysis of 1957 photography of Copper Glacier (Denton and Field,1975c) 

show that it is fronted by two sets of moraines that are located about 5 and 

7 km in front of the terminus. Identified as not more than a few hundred 

years old, the more distant of the two moraines may represent Copper Glacier’s “Little Ice Age” maximum position. 

Northward-flowing Nabesna Glacier (fig. 372A–E) (1916 Capps photograph, USGS Photo Library photograph Capps 5) originates high on the 

southeastern slopes of the ice field that covers the summit area of Mount 

Wrangell and also receives ice from the northwestern slopes of Mount Regal. 

Nabesna is the largest of Mount Wrangell’s outlet glaciers and the largest in 

the Wrangell Mountains. It is about 87 km long and 819 km2 in area (Denton 

and Field, 1975c, p. 566) and has as many as 40 tributaries. Capps first visited 

Nabesna’s terminus in 1908, at which time the first 3 km of the glacier were 

covered by thick debris. Capps (1910a, p. 40) stated that “The extent of the 

terminal moraine shows that the glacier is at present retreating. It has been 

deposited so recently that over most of it no vegetation has as yet obtained a 

foothold......” 

Denton and Field (1975c) analyzed available photography to determine 

the mass balance of Nabesna Glacier. They stated that a 1938 photograph 

by Bradford Washburn indicated slow shrinkage of the lower part of the glacier and some withdrawal from the terminal moraine. They also indicated 

that other photographs obtained in 1957 and 1964 showed a continuation of 

this trend. An early 1980s photograph by D.H. Richter (Winkler, 2000, fig. 4) 

showed that thinning of the glacier at elevations above 2,250 m had exposed 

several nunataks. When the author observed the terminus from the air on 

30 August 2000 (fig. 372E), he noted a number of characteristics suggesting 

that it is actively retreating and thinning.

East of Nabesna Glacier and northwest of the terminus of Chisana Glacier in the drainage of Cross Creek is an area of small named and unnamed 

retreating glaciers (26 August 1981 AHAP false-color infrared vertical aerial 

photograph no. L99F4720). One unnamed glacier located at the head of 

Ramshole Creek has retreated more than 3 km from its “Little Ice Age” maximum position. The next glacier to the west, another unnamed glacier, has 

retreated approximately 1.7 km from its “Little Ice Age” maximum position. 

Many smaller glaciers in the vicinity have completely disappeared.

Figure 371.—30 August 2000 oblique 

aerial photograph of the pitted, partially 

vegetation-covered, hummocky terminus 

of Long Glacier. The terminus has retreated 

several kilometers during the second half 

of the 20th century. Photograph by Bruce 

F. Molnia, U.S. Geological Survey. A larger 

version of this figure is available online.

Figure 372.—Views of Nabesna Glacier. 

A, Sections of USGS 1:250,000-scale maps 

of Nabesna, Alaska (1960, revised 1982) 

and McCarthy, Alaska (1960, revised 1981) 

mosaicked to show Nabesna Glacier, the 

Icefields Plateau, and Mount Gordon. B–E, 

see following pages.

K394 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
61°45’

62°N

143°30’W 143°

0 10 KILOMETERS

A

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K395
N a b e s n a

G l a c i e r

C

Mt. 

Gordon

Ice Fields

Plateau

0 5 KILOMETERS

APPROXIMATE SCALE

Figure 372.—B, Part of the topographic reconnaissance map of the central Copper River 

region, Alaska, a 1:250,000-scale map based on field topographic surveys conducted 

prior to 1902 showing the larger outlet glaciers of the eastern Wrangell Mountains. 

Published as Plate Number XX in USGS Professional Paper 41 (Mendenhall, 1905). C, 

Landsat 7 ETM+ (Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus) false-color composite image showing 

the same general area. It is remarkable that the 1902 map of such a remote area, using 

ground-based surveying techniques compares favorably to the depiction of the glaciers 

on the Landsat 7 ETM+ image. Landsat image (7064017000125350; 10 September 2001; 

Path 64, Row 17) from the USGS, EROS Data Center, Sioux Falls, S. Dak. A larger version 

of B is available online. 

K396 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Nab

esna Glacier

Ice Fields Plateau

Mt. Gordon

N

D

Figure 372.—D, 26 August 1981 AHAP vertical, false-color aerial photograph of part of 

the northern Nabesna Glacier, just south 

of its terminus. Evidence of thinning exists along both margins. Also visible are 

the Icefields Plateau and Mount Gordon; 

both show evidence of recent retreat. 

AHAP photograph no. L99F4725 from the 

GeoData Center, Geophysical Institute, 

University of Alaska, Fairbanks, Alaska. 

E, 30 August 2000 southeast-looking 

oblique aerial photograph showing the retreating and thinning terminus of Nabesna 

Glacier. An ice-marginal lake has developed 

on the eastern side of the margin through 

the retreat of the terminus. Photograph by 

Bruce F. Molnia, U.S. Geological Survey.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K397
Mount Drum

Mount Drum (fig. 373A, B) (26 August 1981 AHAP false-color infrared vertical aerial photograph no. L99F4740), a glacier-capped stratovolcano, is the 

westernmost volcano in the Wrangell Mountains. Its last eruption was between 

125,000 and 150,000 years ago (Richter and others, 1995). Eleven outlet glaciers with lengths of 3 to16 km descend from the perennial ice field that covers 

the mountain at elevations above 2,400 m. Nadina Glacier, the only named glacier, is the largest, having a length of 16 km and an area of 25 km2

 (Denton and 

Field, 1975c, p. 564). At elevations below about 1,000 m, its stagnant terminus 

is covered by vegetation, including mature spruce trees. When observed from 

the air by the author on 9 July 1999 and 31 August 2000 (fig. 373B), all of the 

outlet glaciers showed signs of stagnation, thinning, or retreat.

Mount Sanford

A complex shield volcano, Mount Sanford is the second highest peak in 

the Wrangell Mountains and is covered by a perennial ice and snow cover at 

elevations above 2,400 m. Last active at least 100,000 years ago, it possesses 

some of the steepest topography in North America. The upper reaches of 

Sanford Glacier descend about 2.5 km in a distance of only about 1.5 km. On 

its southern side, ice flowing from Mount Sanford merges with ice descending from the northern side of Mount Wrangell. 

Ten glaciers (4 formally named) having lengths of 8 to 27 km descend 

from the summit of Mount Sanford. The largest, Sanford Glacier, is debriscovered and has a length of 27 km and an area of 199 km2

 (Denton and Field, 

1975c, p. 564) (fig. 374) (26 August 1981 AHAP false-color infrared vertical 

aerial photograph no. L99F4737). A comparison of the position of the glacier as mapped in 1902 by Mendenhall and Gerdine (Mendenhall, 1905) and 

the position seen on Bradford Washburn’s 1938 photograph, shows Sanford 

Glacier extending about 3 km further to the north on the earlier map and 

connected to two tributaries originating on Mount Drum. Denton and Field 

(1975b) questioned the reliability of the earlier map.

The three other named glaciers include Sheep Glacier (1908 Capps photograph, USGS Photo Library photograph Capps 544), with a length of 9 km 

and an area of 9 km2 (Denton and Field, 1975c, p. 565); Drop Glacier, with a 

length of 24 km and an area of 55 km2 (Denton and Field, 1975c, p. 565); and 

West Glacier with a length of 18 km and an area of 39 km2 (Denton and Field, 

1975c, p. 565). These glaciers and all of the other unnamed glaciers that descend from Mount Sanford showed signs of stagnation, thinning, or retreat 

when the author observed them from the air on 31 August 2000.

Glaciers of Mount Jarvis and Mount Gordon and the Ice 

Fields Plateau

Mount Jarvis, a shield volcano, is the 2,852-m-high summit of an 8-kmlong ice-covered ridge located east of Copper Glacier. Three large glaciers 

and several smaller ones flow eastward from the ridge. The largest, Jacksina 

Glacier, has a length of 19 km and an area of 72 km2 (Denton and Field, 1975c, 

p. 566). When the author observed them from the air on 31 August 2000, all 

of the Jarvis ridge glaciers showed signs of stagnation, thinning, or retreat.

Less than a million years old, Mount Gordon is a 2,755-m-high cinder cone 

with its summit almost completely covered by ice. When it was photographed 

by the AHAP Program on 26 August 1981, a few very small outlet glaciers 

descended from the crater. An ice-free cirque on its northern flank suggests 

that there has been a recent loss of glacier ice from the mountain’s flanks.

The Icefields Plateau is a 13.5×7.5-km ice-covered upland located south 

of Mount Gordon, between Jacksina Glacier and Nabesna Glacier. With a surface elevation of about 2,500 m, it supports about 10 small outlet glaciers. 

When they were photographed by the AHAP Program on 26 August 1981, all 

of the glaciers showed signs of stagnation, thinning, or retreat.

Figure 373.—Map and aerial photograph 

of the glaciers of Mount Drum. A, Section 

of the USGS Gulkana, Alaska A–2, 1:63,360 

topographic map (1959), based on 1955 

and 1957 photography, showing all of the 

glaciers that descend from Mount Drum. 

B, see following page.

K398 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
62°10’N

144°50’W

A

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K399
Figure 373.—B, 30 August 2000 southeast-looking oblique aerial photograph 

showing the terminus of one of Mount 

Drum’s unnamed outlet glaciers and Mount 

Drum. The glacier’s surface is significantly 

lower than that of the elevated lateral moraines on both of its margins. It also has an 

elevated medial moraine and vegetation 

growing on the distal end of its end moraine, all evidence of recent thinning, stagnation, and retreat. Photograph by Bruce F. 

Molnia, U.S. Geological Survey.

62°09’N

144°15’W

0 5 KILOMETERS

Sanford Glacier

APPROXIMATE SCALE

Figure 374.—Landsat 7 ETM+ (Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus) false-color 

composite image of Sanford Glacier. The glacier descends from Mount 

Sanford on the northeast and Mount Wrangell on the southeast. Landsat image (7064017000125350; 10 September 2001; Path 64, Row 17) from the USGS, 

EROS Data Center, Sioux Falls, S. Dak.

K400 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Summary

During the period of the Landsat baseline (1972–81), all of the valley and 

outlet glaciers within the Wrangell Mountains were retreating, thinning, or 

stagnant, with the exception of Athna Glacier and South and Center Mackeith Glaciers, which were advancing. 

Through the end of the 20th century and into the 21st century, no additional information was available about the continued advance of Athna Glacier and South and Center MacKeith Glaciers. All other valley and outlet 

glaciers in the Wrangell Mountains continued to thin, retreat, or stagnate.

Talkeetna Mountains

The Talkeetna Mountains are named for the Talkeetna River, which 

means “river of plenty” in the language of the Tanaina Indians (Collins, 1975, 

p. 543). The long axis of the 160×130-km Talkeetna Mountains is oriented 

north-south (figs. 1, 375). The mountains are bounded on the north by the 

Nenana River and Broad Pass, on the east by the Susitna and Tyone Rivers, 

on the west by the Chulitna and Susitna Rivers, and on the south by the Matanuska River. Many peaks have summit elevations greater than 2,000 m; the 

highest, an unnamed peak, reaches an elevation of 2,550 m. 

Figure 375.—A, Index map of 

the Talkeetna Mountains showing the glacierized areas (index 

map modified from Field, 1975a). 

B, Enlargement of NOAA Advanced 

Very High Resolution Radiometer 

(AVHRR) image mosiac of the 

Talkeetna Mountains in summer 1995. National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration image 

mosaic from Mike Fleming, Alaska 

Science Center, U.S. Geological 

Survey, Anchorage, Alaska.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K401
Landsat MSS images that include the glacier-covered Talkeetna Mountains have the following Path/Row coordinates: 74/16, 74/17, and 75/16 

(figs. 3, 376; table 1). The southwestern part of the Talkeetna Mountains is 

shown on a 1:250,000-scale satellite image map of the Anchorage quadrangle 

made from 4 September 1980 Landsat 3 MSS data (USGS, 1980). The glaciercovered part of the Talkeetna Mountains is mapped on the Anchorage (1962) 

and Talkeetna Mountains (1954) USGS 1:250,000-scale topographic maps of 

Alaska (appendix A).

Photographs of glaciers in the Talkeetna Mountains taken by Capps between 1913 and 1917 show many retreating glaciers (9 August 1917 Capps 

photograph, USGS Photo Library photograph Capps 435; summer 1913 

Capps photograph, USGS Photo Library photograph Capps 876). This trend 

has continued through the early 21st century. Comparing Capps’ photographs with aerial observations, shows that one unnamed glacier at the head 

of Iron Creek retreated approximately 4 km between August 1917 and August 2000. Collins (1945, p. 544) stated that “It can reasonably be deduced 

that general recession has been the rule here in recent decades, and that 

149°W 148°W

62°30’N

62°

Matanuska Gl.

TALKEETNA

MOUNTAINS

CHUGACH

MOUNTAINS

Matanuska River

Susitna River

Chickaloon Gl.

Talkeetna Gl.

10 0 10 20 30 KILOMETERS

APPROXIMATE SCALE

Figure 376.—Annotated Landsat 3 MSS 

false-color composite image mosaic showing the Talkeetna Mountains and part of the 

northern Chugach Mountains. Shown are 

the locations of Chickaloon and Talkeetna 

Glaciers in the Talkeetna Mountains; 

and Matanuska Glacier in the Chugach 

Mountains. Landsat images (30175–20342, 

bands 4, 5, 7; 27 August 1978; Path 74, 

Row 16 and 2531-20322, bands 4, 5, 7; 9 

September 1979; Path 74, Row 17) are from 

the USGS, EROS Data Center, Sioux Falls, 

S. Dak.

K402 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
climatic changes have caused a significant rise in the lower limit at which accumulation can take place. At present this lower limit of accumulation seems 

to be generally higher than 1850 m.”

When the area was mapped between 1951 and 1954, more than 100 glaciers were located on the southwestern flank of the mountains, generally 

heading at elevations above 1,800 m. Seven had lengths of more than 8 km. 

The longest, an unnamed glacier located above the headwaters of the northwest-flowing Sheep River, had a length of 17.7 km, and an area of 77 km2 

(Collins, 1975, p. 546); it has retreated since it was last mapped (fig. 377). 

Both Chickaloon Glacier, which is 14.5 km long and 33 km2 in area (Collins, 

1975, p. 546) (fig. 378), and Talkeetna Glacier, which is 11.6 km long and 

A

N

2000

2000

1983

1983

Figure 377.—Two photographs of glaciers at the head of 

the Sheep River. This area contains the largest concentration of glacier ice in the Talkeetna Mountains. A, 3 August 

1983 AHAP false-color infrared vertical aerial photograph 

of the area showing a number of retreating glaciers. All of 

the unnamed glaciers have their margins surrounded by 

combinations of stagnant ice, unvegetated ground moraine, 

elevated trimlines, or relict lateral and medial moraines, all 

evidence of retreat, thinning, or stagnation. When mapped 

in 1954, the ice margin of the unnamed glacier at the southern edge of the photograph, longest in the area, sat about 2 

km further downvalley. The area between the two terminus 

positions is covered by stagnant ice and ice-cored moraine. 

The locations of the debris-free ice margin in 1983 and 2000 

are shown. The 2000 termini positions are based on photographs by the author. AHAP photograph no. L99F5175 from 

the GeoData Center, Geophysical Institute, University of 

Alaska, Fairbanks, Alaska. B, see following page. 

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K403
Figure 377.—B, 31 August 2000 eastlooking oblique aerial photograph of the 

long unnamed glacier described in A. Now 

separated into two distinct ice tongues, the 

glacier retreated more than 3 km during 

the 20th century. Photograph by Bruce F. 

Molnia, U.S. Geological Survey.

A

Chickaloon

Glacier

N

Figure 378.—Two photographs of Chickaloon Glacier and its 

surrounding area. A, Annotated 3 August 1983 AHAP falsecolor infrared vertical aerial photograph of the area showing 

the retreating Chickaloon Glacier and a number of retreating 

glaciers located in a small drainage basin to the north. All of 

the unnamed glaciers in the photograph north of Chickaloon 

Glacier have their margins surrounded by combinations of 

stagnant ice, unvegetated ground moraine, elevated trimlines, or relict lateral and medial moraines, all evidence of 

retreat, thinning, or stagnation. When mapped in 1954, the 

ice margin of Chickaloon Glacier was located approximately 

3 km downvalley from its 1983 position. The tributary glaciers 

south of Chickaloon Glacier also show evidence of retreat, 

thinning, or stagnation. AHAP photograph no. L99F5172 

from the GeoData Center, Geophysical Institute, University 

of Alaska, Fairbanks, Alaska. B, 31 August 2000 west-looking 

oblique aerial photograph of Chickaloon Glacier and its valley. Chickaloon Glacier retreated more than 5 km during the 

20th century. Photograph by Bruce F. Molnia, U.S. Geological 

Survey.

K404 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
32 km2

 in area (Collins, 1975, p. 546) (fig. 379), had retreating termini that 

were covered with thick ablation moraines. Recent observations made by the 

author suggest that these long glaciers have lost as much as 5 km of their 

lengths since 1951–54.

McCauley (1958) made planimetric measurements of all of the glaciers 

in the Talkeetna Mountains, using USGS 1:63,360-scale topographic maps 

prepared between 1948 and 1958. She calculated that the total glacierized 

area was about 300 km2

. The seven largest glaciers had a cumulative area of 

212 km2, accounting for approximately two-thirds of the total area. These 

seven glaciers had termini elevations at between 1,460 and 885 m. Recent 

observations made by the author show that every one of these glaciers has 

retreated, some more than 3 km; it is estimated that the Talkeetna Mountains have lost as much as 15 percent of its glacier cover since 1948–58. However, Post and Meier (1980, p. 45) reported the total area of glaciers in the 

Talkeetna Mountains at 800 km2.

Limited revisions made in 1983 by the USGS to the 1954 Talkeetna Mountains 1:250,000-scale topographic map (appendix A) were based on aerial 

photography obtained in 1978, 1980, and 1981. These revisions showed that 

at least 50 glaciers east of the Talkeetna and Chickaloon Rivers either decreased significantly in area or melted completely away. Similarly, almost all 

of the large glaciers west of the two rivers show retreat and shrinkage.

A survey of the glacierized Talkeetna Mountains made by the author from 

the air on 31 August 2000 documented that glaciers descending below an elevation of about 1,500 m were conspicuously thinning and retreating. Several large glaciers had retreated to the point that primary lobes had separated 

into several distinct tributary glaciers. On the southern and southwestern 

sides of the mountains, many of the cirques and valleys were ice free. Many 

glacier-free cirques and valleys hosted large lobate rock glaciers (fig. 380).

Figure 379.—A 31 August 2000 oblique 

aerial photograph of Talkeetna Glacier and 

its surrounding area. The view is northeast, 

downglacier, of the lower approximately 

5 km of the glacier. Elevated trimlines, 

relict lateral and medial moraines, the low 

gradient, and generally featureless surface 

are all evidence of rapid retreat and thinning. Photograph by Bruce F. Molnia, U.S. 

Geological Survey. A larger version of this 

figure is available online. 

Figure 380.—31 August 2000 oblique aerial 

photograph of several large rock glaciers 

located south of Talkeetna Glacier. Many 

are located at the foot of cirques or on 

the flanks of glacier valleys. Also note the 

thick end-and-ground-moraine complex 

left by the retreat of the unnamed valley glacier in the valley to the left of the 

cirque. Photograph by Bruce F. Molnia, U.S. 

Geological Survey.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K405

Summary

During the period of the Landsat baseline (1972–81), all available evidence suggests that the glaciers of the Talkeetna Mountains were thinning 

and retreating. These conclusions are based on a comparison of the size and 

number of glaciers shown on topographic maps made from data acquired 

between 1948 and 1952 with AHAP photography from the middle of the 

baseline period (1977) and just after the baseline interval (1983). When they 

were observed at the end of the 20th century, every glacier examined showed 

significant evidence of thinning and retreat, and many smaller glaciers had 

completely disappeared.
Alaska Range

Introduction

The heavily glacierized Alaska Range consists of a number of adjacent 

and discrete mountain ranges that extend in an arc more than 750 km long 

(figs. 1, 381). From east to west, named ranges include the Nutzotin, Mentasta, Amphitheater, Clearwater, Tokosha, Kichatna, Teocalli, Tordrillo, Terra 

Cotta, and Revelation Mountains. This arcuate mountain massif spans the 

area from the White River, just east of the Canadian Border, to Merrill Pass 

on the western side of Cook Inlet southwest of Anchorage. Many of the individual ranges support glaciers. The total glacier area of the Alaska Range is 

approximately 13,900 km2 (Post and Meier, 1980, p. 45). Its several thousand 

glaciers range in size from tiny unnamed cirque glaciers with areas of less 

than 1 km2 to very large valley glaciers with lengths up to 76 km (Denton 

Figure 381.—Index map of 

the Alaska Range showing 

the glacierized areas. Index 

map modified from Field 

(1975a).

 Figure 382.—Enlargement of NOAA Advanced Very 

High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) image mosaic of 

the Alaska Range in summer 1995. National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration image mosaic from Mike 

Fleming, Alaska Science Center, U.S. Geological Survey, 

Anchorage, Alaska. The numbers 1–5 indicate the segments of the Alaska Range discussed in the text.

K406 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
5

4

3

2

1

and Field, 1975a, p. 575) and areas of greater than 500 km2. Alaska Range 

glaciers extend in elevation from above 6,000 m, near the summit of Mount 

McKinley, to slightly more than 100 m above sea level at Capps and Triumvirate Glaciers in the southwestern part of the range.

From east to west, the Alaska Range can be divided into five principal 

segments (fig. 382): (1) the Mentasta and Nutzotin Mountains segment 

between the Canadian border and Mentasta Pass; (2) the Mount KimballMount Gakona segment between Mentasta Pass and the 

Delta River; (3) the Mount Hayes-Mount Deborah segment between Delta River and Broad Pass; (4) the Mount 

McKinley-Mount Foraker segment between Broad Pass 

and Rainy Pass; and (5) the Mount Gerdine-Mount Spurr 

segment between Rainy Pass and Merrill Pass.

Landsat MSS images that cover the Alaska Range 

have the following Path/Row coordinates: 69/16, 70/16, 

71/15, 71/16, 72/15, 72/16, 73/15, 73/16, 74/15, 75/15, 

75/16, 76/15, 76/16, 76/17, 77/15, 77/16, 77/17, 78/15, and 

78/16 (fig. 3, table 1). The glacierized areas of the Alaska 

Range are mapped on the USGS Nabesna, Alaska (1960), 

Tanacross, Alaska (1956), Mount Hayes, Alaska (1955), 

Healy, Alaska (1956), Talkeetna, Alaska (1958), Mount 

McKinley, Alaska (1958), McGrath, Alaska (1958), Lime 

Hills, Alaska (1958), and Lake Clark, Alaska (1958) 

1:250,000-scale topographic maps (appendix A).

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K407
The Mentasta and Nutzotin Mountains Segment 

between the Canadian Border and Mentasta Pass

The Nutzotin Mountains extend for nearly 100 km from east of the Canadian border to the Nabesna River. Aside from several isolated glaciers, two areas 

support small concentrations of glaciers. Collectively, they contain as many 

as 100 small glaciers having a combined area of about 14.3 km2 (Denton and 

Field, 1975a, p. 575). The first area, approximately 20 km west of the Canadian 

border, is located on the flanks of an unnamed ridge (fig. 383). Glaciers drain 

into Snag, Klein, Crescent, Baultoff, and Carl Creeks. Only one of the two largest glaciers is named (Carl Glacier, which is approximately 5 km long). When 

the area was photographed by the AHAP Program on 26 August 1981, all of its 

glacier termini, including the terminus of the large unnamed glacier that drains 

into Crescent Creek, showed multiple evidence of recent thinning and retreat.

Klein

Creek

Crescent

Creek

Carl Glacier

Snag Creek

N

K408 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Figure 383.—26 August 1981 AHAP 

false-color infrared vertical aerial photograph of the concentration of glaciers 

located southeast of Needle Peak in the 

eastern Nutzotin Mountains. All of the 

glacier termini, including the largest (Carl 

Glacier) and an unnamed glacier draining into Crescent Creek show multiple 

evidence of recent retreat and thinning, 

including elevated moraines, trimlines, 

abandoned moraines, and bare bedrock 

aprons. The unnamed glacier originates on 

the flank of an unnamed 2,606-m peak, the 

highest in the area. Four unnamed glaciers 

located in the upper reaches of Klein Creek 

appear to be the separated remnants of a 

single larger glacier that filled the head of 

Klein Creek within the last 100 years. Two 

other unnamed glaciers were also recently 

joined and probably were connected to the 

other Klein Creek glaciers during the “Little 

Ice Age.” AHAP photograph no. L99F4712 

from the GeoData Center, Geophysical 

Institute, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, 

Alaska.

Figure 384.—Two oblique aerial photographs of unnamed peaks in the Nutzotin 

Mountains and valleys showing the presence of small glaciers, rock glaciers, or both 

on 30 August 2000. A, The northern (left) of 

two cirques, located between the Nabesna 

River and Pickerel Lake, hosts a small glacier in a valley mantled by rock-glacier debris. B, Located southeast of Alder Creek, 

this unnamed tributary to Stuver Creek 

has several rock-glacier lobes in its valley 

and either a small glacier or rock glacier at 

its head. Photographs by Bruce F. Molnia, 

U.S. Geological Survey. Larger versions of 

these figures are available online.

The second concentration of glaciers is located on the slopes of 2,591-

m-high Mount Allen and on a west-trending ridge north of Cooper Pass and 

west of Chisana River. When the author observed the area from the air on 30 

August 2000 (fig. 384), most cirques were ice free, whereas others supported 

small glaciers, rock glaciers, or both. Many of the glaciers of this area were 

observed at the beginning of the 20th century by Brooks (1900, 1906a, b, 

1914), Moffit and Knopf (1909), and Capps (1910a, b) but have not received 

much attention since.

The Mentasta Mountains extend for more than 60 km from the Nabesna 

River to the Slana River. Because the elevations of the highest peaks are significantly lower than 3,000 m, the glaciers of this region all exist at relatively 

low elevations along a 30-km-long ridge. The largest concentration is located 

on the western flanks of a ridge between 2,511-m-high Noyes Mountain (see 

24 August 1981 AHAP false-color infrared vertical aerial photograph no. 

L94F4128) and an unnamed 2,527 m-high-peak to its southeast. Approximately 5.5 km2

 of glacier ice exists in the western Mentasta Mountains (Denton and Field, 1975a, p. 575).

The Mount Kimball-Mount Gakona Segment between 

Mentasta Pass and the Delta River

The 100×60-km Mount Kimball-Mount Gakona segment supports a glacier-covered area of approximately 1,036 km2

 (Denton and Field, 1975a, 

p. 578–581). Most of the glaciers in this area descend from an 85-km-long 

southeast-to-northwest interconnected unnamed ice field. This unnamed 

ice field—topped in the east by Mount Kimball (3,140 m), in the center by 

Mount Gakona (2,875 m), and on the west by Mount Silvertip (~2,980 m)—is 

as much as 55 km wide from glacier terminus to glacier terminus. About 20 

outlet valley glaciers that head in this ice field have lengths of 6 km or more, 

and most are named. The largest—the 33-km-long Johnson Glacier—has an 

area of 183 km2 (Denton and Field, 1975a, p. 580) and forms the headwaters 

of the Johnson River. In 1902, a topographic map of part of this area made by 

Mendenhall and Gerdin (Mendenhall, 1905) showed the location and size of 

several of the area’s larger south-flowing glaciers.

Outlet glaciers that drain the northern side of the unnamed ice field from 

east to west include (lengths and areas measured by Denton and Field, 1975a, 

p. 579–581, from USGS maps): (1) an unnamed glacier at the head of Rumble 

Creek (8 km, 18 km2), the easternmost outlet of the ice field (see 24 August 

1981 AHAP false-color infrared vertical aerial photograph no. L88F3863); 

(2) Robertson Glacier (22 km, 85 km2), located at the head of Robertson 

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K409
River; (3) Kimball Glacier, the western tributary of Robertson Glacier, which 

has a length of more than 10 km; (4) an unnamed glacier (24 km, 108 km2) 

that forms the headwaters of the West Fork of Robertson River; (5) another 

unnamed glacier (10 km, 18 km2) that forms the headwaters of an unnamed 

eastern tributary of the Johnson River; (6) Johnson Glacier; (7) Spur Glacier, so named because of the shape of its arcuate tributaries and straight 

terminus (12 km, 51 km2); (8) Gerstle Glacier (fig. 385) (24 km, 80 km2), 

which forms the headwaters of the Gerstle River; (9) an unnamed glacier at 

Figure 385.—South-looking oblique aerial 

photograph of the icefall of the Gerstle 

Glacier at an elevation of approximately 

1,600 m on 22 August 1960. Both sides of 

the glacier show several trimlines, suggesting that the glacier has experienced significant thinning. University of Washington 

photograph no. 6-42 taken by Austin Post, 

U.S. Geological Survey.

K410 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
the head of July Creek (9 km, 25 km2

), which drains from the northern side 

of Mount Silvertip (~2,980 m); and (10) Jarvis Glacier (9 km, 19 km2), the 

northwesternmost outlet glacier.

North of the unnamed ice field, a number of small unnamed glaciers drain 

in all directions from Mount Hajdukovich (2,698 m), located between Spur 

and Gerstle Glaciers, and from an unnamed isolated 2,383-m-high peak, 

located between the West Fork of the Robertson River and Johnson River. 

Riley Creek Glacier and several other small unnamed glaciers drain from an 

unnamed 2,520-m-high peak at the northwestern end of the ice field. 

Outlet glaciers that drain the southern side of the unnamed ice field from 

east to west are (lengths and areas measured by Denton and Field, 1975a, 

p. 578–579, from USGS maps): (1) Tok Glacier, the easternmost outlet of 

the ice field, which forms the headwaters of the Tok River; (2) an unnamed 

glacier (9 km, 17 km2), the largest of three glaciers that drain into the Slana 

River; (3) two unnamed glaciers (10 km, 15 km2; 8 km, 9 km2), both contributing their meltwater to the Middle Fork of the Chistochina River; (4) another unnamed glacier (6 km, 13 km2

), an eastern distributary of Chistochina 

Glacier; (5) Chistochina Glacier (13 km, 21 km2) (see 24 August 1981 AHAP 

false-color infrared vertical aerial photograph no. L88F3868); (6) an unnamed glacier (17 km, 52 km2

) that forms the headwaters of the West Fork 

of the Chistochina River and was photographed by Moffit in 1910 (see USGS 

Photo Library photograph Moffit 418); (7) Gakona Glacier (32 km, 112 km2), 

the largest south-flowing outlet glacier of the unnamed ice field; (8) Gulkana 

Glacier (10 km, 21 km2), a glacier with a long history of 20th century scientific investigations (figs. 386, 387A); (9) West Gulkana Glacier, mapped during the IGY (AGS, 1960) and again in the late 1980s (figs. 386, 387A); (10) 

Canwell Glacier (24 km, 89 km2); (11) Fels Glacier, mislabeled as Eel Glacier 

on the Mount Hayes, Alaska (1955), 1:250,000-scale (appendix A) and the 

Gulkana Glacier

College Glacier

West

Gulkana 

Gl.

N

College Creek

Phelan Creek

Gunn

Creek

Figure 386.—24 August 1981 AHAP falsecolor infrared vertical aerial photograph of 

the termini of Gulkana, West Gulkana, and 

College Glaciers. All three glaciers show 

evidence of ongoing recession and thinning. AHAP photograph no. L88F3873 from 

the GeoData Center, Geophysical Institute, 

University of Alaska, Fairbanks, Alaska.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K411
Mount Hayes B-4, Alaska (1955), 1:63,000-scale (appendix B) USGS topographic maps (15 km, 22 km2

); and (12) Castner Glacier (20 km, 79 km2). 

The last three are west-flowing glaciers that drain into the Delta River.

Studies of Canwell and Castner Glaciers by Péwé (1957) found that both 

glaciers had advanced about 1.5 km during the early part of the “Little Ice 

Age” and that Canwell Glacier experienced a second smaller advance within 

the past 200 years. Canwell’s advance was then followed by a retreat of nearly 

2 km. During the first half of the 20th century, between 1902 and 1941, Canwell Glacier advanced again, a distance of approximately 1.5 km. Since then, 

its terminus has stagnated, thinned, and retreated.

Gulkana Glacier

The post-Pleistocene history of Gulkana Glacier has been described by a 

number of researchers. Calkin (1988) reported that the glacier occupied its 

Holocene maximum position about 5,700 yr B.P. at a location about 2.5 km 

forward of the 1962 ice margin. Péwé and Reger (1983) reported that cycles 

of retreat and advance followed; the glacier readvanced about 4,700 yr B.P., 

again at about 4,030 yr B.P., and again at about 800 yr B.P. Calkin (1988) used 

lichenometry to determine that Gulkana Glacier advanced about 560 yr B.P. 

and again at about 390 yr B.P. He stated that “historic evidence and lichen 

Figure 387.—Four photographs showing 

changes in Gulkana Glacier during the 

20th century. A, North-looking oblique aerial photograph of the terminus of Gulkana 

Glacier and parts of the termini of West 

Gulkana (west) and College (east) Glaciers 

on 31 August 1967. The trimlines along the 

Gulkana Glacier and in the former terminus region confirm that the glacier has experienced more than 4 km of retreat since 

photographed in July 1910 by F.H. Moffit 

(Photograph Moffit 427 from the USGS 

Photo Library, Denver, Colo.). Photograph 

67-R4-87 by Austin Post, U.S. Geological 

Survey. B–D, see following pages.

K412 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
data substantiate” an advance of the glacier after A.D. 1875. Mercer (1961a) 

determined that the rise in the firn limit of Gulkana Glacier may have been as 

much as 380 m since the “Little Ice Age” maxima.

Gulkana Glacier was photographed by Moffit on 15 July 1910 (see USGS 

Photographic Library photographs Moffit 423, 424, 427) and by Péwé on 

12 July 1952. In the 42 years between photographs, the terminus of Gulkana 

Glacier retreated more than 4 km. Two oblique aerial photographs were acquired on 31 August 1967 (fig. 387A) and in 1975(?) (fig. 387B). General 

thinning occurred until 1976, but the glacier gained mass from 1976 to the 

early 1980s, and recession probably stopped (Mayo and Trabant, 1986). 

More recently, a comparison of a 1957 map of the glacier with data obtained 

during a geodetic airborne laser altimeter profiling survey carried out on 12 

June 1993 allowed Echelmeyer and others (1996) to determine that Gulkana 

Glacier had retreated by about 1.75 km during the 36 years between data 

sets (an average annual retreat rate of 48.6 m a-1) and that the glacier’s area 

had decreased from 18.5 km2 in 1957 to 17.0 km2 in 1993 (a decrease of approximately 8 percent). The glacier also thinned an average of 10.9 m, and 

its volume decreased by 1.94×108 m3. Between the 1950s and middle 1990s, 

on an annual basis, Gulkana Glacier thinned by 0.434 m a-1 and had a volume decrease of 0.00822 km3 a-1; between the middle 1990s and 1999, on 

an annual basis, Gulkana Glacier thinned by 0.748 m a-1 and had a volume 

decrease of 0.0136 km3 a-1 (K.A. Echelmeyer, W.D. Harrison, V.B. Valentine, 

and S.I. Zirnheld, University of Alaska Fairbanks, written commun., March 

2001). Figure 387C is a vertical aerial photograph acquired on 11 July 1993, 

one month after the geodetic airborne laser altimeter profiling survey. Figure 387A–D presents a photographic summary of changes in Gulkana Glacier 

during the 20th century.

Ostenso and others (1965) determined the configuration of the valley in 

which Gulkana Glacier flows by a gravimetric survey acquired by traverses 

across the glacier’s surface. They determined that the subglacier valley of 

Gulkana Glacier consists of two parallel bedrock channels separated by a 

medial ridge. Ice in the eastern channel was about 225 m thick, whereas ice 

in the shallower western valley was only about 125 m thick. A recent study 

combining SAR and 50-MHz monostatic short-pulse radar data (Moran and 

others, 2000) determined that Gulkana Glacier’s ice thickness in the upper 

2 km of the eastern channel, above the juncture with the western tributary, 

was no thicker than 140 m and that the glacier’s bed was steeply dipping, 

both parallel and transverse to the direction of ice flow. Because the locations of the gravity and radar surveys were not identical, no absolute change 

in thickness can be determined between the two. However, the maximum ice 

thickness measured by the radar survey is a third thinner than that measured 

by the earlier gravimetric survey.

In the early 1960s, the University of Alaska and the USGS began studies at Gulkana Glacier focused on characterizing its geophysical and glaciological parameters, including foliation patterns, structure, flow patterns, and 

ablation (Mayo and Péwé, 1963; Tangborn and others, 1977). Kennedy and 

others (1997) analyzed air temperature and precipitation data recorded at 

Gulkana Glacier basin between October 1967 and September 1996. The data 

set is important because it provides long-term climate information from the 

highest year-round climatological recording site in Alaska. Annual data summaries were calculated for each hydrologic year, from 1 October through 30 

September, for years that have 12 months of data. Monthly precipitationcatch and average air temperature summaries were calculated for months 

with nine or fewer daily records missing. The average annual air temperature 

recorded at the site from hydrologic years 1968 through 1996 was -4.1°C. 

The coldest recorded year was 1972, which had an average annual temperature of -6.7°C. The warmest year was 1981, which had an average annual 

temperature of +2.6°C. The coldest month was January 1971, which had an 

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K413

Figure 387.—B, Oblique color aerial photograph of the terminus of Gulkana Glacier 

around 1975. The terminus has retreated 

about 30 m from its 1967 position. Undated 

photograph by Dennis C. Trabant, U.S. 

Geological Survey. C, Color vertical aerial 

photograph of the retreating termini of 

Gulkana and West Gulkana Glaciers on 11 

July 1993. Since 1967, Gulkana Glacier has 

retreated more than 100 m. Photograph 1 

No. 4 by AeroMap US, Inc. D, see following 

page. Larger versions of B and C are available online. 
average temperature of -20.8°C. The warmest month was July 1989, which 

had an average temperature of +8.7°C. The coldest day was 17 January 1971, 

which had an average temperature of -35.0°C. The warmest day was 15 June 

1969, which had an average temperature of +16.4°C.

The average annual precipitation gage catch recorded at the site from 

hydrologic years 1968 through 1992 was 1.02 m. The highest annual precipitation gage catch recorded was 1.572 m in 1981; the lowest was 0.555 m 

in 1969. The highest recorded monthly precipitation catch was 0.448 m in 

July 1981. In several different months, no precipitation was recorded. The 

highest daily precipitation gage catch was 9.9 cm on 12 September 1972. On 

N

Figure 387.—D, Black-and-white 1:24,000-

scale vertical aerial photograph of the retreating terminus of Gulkana Glacier on 18 

August 1999. The response to changing climate has caused Gulkana Glacier to retreat 

more than 40 m and to thin by more than 5 

m since the 1993 photograph. Photograph 

from U.S. Bureau of Land Management, 

roll 3, frame 333.

K414 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
many different dates, no precipitation was recorded. Because of low precipitation gage-catch efficiency, the reported annual precipitation gage-catch 

data are estimated to represent about 62 percent of the actual annual basin 

precipitation. Snowfall is the dominant form of precipitation on the glacier 

from September through mid-June. In 1976, glacier ice thickness from a 

single site near the highest measurement site was 180 m; two glacier cross 

profiles near midglacier indicated that the thickness was 270 m on the centerline; glacier ice was determined to be 150 m thick on the centerline at a 

downglacier measurement site.

The 1992 measured winter-snow, maximum winter-snow, net, and annual 

balances in the Gulkana Glacier basin were evaluated by March and Trabant 

(1996). Averaged over the glacier, the measured winter-snow balance was 

0.97 m on 26 March 1992; the maximum winter-snow balance was 1.05 m on 

19 May 1992; the net balance (from 8 September 1991 to 17 August 1992) 

was -0.29 m; and the annual balance (1 October 1991 to 30 September 1992) 

was -0.38 m. Annual stream runoff was 1.24 m averaged over the basin.

For 1993, March and Trabant (1997) found that the 1993 measured winter-snow balance was 0.81 m on 31 March 1993, 1.2 standard deviations below the long-term average; the maximum winter-snow balance, 0.84 m, was 

recorded on 10 May and 11 May 1993; the net balance (from 18 August 1992 

to 8 September 1993) was -1.80 m, the most negative balance year on record 

at 2.8 standard deviations below the long-term average. The annual balance 

(1 October 1992 to 30 September 1993) was -1.64 m. Annual stream runoff 

was 1.996 m averaged over the basin, 0.2 standard deviations above the longterm average.

For 1994, March (1998) found that the measured winter-snow balance 

was 1.34 m on 29 April 1994, 0.9 standard deviation above the long-term average; the maximum winter-snow balance, 1.43 m, was recorded on 18 April 

1994; the net balance (from 8 September 1993 to 17 September 1994) was 

-0.72 m, 0.7 standard deviation below the long-term average. The annual balance (1 October 1992, to 30 September 1993) was -0.88 m. Annual stream 

runoff was 1.93 m averaged over the basin.

For 1995, March (2000) found that the measured winter-snow balance 

was 0.94 m on 19 April 1995, 0.6 standard deviation below the long-term 

average; the maximum winter-snow balance, 0.94 m, was recorded on 25 

April 1995; the net balance (from 18 September 1994 to 29 August 1995) was 

-0.70 m, 0.76 standard deviation below the long-term average. The annual 

balance (1 October 1994, to 30 September 1995) was -0.86 m. Annual stream 

runoff was 2.05 m averaged over the basin, approximately equal to the longterm average.

During the four-year period from 1992 through 1995, Gulkana Glacier’s 

average measured winter-snow balance was +1.015 meters; its average 

maximum winter-snow balance was +1.0625 m; its average net balance was 

-0.88 m; and its average annual balance was -0.94 m. Average annual stream 

runoff was 1.804 m averaged over the basin. Retreat was continuing at the 

end of the 20th century, as shown on an 18 August 1999 vertical aerial photograph (fig. 387D).

West Gulkana Glacier

West Gulkana Glacier, a small valley glacier approximately 4 km long was 

mapped in 1957 (AGS, 1960) (figs. 386, 387A). Austin Post, who was a leader 

of the IGY team that mapped the glacier, reported it to be “virtually stagnant” 

and receding; almost no snow remained from the previous winter. The IGY 

map of West Gulkana Glacier shows a retreating glacier with a significant 

trimline on its eastern side (AGS, 1960). In 1987, a team from Arizona State 

University and the U. S. Military Academy at West Point, led by Melvin Marcus and L.S. Thompson remapped the glacier (Thompson and Smith, 1988). 

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K415
A comparison of the two maps shows that the glacier retreated about 520 m 

and thinned and narrowed in the 30 years between maps.

West Gulkana Glacier was resurveyed in 1993 by a geodetic airborne laser altimeter profiler (Sapiano and others, 1998). Interpretation of a single 

profile acquired on 12 June 1993, field observations made in 1995, and a 

1957 map showed that the terminus of West Gulkana Glacier had retreated 

by approximately 480 m during the 38 years between surveys, an average 

annual retreat rate of 12.6 m a-1, and that the glacier’s area had decreased 

from 4.2 km2 in 1957 to 3.59 km2 in 1993, a decrease of around 15 percent. 

During the 38 years of observation, the glacier thinned an average of 24 m, 

its volume decreased by 9.3×107 m3, and its average annual mass balance was 

-0.61 m. Retreat was continuing at the end of the 20th century (fig. 387C) 

(see 18 August 1999 BLM vertical aerial photograph—Roll 3, Frame 323).

Jarvis Glacier

In 1955, Ostenso and Holmes (1962) used gravimetric techniques to 

study Jarvis Glacier. They found that it lies in a deep U-shaped valley with a 

cirque at its head. The cirque, which has a sill at its downglacier end, had ice 

thicknesses of as much as 321 m.

The Mount Hayes-Mount Deborah Segment between 

Delta River and Broad Pass

The 160-km-long Mount Hayes section, which includes Mount Hayes 

(4,216 m), Mount Moffit (3,957 m), and Mount Deborah (3,750 m), has a glacier-covered area of about 1,900 km2

 (Denton and Field, 1975a, p. 583–586). 

Most glaciers originate from an ice-covered interconnected upland accumulation area, an unnamed ice field that has a maximum width of more than 60 km. 

A number of isolated, generally small glaciers descend from individual peaks 

and ridges to the south, including several shown on the USGS Mount Hayes, 

Alaska (1955), 1:250,000-scale topographic map (appendix A) of the northern side of the Amphitheater Mountains named by Troy Péwé for the numerous cirques that are present (see 24 August 1981 AHAP false-color infrared 

vertical aerial photograph no. L88F3880). Most of the glaciers in this area are 

named and more than 15 glaciers have lengths of more than 7 km. According 

to Denton and Field (1975a, p. 583–586), who measured the following lengths 

and areas of glaciers, the longest are Black Rapids Glacier (fig. 388) (40 km, 

341 km2), West Fork Glacier (41 km, 311 km2), and Susitna Glacier (36 km, 

323 km2). There are many surging glaciers in this section. The surge dynamics 

of glaciers in the Susitna River Basin were summarized by Clarke (1991). 

Beginning on the northern side of the unnamed ice field (counter-clockwise, from east to west, starting west of Black Rapids Glacier) glaciers 

(lengths and areas measured by Denton and Field, 1975a, p. 583–586) 

include (1) two unnamed glaciers draining into the Delta River, the western one with a length of 10 km and an area of 13 km2

; (2) McGinnis Glacier 

(13 km, 33 km2); (3) Trident Glacier (28 km, 222 km2); (4) Hayes Glacier; 

(5) an unnamed glacier (7 km, 8 km2), which descends from Mount Giddings and Mount Skarland; (6) Gillam Glacier (25 km, 144 km2

); (7) an unnamed glacier west of Gillam Glacier (8 km, 12 km2

); (8) an unnamed glacier 

draining into the Wood River; (9) Yanert Glacier (35 km, 183 km2), which 

advanced about 5 km in a 1942 surge, stagnated for more than 57 years, and 

surged again in 2000 and 2001; (10) an unnamed glacier (8 km, 12 km2), 

which descends from the western flank of Nenana Mountain; (11) Nenana 

Glacier, (16 km, 29 km2); (12) West Fork Glacier (41 km, 311 km2); (13) Susitna Glacier (fig. 389) (36 km, 323 km2

), which surged about 5 km in 1952 

or 1953; (14) an unnamed glacier draining into the East Fork Susitna River 

(fig. 390) (17 km, 46 km2), which has thinned more than 50 m and retreated 

several kilometers since being mapped in the 1950s; (15) Maclaren Glacier 

(17 km, 68 km2); (16) Eureka Glacier, which is around 10 km long (estimated 

K416 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Canwell Glacier

Eureka

Glacier

Gulkana 

West Glacier

Gulkana 

Glacier 

E. Fork Susitna River

Trident Gl.

McGinnis Gl.

Delta River

Black Rapids Glacier

Trident Gl.

Augustana 

Glacier "Lokit"

Broxson Gulch

Hayes Gl.

Maclaren 

Glacier

Gakona Gl.

Castner Gl.

Susitna Glacier

10 0 10 20 30 KILOMETERS

APPROXIMATE SCALE

Figure 388.—Annotated Landsat 3 return beam vidicon (RBV) 

image of Black Rapids Glacier, Susitna Glacier, Gulkana Glacier, 

West Gulkana Glacier, Canwell Glacier, Castner Glacier, and other 

glaciers in the Alaska Range. The Black Rapids Glacier has been 

long known to have unusual flow characteristics. During a surge 

in the winter of 1936–1937, the terminus advanced 4.8 km in about 

3 months (Post, 1960). There are two indications of the cyclic nature of surges visible on this RBV image. The large tributary glacier, informally known as “Lokit,” entering from the south near the 

mid-point of the Black Rapids is forcing a medial moraine across 

the main glacier; two other similar moraine loops from the same 

tributary are displaced about 8 and 16 km downglacier. These displacements occurred during 1936–1937 and an earlier surge. Also, 

the terminal moraine that formed in 1936–1937 is clearly visible 

about 2 km from the Delta River; a terminal moraine, an additional 2 km downvalley, was from a previous surge, which probably 

temporarily blocked the Delta River. The medial moraine patterns 

can also be used as an indicator of how the surge cycle is progressing; in 1981, the “Lokit” moraine loop was pushed nearly as 

far across the Black Rapids Glacier as the 1936–1937 “Lokit” loop 

had been at the time of that surge. This evidence suggests that the 

surge cycle was near completion; however, through 2004, no new 

major surge had begun. It is unlikely that a near-future surge of 

the Black Rapids Glacier would disrupt the Trans-Alaska Pipeline 

or Richardson Highway, both of which follow the Delta River. 

There are many other surging glaciers in this area (notably the 

Susitna and Gakona Glaciers). Mass balance has been measured 

at the Gulkana Glacier since 1965. There is evidence of more extensive past glaciation in the form of a moraine area covered with 

small lakes extending far to the north. It is not known if this larger 

glacier complex was affected by surges. Landsat 3 RBV image 

(31273–20304–D; 8 August 1981; Path 71, Row 15) from the USGS, 

EROS Data Center, Sioux Falls, S. Dak. Landsat image and caption 

courtesy of Robert M. Krimmel, U.S. Geological Survey.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K417
Figure 389.—Three photographs of the 

debris-covered, stagnant terminus of 

Susitna Glacier (fig. 388). A, Pre-1915 

northeast-looking photograph by F.H. 

Moffit of the hummocky, ablating terminus 

of Susitna Glacier. The presence of such a 

large number of thermokarst features suggests that its advanced state of stagnation 

began well before the start of the 20th century. Photograph Moffit 574 from the USGS 

Photo Library, Denver, Colo. B, August 

1941 low-angle oblique aerial photograph 

of surge-contorted medial moraines on 

the surface of Susitna Glacier about 12 km 

above its stagnant terminus. Photograph 

(negative number 2804) by Bradford 

Washington, Museum of Science, Boston, 

Mass. C, Mid-1970s northeast-looking 

oblique aerial photograph of the debriscovered, stagnant terminus of Susitna 

Glacier. Folded loop moraines from a 1950s 

surge can be seen several kilometers above 

the terminus. The snow cover enhances 

the features. Mount Hayes is in the background. Photograph by Dennis C. Trabant, 

U.S. Geological Survey. A larger version of 

A is available online.

K418 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
by the author); (17) an unnamed glacier approximately 8 km long (estimated 

by the author) draining into Broxson Gulch; (18) Augustana Glacier, which 

is about 6 km long (estimated by the author); and (19) Black Rapids Glacier 

(fig. 388) (40 km, 341 km2).

Rock glaciers exist on many mountains, including Nenana Mountain 

(fig. 391). Some occur at the mouths of valleys that were glacier filled during the “Little Ice Age,” whereas others are isolated bodies on the flanks of 

mountains and ridges.

As are the majority of glaciers in the Alaska Range, the glaciers in this area 

are stagnant, thinning, and (or) retreating. Aside from an occasional surgeproduced thickening or advance, no glaciers below 2,000 m were observed to 

be either thickening or advancing. No late 20th or early 21st century surge 

events have resulted in terminus displacements.

Black Rapids Glacier

Between 1912 and 1936, Black Rapids Glacier retreated about 5 km. In 

1936, the stagnation and retreat of Black Rapids Glacier were interrupted 

by a catastrophic surge that began in September or October (Moffit, 1942) 

and was the first to receive attention from the popular media. The 1 March 

1937 issue of Time Magazine described the surge: “The Black Rapids Glacier, 

long dying in its valley 125 miles south of Fairbanks, has come to life. Its mileand-a-quarter face was shoving toward the Delta River and the Richardson 

Highway (sole motor road from Fairbanks to the coast), rearing ice crests to 

500 ft., breaking off great land icebergs which tumbled thunderously ahead 

onto the mossy valley floor” (Time Magazine, 1937). O.W. Geist, a geologist 

at the then Alaska Territorial School of Mines (now the University of Alaska 

Fairbanks), observed the surge and reported that “The glacier is bifurcated. 

One fork is moving into the other, grinding and crunching at a point five miles 

back. The intersection is the scene of a giant upheaval.... Three days ago we 

could walk to the face of the glacier. Now so much water is flowing that we 

could not walk to the front” (Time Magazine, 1937).

 During a three-month period during the winter of 1936–37, Black Rapids 

Glacier advanced 4.8 km (Post, 1960). By February 1937, the glacier had 

reached a position that threatened the Richardson Highway adjacent to the 

Delta River. This location, fortunately, was close to the point of maximum 

advance. Retreat and downwasting began in the summer of 1937 and continues to the present. During the period of maximum surge, Black Rapids 

Glacier advanced as much as 30 to 65 m d-1. Since then, the glacier has been 

stagnant, has become thinner, and has had several of its tributaries undergo 

Figure 390.—14 September 1999 eastlooking oblique aerial photograph of the 

terminus of an unnamed glacier that drains 

to the East Fork of the Susitna River. The 

western end of the lake corresponds to the 

1955 position of the terminus. The large 

trimline suggests that the glacier has recently thinned significantly more than 50 m 

and retreated more than 2 km. Photograph 

by Bruce F. Molnia, U.S. Geological Survey.

Figure 391.—North-looking oblique aerial 

photograph of the terminus area of an unnamed rock glacier on the south side of 

Nenana Mountain on 14 September 1999. 

The rock glacier, which is more than 4 km 

long, heads in a cirque. Photograph by 

Bruce F. Molnia, U.S. Geological Survey. 

A larger version of this figure is available 

online.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K419
significant retreat, as an 18 August 1999 vertical aerial photograph shows 

(fig. 392). As a result of the surge, the media nicknamed Black Rapids Glacier 

“Galloping Glacier” and “Runaway Glacier.”

Since 1971, the USGS and the University of Alaska Fairbanks (Heinrichs and others, 1995, 1996) have measured systematic mass balances, 

N

K420 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
equilibrium line elevations (ELA), surface elevations, ice thicknesses, nearsurface temperatures, and ice velocities. Heinrichs and others (1995) summarized the behavior of Black Rapids Glacier during a quiescent period from 

1970 to 1992. Typically, they made semi-annual measurements of surface 

velocity, surface elevation, and mass balance at 10 sites along the centerline 

of the glacier. Their measurements show “synchronous interannual fluctuations” with a variability of about 20 percent and a period of 4 to 9 years. A 

winter-summer oscillation of about the same magnitude also exists. They 

also found large seasonal changes in surface speed of as much as 400 percent, 

caused primarily by changes in basal motion. During May through July 1993, 

the velocity of several surface markers along the glacier was measured twice 

daily; seismic-reflection measurements of the bed and ice-radar measurements were made daily. A subglacier stream originating at the terminus was 

monitored continually throughout the summer to investigate the glacier’s 

basal hydrology. Measurements included stage, dye tracing, electrical conductivity, and turbidity. Acquiring the data simultaneously permitted direct 

measurement of changes at the bed that were correlated with changes in the 

velocity on the glacier’s surface. Subglacier draining of several ice marginal 

lakes produced large increases in surface speed.

Raybus and Fatland (2000) compared SAR-interferometric techniques 

with conventional surface-velocity measurements to test whether the interferometric data are “quantitatively consistent with terrestrial velocity measurements.” (p. 119). They compared velocities derived from two ERS–1 SAR 

images collected on 22 and 25 January 1992 with surface measurements made 

in 1987, 1990, and 1996 and concluded that the “interferometric and terrestrial datasets are mutually consistent.” (Raybus and Fatland, 2000, p. 127).

Between the 1950s and the middle 1990s, on an annual basis, Black Rapids 

Glacier thickened by 0.343 m a-1, and its volume increased by 0.099 km3 a-1. 

Much of this increase was in the form of replenishment in the accumulation area of the ice mass displaced during the 1936–37 surge. Between the 

middle 1990s and 1999, on an annual basis, Black Rapids Glacier thinned by 

0.655 m a-1, and its volume decreased by 0.189 km3 a-1 (K.A. Echelmeyer, 

W.D. Harrison, V.B. Valentine, and S.I. Zirnheld, University of Alaska Fairbanks, written commun., March 2001).

Rock Avalanches onto Glaciers Resulting from the 3 

November 2002 Earthquake (M 7.9) on the Denali Fault

A large-magnitude (M 7.9) earthquake on 3 November 2002 generated 

three large surface ruptures, which had a cumulative length of approximately 320 km. The largest was a 225-km-long rupture of the Denali Fault 

(fig. 393), which had a maximum right-lateral slip displacement of almost 

9 m (Harp and others, 2003). The earthquake epicenter was located near 

an icefall in a tributary of West Fork Glacier. The westernmost surface rupture (first subevent of M 7.2) was a thrust fault that offset the surface of 

Susitna Glacier (fig. 389). Truffer and others (2002) presented a summary 

of the impact of the earthquake on glaciers within the Alaska Range. They 

reported that glaciers are located in many valleys aligned with the Denali 

Fault; consequently, more than 40 percent of the surface rupture resulting 

from the event can be seen on glaciers. Surface rupture was observed not 

only on Susitna Glacier but also on Black Rapids, Canwell, Gakona, and Chistochina Glaciers (fig. 388). In addition, offset glacier ice was observed near 

the terminus of West Fork Glacier where Susitna Glacier fault intersects it. 

Truffer and others (2002) reported that offsets in glacier ice have variable 

morphologies. Almost all seracs in the icefall toppled during the quake. The 

Denali Fault laterally offset preexisting crevasses on the northern side of 

Canwell Glacier, and vertical offset was observed at many localities. At some 

locations, one or more long linear cracks appeared along the glacier surface, 

often following medial moraines. Truffer and others (2002) suggested that 

Figure 392.—18 August 1999 black-andwhite 1:24,000-scale vertical aerial photograph of the part of Black Rapids Glacier 

west of its terminus. The tributary entering 

from the south has retreated more than 

2 km in the 44 years since it was mapped. 

The small unnamed glaciers have either 

completely disappeared or have retreated 

and lost contact with their main trunks. 

Photograph from U.S. Bureau of Land 

Management, roll 3, frame 322.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K421
moraines represent areas of weakness. The Susitna Glacier fault appears to 

make a sharp turn to the west where it follows a looped moraine across the 

glacier. At some locations along the Denali Fault, cracks in the ice are oriented perpendicular to the fault trace. Their observations suggest that careful 

examination of glacier morphology must be considered when delineating the 

trace of a fault across a glacier.

The earthquake also produced thousands of rock avalanches, many of 

which covered parts of glaciers in the Alaska Range. Most of the rock avalanches were located in a zone approximately 30 km wide that straddled 

fault-rupture zones along the Totschunda and Denali Faults. McGinnis, Black 

Rapids, and West Fork Glaciers were affected by large rock avalanches, many 

of which consisted of a mixture of rock, snow, and glacier ice.

According to Harp and others (2003) the largest rock avalanche on 

McGinnis Glacier (fig. 394A) had a volume of greater than 30×106 m3. They 

reported that two large rock avalanches originated at two different sites on 

the flanks of McGinnis Peak, the largest part resulting from the collapse of 

Figure 393.—Map showing mainshock, 

foreshock, zone of fault rupture, concentrated landslides, individual landslides on 

glaciers in the Alaska Range, and observations of liquefaction effects triggered by 

the Denali Fault earthquake of 3 November 

2002. Modified from Harp and others (2003, 

fig. 1, p. 5).

K422 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Figure 394.—A, Oblique aerial photograph of landslides 

from McGinnis Peak onto McGinnis Glacier modified from 

Harp and others (2003, fig. 2, p. 6). Two huge rock avalanches 

originated from different flanks of McGinnis Peak. The rock 

avalanche to the right (red arrow denoting head scarp) is 

composed mainly of rock and is approximately 30x106 m3

in volume. The runout path of the rock avalanche is approximately 10 km. The avalanche to the left (blue arrow denoting 

head scarp) has more ice and snow included within the avalanche debris. The landslides converged in the center part of 

the photo (J), and the avalanche on the left continued down 

to the toe of McGinnis Glacier (T). B, Oblique aerial photographic mosaic, taken on 7 November 2002, of multiple rock 

avalanches on Black Rapids Glacier. On 3 November 2002, 

a moment magnitude (M)7.9 earthquake occurred along the 

Denali Fault in central Alaska (fig. 393). It was the largest 

earthquake in the United States since 1987 and ties for the 

9th largest earthquake in the United States in the last 100 

years (comes from USGS list of top 10 largest earthquakes 

in the United States). The earthquake ruptured 225 km of the 

Denali Fault with measured offsets as much as 8 m. The fault 

is of interest to glaciologists because 130 km, or about half, 

of the rupture lies under glaciers. The fault rupture crosses 

the West Fork, Susitna, Black Rapids, Canwell, Gakona, and 

Chistochina Glaciers, and numerous smaller glaciers. In 

this oblique aerial photographic mosaic, the composite of 

three rockfall avalanches from the south wall of the Black 

Rapids Glacier can be seen blanketing about 13 km2

 of the 

ablation area or about 5 percent of the total glacier area. The 

blanketing effect of these rockfalls is expected to increase 

the glacier’s mass balance by about +0.2 m a–1 by reducing 

the melting of glacier ice during subsequent summer melt 

periods. The Denali Fault underlies this reach of Black Rapids 

Glacier. The 3 November 2002 earthquake fractured the 

glacier surface from its confluence with the Susitna Glacier 

(upper center of the photo) to just below the bottom of the 

photo, along a 30-km-long path near the northern margin 

(right margin in this photo) of Black Rapids Glacier. Caption 

and photograph courtesy of Dennis C. Trabant and Rod S. 

March, U.S. Geological Survey.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K423
a 750-m-high rock wall. Debris flowed down each of the glacier’s two major 

tributaries on relatively low-angle slopes before converging and flowing to 

the toe of the 10-km-long glacier.

Harp and others (2003) also reported that large rock avalanches occurred 

at Black Rapids Glacier (fig. 394B) when granite slopes on the southern side 

of the glacier failed. The three largest rock avalanches each had volumes of 

several million cubic meters of debris that together covered about 13 km2

of the ablation area or about 5 percent of the total glacier area. Truffer and 

others (2002) suggested that the blanketing effect of the rock avalanches 

will increase the glacier’s mass balance by about 0.2 m a-1 by insulating the ice 

from warm summer temperatures. The rock avalanches, which descended 

from elevations of several thousand meters, completely crossed the glaciers 

and flowed up the opposite valley walls, similar to the Shattered Peak rock 

avalanche, which flowed onto the Sherman Glacier during the March 1964 

Great Alaskan earthquake (fig. 229). The rock-avalanche deposits were 

generally 2 to 3-m thick and relatively uniform in their distribution. Lateral 

margins of the flows were quite sharp. Harp and others (2003) described the 

rock-avalanche debris flowing up and over a 5 to 6-m-high medial moraine 

and blanketing it and the surrounding glacier with a uniform thickness.

Harp and others (2003) also described large rock avalanches that were 

triggered onto the surface of West Fork Glacier above a thrust fault that ruptured during the 2002 earthquake.

Metamorphic rock debris that fell from the valley walls encountered the 

adjacent medial moraine and became airborne before it landed on the surface of the glacier and fanned out. The largest rock block that they observed 

was more than 20 m on its largest side. The thickness of the deposit ranged 

from 3 to 15 m. 

A large rock and ice fall also occurred on upper Gakona Glacier. Truffer 

and others (2002) postulated that this rock and ice fall will not affect the 

glacier’s mass balance immediately because it was deposited onto its accumulation area. They concluded that these rock falls will be a readily visible 

surface feature for the next 200 to 400 years or more. Before the 3 November 

2002 earthquake, large rock and ice-fall debris cover was not evident on the 

glaciers of the region, suggesting that an earthquake event of similar magnitude has not occurred in at least 200 years and perhaps longer.

Geospatial Inventory and Analysis of Glaciers: A Case 

Study for the Eastern Alaska Range

By William F. Manley1

Abstract

Recent advances in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) make it possible to assemble large empirical multiparameter datasets that provide important information on environmental variation, process, and change. Such 

a GIS-based application is presented here for glaciers in the eastern Alaska 

Range. Data sources include USGS Digital Line Graphic (DLG), Digital Raster 

Graphic (DRG), and Digital Elevation Model (DEM) files, which were derived 

from USGS topographic quadrangle maps representing glacier and landscape 

conditions from 1948 to 1954. Information from 10 USGS 1:63,360-scale topographic quadrangle maps was combined and processed in the GIS to summarize parameters and to analyze spatial relationships. The 279 glaciers shown 

on the 10 maps occupy a total area of 1,229 km2

. Data trends are dominated by 

a disproportionate decrease in the frequency distribution of glaciers by area. 

1

 Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research (INSTAAR), University of Colorado Boulder, CO 80309-0450; 

william.manley@colorado.edu; 303-735-1300

K424 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
A “typical” glacier in the region measures only 0.6 km2

 in area, is as wide as 

it is long, and occupies a basin only slightly larger than the glacier itself (for 

example, a cirque glacier). In contrast, the relatively few named or previously 

measured glaciers yield median values of 19.5 km2 for area, 4.0 for the ratio 

of length to width, and 1.7 for the ratio of basin area to glacier area (large valley glaciers). Other parameters are not found to be strongly related to glacier 

area, including median elevation and the shape of hypsometric curves. The 

GIS layers of glacier extent form a comprehensive digital inventory revealing 

a range of morphologic relationships that quantitatively define feedbacks between glacier dynamics and mountainous terrain. The geospatial data are also 

useful for mapping and visualization, selection or analysis of “representative” 

glaciers, deriving or applying scaling relationships, modeling of ice dynamics 

and retreat, and as a decades-old baseline for comparison with recent airborne 

and satellite remote-sensing measurements. As a complement to field measurements, maps, geodetic airborne laser-altimetry, aerial photographs, and 

satellite imagery, the GIS approach takes advantage of spatial variation to better understand environmental controls on glacier distribution and geometry.

Introduction

Inventories of glaciers and glacier systems in Alaska and elsewhere are important in the assessment of water resources, glacier hazards, the response 

of glaciers to climate change, and, under negative mass-balance conditions, 

their excess meltwater contribution to sea-level rise (for example, Fountain 

and others, 1997; Kääb and others, 2002; Paul, 2003; Meier and Wahr, 2002; 

Meier and others, 2003). Recent studies have shown that Alaska’s glaciers 

are undergoing pronounced thinning and retreat and that mass balances 

are consistently negative (Echelmeyer and others, 1996; Hodge and others, 

1998; Arendt and others, 2002) as a result of historically unprecedented 

Arctic warming (cf. Serreze and others, 2000). However, less than 1 percent 

of Alaska’s glaciers by area has been included in a global inventory (for example, the World Glacier Monitoring Service’s World Glacier Inventory) (National Snow and Ice Data Center, 1999, 2003), and existing tabular databases 

are limited in their capability to spatially represent the three-dimensional 

context of glaciers within mountain environments.

This section provides a new approach to documenting and investigating 

glaciers by means of GIS. The study takes advantage of detailed and extensive aerial photographic interpretation and glacier mapping done by the 

USGS in the early 1950s. Goals of the study are to (1) develop, test, and apply a series of procedures to create a glacier atlas in the form of a geospatial 

database; (2) in addition to mapping and visualization, use spatial analysis to 

investigate geomorphic relationships resulting from the interplay of climate, 

topography, and ice dynamics; and (3) make a glacier inventory – and the 

specific GIS algorithms used to create it – available for further research. This 

study is part of a broader project using GIS to document and analyze glaciers, 

environments, and climate across the State of Alaska.

The study area, in the eastern Alaska Range, lies in the east-central interior of Alaska (fig. 395) and spans approximately 100 km from the Delta River 

valley on the west to Mentasta Pass on the east. The mountainous terrain and 

its glaciers are further described and illustrated in the section on the Mount 

Kimball-Mount Gakona Segment between Mentasa Pass and the Delta River. 

The region includes the relatively well studied Gulkana Glacier (cf. Mayo 

and Trabant, 1986; March and Trabant, 1996; Hodge and others, 1998). This 

“benchmark” glacier and the adjacent West Gulkana Glacier were included 

in recent studies of volumetric change determined from laser altimetry 

(Echelmeyer and others, 1996; Sapiano and others, 1998; Arendt and others, 2002). Glaciers in the area are not yet a part of the World Glacier Inventory (National Snow and Ice Data Center, 1999, 2003), but 19 of them were 

cataloged in a preliminary inventory by Denton and Field (1975a; see also 

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K425
Field, 1958). The region has a continental climate, partially shielded from 

transport of moisture from the Gulf of Alaska by the Wrangell, Talkeetna, and 

Chugach Mountains, and the St. Elias Mountains to the south.

Methods

Three types of data from the USGS were used as the foundation of this 

study (fig. 396). Hydrographic DLG files are vector representations of water 

features as digitized from the USGS 1:63,360-scale 15-minute topographic 

quadrangle maps that include polygons having “Minor1” values of 103 or 411 

encode features, originally mapped as a “Glacier or permanent snowfield” 

(USGS, 1998a, b). DRG files are images scanned from the topographic quadrangle maps. The DEM used in this study was derived from the USGS National Elevation Dataset (NED) files, which were compiled from the 15-minute 

DEMs for Alaska, which, in turn, are based on contours, spot heights, and 

other terrain features on the topographic quadrangle maps. Thus, all three 

datasets used here were derived from the same source: 10 15-minute topographic quadrangle maps for the eastern Alaska Range (Mount Hayes A1-A3, 

B1-B4, and C2-C4). The maps were originally compiled by using stereophotogrammetric mapping technology and 1948–54 vertical aerial photographs 

acquired by the USAF for the AMS. Because the datasets share a common 

origin, they have the advantage of sharing the same spatial registration and 

temporal basis (for example, a maximum of 6 years from oldest to youngest 

aerial photographic coverage).

To process and analyze the GIS data, more than 90 individual “scripts” were 

written, tested, and applied, where each “script” is a stepwise semiautomated 

Figure 395.—Maps of glaciers and terrain in 

the eastern Alaska Range. A, Glacier polygons in the digital inventory are overlain 

on color-coded topography and shaded 

relief. Three small glaciers in the database, 

northeast of Tok Glacier, are not shown. Tick 

marks display the boundaries of 1:63,360-

scale, 15-minute topographic maps for the 

area. B, The glacier polygons, representing the areal extent of glacier ice during 

1948–1954, are shown as black lines over a 

GeoCover Landsat mosaic. This orthorectified false-color composite displays TM 

bands 7, 4, and 3 from imagery acquired in 

approximately 1990. Although glacier termini are obscured by debris-covered ice, 

the mosaic reveals in detail some evidence 

for thinning and ice-marginal retreat.

K426 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
procedure that may include macros (prerecorded series of actions executed 

with a single command) or programming code for direct GIS processing. For 

example, five scripts were used to import the NED DEM, project it from an 

original map projection, datum, and resolution (Geographic NAD 27 with 

2-arc-second spacing) to UTM zone 6 with 60-m spacing, and clip it (trim to 

eliminate data outside the study area). GIS processing was handled by ArcGIS Desktop (ArcInfo), as well as MFWorks, a simple raster program used for 

some of the final geometric calculations. Error assessment is presented in 

the next section.

Major processing steps (fig. 396) began with database preparation and 

quality editing. An extensive review of metadata was undertaken to assure 

that the three types of data sources were temporally compatible, all derived 

from the original 1950s topographic quadrangle maps, which are compiled 

from 1948–54 vertical aerial photographs. Ten DLG files were imported and 

projected to Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM). Glacier polygons were 

extracted and mosaicked to yield “unedited ice polygons.” These features 

were compared directly with the DRG files (fig. 397A). In most cases, the 

unedited ice polygons very closely matched the glacier outlines as shown 

on the topographic quandrangle maps (within a 60-m grid-cell tolerance 

commensurate with the DEM). However, some of the ice polygons displayed 

digitization and other unexplainable errors that required intensive manual 

editing. Thus, “edited ice polygons” were created that more closely depict 

the complex glaciers and contiguous ice masses in the study area, as the 

topographic quadrangle maps show.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K427
The next major step addresses the fundamental “geospatial definition” 

of a glacier. The ice masses shown on topographic maps are rarely simple, 

isolated cirque or separate valley glaciers. They commonly are complex 

features joined at drainage divides from which separate glacier ice bodies 

flow downslope. To “cut” the “ice polygons” into “glacier polygons” along 

ice divides, an algorithm was developed that takes advantage of watershed 

functions in ArcInfo. This script identifies glacier “toes” as parts of each ice 

polygon that lie below the median elevation of the polygon and uses the toes 

as “pour points” for the watershed function. The resulting, often contiguous glacier polygons (fig. 397) then can be analyzed separately. Automated 

processing avoids subjective and time-intensive manual editing. A byproduct 

is a GIS layer of separate glacier basins, each enclosing a glacier and the upslope area that sheds snow or meltwater onto its surface.

Finally, a variety of raster commands were used to measure a variety of 

parameters for each glacier on the basis of the glacier outlines and the coregistered DEM (table 7). This approach builds upon that of Allen (1998) 

(see also Paul and others, 2002; Paul, 2003) and relies on zonal functions acting on each glacier’s 60×60-m grid cells. The DEM has sufficient resolution 

for this task: 26 grid cells for the smallest glacier, a median glacier area of 160 

grid cells, and more than 42,000 grid cells for the largest glacier.

Parameters were measured for the purposes of compiling a digital inventory as well as for geospatial and glaciologic analysis. Location is described by 

the latitude and longitude of the centroid grid cell. The GIS readily calculates minimum, maximum, median, and average elevation as well as the 

range in elevation for each glacier. Basic geometric parameters for each 

glacier include area, perimeter, average slope angle, and average aspect

(following directional statistics presented by Davis, 1986). Compactness, a 

nondimensional measure of shape, was calculated as 4 π multiplied by area, 

divided by perimeter squared (cf. Davis, 1986; Allen, 1998). This parameter 

varies from 0.0 for infinitely narrow or convoluted shapes to 1.0 for a circle. 

Glacier length is difficult to quantify objectively with an automated script 

owing to the constraints imposed by raster processing but was estimated 

import,

project,

extract,

mosaic

edit

to DRG

identify

ice divides

geospatial analyses statistics interpretation

Figure 396.—Flow diagram for processing of the original cartographic source 

material to create and analyze the glacier 

spatial database. DLG, Digital Line Graph; 

DRG, Digital Raster Graphic; DEM, Digital 

Elevation Model. See text for additional 

details.

K428 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
as the longest flowline using a downhill FLOWLENGTH command. Glacier 

width is similarly difficult to process consistently as a human would measure and is simply calculated here as area divided by length, yielding also the 

length/width ratio as a second metric for shape. The basin coefficient is 

defined as basin area divided by glacier area, a relative measure of the upslope area available for avalanching and snowdrift onto the glacier surface. A 

few other parameters, including backwall height, were estimated as part of a 

broader study related to estimated ELAs but are not presented here.

The spatial variables extracted from the GIS for each glacier are based 

on all 60×60-m cells that make up the glacier. Thus, mean elevation is the 

true mean, not simply the average of minimum and maximum elevations. 

Similarly, slope angle is averaged across the entire glacier, not simply derived 

from elevation range and length. As an aside, calculation of average aspect 

for each glacier involves circular statistics to avoid the problems resulting 

from geometric means of azimuthal data.

Also, with each glacier’s surface geometry represented in the GIS, it is possible to quantify area-altitude distribution. A script was developed that 

determines the cumulative area for each glacier grid cell as the percent of 

that glacier’s area lying above the elevation of that grid cell. The area-altitude 

grid can then be used to plot hypsometric curves related to mass balance for 

individual glaciers or entire ranges.

Figure 397.—Close-ups of selected GIS 

processing steps and results. A, Close-up 

of DLG polygons shown over the DRG for 

a small area northeast of Gerstle Glacier. 

Glacier extents in the DLG files did not 

everywhere match those depicted on the 

DRGs owing to digitization and other errors. 

B, The glacier features were edited to agree 

with the DRGs, and the “ice polygons” 

were cut along automatically identified 

drainage divides to form separate “glacier 

polygons.” C, Example of ice divides at the 

upper limits of the Johnson, Canwell, Fels, 

and Gerstle Glaciers. The jagged nature of 

ice divides is inherited from the processing 

of 60-m DEM grid cells. D, Glacier polygons 

as black outlines over the DEM for the area 

shown in A and B.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K429
Table 7. Results of the spatial analysis of 279 glaciers in the eastern Alaska Range.1

Longitude

DD

Latitude

DD

Minimum 

Elevation

(m)

Maximum 

Elevation

(m)

Median 

Elevation

(m)

Average 

Elevation

(m)

Elevation 

Range

(m)

Area

(km2)

Perimeter

(km)

Compactness Aspect (degrees) Slope (degrees) Length (km) Width (km) Length/ width

ratio

Basin 

area

(km2)

Basin

coefficient

All glaciers

Minimum 756 1424 1237 1216 90 0.09 1.6 0.01 0 8 0.1 0.2 0.1 0.13 1.0

Maximum 2472 3135 2599 2590 2276 154.52 360.5 0.65 359 37 34.4 6.1 11.1 277.92 8.2

Median 459 0.57 5.4 0.26 0.7 0.8 1.0 1.12 1.8

Average 1638 2241 1910 1913 6 18Sum 1229

Selected glaciers

Minimum 756 1826 1518 1630 411 0.89 7 0.01 5 8 1.0 0.9 1.2 1.62 1.1

Maximum 1549 3135 2091 2040 2276 154.52 360 0.35 325 20 34.4 6.1 11.1 277.92 2.4

Median 1606 19.45 64 0.06 9.9 2.3 4.0 38.83 1.7

Average 1117 2681 1790 1785 13Sum 950Canwell -145.45884 63.32222 808 2721 1639 1630 1913 70.76 176.9 0.03 307 10 24.4 2.9 8.4 117.03 1.7

Castner / Broken -145.52845 63.43713 766 2935 1818 1758 2169 70.58 208.2 0.02 260 13 20.8 3.4 6.1 114.57 1.6

Chistochina -144.72919 63.20041 1139 2974 1518 1666 1835 35.09 108.1 0.04 214 9 11.0 3.2 3.5 72.46 2.1

College -145.35955 63.25648 1257 2420 1754 1729 1163 8.54 31.6 0.11 214 11 6.8 1.3 5.4 15.67 1.8

Eel / Fels -145.47815 63.36497 863 2718 1865 1803 1855 21.52 65.9 0.06 278 12 15.4 1.4 11.1 43.76 2.0

Gakona -145.18597 63.24145 1059 2944 1644 1642 1885 108.72 203.4 0.03 184 8 17.9 6.1 2.9 155.16 1.4

Gerstle -145.32490 63.46235 821 2993 2091 2040 2172 86.84 204.2 0.03 41 12 23.4 3.7 6.3 136.33 1.6

Gulkana -145.42431 63.27445 1141 2431 1834 1786 1290 19.45 60.7 0.07 182 10 8.5 2.3 3.7 27.38 1.4

Jarvis -145.66714 63.48103 1283 2794 1763 1792 1511 14.76 64.1 0.05 325 13 9.3 1.6 5.9 23.85 1.6

Johnson -145.13283 63.36141 756 2963 1758 1766 2207 154.52 360.5 0.01 36 11 34.4 4.5 7.7 277.92 1.8

McCallum -145.60371 63.29947 1415 1826 1670 1649 411 3.14 10.7 0.35 146 10 2.3 1.4 1.7 5.05 1.6

Pegmatite -145.38774 63.26542 1549 2008 1783 1777 459 0.89 7.3 0.21 265 17 1.0 0.9 1.2 1.62 1.8

Riley Creek -145.58049 63.55183 1540 2483 2023 2013 943 6.01 17.8 0.24 35 20 2.7 2.3 1.2 6.46 1.1

Robertson / Kimball

-144.51903 63.24377 912 3135 1664 1731 2223 72.41 219.1 0.02 28 12 17.0 4.3 4.0 158.60 2.2

Spur -145.22050 63.43740 1105 2928 1958 1999 1823 29.12 110.5 0.03 42 15 13.0 2.2 5.8 70.86 2.4

Tok -144.20409 63.13876 1401 2206 1788 1800 805 4.27 15.1 0.23 105 10 4.7 0.9 5.1 9.10 2.1

W. Gulkana -145.51717 63.28298 1296 2435 1723 1734 1139 6.34 25.4 0.12 178 15 3.7 1.7 2.2 9.33 1.5

AL-6308/14424 -144.39882 63.15864 1161 2767 1857 1845 1606 15.36 57.7 0.06 197 14 4.4 3.5 1.3 25.86 1.7

AL-6310.5/14417 -144.31543 63.17109 1135 2768 1750 1764 1633 18.35 73.7 0.04 70 14 6.8 2.7 2.5 33.16 1.8

AL-6310/14431 -144.53144 63.18256 1117 2603 1755 1722 1486 16.27 55.7 0.07 193 13 9.9 1.6 6.1 39.39 2.4

AL-6310/14437.5 -144.61454 63.18722 1111 2648 2031 1861 1537 9.13 31.1 0.12 200 12 5.8 1.6 3.7 13.87 1.5

AL-6313-14459 -145.00096 63.23897 1161 2612 1685 1698 1451 38.83 118.9 0.03 157 9 12.2 3.2 3.8 52.95 1.4

AL-6317/14450 -144.81841 63.28315 850 3126 1586 1630 2276 100.14 262.6 0.02 31 11 24.7 4.0 6.1 185.73 1.9

AL-6322/14453 -144.87769 63.35569 1073 2867 1850 1846 1794 16.37 56.9 0.06 5 17 10.4 1.6 6.6 38.83 2.4

AL-6331.5/14532 -145.54385 63.51268 1215 2720 1950 1939 1505 23.07 60.6 0.08 27 16 8.8 2.6 3.3 32.53 1.4

1 Median values shown in summary sections at top for parameters that are not normally distributed. Named glaciers (below) include those identified by Denton and Field (1975) with alphanumeric codes. 

K430 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Error Analysis

A thorough analysis of error is difficult to accomplish because of the lack 

of independent, detailed measurements related to these glaciers for the time 

period of acquisition of the aerial photographs (1948–54) used for map compilation. Some of the potential sources of error are not significant. Changes 

in glacier area over the 6-year span of aerial photography are probably negligible, and photographs for 8 of the 10 quadrangle maps were taken during 

the same year (1954). Co-registration errors among the DEM, DLGs, and 

DRGs are also negligible. Most of the GIS processing to estimate glacier parameters (such as area, elevation, and aspect) adds negligent numerical 

error due to GIS processing alone. More important are errors associated with 

the source data.

The primary elevation datasets (the 15-minute DEMs) are probably a 

source of error. USGS national map-accuracy standards (USGS, 1998b) state 

that root mean square errors (RMSEs) for Level 2 DEMs are less than one half 

of the contour interval [15 m (50 ft) or 30 m (100 ft) for these quadrangles; for 

example, RMSE < 15 m]. The average vertical RMSE for the 10 topographic 

quadrangle maps used in this analysis, as reported in DEM metadata and 

based on 300 geodetic control points, is 3.6 m. However, other glacier studies 

utilizing 15-minute DEMs (Aðalgeirsdóttir and others, 1998; Arendt and others, 2002) have documented vertical errors of about 45 m (standard deviation of random error with negligible systematic offset) for upper accumulation areas on glaciers. The lack of contrast on vertical aerial photographs of 

snow-covered glaciers precludes the use of stereophotogrammetric plotters 

to determine accurate surface-elevation data (for example, a “floating” white 

dot in the plotters cannot be accurately positioned on a “white” surface by 

the photogrammetrist). All elevations of the snow-covered areas of glaciers 

(accumulation area) depicted on topographic maps are unreliable. This error 

affects calculation of average elevation and—to a lesser extent—of median 

elevation. It probably also adds error to the identification of ice divides.

For the glacier polygons, this study relies on the original USGS mapping 

by cartographers during the late 1940s and early 1950s, among which were 

included (as best as can be determined) glaciologists specifically tasked with 

glacier delineation. The original USAF vertical aerial photographs acquired 

for the AMS are generally of high quality. By definition, the polygons include 

“permanent snowfields,” although polygons less than 0.1 km2 (a commonly 

accepted lower limit for glaciers) were excluded from analysis. A related 

conceptual “error” reflects how to quantitatively and objectively define a 

glacier (see “Methods” and “Discussion”). But the greatest source of uncertainty for this study is probably associated with the subjective nature of 

glacier mapping by cartographers from stereoscopic pairs of vertical aerial 

photographs—a process that is not exactly reproducible because of variation in the skills of the cartographers.

In general, the possible errors are random rather than systematic in nature. 

On the basis of the discussion above, the glacier-elevation measurements 

(min., max., median, and average elevations and elevation range) are 

probably accurate within approximately 50 m. The error for glacier area is 

roughly 5 percent for small glaciers and approaches about 1 percent for large 

glaciers. Derived parameters such as average slope angle and aspect probably carry a very small uncertainty, with the exception of length and width, 

which are difficult to objectively measure in automated fashion, and may 

vary about 15 percent from how a glaciologist would manually measure such 

values on a map. Errors for any single glacier or grid cell may be significant 

but are minimized with mean or median calculations for individual glaciers 

and for relationships among glaciers with a large sample size (n=279).

It is instructive to compare this GIS analysis with previously published 

information for Gulkana Glacier. The GIS analyses are based on the USGSGLACIERS OF ALASKA K431
mapped extent as interpreted from aerial photographs taken in 1954 (most 

of the glacier) and 1949 (the lower kilometer). The geospatial results include 

an area of 19.45 km2, a length of 8.5 km, a minimum elevation of 1,141 m, 

and an average slope angle of 10°. These values compare with (1) an estimate of area (18.5 km2

) using the same maps (Echelmeyer and others, 

1996); (2) estimates of length (8 km), terminus elevation (1,180 m), and 

slope angle (7°) based on a 1993 geodetic airborne laser altimeter profiling 

survey (Echelmeyer and others, 1996); (3) a description of area (19.3 km2) 

and length (8.5 km) by Hodge and others (1998); and (4) a listing of area 

(20 km2) that apparently used the same maps (Arendt and others, 2002). 

The GIS results appear comparable, and other methodologies may carry uncertainties in detail.

Another “test” is a comparison with previously published data for 19 glaciers (fig. 398). Denton and Field (1975a) presented a summary of glaciers 

in the area, based on the USGS 1955 1:250,000-scale topographic quadrangle 

map for Mount Hayes. The Mount Hayes map was compiled by the AMS from 

USAF aerial photographs acquired between 1948 and 1955, using the same 

source materials that were used for the 10 15-minute topographic quadrangle 

maps used in the GIS analyses of glaciers. Their estimates of area and length 

are thus associated with a smaller scale Level 1 (equivalent in DEM terms to 

a 90-m grid cell) data source and manual map measurements. Discrepancies 

for area are minor, probably related to the smaller scale mapping. Discrepancies for length are more significant and probably reflect differences between 

manual and GIS-based approaches (see “Methods” section). In general, the 

regressions – only for the largest glaciers in this region – affirm the reliability 

of the geospatial approach.

Figure 398.—Comparison of GIS results for A (area) and B (length) with the 19-glacier inventory of Denton and Field (1975a).

K432 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Results

The geospatial analysis yields details for 279 glaciers thus identified for the 

eastern Alaska Range. Summary statistics are given in table 1 for all glacier 

polygons, along with summary results and individual measurements for the 

19 previously measured or named glaciers. Selected parameters are shown 

in map form in figure 399. Relationships among glacier parameters were also 

explored through correlation analysis. Log-normal transformations were applied to elevation range, area, perimeter, length, width, length/width ratio, 

basin area, and basin coefficient.

The cirque, valley, and complex mountain glaciers range in size from 

0.1 km2 (the minimum threshold for inclusion in the GIS processing) to 

154.5 km2 (Johnson Glacier); the average area is 4.4 km2, and the median 

area is 0.6 km2. Total glacier area is 1,229 km2. The total comprises about 

8 percent of the glacierized area of the entire Alaska Range and less than 

2 percent of the glacier area for the entire State (Post and Meier, 1980) but 

more than twice the area of glaciers in the lower 48 States (about 513 km2, 

cf. Meier, 1961; about 580 km2, Krimmel, 2002). The largest glaciers flow 

from the central divide of the range; smaller glaciers are clustered around 

nunataks, on ridges standing above valley glaciers and their tributary glaciers, and on isolated massifs mainly north of the range divide (fig. 399A). 

Taken as a whole, the glacierized area extends from a minimum elevation of 

756 m at the toe of Johnson Glacier to a maximum of 3,135 m at the upper 

limit of Robertson Glacier.

The results for the calculation of glacier area, illustrated in figures 399A

and 400, highlight a dominant trend: small glaciers are much more common 

than large ones. The frequency distribution by area is similar in form to the 

combined exponential and power relationships noted for other detailed regional inventories (including the Brooks Range) and as applied through geometrical scaling to a global scale (Meier and Bahr, 1996; Bahr, 1997; Bahr and 

Meier, 2000). It is not surprising, therefore, that the number of small glaciers 

is disproportionately higher than the number of large ones. The results here 

document a systematic area-scaling relationship empirically for a relatively 

small region. The results also exemplify the ability of semiautomated GIS 

analysis to comprehensively examine relationships among all glaciers in a region, including small glaciers that are not commonly inventoried or studied.

Some of the fundamental parameters of glacier geometry are not strongly 

related to glacier area. For example, glacier aspect varies throughout the 

cardinal directions of the compass. North-facing glaciers are concentrated 

on the northern side of the range (fig. 399B), and there is a weak but marginally preferred aspect of 6° (p = 0.10, with a mean resultant vector length of 

0.09) (Davis, 1986). However, aspect is not significantly related to glacier 

area (fig. 401) (r = 0.06; p = 0.29). [Editors’ note: r is a correlation coefficient 

where 1 indicates perfect correlation between variables and 0 indicates no 

correlation; p is a probability ranking where higher values show higher relation between variables.] Median glacier elevation ranges from 1,237 m (a 

north-facing cirque glacier 11 km north-northeast of Robertson Glacier) to 

2,599 m (for a small southwest-facing glacier 9 km east of Johnson Glacier); 

the average for the region is 1,910 m. Higher values exist for the northern 

and western glacierized areas of the region (fig. 399C), with a trend surface dipping 10.9 m km-1 at an azimuth of 186°; RMSE = 134 m; r2

 = 0.46; 

p < 0.0001. The median elevation of glaciers may be closely related to the 

regional long-term ELA (cf. Braithwaite and Müller, 1980). However, for this 

region, median elevation is not convincingly related to glacier area (r = -0.12; 

p = 0.05). A closely related parameter, average glacier elevation, exhibits 

similar spatial and statistical relationships.

A few geometric parameters are significantly but weakly related to glacier 

area. Slope angles range from 8° (for Gulkana Glacier) to 37° (for a small 

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K433
Figure 399.—Shaded-relief maps of the glaciers color-coded for selected GIS results: A, area; B, aspect; C, median elevation; D, slope angle; E, length; F, glacier basins randomly colored; G, elevation 

range; and H, length-to-width ratio.

K434 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Figure 400.—Frequency distribution of glaciers by area. A, Shown as a histogram. The leftmost column extends beyond the Y-axis limit of the graph. 

B, Log-log plot of cumulative number of glaciers greater than a given area. 

Compare with Meier and Bahr (1996) and Bahr (1997).

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K435
glacier 8 km west of Kimball Glacier); the regional average is 18° (fig. 399D). 

Not surprisingly, the smallest glaciers tend to have steep surfaces (fig. 402A). 

However, correlation with area is weak (r = -0.40; p < 0.0001). Similarly, the 

basin coefficient varies from 1.0 (for example, the glacier completely occupies 

its basin) to 8.2 (for example, the basin is eight times larger than the glacier 

area); the median value is 1.8. This proportional metric is highest for small 

glaciers (fig. 402B), but correlation with area is weak (r = -0.26; p < 0.0001). 

To summarize, many of the glaciers are typical cirque glaciers that have steep 

surfaces and are bounded by ice-free headwall areas, whereas large valley 

glaciers typically have low slopes and relatively small ice-free catchments. 

However, not all of the glaciers analyzed fall within this spectrum.

Other morphologic parameters are strongly related to glacier area. Not 

surprisingly, strong relationships exist between area and length (figs. 399E, 

402C) ( r = 0.96), width (r = 0.85), perimeter (r = 0.98), and basin area (cf. 

fig. 399F) ( r = 0.96). Larger glaciers tend to have a greater range in elevation 

from head to toe (figs. 399G, 402D) (r = 0.85). They also tend to be more elongate, having high length-to-width ratios (fig. 399H) (r = 0.66), whereas smaller glaciers are more circular in shape (for example, compactness) (r = 0.66). 

These parameters strongly express, in a quantitative sense, a range in morphology normally described qualitatively – from niche and cirque glaciers to 

simple valley glaciers or those with numerous tributaries and compound accumulation basins. They similarly characterize morphologic changes for alpine glaciers as they advance and retreat in mountainous terrain.

Another parameter relates strongly to area. Only the largest glaciers in the 

region have been studied previously. Glaciers given names on the USGS topographic quadrangle maps and included in the inventory by Denton and Field 

(1975a) comprise only 7 percent of the glaciers in the eastern Alaska Range. 

Not surprisingly, these 19 glaciers have morphologies that differ greatly from 

the “typical” values for the range (table 7). For example, they are much larger (19.5 km2

 versus 0.6 km2), longer (9.9 km versus 0.7 km), and elongate 

(length-width ratio of 4.0 versus 1.0) and have a greater range in elevation 

(1,606 m as opposed to 459 m), than could be considered “representative” 

Figure 401.—Polar diagram of glacier area 

versus aspect. Most glaciers fall close to 

the central origin, with the largest glaciers 

facing northeast, south, and west.

K436 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
(see “Discussion”). Conversely, the 19 glaciers together cover 950 km2

 or 77 

percent of the total glacierized area in the region.

Finally, the area-altitude distribution, or hypsometry, can be plotted and 

evaluated for selected glaciers and for the region as a whole (fig. 403). Glacier 

ice integrated across the range displays a normal distribution with elevation 

and yields a characteristic sigmoidal curve when plotted as cumulative area 

versus elevation (cf. Arendt and others, 2002). Some glaciers show skewed 

concentrations of surface area in their higher (for example, Gerstle Glacier) 

or lower (for example, Chistochina and Gakona Glaciers) reaches. Others 

such as Gulkana Glacier, do not fully encompass the vertical range of ice in 

the region but display bell-shaped distributions that mirror the distribution 

for the range as a whole. Still others yield normal distributions that are shifted above (for example, Riley Creek Glacier) or below the regional curve. Together with climate and flow dynamics, glacier hypsometry is closely linked 

to mass balance.

Figure 402.—Plots of four geospatial measurements versus glacier area. A, Slope 

angle; B, basin coefficient; C, length; and 

D, elevation range. 

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K437
Discussion

Presented here is a new digital inventory of glaciers in the eastern Alaska 

Range as they existed during the 1948–54 period. Nineteen glaciers were 

previously detailed by area, length, width, and other parameters (Denton 

and Field, 1975a). None of the glaciers are currently in the World Glacier 

Inventory (National Snow and Ice Data Center, 1999, 2003). The region includes Gulkana Glacier, a well-studied “benchmark” glacier (cf. Echelmeyer 

and others, 1996; Hodge and others, 1998; Molnia, this volume). The geospatial database of glacier extent builds upon extensive mapping and GIS 

layers produced by the USGS. A total of 279 glaciers (only 19 have formal 

names) cover an area of 1,229 km2. Beyond mapping and visualization, the 

advantages of using GIS to study these glaciers include the capability of investigating all of the glaciers in the region, statistically analyzing glaciological 

properties, and sharing the digital inventory for other uses.

Quantitative geospatial analysis is a relatively new approach to studying glacier systems. Studies to date include objective glacier classification, 

digital inventory, and analysis of change (for example, Allen, 1998; Paul and 

others, 2002; Kääb and others, 2002; Ommanney, 2002b; Paul, 2003). The 

technique used here relies on spatial rather than temporal variability. As 

such, it is complementary to time-series studies of glacier change based on 

field measurements and (or) remote sensing (cf. Arendt and others, 2002; 

Paul, 2002, 2003), which are commonly limited to only a limited number of 

“selected” glaciers in any given glacierized region.

This study takes advantage of a large, comprehensive, empirical dataset. 

Created from glacier extents shown on 1:63,360-scale USGS topographic 

quadrangle maps, the spatial dataset includes all glaciers in the eastern 

Alaska Range at moderately high resolution, including very small ones. The 

glacier polygons include debris-covered areas, which are problematic for automated processing of satellite imagery. Measurement error for individual 

glaciers may be higher than that which exists with intensive manual editing. 

However, semiautomated GIS processing yields a large sample size that reveals coherent patterns among morphologic parameters.

Figure 403.—Area-altitude distribution 

integrated for all glacier ice in the region 

(black lines) compared with curves for selected glaciers. A, Plotted as percent area 

per 30-m elevation band. B, Cumulative 

area, in percent, versus elevation.

K438 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Most of the 15 parameters of glacier morphology are strongly linked to a 

prominent trend: large glaciers are much less common than small ones. The 

area of the largest glacier measures 154 km2, whereas the median glacier 

area is only 0.6 km2. Glaciers ranging from 0.1 to 1.0 km2 in size account for 

6 percent of the glaciers by area and 67 percent by number. Properties that 

are correlated with glacier area yield average or median values that are characteristic of small cirque or niche glaciers: the “typical” glacier is almost as 

long (0.7 km) as it is wide (0.8 km), occupies a small basin (1.1 km2), slopes 

18° on average, and spans 460 m in elevation. Glaciers in the region have 

only a weak statistical preference to form north-facing surfaces. The glaciers 

commonly have “normal” bell-shaped distributions of area versus elevation.

Geospatial data help to address the question “Is Gulkana Glacier generally 

‘representative’ of all the glaciers in the region?” In other words, are studies 

to date on this “benchmark” glacier regionally significant (cf. Echelmeyer 

and others, 1996; Hodge and others, 1998)? On the one hand, Gulkana Glacier is much larger, longer, wider, elongate, and more gently sloped than the 

typical glacier and has a greater elevation range and basin size. However, 

other metrics imply that Gulkana Glacier is indeed “representative” in terms 

of mass balance. Its median and mean elevations are close to “typical”; more 

importantly, its elevational distribution (hypsometric curve) is closely similar to that for glacier ice integrated across the region as a whole. At any rate, 

the issue depends largely on the specific question at hand, and the digital 

inventory can help to identify additional glaciers for study that are—in various ways—“representative.”

As geospatial analysis of glaciers becomes more common, it will be important to reduce redundant effort and to assure comparability among datasets. 

In this regard, the digital inventory is available as an attributed vector GIS 

layer from the Quaternary GIS Laboratory at the Institute of Arctic and Alpine 

Research (INSTARR), University of Colorado [http://instaar.colorado.edu/QGISL/]. The stepwise algorithms are also available and can be applied to other 

glacierized regions. Among other methodologic issues, the “scripts” help address a fundamental concern: an objective, quantitative, geospatial definition 

of a “glacier.” The definition is inherently linked to how drainage areas and ice 

divides are identified. Similarly, parameters such as length and width are dependent in detail on the chosen analytical approach. Hopefully a community 

consensus or protocol for standardized geospatial processing will emerge, 

perhaps as part of the Global Land Ice Measurements from Space (GLIMS) 

Program (Keiffer and others, 2000; Bishop and others, 2004) or as presented 

in the important Ph.D. dissertation by Paul (2003). The digital inventory is 

valuable for other studies. Though limited in extent, the database would assist in the regional analysis of the following glacier parameters: (1) derivation of, or application of, scaling relationships to estimate such quantities as 

thickness, volume, activity index, response times, and so on; (2) analysis and 

modeling of mass balance, ELAs, and local to regional controls on glacier-climate relationships; (3) analysis and modeling of glacier hazards, meltwater 

runoff, and contribution to sea-level rise; and (4) studies of glacier change as 

a decades-old baseline for comparison with recent satellite imagery and other 

remotely sensed measurements of glacier response to climate change.

Acknowledgments

Extensive GIS editing and processing were done by Denise Dundon and 

Evan Burgess (University of Colorado). Thanks also go to Mark F. Meier and 

Mark B. Dyurgerov (University of Colorado) for guidance and discussions. 

Most important, this study would not have been possible without the considerable efforts and skills of USGS cartographers and earth scientists involved 

in the compilation and publication of the topographic quadrangle maps and 

derived GIS layers.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K439
The Mount McKinley-Mount Foraker Segment between 

Broad Pass and Rainy Pass

The Mount McKinley-Mount Foraker segment, which is about 275 km long 

and almost 80 km wide, contains the highest mountain in North America, 

Mount McKinley (6,195 m) (Brooks, 1911). Two views of this segment and 

its glaciers are presented (figs. 404, 405). Although it is officially named 

Mount McKinley (fig. 406), this mountain is popularly called Denali, meaning the Great or High One in the Athapaskan language. Other high peaks in 

this region include Mount Foraker (5,303 m), the third highest summit in 

Alaska; Mount Hunter (4,443 m); Mount Brooks (3,640 m); and Mount Russell (3,558 m). This segment also includes the Kichatna Mountains.

151°W

62°30’N

10 0 10 20 30 KILOMETERS

APPROXIMATE SCALE

Yentna Gl.

Kahiltna Gl.

Muldrow Glacier

Mount

McKinley

Tokositna

Gl.

Ruth Gl.

Eldridge Gl.

S u s i t n a R i v e

C

r

hulitna River

Figure 404.—Landsat 3 and 5 MSS false-color 

infrared composite image mosaic of Mount 

McKinley area and environs, Alaska Range, 

Alaska, used for the 1:250,000-scale, experimental satellite image map of Denali National 

Park and Preserve, Alaska, published by the 

USGS in 1984. Numerous glaciers are visible 

on the flanks of the massif. Yentna Glacier (center) shows contorted medial moraines characteristic of a surging glacier. Reddish hues 

represent various types of vegetation. The 

following 9 Landsat 3 and 5 MSS images were 

used to compile the mosaic: (1) 30914–20281, 

bands 4, 5, 7; 4 September 1980; Path 75, Row 

16; (2) 30537–20441, bands 4, 5, 7; 24 August 

1979; Path 76, Row 15; (3) 30537–20443, bands 

4, 5, 7; 24 August 1979; Path 76, Row 16; (4) 

30555–20442, bands 4, 5, 7; 11 September 

1979; Path 76, Row 16; (5) 30555–20444, bands 

4, 5, 7; 11 September 1979; Path 76, Row 17; (6) 

50194–21013, bands 4, 5, 7; 11 September 1984; 

Path 72, Row 15; (7) 30556–20493, bands 4, 5, 7; 

12 September 1979; Path 77, Row 15; (8) 30556–

20500, bands 4, 5, 7; 12 September 1979; Path 

77, Row 16; and (9) 50187–20555, bands 4, 5, 7; 

4 September 1984; Path 71, Row 16. All Landsat 

MSS images are from the USGS, EROS Data 

Center, Sioux Falls, S. Dak.

K440 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
152°W

153°W

151° 150° 149°

62°N

63°N

Dall Gl

S

.

urprise Gl.

Kahiltna Glacier

Mount

McKinley

Chedotlothna Gl.

Yentna Gl.

Lacuna Gl.

Tokositna Gl.

Ruth Gl.

Kanikula Gl.

Buckskin Gl.

Eldridge Gl.

Peters Gl.

Straightaway Gl.

Foraker Gl.

Herron Gl.

Tra el ika Gl.

Brooks Gl

M

. uldrow Gl

10 0 10 20 30 KILOMETERS .

APPROXIMATE SCALE

Figure 405.—Annotated Landsat 1 MSS image of Mount 

McKinley and Denali National Park and Preserve. Mount 

McKinley (6,195 m) supports numerous large glaciers. Many 

of the glaciers on the northwest side of the McKinley massif surge, including the Straightaway, Peters, and Muldrow 

Glaciers. Muldrow Glacier had a strong surge that began 

in the winter of 1956–1957. During the course of the surge, 

which lasted less than 1 year, the terminus advanced 6.6 km, 

and surface levels dropped up to 100 m in the upper glacier 

area and increased 200 m in the lower glacier (Post, 1960). 

The contorted medial moraines of the Muldrow Glacier can 

be clearly seen on this image. Peters Glacier had a strong 

surge in 1986. The large glaciers on the south side of the massif—the Kahiltna, Ruth, and Eldridge Glaciers—do not show 

evidence of surging. The Tokositna Glacier surged in 1971–72 

and in 2002–02. Landsat 1 MSS image (5865–19312, band 7; 

31 August 1977; Path 77, Row 16) from the USGS, EROS Data 

Center, Sioux Falls, S. Dak. Landsat image and caption courtesy of Robert M. Krimmel, U.S. Geological Survey.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K441
K442 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
More than 20 glaciers with lengths of greater than 8 km descend from 

many isolated peaks to the east and a broad interconnected accumulation 

area to the west. The unnamed ice field is more than 115 km in length. Six 

glaciers have lengths of greater than 40 km. From east to west, in a counterclockwise direction, these are (according to lengths and areas measured by 

Denton and Field, 1975a, p. 588–590 and p. 593 from USGS maps): Muldrow 

Glacier (fig. 407) (61 km, 516 km2); Yentna Glacier (51 km, 487 km2); Kahiltna 

Glacier (76 km, 580 km2); Tokositna Glacier (fig. 408) (44 km, 240 km2); 

Ruth Glacier (63 km, 449 km2); and Eldridge Glacier (48 km, 485 km2). Many 

of the glaciers in this segment surge, including Tokositna, Lacuna, Yentna, 

Straightaway, Peters, and Muldrow Glaciers. These glaciers and many others 

show multiple evidence of surging. Tokositna, Lacuna, and Yentna Glaciers 

have large looped and folded moraines (Meier, 1976) that result from long 

periods of near stagnation alternating with brief periods of extremely high 

surge flow.

Beginning on the northern side of the unnamed ice field, moving counter-clockwise from east to west, the major glaciers are listed with approximate lengths and approximate areas measured by Denton and Field (1975a, 

p. 588–593) from USGS maps: (1) an unnamed glacier draining to the East 

Fork Toklat River; (2) Polychrome Glacier; (3) an unnamed glacier draining to the Toklat River (8 km, 15 km2

), which, on an annual basis between 

the middle 1950s and the middle 1990s, thinned by 1.82 m a-1 and decreased 

in volume by 0.016 km3 a-1 (K.A. Echelmeyer, W.D. Harrison, V.B. Valentine, and S.I. Zirnheld, University of Alaska Fairbanks, written commun. 

March 2001); (4) Sunset Glacier (9 km, 9 km2); (5) Muldrow Glacier (61 

km, 516 km2); (6) Peters Glacier (27 km, 123 km2), which surged in 1986; 

(7) an unnamed glacier draining into Slippery Creek (8 km, 11 km2); (8) 

Straightaway Glacier (fig. 409) (22 km, 71 km2); (9) Foraker Glacier (fig. 

410) (25 km, 74 km2); (10) Herron Glacier (25 km, 79 km2); (11) an unnamed glacier draining into Swift Fork (8 km, 27 km2

); (12) Chedotlothna 

Glacier (see 1925 Capps photograph, USGS Photo Library photograph Capps 

1103) (27 km, 97 km2); (13) an unnamed glacier draining into Ripsnorter 

Creek (7 km, 8 km2); (14) Surprise Glacier (15 km, 47 km2), which has retreated more than 2 km since 1958, opening an ice-marginal lake adjacent to 

Figure 406.—Three views of Mount 

McKinley. A, 1923 photograph by Blanchard 

of Mount McKinley from the north side of 

the hummocky stagnant ice terminus of 

Muldrow Glacier. Photograph Alaska 100 

from the USGS Photo Library, Denver, 

Colo. B, A computer-generated northlooking view of the central Alaska Range 

including Mount McKinley and Mount 

Foraker produced by combining part of the 

Landsat image mosaic used in figure 404 

with corresponding digital elevation data. 

The point of view is located about 4,500 

m above the Tokositna River. From east to 

west, key foreground features are: Ruth 

Glacier, the Tokosha Mountains, Tokositna 

Glacier, and Kanikula Glacier. Produced by 

the USGS, EROS Data Center, Sioux Falls, 

S. Dak., courtesy of the author. C, Oblique 

aerial photograph taken in October 1965 

looking towards the summit of Mount 

McKinley across the snow-covered upper 

part of the Traleika Glacier (including its 

West Fork) a major tributary of the Muldrow 

Glacier. U.S. Air Force Cambridge Research 

Laboratories photograph taken by T/Sgt. 

Roland E. Hudson, courtesy of Richard S. 

Williams, Jr., U.S. Geological Survey.

Figure 407.—13 September 1986 oblique 

aerial photograph of Muldrow Glacier, the 

largest glacier on the north side of Mount 

McKinley; it had a major surge from 1956 to 

1957. The aerial photograph shows only the 

middle part of the glacier; the lower glacier 

extends another 15 to 20 km beyond the 

photograph to the right. The large, arcuate 

moraine loop in the foreground was displaced to its present position from in front 

of the major left tributary in the middle of 

the photograph by the 1957 surge (Post, 

1960). Presumably, the foreground loop 

will be displaced downglacier and replaced by the loop now forming in front 

of the major left tributary during the next 

surge. Photograph no. 86–R3–182 and caption courtesy of Robert M. Krimmel, U.S. 

Geological Survey.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K443
its terminus; (15) an unnamed glacier draining from Mount Dall (16 km, 55 

km2); (16) Dall Glacier (36 km, 243 km2); (17) Yentna Glacier (fig. 411) (51 

km, 487 km2), which surged in 1972 and again in 2000, while its major tributary, Lacuna Glacier (fig. 412), which had been stagnant for about 60 years, 

surged in 2001; (18) an unnamed glacier (10 km, 25 km2); (19) an unnamed 

glacier (10 km, 14 km2); (20) the stagnant Kahiltna Glacier (76 km, 580 km2) 

(see 1910 Capps photograph, USGS Photographic Library photograph Capps 

312), some of whose unnamed tributaries were studied and photographed 

by Capps in 1910 (fig. 413); (21) Kanikula Glacier (18 km, 48 km2); (22) 

Tokositna Glacier (44 km, 240 km2), which surges about every 25 to 30 years; 

(23) Ruth Glacier (fig. 414) (63 km, 449 km2); (24) an unnamed glacier at 

the head of the Coffee River (11 km, 11 km2); (25) Buckskin Glacier (23 km, 

Figure 408.—Oblique aerial photograph 

of Tokositna Glacier on 30 August 1984; 

the glacier is located on the south side of 

Mount McKinley and has frequent minor 

surges. This view, looking down the glacier, 

shows well the characteristic contorted 

medial moraines of surging glaciers. These 

features on the Tokositna Glacier are barely 

large enough to be seen on the Landsat 

MSS image mosaic (fig. 404) and image 

(fig. 405). Photograph no. 84–R2–248, 30 

August 1984, by Robert M. Krimmel, U.S. 

Geological Survey.

Figure 409.—14 September 1999 northlooking oblique aerial photograph of the 

terminus area of Straightaway Glacier 

showing its hummocky, debris-covered surface and the development of thermokarst 

features. A vegetation-covered lateral 

moraine has developed on the east side of 

the glacier. Photograph by Bruce F. Molnia, 

U.S. Geological Survey. A larger version of 

this figure is available online.

Figure 410.—14 September 1999 northwest-looking oblique aerial photograph of 

the terminus area of Foraker Glacier showing its hummocky, debris-covered surface 

and the development of thermokarst features. Of all the large glaciers observed 

in 1999 flowing out of the Alaska Range, 

Foraker Glacier appeared to have experienced the greatest amount of recent thinning and retreat, thinning by as much as 

75 m. Photograph by Bruce F. Molnia, U.S. 

Geological Survey.

K444 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
47 km2

), which retreated more than 2 km between 1958 and 1999; (26) Eldridge Glacier (48 km, 485 km2

); and (27) two unnamed glaciers draining 

into Ohio Creek, one having a length of 8 km and an area of 12 km2 and the 

other having a length of 14 km and an area of 17 km2. Other glaciers, the 

lengths and (or) areas of which have been estimated by the author, are the 

6-km-long West Fork Glacier (one of three glaciers with that name in Alaska) 

and an unnamed glacier that drains into Boulder Creek that has a length of 

about 8 km and an area of about 10 km2 and originates from an isolated unnamed peak west of Chedotlothna Glacier.

Figure 411.—31 August 1967 north-looking oblique aerial photograph of 

the upper part of Yentna Glacier at an elevation of approximately 1,600 m. 

Although trimlines are close to the ice surface, elevated lateral and medial 

moraines and a thick marginal sediment zone on many tributaries suggest 

that the Yentna Glacier has undergone some recent thinning. Because the date 

of this aerial photograph is 5 years prior to the 1972 surge, it is doubtful that 

any of the thinning seen here is related to surge drawdown. Photograph no. 

67–R3–67 by Austin Post, U.S. Geological Survey. 

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K445
Figure 413.—Two 1910 photographs by S.R. Capps mosaicked to show two 

unnamed retreating glaciers located at the head of Hidden Creek, a 9-km-long 

eastern tributary to the valley of the Kahiltna Glacier. Both glaciers have elevated lateral moraines and are fronted by large debris aprons. Photographs 

Capps 306 and 307 from the USGS Photo Library, Denver, Colo.

Figure 412.—31 August 1967 north-looking 

oblique aerial photograph of the upper 

part of Lacuna Glacier at an elevation of 

approximately 1,500 m. Folded loop moraines provide evidence of a past surge. 

Trimlines and elevated lateral and medial 

moraines suggest that the glacier has experienced recent thinning. Few glaciers 

have the number of potholes that are seen 

on the surface of this glacier. Photograph 

67–R3–60 by Austin Post, U.S. Geological 

Survey.

K446 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Figure 414.—A, 4 September 1966 northlooking oblique aerial photograph of The 

Great Gorge of Ruth Glacier, with Mount 

McKinley in the background. Elevated 

lateral moraines located on both sides of 

the valley suggest that here, more than 30 

km above the terminus, at an elevation of 

approximately 1,000 m, recent thinning 

has occurred. Photograph no. 665–82 

by Austin Post, U.S. Geological Survey. 

B, 14 September 1999 south-looking 

oblique aerial photograph of a large 

thermokarst lake in the central terminus 

area of Ruth Glacier. This lake is the result 

of the coalescence of many individual 

thermokarst pits. Photograph by Bruce F. 

Molnia, U.S. Geological Survey.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K447
Tokositna Glacier

Tokositna Glacier surged in 1970 and in 1972. Neither surge resulted in the 

displacement of the terminus. Essentially stagnant since the end of the surge 

in 1972, Tolisitna suddenly began surging in late February 2001, moving forward at a rate of approximately 2 m d-1. The 1971–72 surge resulted in about 2 

km of displacement. The 2001 surge produced significantly less displacement 

and did not impact the terminus. Before the early 1970s surge, Post (1969) 

had identified Tokositna Glacier as a surge-type glacier on the basis of contorted moraines that resulted from a pre-1957 surge.

Polychrome Glacier

Polychrome Glacier, a north-flowing 4-km-long valley glacier at the eastern end of this group of glaciers, discharges into an unnamed eastern fork of 

the Toklat River; it was mapped by the AGS during the IGY (AGS, 1960). In 

the notes accompanying the map, Post (AGS, 1960, p. 21) described an ablation moraine covering the lower 1.5 km of the glacier that effectively protected the covered ice so that “little or no retreat was evident.” Post (AGS, 1960, 

p. 21) also noted that almost no snow remained from the previous winter and 

that he doubted if “the glacier had experienced a positive snow budget for 

many years at any point in the basin.” In 1995, Polychrome Glacier was resurveyed by a geodetic airborne laser altimeter profiler (Sapiano and others, 

1998). A comparison of two profiles collected on 28 June 1995 with profiles 

constructed from a 1957 map showed that the 1995 terminus of Polychrome 

Glacier was very close to its 1957 position, a change of 10±5 m during the 38 

years between surveys. The glacier’s area, however, had decreased from 1.84 

km2 in 1957 to 1.7 km2 in 1995, a decrease of about 9 percent. The glacier had 

thinned an average of 8.5 m, its volume had decreased by 1.5×107 m3, and its 

average annual mass balance was -0.2 m.

Muldrow Glacier

Muldrow Glacier (figs. 405, 406, 407) flows to the northeast from high on 

the slopes of Mount McKinley, ending at a moraine-covered terminus near the 

Eielson Visitors Center in Denali National Park. Two named tributary glaciers, 

Brooks and Traleika Glaciers (fig. 406C), are the primary sources of ice for Muldrow Glacier. From May of 1956 through the summer of 1957, Muldrow Glacier 

surged a distance of about 6.6 km (Post, 1960). The maximum observed velocity during the peak of movement was about 350 m d-1 or about 24 cm min-1. The 

glacier surface elevation decreased up to 100 m in the upper glacier area and 

increased 200 m in the lower glacier. For almost a decade before the surge, a 

wave of thickening ice moved down the upper part of the glacier at a rate of 

approximately 0.75 m d-1. Post (1960), who described the 1956–57 surge, reported that an analysis of moraine patterns on the surface of Muldrow Glacier 

suggests that at least four prior surges have occurred within the past several 

hundred years, the most recent pre-1956 surge occurring between 1906 and 

1912. A large moraine visible from the Eielson Visitors Center was formed by 

a late 16th or early 17th century advance that represents the “Little Ice Age” 

maximum position of Muldrow Glacier. Ice stagnation and retreat followed, 

but, about 150 years ago, the recession was interrupted by a new surge that 

deposited a second set of moraines approximately 1.5 to 4.5 km behind the 

16th or 17th century moraines. The 1957 surge overrode much of the second 

set of moraines and reached to within 5 km of the park road. In 1976 and 1977, 

Bradford Washburn, acting on the recommendation of the Swiss glaciologist 

Fritz Müller and working jointly with the Museum of Science (Boston, Massachusetts) and the Swiss Foundation for Alpine Research, mapped the lower 

37 km of the Muldrow Glacier from vertical aerial photographs acquired on 21 

August 1976 by Air Photo Tech of Anchorage, Alaska (Field, 1990). The orthophoto contour map, which has a 10-m contour interval on the glacier (20-m 

contours on steep off-glacier topography), was published as five 1:10,000-

scale sheets, each covering about 8×10 km (Washburn, 1983).

K448 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
When the author observed it from the air in 1978, in September 1999, and 

on 3 September 2002, vegetation covered the ablating, stagnant, ice-cored 

moraine for a distance of 2 km or more from the glacier’s terminus. For the 

next 15 km further upglacier, this continuous morainic cover graded into areas 

of debris-covered stagnant ice and bare ice. More than 25 km further upglacier, the glacier’s surface was a mixture of bare ice and contorted moraines. 

Kichatna Mountains

The Kichatna Mountains (fig. 415A, B) support several dozen glaciers, 

seven of which are more than 8 km long. Many of the smaller glaciers, which 

sit in cirques or small valleys, were retreating when they were first observed 

at the start of the 20th century (fig. 415A). The largest radiate like claws from 

the northern flanks of Augustin Peak, Gurney Peak, Cathedral Spires, and 

Lewis Peak. The glaciers, whose lengths and areas have been measured by 

Denton and Field (1975a, p. 590–591), include four unnamed glaciers (8 km, 

9 km2; 10 km, 21 km2; 15 km, 26 km2; about 6 km, about 5 km2, estimated by 

the author); Shadows Glacier (14 km, 24 km2); Cul-de-sac Glacier (12 km, 

14 km2); and Tatina Glacier (10 km , 11 km2). 

Glaciers of this area were used to compare the capabilities of two of the 

first satellite remote sensing systems and their ability to resolve glaciological 

Figure 415.—Two views of cirque and small 

valley glaciers in the Kichatna Mountains. 

A, 1902 panoramic photographs by A.H. 

Brooks of several glaciers in the southcentral Kichatna Mountains, probably east 

of Caldwell Glacier. The unnamed glaciers 

show multiple evidence of retreat and thinning. Photographs Capps 878 and 879 from 

the USGS Photo Library, Denver, Colo. 

B, 24 August 1979 east-looking oblique 

aerial photograph of the summits of several unnamed, approximately 2,000-mhigh Kichatna Mountains peaks adjacent to 

Augustin Peak. Because only the snow-covered heads of these glaciers can be seen, 

the status of their terminus regions cannot 

be determined. Photograph no.79–R2–233 

by Austin Post, U.S. Geological Survey.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K449
features from space. Hall and Ormsby (1983) compared a Landsat image 

(30177–20455, 29 August 1978) of the Alaska Range and a SEASAT SAR 

image (03800083, 23 July 1978) that was also analyzed by Ford and others 

(1980). Both images show glaciers in the area. They concluded that Landsat 

and SEASAT SAR images were equally useful in determining the position of 

glacier termini, delineating medial moraines, and depicting terminal moraine 

areas. Landsat images can be used to determine the snowline; SEASAT SAR 

images cannot. Ford (1984) was also able to delineate glacial lakes, fluted 

ridges, and drumlinized topography along the valleys of the Chulitna and 

Tokositna Rivers. 

The Mount Gerdine-Mount Spurr Segment between 

Rainy Pass and Merrill Pass

This segment, which has a maximum length of approximately 140 km, includes the Tordrillo Mountains, which hosts both the largest concentrations 

of glacier ice and the largest glaciers; the Terra Cotta Mountains; the Revelation Mountains; and some isolated accumulation areas from which a number 

of small glaciers descend.

Peaks of the Tordrillo Mountains that support large glaciers include Mount 

Torbert (3,480 m), Mount Gerdine (3,432 m) and Mount Spurr (3,374 m) 

(fig. 416), the only active volcano in the Alaska Range. More than 15 glaciers 

longer than 8 km descend from a broad interconnected accumulation area 

more than 45 km long and located between Hayes River and Chakachamna 

Lake. The three longest—Hayes, Triumvirate, and Capps Glaciers—all drain 

eastward and are longer than 40 km (Denton and Field, 1975a, p. 595–596).

The named glaciers of the Tordrillo Mountains, whose lengths and areas 

have been measured by Denton and Field, 1975a, p. 595–597, are (from 

the north in a clockwise direction): Hayes Glacier (48 km, 207 km2), which 

is known to surge (fig. 417A) and originates on the western side of Mount 

Gerdine; Trimble Glacier (33 km, 286 km2) (fig. 417B), which originates on 

the eastern side of Mount Gerdine, Triumvirate Glacier (45 km, 402 km2) 

Barrier Gl.

Pothole Gl

Ha

.

rpoon Gl

Sou

.

thTwin Gl.

NorthTwin Gl.

Skwentna River

Hayes Glacier

Black and

Tan Glacier

Trimble Gl.

Strandline Lake

62°N

62°N

152°W

153°W

153°W

151° 150°

10 0 10 20 30 KILOMETERS

APPROXIMATE SCALE

Cook Inlet

Chakachamna Lake

Capps Glacier

Triumvirate Gl.

Mt.

Torbert

Mt.

Spurr

Kidazqeni Gl.

Hayes River

Mt. 

Gerdine

Figure 416.—Annotated Landsat 2 image 

of the Tordrillo Mountains, southwestern Alaska Range. There are numerous 

ice-dammed lakes, surge-type glaciers, 

and glaciers on volcanoes in this area. 

Chakachamna Lake has not been icedammed in recent years; however, an 

advance of the Barrier Glacier or a debris 

flow from Mount Spurr, which had major 

eruptive activity in 1953 and was becoming 

active again in 2004, could easily dam the 

lake again. Strandline Lake has a history of 

repeated jökulhlaups (Juhle and Coulter, 

1955; Post and Mayo, 1971; Sturm and 

Benson, 1985). The Hayes Glacier is known 

to surge (Post, 1969), as does the Harpoon 

Glacier, which was actively surging in 1984. 

This Landsat image barely shows the characteristic contorted medial moraines of 

surge-type glaciers on the Hayes, Harpoon, 

and Capps Glaciers. Landsat 2 MSS image 

(21288–20253, band 7; 2 August 1978; Path 

76, Row 17) from the USGS, EROS Data 

Center, Sioux Falls, S. Dak. Landsat image 

and caption courtesy of Robert M. Krimmel, 

U.S. Geological Survey.

K450 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Hayes Glacier

A

N

Figure 417.—A, 20 July 1982 annotated AHAP false-color infrared vertical aerial 

photograph of the lower part and terminus of the Hayes Glacier, an unnamed glacier to the north, and a number of cirques containing small glaciers. Hayes Glacier 

shows multiple evidence of stagnant ice, retreat, and thinning, including the growth 

of vegetation on its terminus. The surface of its lower 15 km is mantled by ablation 

debris and is covered by hundreds of thermokarst pits and lakes. Trimlines rim the 

two glaciers. The cirques are either deglacierized or the glaciers have retreated so 

much that they no longer make contact with Hayes Glacier or the unnamed glacier. 

AHAP photograph no. L102F9235 from the GeoData Center, Geophysical Institute, 

University of Alaska, Fairbanks, Alaska. B, 8 September 2000 west-looking oblique 

aerial photograph of the upper part (North Branch) of the Trimble Glacier showing a 

distinct trimline and sediment accumulation on the southern margin of the glacier. 

Photograph by William R. Reckert, Volunteer for Science, U.S. Geological Survey. A 

larger version of B is available online.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K451
(fig. 418), which originates on the southern side of Mount Gerdine and from 

the flanks of a number of unnamed peaks. It has a small northern distributary 

that dams Strandline Lake, which has a history of repeated glacier outburst 

floods (jökulhlaups) (Juhle and Coulter, 1955; Post and Mayo, 1971; Sturm 

and Benson, 1985). Continuing clockwise is (1) Capps Glacier (fig. 419) 

(42 km, 293 km2), originating on the eastern side of Mount Torbert and the 

northern side of Mount Spurr [Capps Glacier was reported to be surging during September 2000 by Austin Post (oral commun., 8 September 2000), but 

the surge was not affecting the terminus region]; (2) an unnamed glacier 

Figure 418.—Two 8 September 2000 

oblique aerial photographs of the terminus 

of Triumvirate Glacier showing multiple 

evidence of stagnant ice, retreat, and thinning. A, West view upglacier from above 

the outwash plain that fronts the glacier 

and its sequence of multiple, recessional 

moraines, many with interlobe lakes. Other 

features include the development of a 

hummocky pitted surface, large trimlines, 

a large ice-marginal lake, Strandline Lake, 

and significant accumulations of glaciofluvial sediments along the margins of the 

glacier. B, View of the retreating ice margin 

adjacent to Strandline Lake and to a second lake to the west. Continued thinning 

of Triumvirate Glacier results in a lowering 

of the surface level of both lakes. The water 

level in both lakes is low enough that water is no longer flowing along the northern 

margin of the glacier. In the past, a thicker 

glacier would block the outflow from both 

lakes resulting in a period of glacier outburst floods (jökulhlaups). Photographs by 

William R. Reckert, Volunteer for Science, 

U.S. Geological Survey. A larger version of 

B is available online.

Figure 419.—Two 8 September 2000 oblique aerial photographs of Capps 

Glacier. A, View looking west across the terminus of Capps Glacier showing 

evidence of stagnant ice, retreat, and thinning, including the development of 

a hummocky pitted surface with thermokarst lakes, trimlines, an ice-marginal 

lake, and large volumes of sediment accumulating along the margins of the 

glacier. The folded medial moraines are indicative of past surge behavior. 

Photograph by William R. Reckert, Volunteer for Science, U.S. Geological 

Survey. B, Oblique aerial photograph looking southwest across the central 

part of the glacier showing the fractured vertical margin and shattered surface 

indicative of a surge in the middle part of the glacier. Photograph no. C–26 by 

Austin Post, U.S. Geological Survey. A larger version of B is available online.

K452 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
(14 km, 33 km2

) originating on the southeastern side of Mount Spurr and forming the headwaters of Straight Creek; (3) a tephra-covered unnamed glacier 

draining from Crater Peak (fig. 420) (10 km, 27 km2), incorrectly labeled as 

Kidazgeni (with a ‘g’) Glacier on the USGS 1:63,000-scale Tyonek A–6, Alaska 

(1958) topographic map, originating on the southern side of Mount Spurr; 

(4) Kidazqeni Glacier (fig. 420) (9 km, 10 km2), correctly labeled on the USGS 

1:250,000-scale Tyonek, Alaska (1958) topographic map; (5) Barrier Glacier 

(fig. 421) (see 22 September 1992 vertical aerial photograph by Austin Post, 

USGS photograph no. 92V4–98), (15 km, 49 km2), which originates on the 

western and northern sides of Mount Spurr, so named because it obstructs 

the flow of water in the Neacola River–Chakachatna River drainage system, 

forming Chakachamna Lake; (6) stagnant Pothole Glacier (14 km, 56 km2), 

which originates on the unnamed accumulation area located between Mount 

Spurr and Mount Torbert; (7) Harpoon Glacier (13 km, 21 km2), which heads 

Figure 420.—Three photographs of 

Kidazqeni Glacier. A, September 1966 

northwest-looking oblique aerial photograph of the summits of Mount Spurr and 

Crater Peak showing two glaciers on the 

south side of Mount Spurr. The eastern 

one, incorrectly mapped as Kidazgeni 

(with a g) Glacier in 1958 is actually unnamed. The western glacier is Kidazqeni 

Glacier (with a q). The unnamed glacier has 

a heavily tephra-covered piedmont lobe. 

Aside from exposed bedrock in its bed, an 

elevated lateral moraine on its west side, a 

small barren halo around the terminus of 

Kidazqeni Glacier, and an elevated lateral 

moraine on the east side of the unnamed 

glacier, neither glacier shows significant 

evidence of thinning or retreat. In the 

8 years between the 1958 map and the 

photograph, no change could be detected 

in either glacier. Photograph no. 666–6 

by Austin Post, U.S. Geological Survey. 

B, 2 September 1970 north-looking oblique 

aerial photograph of the summit of Crater 

Peak and Kidazqeni Glacier. Steam is rising from Crater Peak. In the 4 years between photographs, no significant change 

could be detected in Kidazqeni Glacier. 

Photograph no. 7OR2–252 by Austin Post, 

U.S. Geological Survey. C, 22 September 

1992 oblique aerial photograph of the summit of Mount Spurr and Kidazqeni Glacier. 

In the 22 years since the 1970 photograph, 

the debris-covered, ice-marginal zone has 

retreated slightly from an end moraine that 

has developed adjacent to the terminus of 

the glacier and the individual ogive ridges 

have become muted. Photograph no. 

92–V4–130 by Austin Post, U.S. Geological 

Survey. Larger versions of A and C are 

available online. 

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K453
Figure 421.—Two photographs of Barrier Glacier. A, 4 September 1966 northwest-looking oblique aerial photograph of the summit of Mount Spurr and 

Barrier Glacier. The southern debris-covered part of the glacier’s terminus 

is the barrier at the head of the Chakachatna River, creating Chakachamna 

Lake. A trimline on the west side of the glacier, a lobate ice-margin separated 

by as much as 75 m from its end moraine, and the development of a hummocky, pitted surface on its southern lobe are signs that Barrier Glacier has 

experienced recent thinning and retreat. In the 8 years between a USGS 

map (1958; Tyonek A–7) and the photograph, no change could be detected 

in the glacier. Photograph no. 666–9 by Austin Post, U.S. Geological Survey. 

B, 8 September 2000 oblique aerial photograph looking northeast across the 

terminus of Barrier Glacier. Although there has been no change in the position 

of the debris-covered terminus of the glacier, its surface has been lowered 

and its bare ice, finger-like lobes continue to retreat. Photograph by William R. 

Reckert, Volunteer for Science, U.S. Geological Survey. A larger version of B is 

available online.

K454 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
on the western side of Mount Torbert and was surging in 1984 (see 4 August 

1925 Capps photographs, USGS Photographic Library photographs Capps 

1172 and 1173); (8) South Twin Glacier (15 km, 33 km2); which heads in 

several cirques located on the western margin of an unnamed accumulation 

area between Mount Torbert and Mount Gerdine; (9) North Twin Glacier (see 

4 August 1925 Capps photograph, USGS Photographic Library photograph 

Capps 1169) (16 km, 34 km2), which heads in several cirques located on the 

southwestern flank of Mount Gerdine; (10) a debris-covered unnamed glacier 

(19 km, 62 km2), which drains into the Skwentna River and heads in several 

isolated cirques west of Mount Gerdine; and (11) Black and Tan Glacier (see 

20 July Capps photographs, USGS Photographic Library photographs Capps 

1142 and 1143, and 20 July 1982 AHAP false-color infrared vertical aerial photograph no. L102F9238) (17 km, 20 km2

), which drains into the Skwentna 

River, and heads in several isolated cirques northwest of Mount Gerdine.

In August 1925, Capps photographed several small valley glaciers at a location that he called the head of Tumbling Creek, a tributary to the Skwenta 

River. All showed significant evidence of recent thinning and retreat (see 

August 1925 Capps photograph, USGS Photographic Library photograph 

Capps 1149). Because the name Tumbling Creek was never formally adopted, the exact location of these glaciers is not known. Photograph numbers indicate that they are probably located between North Twin Glacier and 

Black and Tan Glacier on the eastern side of the Skwentna River.

Mount Spurr is an active glacier-covered Quaternary stratovolcano located at the southern end of the Alaska Range and the northeastern end of the 

Aleutian volcanic arc (figs. 1, 420A, C). Crater Peak (2,309 m) (fig. 420A, B), 

a parasitic spatter cone, was the source of recent activity (Riehle, 1985) in 

1953 and 1992, when eruptions deposited tephra on glaciers to the east and 

generated lahars that affected the glaciers on the southern side of the mountain. The eruption that began on 9 July 1953 produced a glacier-covering 

tephra blanket about 4 mm thick at Anchorage and detectable up to 350 km 

to the east (Wilcox, 1953). Lahars, including entrained snow and glacier ice, 

swept down valleys on the southern flank and dammed the Chakachatna 

River, which raised the level of Chakachamna Lake at least 3 m (Juhle and 

Coulter, 1955). The 1992 eruption began on 27 June 1992 and lasted more 

than 3 months. Westerly winds carried tephra to the east and deposited a 

tephra layer on glaciers as far east as Yakutat. Up to 3 mm of sand-sized tephra fell in Anchorage, while coastal communities more than 1,000 km away 

reported dustings of fine-grained tephra (Neal and others, 1992). On 16 September 1992, pyroclastic flows entrained snow and other surface debris and 

formed lahars that again temporarily dammed the Chakachatna River. Beginning in the summer of 2004, Mount Spurr began a new period of activity, 

including an increase in seismicity and the melting of glacier ice that covered 

its summit.

In the Tordrillo Mountains, many of the smaller valley glaciers and small 

cirque glaciers show multiple evidence of recent thinning and retreat 

(see 20 July 1980 AHAP false-color infrared vertical aerial photograph no. 

L108F6629). In some cases, retreat predates the 20th century. This continuing trend was documented by Brooks as early as 1902 (see USGS Photographic Library photograph Brooks 847).

Similarly, many upland areas of glacier ice show evidence of rapid thinning. Newly exposed bedrock can be seen in the upper reaches of many glacierized drainage basins in the Tordrillo Mountains, such as on the eastern 

side of Mount Gerdine (fig. 422). 

To the west, in the Revelation Mountains and in isolated accumulation 

areas on peaks between the Tordrillo and Revelation Mountains, such as 

Mount Stoney and Mount Estelle, more than 15 glaciers longer than 8 km are 

located. The lengths and areas of some of these glaciers have been measured 

by Denton and Field (1975a, p. 597–598) and the others are estimated by 

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K455
the author: (1) an unnamed glacier (8 km, 9 km2

) that forms the head of 

Chilligan River; (2) an unnamed glacier (13 km, 25 km2) located at the head 

of the eastern tributary of Stony River; (3) an unnamed south-flowing glacier 

on the eastern side of 2,540-m-high Mount Snowcap (~14 km, ~18 km2; estimated by the author); (4) two other unnamed glaciers originating on Mount 

Snowcap, an east-flowing glacier (~10 km, ~20 km2, estimated by the author) and a north-flowing glacier (~9 km, ~15 km2

, estimated by the author); 

(5) an unnamed glacier (~8 km, ~7 km2, estimated by the author) that drains 

into Stony River; (6) an unnamed glacier (13 km, 40 km2) that is located at 

the head of Hartman River (fig. 423); (7) Tired Pup Glacier, named by Orth 

in 1956 (Orth, 1967) (9 km, 15 km2); (8) three unnamed glaciers (10 km, 

18 km2; 9 km, 12 km2; ~10 km, ~10 km2, estimated by the author), all eastern 

tributaries to the Swift River; (9) Stony Glacier (~8 km, ~12 km2, estimated 

Figure 422.—8 September 2000 oblique 

aerial photograph looking northwest 

across an unnamed ridge west of the South 

Branch of Trimble Glacier and showing 

newly exposed bedrock, several detached 

former tributary glaciers, and several 

cirques that have recently become deglacierized. Photograph no. C–2 by Austin 

Post, U.S. Geological Survey.

Figure 423.—26 August 1978 AHAP falsecolor infrared vertical aerial photograph 

of the lower part of an unnamed glacier 

at the head of Hartman River and many 

small cirque glaciers. In the 20 years since 

being mapped by the USGS in 1958 (Lime 

Hills C–2, Alaska), the unnamed glacier has 

retreated about 1 km and begun to separate into at least four unique tributaries. Of 

the dozen or so cirque glaciers mapped in 

1958, about two-thirds exhibit significant 

reductions in area, and the other third have 

completely melted, leaving numerous 

deglacierized cirques. AHAP photograph 

no. L103F7860 from the GeoData Center, 

Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska, 

Fairbanks, Alaska.

N

K456 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
by the author), a primary source of the Stony River; (10) an unnamed glacier 

(15 km, 44 km2), the source of Fish Creek; (11) an unnamed glacier (14 km, 

38 km2) located at the head of Big River; (12) Revelation Glacier (16 km, 

36 km2) the westernmost named glacier in the Revelation Mountains; (13) an 

unnamed glacier (~8 km, ~7 km2); (14) an unnamed glacier (10 km, 22 km2) 

located at the head of the Post River; and (15) two unnamed glaciers (11 km, 

18 km2; ~9 km, ~17 km2, estimated by the author), both sources of meltwater 

for the Lyman Fork of the Big River.

A number of smaller glaciers lie on the summits and flanks of the Revelation Mountains (see 26 August 1978 AHAP false-color infrared vertical aerial 

photograph no. L103F7865) and on a number of peaks between the Skwetna, 

Stoney, and Styx Rivers. These glaciers are generally valley glaciers less than 

8 km long and less than 1.5 km wide.

Summary

During the period of the Landsat baseline (1972–81), all of the non-actively surging valley glaciers in the Alaska Range were stagnant, thinning, and 

(or) retreating. Several glaciers surged early during the baseline period, but 

no terminus advances were reported. At the end of the 20th century and during the first few years of the 21st century, all of the valley and outlet glaciers 

in the Alaska Range continued to thin, stagnate, and retreat.

Wood River Mountains

The Wood River Mountains of southwestern Alaska (figs. 1, 424) have 

maximum elevations of approximately 1,500 m. They are northeast- to southwest-trending mountain ranges that are about 160 km long and about 50 km 

wide and extend from Bristol Bay to Chikuminuk Lake. They are bounded 

on the west by Togiak River and Togiak Lake, on the north and northwest by 

Trail Creek and Milk Creek, on the east by the Tikchik Lakes and the lowlands 

of the Nuyakuk and Nushagak Rivers, and on the south by Bristol Bay. The 

total area of glaciers in the Wood River Mountains was estimated at 230 km2

by Post and Meier (1980, p. 45).

Landsat MSS images that cover the Wood River Mountains area have the 

following Path/Row coordinates: 80/18 (fig. 425) and 81/18 (fig. 3, table 1). 

The area is covered by two USGS 1:250,000-scale topographic maps: Bethel 

(1980) and Goodnews Bay (1979) (appendix A). The maps are based on 

data collected between 1954 and 1979. The area was photographed from the 

space shuttle in 1992 (see 26 January 1992 photograph no. STS042–96–071, 

NASA). A GIS analysis of USGS 1:63,360-scale topographic maps of the 

Wood River Mountains by William F. Manley determined that 106 glaciers exist at several locations along the crest of the west-central part of the mountains: on the summit and flanks of Mount Waskey, on the ridge crests west of 

the head of Nuyakuk Lake, on the summit and flanks of Konarut Mountain 

(1,533 m) west of Lake Chauekuktuli, and along a 25-km-long ridge southwest of Chikuminuk Lake and north and west of Konarut Mountain (figs. 425, 

426) (William F. Manley, written commun., 1999, 2000).

Manley (1999, 2000) quantified 32 different parameters of these 106 

glaciers. He also determined that the total glacier-covered area was approximately 60 km2

 and that individual glaciers ranged in area from 0.05 to 

6.4 km2 (median area 0.26 km2). They ranged in average elevation from 581 

to 1,176 m (median elevation 937 m), in length from 0.25 to 4.38 km (median 

length 0.61 km), in width from 0.17 to 2.97 km (median width 0.72 km), and in 

perimeter from 1.0 to 23.8 km (median perimeter 2.6 km). The ELAs ranged 

from 545 to 1,155 m (average 929 m) and displayed high local variability. 

More than 20 glaciers head along the summit ridge and slopes of 1,532-mhigh Mount Waskey, the second highest peak in the Wood River Mountains, 

and on the nearby peaks and ridges (figs. 427, 428). Another group of more 

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K457
W

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O

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RIV

E

R

M

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TAIN

S

Dillingham

59°

60°N

160° 159°

A 0 5 10 15 KILOMETERS

Figure 424.—A, Index map of the Wood River Mountains showing the location of glaciers in green. B, Enlargement of NOAA 

Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) image 

mosaic of the Wood River Mountains in summer 1995. National 

Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration image mosaic from 

Mike Fleming, Alaska Science Center, U.S. Geological Survey, 

Anchorage, Alaska. 

K458 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
10 0 10 20 30 KILOMETERS

APPROXIMATE SCALE

Nishlik Lake

Slate Lake

Nuyakuk Lake

Lake Kulik

Lake Beverley

Lake Nerka

Lake Nerka

Lake Aleknagik

Nunavaugaluk Lake

Lake Chauekuktuli

Chikuminuk Lake

Upnuk Lake

Nushagak River

Togiak Lake

Konarut 

Mountain

Tikchik Lake

Chikuminuk 

Glacier

60°N

Mount

Waskey

159°W

160°W

158° 157°

W

O

O

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R I V

E

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M

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A I N

S

KUSKOKWIM

MOUNTAINS

Figure 425. —Annotated Landsat MSS false-color composite image showing 

the northern Wood River Mountains and the adjacent Kuskokwim Mountains. 

East of the mountains are the Tikchik Lakes, a group of more than a dozen finger lakes formed by glacier erosion during the Pleistocene. Also shown are the 

locations of Togiak Lake, Chikuminuk Glacier, Konarut Mountain, and Mount 

Waskey. Landsat image (30145–21091, bands 4, 5, 7; 28 July 1978, Path 80, 

Row 18) is from the USGS, EROS Data Center, Sioux Falls, S. Dak.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K459
than a dozen small unnamed glaciers lie along two ridges 8 to 15 km northnorthwest of Mount Waskey and drain west into the Izavieknik River and east 

into Nuyakuk Lake (see 15 August 1984 AHAP false-color infrared vertical 

aerial photograph no. L121F0066). The area is referred to by some as the 

Ahklun Mountains, although, on USGS maps, the Ahklun Mountains are an 

independent parallel mountain range that lies about 60 km northwest of the 

Wood River Mountains. When they were photographed on 15 August 1984 

by the AHAP Program (fig. 427) and in 1999 and 2000 by a University of 

Northern Arizona field party, all showed evidence of appreciable retreat and 

thinning. Additional glacial geology research by the University of Northern 

Arizona and other institutions was directed at Holocene glacier fluctuations 

(Levy and others, 2004). Another group of more than a dozen glaciers, all 

less than 2 km long, lies east and northeast of the summit of 1,533 m-high 

Konarut Mountain, the highest peak in the Wood River Mountains. Most drain 

eastward into Lake Chauekuktuli. 

More than 20 glaciers lie along a 1350- to 1400-m-high, 25-km-long ridge 

southwest of Chikuminuk Lake and north and west of Konarut Mountain. 

This group is the greatest concentration of glaciers in the Wood River Mountains area. Their size increases to the north. The largest, the compound 

Chikuminuk Glacier is located almost at the northeastern end of the ridge. 

Chikuminuk Glacier, also called Kilbuck Glacier, was mapped at a scale of 

1:10,000 during the IGY by the AGS (1960) (see sheet 8, AGS Glacier Mapping Project: Nine Glacier Maps, Northwestern North America). At that 

time, it was 5.5 km long and 1.0 km wide, had an area of 5.77 km2, and was 

Glaciers

Lakes

0 10,000 20,000 METERS

Elevation in meters

59°40'

59°50'

60°

60°10'N

159°30'W 159°15'

1575

1184

793

402

12

Figure 426.— Map showing elevations and 

locations of glaciers in the central Wood 

River Mountains. Source: unpublished data 

provided by William F. Manley, University 

of Colorado, December 2001.

K460 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
A

B

Mount

Waskey

N

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APPROXIMATE SCALE

Figure 427.—15 August 1984 annotated AHAP false-color infrared vertical 

aerial photograph of Mount Waskey and the adjacent glacier-covered ridges 

in the central Wood River Mountains. At least seven small glaciers can be 

seen. In each case, a bare-ice terminus is visible below a snow-covered upper 

glacier. At least one valley with an unnamed glacier at its head (A) shows 

evidence of recently hosting a 3- to 4-km-long valley glacier. A former tributary glacier (B) has two well-preserved elevated lateral moraines and an 

end moraine on the floor of its valley. It has recently retreated more than 

1 km. Even in August, many other adjacent cirques are snowfilled, making 

the identification of glaciers in those cirques difficult. AHAP photograph 

no. L122F0166 from the GeoData Center, Geophysical Institute, University of 

Alaska, Fairbanks, Alaska.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K461
retreating. More than 75 percent of the glacier was located at elevations 

above approximately 1,000 m. When it was photographed in 1957, the terminus region exhibited much evidence of rapid retreat (fig. 429). Almost the 

entire surface of the glacier was bare ice, and the accumulation area was 

very small. Elevated trimline positions indicated that Chikuminuk Glacier 

was retreating. Other glaciers in the area also show signs of retreat, and areas mapped as glaciers on the USGS 1:63,360-scale topographic maps of this 

area—Bethel A1 (1979) and Bethel A2 (1979)—are now deglacierized.

Figure 428.—July 1999 ground photograph 

of the glacier-covered summit of the Mount 

Waskey massif from Waskey Lake. Several 

recently deglacierized hanging valleys can 

be seen below the snowline. Photograph 

by Darrell S. Kaufman, Northern Arizona 

University.

Figure 429.—6 September 1957 eastlooking oblique aerial photograph of most 

of the northern tributary and part of the 

southern tributary glaciers that form the 

Chikuminuk Glacier. Most of the larger 

southern tributary lies off the right edge of 

the aerial photograph. The terminus shows 

evidence of recent retreat and thinning. 

Photograph from the U.S. Navy. Facsimile 

of photograph published by the American 

Geographical Society (1960).

K462 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Chikuminuk Glacier was one of nine glaciers mapped during the IGY that 

was resurveyed with a geodetic airborne laser altimeter system to obtain 

accurate profiles (Sapiano and others, 1998). Interpretation of six profiles 

collected on 11 May 1996 showed that the terminus of Chikuminuk Glacier 

had retreated 830 m during the 39 years between surveys, an average annual retreat rate of 21.2 m a-1. The glacier’s area had decreased by approximately 9 percent (from 5.77 km2

 in 1957 to 5.33 km2 in 1996) (Sapiano and 

others, 1998). Of the nine glaciers mapped during the IGY, the terminus of 

Chikuminuk Glacier had retreated the most. Between surveys, at an elevation of about 480 m, the glacier thinned as much as about 42 m. Above an 

elevation of approximately 1,075 m the glacier thickened by an average of 

about 10 m. Sapiano and others (1998) stated that a comparison of the 1957 

and 1996 volumes suggests that the total volume of the glacier increased by 

8×106 m3; however, because of 1957 survey errors, there is a large uncertainty in this number.

With the exception of Chikuminuk Glacier, lack of recent information 

makes it difficult to determine the status of the Wood River Mountains glaciers through the end of the 20th century. However, all of the glaciers show 

evidence of thinning and retreat. The 1984 AHAP photography indicated 

that the glaciers near Mount Waskey had actively thinned and retreated during the Landsat baseline period (1972–81).

Summary

The Wood River Mountains is an area in which no glacier observations 

were reported during the period of the Landsat baseline 1972–81. However, comparing pre-Landsat topographic maps and photographs with AHAP 

photographs collected during 1984 shows that every glacier depicted in the 

AHAP photographs had lost length and area during the interval between 

data sets. Observations by William H. Manley of the University of Colorado 

suggest that every glacier continued to lose area and volume through the end 

of the 20th century. The terminus region of Chikuminuk Glacier, the most 

studied glacier in the region, has been retreating and thinning since it was 

mapped during the IGY in the middle 1950s. 

Kigluaik Mountains

The only glaciers on the Seward Peninsula are located in the 65 km-long 

east-west trending Kigluaik Mountains (figs. 1, 430). The total glacier area 

was estimated at about 3 km2 by Post and Meier (1980, p. 45). Three glaciers exist in drainages on the flanks of 1,437-m-high Mount Osborn and adjacent peaks about 50 km north of Nome. Twentieth century investigations 

by Brooks in 1900 (Brooks and others, 1901), Henshaw and Parker in 1909 

(Henshaw and Parker, 1913), Moffit (1913), Hopkins in 1973 (Hopkins and 

others, 1983), Kaufman and Calkin (1988), Kaufman and others (1989), and 

Calkin and others (1998) confirm that (1) from the start of the 20th century 

through the late 1980s, glaciers existed in the Kigluaik Mountains; (2) during 

the 20th century, several glaciers have completely disappeared; and (3) the 

remaining Kigluiak Mountain glaciers, according to the last field observation 

in 1986, had continued to decrease in area and length. The Kigluaik Mountains can be seen on Landsat MSS Path 88, Row 14 (fig. 3, table 1). Figure 431 

is a Landsat 2 MSS false-color composite image acquired on 26 June 1977.

Brooks and others (1901) described two small glaciers that he observed 

in the vicinity of Mount Osborn in 1900. One was located at the head of the 

eastern fork of Grand Union Creek and the other near the head of the north 

fork of the Grand Central River (fig. 432). When they visited the area in 1909, 

nine years later, Henshaw and Parker (1913) observed a third small glacier, 

which they described as being located at the head of Pass Creek. David M. 

Hopkins (personal commun. to Camilla McCauley in correspondence to the 

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K463
AGS, 1956; cited by McCauley, 1975, p. 668) determined that this glacier was 

actually located in the eastern fork of Smith Creek. His examination of 1949 

and 1950 aerial photographs of these locations determined that all three glaciers had completely melted and no longer existed.

Using the same 1949–50 photography, Hopkins discovered three previously “unknown” glaciers elsewhere in the area with a total area of less 

than 5 km2. He described the largest of these, Grand Union Glacier, “being about a mile long” and having a “prominent vegetation-free moraine a 

few hundred feet down-valley from the front; presumably the moraine is between a few decades and a century in age” (McCauley, 1975, p. 668). According to Calkin and others (1998), the glacier lies sheltered in a cirque below 

0 10 20 KILOMETERS

APPROXIMATE SCALE

Nome

65°N

166°W 165° 164° 163°

Mt. Osborne*

*

*

Glacial Lake

KIGLUA IK MOUNTA INS

S E W A R D P E N I N S U L A

BEND ELEBEN MOUNTA INS

DAR

BY

M

O

U

N

TAIN

S

A

Figure 430.—A, Index map of the Kigluaik 

Mountains, the only glacierized part of 

the Seward Peninsula. B, Enlargement of 

NOAA Advanced Very High Resolution 

Radiometer (AVHRR) image mosaic 

of the Kigluaik Mountains in summer 

1995. National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration image mosaic from Mike 

Fleming, Alaska Science Center, U.S. 

Geological Survey, Anchorage, Alaska.

K464 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
the northeastern margin of Mount Osborn at the head of the middle fork of 

Grand Union Creek. Hopkins also identified two other small cirque glaciers, 

one in the Glacial Lake valley about 12 km southwest of Mount Osborn and 

one at the head of an unnamed tributary of the Pilgrim River adjacent to 

Grand Union Creek. When Hopkins visited Grand Union Glacier in 1973, 

he observed that the length of the glacier had decreased to only about 800 m. 

In the 23 years between the 1950 aerial photography and Hopkins’ 1973 field 

observations, Grand Union Glacier’s length had decreased approximately 

800 m or about 35 m a-1.

Péwé and Reger (1972) and McCauley (1975) also studied the glaciers of 

the Kigluaik Mountains by using the 1949–50 photography. They reported 

the length of Grand Union Glacier, the westernmost active Alaskan glacier 

located north of the Aleutian Islands, to be about 1 km. Calkin and others 

(1998) reported that its length had decreased about 30 percent to about 

700 m by 1986. Figure 433 is an AHAP photograph acquired on 1 August 

166°W

167°W

168°W

165° 164° 66°N 163°

66°N

65°N

Glacial Lake 

SEWARD PENINSULA

Imaruk Basin

YORK MOUNTAINS

KIGLUAIK MOUNTAINS

BENDELEBEN

MOUNTAINS

Bering Sea

Mount Osborn

Grand Central River

Grand Union Cr.

10 0 10 20 30 KILOMETERS

APPROXIMATE SCALE

Figure 431.—Annotated Landsat 2 MSS 

false-color composite image of much of 

the Seward Peninsula, including all of the 

Kigluaik Mountains. The locations of Mount 

Osborn, Grand Union Creek, Grand Central 

River, and Glacial Lake are indicated. 

Landsat 2 image (2886–213155; bands 4, 5, 

7; 26 June 1977; Path 88, Row 14) is from 

the USGS, EROS Data Center, Sioux Falls, 

S. Dak. 

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K465
1985 that shows Grand Union Glacier and numerous ice-free cirques. In 

1986, its area was 0.28 km2, and its mean altitude was 700 m. Evidence of its 

recent larger extent is a broad looped terminal moraine that reached 410 m 

beyond the glacier terminus in a summer 1983 photograph (fig. 434). Local 

lichen chronology led Calkin and others (1998) to place the date of its Holocene maximum advance at 1645 A.D.

Mass-balance studies were performed in 1985 and 1986 (Przybyl, 1988). 

Winter balances were 1.5 m (1984–85) and 2.3 m (1985–86); summer balances were -2.3 m (1984–85) and -3.1 m (1985–86). The net mass balance was a 

loss of about 0.8 m annually. The other two smaller stagnant cirque glaciers, 

informally called Thrush Glacier and Phalarope Glacier by Calkin and others (1998), occur in north-facing canyon-like cirques whose mean surface 

elevations are 630 and 820 m, respectively. Thrush Glacier is located at the 

head of the main northeastern tributary of Glacial Lake in a northwestwardfacing cirque. In 1986, its area was 0.10 km2

, and its length was 350 m (Calkin 

and others, 1998). Its Holocene maximum length was 400 m. Calkin and others (1998) based the 1675 A.D. date of its Holocene maximum advance on 

local lichen chronology.

Phalarope Glacier, located 7.6 km northwest of Thrush Glacier is the 

smallest of the three. In 1986, its area was 0.06 km2, and its length was 150 m 

(Calkin and others, 1998). Its Holocene maximum length was only 160 m. 

On the basis of local lichen chronology, Calkin and others (1998) dated its 

Holocene maximum advance at 1825 A.D.

Figure 432.—Summer 1900 photograph 

by A.H. Brooks of a small retreating cirque 

glacier located at the head of the North Fork 

of the Grand Central River. Photograph 

Brooks 360 from the USGS Photo Library, 

Denver, Colo. A larger version of this figure 

is available online.

Grand Central River

Grand Union

Glacier

North Fork

West Fork

Gold Run

N

Mount 

Osborne

0 20 KILOMETERS

APPROXIMATE SCALE

forks of Grand 

Union Creek

Figure 433.—1 August 1985 annotated AHAP false-color infrared vertical 

aerial photograph of the Mount Osborn area showing Grand Union Glacier

and numerous ice-free cirques. The valley of the North Fork of the Grand 

Central River where one of Brooks’ 1900 glaciers was located is east of Mount 

Osborn's summit. AHAP photograph no. L168F8277 from the GeoData Center, 

Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, Alaska.

K466 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Summary

The glaciers of the Kigluaik Mountains have received little recent attention. During the Landsat baseline period (1972–81), three glaciers—Grand 

Union Glacier, Thrush Glacier, and Phalarope Glacier—existed in the 

Kigluaik Mountains. Field investigations performed in 1986, 5 years after the 

end of the Landsat baseline period, confirm that several glaciers had completely disappeared during the first eight decades of the 20th century and 

document that the remaining three Kigluiak Mountain glaciers were continuing to decrease in area and length. At the rate that these three glaciers were 

retreating and thinning, it is possible that one or more of them may have 

disappeared by the beginning of the 21st century.

Figure 434.—Summer 1983 photograph of 

the Grand Union Glacier, located northeast of Mount Osborn. The retreating 

glacier is surrounded by a broad, looped 

terminal moraine that dates from 1645 A.D. 

Photograph by Darrell Kaufman, University 

of Northern Arizona.

Brooks Range

Introduction

The Brooks Range (figs. 1, 435), the northernmost mountain group in 

Alaska, extends for nearly 1,000 km in an east-west direction from the Yukon Territory, Canada-Alaska border, on the east to the Chukchi Sea on the 

west. It forms the drainage divide between the Arctic Slope to the north and 

the Kobuk and Yukon Rivers to the south. The Brooks Range contains about 

a dozen named generally east-west-trending contiguous mountain ranges 

(from east to west): British, Davidson, Romanzof, Franklin, Sadlerochit, 

Shublik, Philip Smith, Endicott, Schwatka, Baird, and DeLong Mountains. 

Glaciers within the eastern and central Brooks Range are found over a distance of about 650 km in the Romanzof, Franklin, Philip Smith, Endicott, and 

Schwatka Mountains (figs. 1, 435). Because the Brooks Range lies wholly 

north of the Arctic Circle, glaciers in the region are generally classified as 

polythermal; most of them are located in steep cirques and have a northern 

exposure (Denton, 1975b). The largest glaciers and the greatest concentration of ice are located in the eastern ranges. Two of the three highest peaks 

in the Brooks Range—Mount Isto (2,761 m) and Mount Michelson (2,699 

m)—are in the Romanzof Mountains. Mount Chamberlin (2,750 m), the second highest peak, is in the Franklin Mountains. The glaciers of the Brooks 

Range cover an area of 723 km2 (C Suzanne Brown, oral commun., 1992; Post 

and Meier, 1980, p. 45).

Present-day glacierization is significantly less than it was during the late 

Wisconsinan (Hamilton and Porter, 1975), when individual ice streams and 

piedmont lobes flowed as much as 50 km beyond the northern and southern 

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K467
K468 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Figure 435.—A, Index map of the central and eastern Brooks Range showing 

major secondary mountain ranges and 

general location of glaciers (g) (index map 

modified from Field, 1975a). Names of 

glacierized ranges shown in green, unglacierized ranges in black. B, Enlargement 

of NOAA Advanced Very High Resolution 

Radiometer (AVHRR) image mosaic of the 

Brooks Range in summer 1995. National 

Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 

image mosaic from Mike Fleming, Alaska 

Science Center, U.S. Geological Survey, 

Anchorage, Alaska.

margins of the Brooks Range. At least five neoglacial advances occurred in 

the central Brooks Range, dated at 4,400 yr B.P., 3,500 yr B.P., 2,900 yr B.P., 

1,800±500 yr B.P., and 1,120±180 yr B.P. (Ellis and Calkin, 1979, 1984). 

Landsat MSS images that cover the Brooks Range have the following 

Path/Row coordinates: 75/11, 75/12, 76/11, 76/12, 77/11, 77/12, 78/11, 78/12, 

79/11, 79/12, 80/11, 80/12, 81/12, 82/12, 83/12, and 84/12 (fig. 3, table 1). 

Individually, most of the glaciers in the Brooks Range are too small to be 

delineated on Landsat MSS images; however, many of the glacier tongues in 

the Romanzof and Franklin Mountains can be discerned. Glacierized areas 

are mapped on the following 1:250,000-scale USGS topographic quadrangle 

maps of Alaska: Demarcation Point (1955), Table Mountain (1956), Mount 

Michelson (1956), Arctic (1956), Philip Smith Mountains (1956), Chandler 

Lake (1956), Killik River (1956), and Survey Pass (1956) (appendix A).

Very little was known about the glaciers of the Brooks Range until the 

second half of the 20th century. Writing about northern Alaska glaciers in the 

first third of the 20th century, Smith and Mertie (1930) described only three. 

Because USGS reconnaissance surveys made before World War I included 

photographs of more than a dozen glaciers, Smith and Mertie’s work needs 

to be viewed as applicable only to the larger valley glaciers in the Brooks 

Range. In June 1907, Leffingwell (1919) mapped in the Romanzof Mountains 

and took a number of photographs of Okpilak Glacier and adjacent areas 

(fig. 436). Four years later, in July 1911, Smith photographed several glaciers 

in the Arrigetch Peaks area in the central Brooks Range. Significant new information began to be collected beginning in the late 1950s, mostly as a direct 

result of research carried out during the IGY. By the late 20th century, aerial 

photography and systematic mapping of the Brooks Range revealed that significantly more glaciers existed than previously expected. An inventory of 

Brooks Range glaciers by the USGS (C Suzanne Brown, oral commun., 1992) 

identified 1,001 glaciers having a total area of 723 km2.

Figure 436.—Three June 1907 photographs of Okpilak Glacier, Romanzof 

Mountains. A, The terminus of Okpilak Glacier and an unnamed hanging glacier. Abandoned lateral moraines on both sides of the hanging glacier and an 

elevated multiple-lobe terminal-recessional moraine complex at the terminus 

of Okpilak Glacier suggest that the glaciers had thinned significantly before 

1907. The moraine complex may mark Okpilak Glacier’s “Little Ice Age” maximum extent. The proximity of the terminus of Okpilak Glacier to the moraine 

complex suggests that retreat pre-1907 was less than 100 m. B and C, see 

following page. 

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K469
Figure 436.—B, View upglacier toward the 

glacier’s source. The low-relief rounded 

right margin of the glacier and the elevated 

lateral moraine are all evidence for previous thinning of Okpilak Glacier. C, View 

downglacier toward the glacier’s terminus. 

The emergent medial moraine and the 

three tributary glaciers that enter from the 

left, all separated from the main ice trunk 

and mantled by debris, are evidence for 

previous thinning and retreat of the Okpilak 

Glacier and its tributaries. Photographs 

by Ernest de K. Leffingwell. Photographs 

Leffingwell 84 (A), 63 (B), and 64f (C) are 

from the USGS Photo Library, Denver, 

Colo.

K470 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD

Romanzof Mountains

The 105-km-long Romanzof Mountains (figs. 1, 435, 437), located between the Hulahula and Kongakut Rivers, have a glacier area of about 260 

km2 (Denton, 1975b, p. 653) and contain at least 188 glaciers (Evans, 1977), 

4 of which have lengths of 5 km or more. Wendler (1969) determined that no 

glacier ice was exposed at elevations of less than 1,500 m and that at least 

66 percent of the glaciers are located on north-facing slopes (fig. 438); only 

about 15 percent have south-facing exposures. Studies of two glaciers—8.3-

km-long Okpilak Glacier (figs. 436, 439) and 7.6-km-long McCall Glacier 

(figs. 440, 441)—have provided significant information about 20th century 

glacier fluctuations and related changes. McCall Glacier was intensively investigated during the IGY, and the International Hydrological Decade (IHD), 

which ran from 1965 to 1974. Investigations continue to the present.

Okpilak Glacier (figs. 436, 439), which Leffingwell visited in 1907 (Leffingwell, 1919), descends from an unnamed 2,435-m-high mountain about 

18 km south of Mount Michelson. In 1958, Sable (1960) examined a number 

of glaciers in the Romanzof Mountains and revisited several photographic 

sites occupied by Leffingwell at Okpilak Glacier. A comparison of photographs documents that the Okpilak Glacier retreated more than 300 m in the 

intervening 51 years. Sable (1960) reported that Okpilak’s lateral moraines 

were 45±6 to 63.5±6 m above the margins of the glacier in 1956–58. In 1907, 

they ranged from being level to 6 m above the ice (fig. 436). Sable stated 

(p. 185) that “The average amount of thinning in the lower 1.2 miles (2.3 km) 

is estimated to be 150 feet (45.3 m), and the mean rate from 1907 to 1958 to 

be about 3 feet per year (0.9 m).” Hence, the Okpilak Glacier had thinned 
from 33 to 69.5 m (0.65–1.35 m a-1) between 1907 and 1958. Sable also commented that, the ratio of ice lost to thinning versus the ice lost by recession 

of the Okpilak Glacier terminus is roughly estimated to be at least 25:1. Sable 

(1960, p. 185) further stated that “All the smaller glaciers in the vicinity of 

Okpilak Glacier, for which photographic information from 1907 and 1958 can 

be compared, show evidence of marked recent recession and thinning.” Figure 439 is an AHAP false-color infrared vertical aerial photograph of Okpilak 

Glacier taken on 24 August 1982, 75 years after Leffingwell’s ground photographs (fig. 436).

Located about 15 km northeast of Okpilak Glacier, 7.6-km-long McCall 

Glacier (figs. 440, 441), which has an area of 6.0 km2, heads on 2,693-m-high 

Mount Hubley. Its terminus is located at an elevation of about 1,350 m. In 

August 1956, Walter A. Wood and Richard C. Hubley, accompanied by Robert 

W. Mason (Mason, 1959), traveled to northern Alaska hoping to find “a valley glacier in the highest area of the Brooks Range... that would lend itself 

to a micrometeorological and glacier-movement survey program that could 

be undertaken during the International Geophysical Year” (Mason, 1959, 

p. 77). They quickly located “a slender valley glacier with a gentle gradient, 

144°45’W

69°15’N

Jago River

Okpilak River

Hulahula River

Sadlerochit River

Kongakut River

Aichilik River

Canning River

Sheenjek

River

ROMANZOF MOUNTAINS

FRANKLIN 

MOUNTAINS

McCall Glacier

Okpilak 

Glacier

CONTINENTAL DIVIDE

P H I L I P S M I T H M O U N TA I N S

10 0 10 20 30 KILOMETERS

APPROXIMATE SCALE

SADLEROCHIT MOUNTAINS

SHUBLIK MOUNTAINS

Figure 437.—Annotated Landsat 2 MSS 

false-color composite image of the Brooks 

Range from just west of Canning River to 

west of the Kongakut River. Shown are 

the Romanzof, Franklin, Sadlerochit, and 

Shublik Mountains, and part of the Phillip 

Smith Mountains. The location of the largest concentration of glaciers in the Brooks 

Range occurs north of the Continental 

Divide in the center of this image. Landsat 

image (22387–20443, bands 4, 5, 7; 5 August 

1981; Path 77, Row 11) is from the USGS, 

EROS Data Center, Sioux Falls, S. Dak.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K471
144°W 143° 70°N 142°

70°N

69°N

141°

10 0 10 20 30 KILOMETERS

APPROXIMATE SCALE

Figure 438.—Landsat 3 MSS image of the eastern part of the Brooks Range 

showing glaciers in the Franklin Mountains and Romanzof Mountains (left 

side of image). The largest glacier in the Brooks Range is less than 10 km long. 

Most of the glaciers are in steep cirques with northern exposures. The most 

detailed glacier inventory to date (C Suzanne Brown, oral commun., 1992) 

counted 1,001 glaciers, with a total area of 723 km2 in the Brooks Range. Most 

of these glaciers are too small to be discernible on Landsat MSS images. 

Many of these glaciers were already retreating before observations by E. de K. 

Leffingwell in 1907 (Hamilton, 1965). Patches of river ice (aufeis) deposits from 

the previous winter (1977–1978) remain and can be seen in the lower right corner of the image. Landsat image and caption courtesy of Robert M. Krimmel, 

U.S. Geological Survey. Landsat image (30177–20435; band 7; 29 August 1978; 

Path 76, Row 11) is from the USGS, EROS Data Center, Sioux Falls, S. Dak.

K472 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Okpilak

Glacier

Okpilak River

C

A

B

D

E

0 10 KILOMETERS

APPROXIMATE SCALE

Fig. 436A

Fig. 436B

Fig. 436C

East Okpilak

Glacier

East Patuk Creek

N

Figure 439.—24 August 1982 annotated AHAP false-color 

infrared vertical aerial photograph of the eastern Romanzof 

Mountains showing Okpilak Glacier, East Okpilak Glacier, 

and more than a dozen other unnamed glaciers. The location 

of E. de K. Leffingwell’s photograph of the position of the 

terminus of Okpilak Glacier in 1907 is shown, as well as the 

view directions of the two other E. de K. Leffingwell photographs (figs. 436B, C). The debris-mantled, stagnant termini 

of many of the glaciers can be seen in this photograph. Five 

glaciers, labeled A through E and one, informally called East 

Okpilak Glacier by Raybus and Echelmeyer (1998), show 

either conspicuous retreat of the terminus or elevated lateral and (or) terminal moraines, clear evidence of glacier 

thinning and retreat. AHAP photograph no. L28F2321 from 

GeoData Center, Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska, 

Fairbanks, Alaska. 

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K473
no ice falls, limited crevassing, and no tributary cirque glaciers. The glacier terminus lay almost at the frontal scarp of the mountains. This meant 

that the glacier could, if necessary, be approached on foot from a low camp 

on the tundra, that a light plane on skis could probably land on the glacier 

without difficulty, and that perhaps vehicles could be driven up the valley 

to transport fragile supplies to a glacier camp site” (Mason, 1959, p. 77–78). 

Hubley named the glacier for John McCall, an Alaskan geologist who died 

in 1954. Ironically, Hubley himself died in an accident on McCall Glacier in 

October 1957. Work started in May 1957 and continued through the end of 

the summer of 1958. A detailed topographic map (fig. 441) was made by the 

AGS from geodetic ground control collected in 1957 and aerial photography 

acquired by the USAF in 1958. Summaries of the results of IGY glaciological and geological investigations of McCall Glacier were presented by Sater 

(1959) and Keeler (1959). 

N

McCall Glacier

Bravo Glacier

Arey Glacier

Schwanda Glacier

Hubley

Gl.

north

south

G

Hanging lacier

Wolverine Crag Glacier

Contact Glacier

Gooseneck Gl. Mount

Waw

Mount

Hubley

Mount

Deliverance

0 10 KILOMETERS

APPROXIMATE SCALE

Jago River

Figure 440.—Annotated 24 August 1982 

AHAP false-color infrared vertical aerial 

photograph of the eastern Romanzof 

Mountains showing Mount Hubley, 

Mount Waw, Mount Deliverance, McCall 

Glacier, Gooseneck Glacier, Bravo Glacier, 

Wolverine Crag Glacier, north Hubley 

Glacier, south Hubley Glacier, Arey Glacier, 

and Hanging Glacier. All of the named 

glaciers show evidence of retreat and thinning. AHAP photograph no. L27F2369 from 

the GeoData Center, Geophysical Institute, 

University of Alaska, Fairbanks, Alaska.

K474 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Between 1969 and 1975, research continued on the following attributes 

of McCall Glacier: heat balance (Wendler and Weller, 1974); a comparison 

of monitoring methods (stake measurements versus controlled run-off site 

measurements versus calculated heat balance) for determining ice melt 

(Wendler and Ishikawa, 1973); the heat, ice, and water balance of the glacier 

(Wendler and Ishikawa, 1974a); the effect of slope, exposure, and mountain 

screening on solar radiation reaching the glacier (Wendler and Ishikawa, 

1974b); and climatological change (Dorrer and Wendler, 1976). All work was 

done as part of the IHD. During four years of observation (1969–72), McCall 

Glacier’s mass balance was consistently negative. Ninety-eight percent of ice 

loss was owing to melting and 2 percent to evaporation.

During 1993 and 1994, a University of Alaska Fairbanks scientific team 

returned to the glacier to investigate how it had changed since the IHD. Continuous measurements of temperature, precipitation, short-wave radiation, 

and snow depth began in June 1993. The ice surface and the outline of the 

terminus were surveyed using optical and GPS methods, and ice thickness 

was determined by radio-echo-sounding methods. The survey determined 

that the maximum ice thickness was 250 m in McCall’s overdeepened lower 

cirque; the average thickness along the glacier’s centerline was 140 m (Raybus and Echelmeyer, 1997). A contour map of the bed of McCall Glacier was 

made from the ice-thickness measurements. The present velocity field, the 

elevation, the volume change from 1972 to 1993, and the average mass balance during this period were determined from the surveys. Annual velocities 

measured during 1993 and 1994 were found to be similar to those measured 

in the 1970s. However, velocities measured in the ablation area during the 

summer of 1993 were about 30 percent greater than the annual velocities for 

the same area. This discovery indicated to Raybus and Echelmeyer (1997) 

that McCall Glacier slides in summer and led them to suggest that it is a polythermal glacier containing a mixture of temperate and polar ice. Ice temperatures in the accumulation area range between -1 and -1.5°C; basal ice is 

temperate in the accumulation area. 

Geodetic airborne laser altimeter surveys (profiles of surface elevation) 

(Sapiano and others, 1998) show that, since 1958, the elevation of the glacier 

surface has decreased everywhere, from a few meters in the accumulation 

zone to more than 70 m at an elevation of about 1,425 m near the terminus. 

Total volume of ice lost was 6.4×107 m3. The long-term mass balance between 

1972 and 1993 was -0.33 m a-1 (Raybus and Echelmeyer, 1998). The average 

mass balance from 1993 to 1996 was -0.60 m a-1. These results document a 

significant thinning of the glacier during the second half of the 20th century. 

Because the average mass balance of McCall Glacier between 1958 and 1972 

was -0.15 m a-1, the 1993–96 mass balance represents a 400 percent increase 

in the already negative mass balance and also documents an increase in the 

rate of volumetric loss since the early 1970s. Individual hydrologic year (HY) 

annual balances are -42 cm in HY 1969, -8 cm in HY 1970, -14 cm in HY 1971, 

-19 cm in HY 1972, -48 cm in HY 1993, -74 cm in HY 1994, and -55 cm in HY 

1995 (Bernhard Raybus, oral commun., 1996). Repeated surveys of detailed 

profiles across the lower ablation area from 1969 to 1994 show that a threefold increase in the rate of surface lowering occurred after 1975 (Raybus and 

Echelmeyer, 1998).

In the 37 years between 1956 and 1993, the area of McCall Glacier decreased from about 6.2 to 6.0 km2

, its length decreased by 353 m, and it 

thinned an average of 10.5 m. In the 14 years between 1958 and 1972, the terminus retreated 68 m, an average recession rate of 5.7 m a-1. In the 21 years 

between 1972 and 1993, the terminus retreated 285 m, more than doubling 

its rate, for an average recession rate of 13.6 m a-1. 

Raybus and Echelmeyer (1998) also compared surface-elevation and terminus profiles of 10 other glaciers (fig. 440) located within a 30-km radius 

of McCall Glacier, collected between 1993 and 1995, with topographic maps 

Figure 441.—Topographic map of McCall 

Glacier produced by the American 

Geographical Society (1960) based on 

1958 vertical aerial photography and 1957 

geodetic ground control. More than 75 

percent of the glacier exists at an elevation 

of greater than 1,750 m. A larger version of 

this figure is available online. 

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K475
made in 1956 or 1973. Their comparisons showed that nine glaciers had average mass balances of between -20 and -54 cm a-1: 3.1-km-long Gooseneck 

Glacier (area 1.1 km2), 3.2-km-long Bravo Glacier (area 1.6 km2), 3.0-km-long 

Wolverine Crag Glacier (area 1.9 km2), 3.1-km-long north Hubley Glacier 

(area 1.8 km2), 3.0-km-long south Hubley Glacier (area 1.2 km2), 4.2-kmlong Arey Glacier (area 4.6 km2

), 8.3-km-long Okpilak Glacier (called West 

Okpilak Glacier by Raybus and Echelmeyer, 1998) (area 11.0 km2), 6.0-kmlong East Okpilak Glacier (area 8.8 km2

), and 7.7-km-long Esetuk Glacier 

(area 7.1 km2). A tenth—1.8-km-long Hanging Glacier, which has an area 

of 0.8 km2—had an average mass balance of -1 cm a-1.

Raybus and Echelmeyer’s (1998) data also showed that all 10 glaciers retreated during the period of comparison. They calculated changes in length, 

changes in ice volume, average changes in elevation, and mean annual mass 

balances for: Gooseneck Glacier (-16 m, -1.4×107 m3, -12.3 m, -28 cm a-1), 

Bravo Glacier (-300 m, -1.8×107 m3, -10.2 m, -27 cm a-1), Wolverine Crag 

Glacier (-265 m, -4.6 ×107 m3, -23.3 m, -27 cm a-1), north Hubley Glacier 

(-1,030 m, -4.2×107 m3, -22.0 m, -54 cm a-1), south Hubley Glacier (-890 m, 

-134×107 m3, -10.5 m, -25 cm a-1), Arey Glacier (-570 m, -5.2×107 m3, -11.4 m, 

-27 cm a-1), West Okpilak Glacier (-420 m, -17×107 m3, -15.2 m, -37 cm a-1), 

East Okpilak Glacier (-1,020 m, -7.2×107 m3, -8.1 m, -20 cm a-1), Esetuk 

Glacier (-814 m, -9.2 ×107 m3, -12.9 m, -30 cm a-1) [see 24 August 1982 AHAP 

false-color infrared vertical aerial photograph no. L27F2372], and Hanging 

Glacier (-260 m, -4.0×105 m3, -0.5 m, -1 cm a-1).

Combining Sable’s (1960) observations with those of Raybus and 

Echelmeyer (1998) indicates that Okpilak Glacier underwent a maximum 

thinning of as much as 84.7 m and retreated more than 750 m during an 

85-year observational period during the 20th century. The annual average 

change is 1.0 m a-1 of thinning and 8.8 m a-1 of terminus retreat.

A concentration of small cirque and valley glaciers straddles the continental divide on either side of the Sheenjek River (figs. 435, 437). Many glaciers 

there show multiple evidence of recent retreat and stagnation, and some 

cirques have recently become ice free (see 24 August 1982 AHAP false-color 

infrared vertical aerial photograph no. L30F1444). 

Franklin Mountains

The Franklin Mountains (figs. 1, 435, 437, 438, 442) support several dozen 

cirque and small valley glaciers between the Sadlerochit and Hulahula Rivers. The greatest concentrations of glacier ice and the largest glaciers are 

located along a 25-km-long ridge and upland between the summit of Mount 

Chamberlin and the head of the Canning River. Two named and two unnamed 

glaciers descend from 2,739-m-high Mount Chamberlin’s summit and flanks. 

Chamberlin Glacier on the northwest and Peters Glacier on the southwest 

are the named glaciers (fig. 442). Chamberlin Glacier, which is 2.4 km long 

and as much as 800 m wide (Denton, 1975b, p. 654), terminates at an elevation above 2,000 m. During the IGY in 1958, meteorological investigations 

of the glacier were conducted by the USAF Cambridge Research Center 

(later USAF Cambridge Research Laboratories; now Air Force Phillips Laboratory). Larsson (1960) concluded that the current meteorological regime 

measured at the glacier was incompatible with the continuing existence of 

the glacier. A glacier hydrology and hydrochemistry study was carried out 

on the Chamberlin Glacier by Rainwater and Guy (1961). Several longer unnamed glaciers flow into Carnivore Creek and West Patuk Creek to the south 

(fig. 442). All of the glaciers examined in the Franklin Mountains show evidence of thinning and retreat. 

K476 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Lake Peters

Carnivore Creek

A

B

H

I

D C

E

F

G

Chamberlin

Gl. Mount

Chamberlin

Peters

Gl.

0 20 KILOMETERS

APPROXIMATE SCALE

N

Figure 442.—24 August 1982 annotated AHAP false-color infrared vertical 

aerial photographic mosaic of the central Franklin Mountains showing Mount 

Chamberlin, Lake Peters, Carnivore Creek, 

Chamberlin Glacier, Peters Glacier, and 

several unnamed glaciers. Shadows and 

clouds obscure several of the termini, but 

Chamberlin Glacier shows a conspicuous, 

fresh-looking elevated end moraine—lateral moraine complex, several kilometers 

downvalley from the exposed-ice terminus, evidence of recent glacier thinning, 

and retreat. On the southern part of the 

mosaic, two unnamed glaciers, A and B, 

have separated and retreated into their 

individual valleys, as have two others 

labeled C and D. Five other unnamed glaciers, labeled E through I, show multiple 

evidence of recent retreat and stagnation. 

Recent end moraine positions are shown 

for several of the glaciers. AHAP photograph no. L27F2377 (north) and L28F2316 

(south) from GeoData Center, Geophysical 

Institute, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, 

Alaska.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K477
Philip Smith and Endicott Mountains

Ellis and Calkin (1979) studied 133 mostly unnamed glaciers in a 4,000-

km2 area of the Philip Smith and Endicott Mountains (fig. 435). The area is 

centered around Atigun Pass (lat 68°08’N., long 149°29’W.), a rugged area 

where relief exceeds 1,000 m and peaks rise to 2,300 m. All of the active glaciers occurred at elevations above 1,500 m; 97 percent were located north of 

the Continental Divide. Glaciers that were fronted by stable moraines varied 

uniformly in elevation by latitude. Glacier terminus elevations were at about 

1,600 m south of the Continental Divide. The further north the glacier, the 

higher the terminus, maximum elevations being about 2,000 m 25 km to the 

north. Typically, the glaciers had 220 m of relief, ranged in length from less 

than 100 m to about 2.5 km, and had areas of 2 km2 or less. Ellis and Calkin 

(1979, p. 406) stated that “Under the present climate, the cirque glaciers of 

the area are wasting away.” During July and August of 1977, they observed 

the complete loss of the previous year’s snow accumulation plus the loss of 

an additional 1 to 2 m of glacier ice at three cirque glaciers near Atigun Pass.

Ellis and Calkin (1979) evaluated glacial deposits adjacent to the ice margins of 102 glaciers. Of these, 55 extended into ice-cored or ice-cemented 

moraines; 23 extended into ice-cored looping rock glacier ridges located on 

older rock glacier deposits; 19 extended into ice-cored rock glaciers; and 5 

had no associated deposits. They also mapped 113 tongue- and 502 lobateshaped rock glaciers in the area. Of the 83 tongue-shaped rock glaciers that 

occur north of the Continental Divide, 76 percent are active, and 46 percent 

have exposed ice cores. South of the divide, only 30 percent of the tongueshaped rock glaciers are active, and 9 percent have exposed ice cores. On 

both sides of the divide, rock glaciers with exposed ice cores have active 

termini.

Lobate rock glaciers occur in a 500-m-thick altitudinal zone from lat 68°N. 

to the foothills of the Brooks Range. South of the Continental Divide, only 50 

percent of the lobate-shaped rock glaciers are active; north of the Continental Divide, 70 percent of the lobate-shaped rock glaciers are active. Active 

lobes occur 150 m higher than inactive lobes.

In a later study, Ellis and Calkin (1984) discussed Neoglacial glacier 

fluctuations in the central Brooks Range, stating that (p. 897) “for the past 

~1,100 yr, cirque glaciers have been continuously in more extended positions than they are today... the last two major advances occurred at 800 ±150 

(A.D.) and 390 ±90 yr B.P. (A.D. 1410–1600). Glaciers across the central 

Brooks Range stayed close to their maxima until A.D. 1640–1750. Historical photographs and lichenometry show that retreat was most rapid after 

A.D. 1870 and decelerated after the mid-1900s. Recession from this most 

recent Neoglacial maximum has amounted to 150–700 m and continues at 

present.” Results from the eastern Brooks Range suggest that the rate of 

retreat is again accelerating into the early 21st century.

Elsewhere in this region, Porter’s (1966) study of glaciers in the Anaktuvuk Pass area (lat 68°09'N., long 151°43'W.) showed that many lie in deep 

north-facing cirques and are located at elevations below the present regional 

snowline. He noted that the snowline was at about 2,070 m, well above the 

cirque glaciers in the area, and concluded that they are in a state of disequilibrium with present climatic conditions.

In the Arrigetch Peaks area (lat 67°25'N., long 154°13'W.), active glaciers 

head at elevations of approximately 1,800 m and flow to elevations below 

1,500 m. Many stagnant ice bodies lie between 1,200 and 1,500 m. In 1962, 

Hamilton (1965) reoccupied photographic stations established in 1911 by 

Philip Smith (1912) and made photographic comparisons of glacier position 

and glacier mass balance. In the 51 years between studies, Hamilton noted 

both a recession and a thinning of the glaciers. In one instance, he stated that 

an ice-cored moraine had thinned by roughly 20 m. In another, he noted “the 

K478 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
ice in the head-wall gully... has thinned appreciably, leaving a pronounced 

trimline where none was visible in 1911” (Hamilton, 1965, p. 483). In a third 

observation, he stated that “Present terminal positions are roughly 200 m 

further up-valley and lie at elevations nearly 100 m higher than in 1911.”

Schwatka Mountains

At least four peaks support valley glaciers in the Schwatka Mountains 

(fig. 435) south of the Noatak River. The largest glaciers descend from the 

slopes of 2,571-m-high Mount Igikpak and 2,208-m-high Oyukak Mountain. 

The largest glacier on Mount Igikpak is about 3 km long and unnamed and 

terminates at an elevation of about 1,150 m. Glaciers also exist on the flanks 

of Mount Chitiok and Shulakpak Peak.

Summary

During the period of the Landsat baseline (1972–81), all available evidence suggests that the glaciers of the Brooks Range were thinning and retreating. These conclusions are based on published field descriptions, the 

author’s comparison of the size and number of glaciers shown on pre-Landsat 

baseline USGS topographic maps (ca. 1950s) (appendix A), and 1982 AHAP 

photography from the end of the Landsat baseline period. Limited information is available about behavior at the end of the 20th and into the early 21st 

century. However, every glacier described showed significant evidence of 

thinning and retreat.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K479
Summary and Conclusions

During the period of the Landsat Baseline Decade (1972–1981), glaciers 

covered about 75,000 km2 of Alaska (Post and Meier, 1980, p. 45), representing about 5 percent of Alaska’s land area. Glacierized regions include 

11 mountain ranges (Coast Mountains; Saint Elias Mountains; Chugach 

Mountains; Kenai Mountains, including Montague Island; Aleutian Range; 

Wrangell Mountains; Talkeetna Mountains; Alaska Range; Wood River Mountains; Kigluaik Mountains; and Brooks Range), one large island (Kodiak Island), one island archipelago (Alexander Archipelago), and one island chain 

(Aleutian Islands). Glaciers in Alaska extend over an area from the southeast 

at lat 55°19'N., long 130°05'W., about 100 km east of Ketchikan to the southwest at Kiska Island at lat 52°05'N., long 177°35'E., in the Aleutian Islands 

and to the north at lat 69°20'N., long 143°45'W., in the Brooks Range. Because 

the actual number of glaciers has never been systematically inventoried, it is 

unknown but probably exceeds 100,000. Alaskan glaciers range in elevation 

from more than 6,000 m to below sea level. Most of Alaska’s glaciers are unnamed; less than 700 have been officially named by the BGN (appendix C) 

(http://geonames.usgs.gov/).

During the “Little Ice Age,” the total glacier-covered area and the number 

of mountain ranges and islands having glacier cover were significantly larger 

than they were during the “baseline” period. Since the end of the “Little Ice 

Age,” there has been a decrease in the glacier area and the thickness of most 

of the Earth’s glacierized areas in the middle and low latitudes, along with advances of individual glaciers in some areas including about a dozen in Alaska. 

However, the timing, magnitude, and complexity of this post-“Little Ice Age” 

glacier change have been different in each of Alaska’s 14 glacierized areas. 

Although there is almost total thinning of glaciers in lower elevations and a 

retreat of glacier termini, the details presented in this volume demonstrate 

that the current status of Alaska’s glaciers varies significantly from area to 

area and with elevation. 

Although most Alaskan glaciers at lower elevations are retreating, not all 

are doing so. At elevations below about 1,500 m, about a dozen glaciers, including Hubbard, Harvard, Meares, Taku, and Lituya Glaciers (all tidewater 

or former tidewater glaciers), are currently thickening and advancing. Many 

glaciers at higher elevations are thickening or exhibit no change. Several volcanoes, including Redoubt Volcano, have had 20th century eruptions that 

melted summit glaciers, but new glaciers have formed in their craters.

The following region-by-region summary details the observed changes in 

glaciers described in this volume. 

Coast Mountains.—During the period of the Landsat Baseline Decade, 

the glacierized area of the Coast Mountains was approximately 10,500 km2

(Post and Meier, 1980, p. 45). Taku, Hole-in-the-Wall, and Mead Glaciers 

were advancing. All other valley and outlet glaciers in the Coast Mountains 

were thinning and retreating. At the end of the 20th century and early in the 

21st century, Taku Glacier was advancing, and Hole-in-the-Wall Glacier was 

stable. Mead Glacier was advancing in the 1990s and continues in the early 

21st century; all other observed valley and outlet glaciers in the Coast Mountains continued to thin and retreat.

Alexander Archipelago.—Glaciers are mapped in mountainous areas 

on middle 20th century USGS 1:250,000-scale topographic maps on six of 

the islands in the Alexander Archipelago: Revillagigedo, Prince of Wales, 

Kupreanof, Baranof, Chichagof, and Admiralty Islands. During the period 

of the Landsat Baseline Decade, the Alexander Archipelago had a glacierized area of less than 150 km2

. No recent information exists about the status 

of these glaciers at the beginning of the 21st century. However, their small 

size, low elevation, and southerly location in an area with late 20th century 

K480 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
temperature increases indicate that they have probably continued to thin 

and retreat. Some glaciers may have melted completely and no longer exist.

St. Elias Mountains.—During the period of the Landsat Baseline Decade, 

the glacierized area of the Alaskan St. Elias Mountains was approximately 

11,800 km2 (Post and Meier, 1980, p. 45). Throughout the decade, Johns 

Hopkins, Grand Pacific, Margerie, Brady, North Crillon, Lituya, Hubbard, and 

Turner Glaciers were advancing. La Perouse and South Crillon Glacier were 

stable, although the positions of their termini fluctuated from year to year. 

All other valley and outlet glaciers in the St. Elias Mountains were thinning 

and retreating. At the beginning of the 21st century, North Crillon, Lituya, 

Hubbard, and Turner Glaciers were advancing. Johns Hopkins, La Perouse, 

and South Crillon Glacier were stable, although the positions of their termini 

fluctuated from year to year. All other observed valley and outlet glaciers in 

the St. Elias Mountains continued to thin and retreat.

Chugach Mountains.—During the period of the Landsat Baseline Decade, the glacierized area of the Chugach Mountains was approximately 

21,600 km2 (Post and Meier, 1980, p. 45). Two tidewater glaciers, Meares and 

Harvard Glaciers, were advancing throughout the decade; Bryn Mawr, Harriman, and Columbia Glaciers advanced during the early part of the “baseline” 

period. Smith Glacier was stable for most of the period, although the position 

of its termini fluctuated from year to year. All other valley and outlet glaciers 

in the Chugach Mountains were thinning and retreating. At the end of the 

20th century and during the early 21st century, Meares, Harriman, and Harvard Glaciers were still advancing. All other valley and outlet glaciers in the 

Chugach Mountains were thinning, retreating, or stagnant.

Kenai Mountains.—During the period of the Landsat Baseline Decade, 

the glacierized area of the Kenai Mountains was approximately 4,600 km2

(Post and Meier, 1980, p. 45). With the exception of Aialik and McCarty Glaciers, both of which advanced more than 500 m during the second half of the 

20th century, all of the valley and tidewater glaciers in the Kenai Mountains 

continued to stagnate, thin, and (or) retreat. By the end of the 20th century, 

all of the valley and outlet glaciers in the Kenai Mountains continued to stagnate, thin, and (or) retreat. When Tiger Glacier was observed in 2000, it was 

at about the same location as it was in 1908. Because it had been retreating 

during much of the 20th century, Tiger Glacier must have undergone a late20th century advance to regain its former position.

Kodiak Island.—During the Landsat Baseline Decade, the glacierized 

area of Kodiak Island was less than 15 km2. A comparison of the sizes and 

numbers of glaciers shown on USGS topographic maps made from 1948 

to1952 aerial photographs with AHAP photography from the middle of the 

“baseline” period (1977–78) show that the glaciers of Kodiak Island were 

thinning and retreating. No information exists about the status of Kodiak Island’s glaciers at the end of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st 

century. However, their small size, low elevation, and location on an island 

that has undergone a temperature increase and is surrounded by temperate ocean water suggest that its glaciers likely have continued to thin and 

retreat. Some may have melted completely away and no longer exist.

Aleutian Range.—During the period of the Landsat Baseline Decade, the 

glacierized area of the Aleutian Range was approximately 1,250 km2 (Post 

and Meier, 1980, p. 45). All of the nonactive surge-type valley glaciers in the 

Aleutian Range were stagnant, thinning, and (or) retreating. Several glaciers 

surged during the “baseline” period, but no termini advances were reported. 

At the end of the 20th century and into the early 21st century, all of the valley 

and outlet glaciers in the Aleutian Range continued to thin, stagnate, and retreat. When Tuxedni Glacier was observed in 2000, it showed some evidence 

of a recent terminus advance. However, trimlines and abandoned moraines 

document a long-term history of retreat and thinning. The 1912 eruption of 

Mount Katmai melted and beheaded a number of summit and flank glaciers. 

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K481
Following the eruption, two small glaciers formed on the talus beneath the 

crater rim. They continued to exist throughout the “baseline” period and into 

the early 21st century. Similarly, following the 1989-90 eruption of Mount Redoubt, snow and glacier ice accumulating in the crater have replaced snow 

and ice melted during the eruption.

Aleutian Islands.—During the period of the Landsat Baseline Decade, 

the glacierized area of the Aleutian Islands was approximately 960 km2 (Post 

and Meier, 1980, p. 45). Glaciers are shown in mountainous areas on mid20th century USGS 1:250,000-scale topographic maps on at least 10 islands 

in the eastern and central part of the Aleutian Islands. From east to west, 

islands where glaciers have been reported are Unimak, Akutan, Unalaska, 

Umnak, Herbert, Atka, Great Sitkin, Tanaga, Gareloi, and Kiska Islands. All 

of the mapped glaciers of the Aleutian Islands descend from the summits of 

active or dormant volcanoes, extending into either calderas or down their 

flanks. All head at elevations of greater than 1,200 m. No information exists about the status of glaciers in the Aleutian Islands during the “baseline” 

period or at the end of the 20th century and into the early 21st century. However, their small size, low elevation, and southerly latitudinal location in an 

area of late-20th century temperature increases indicates that the glaciers 

likely have continued to thin and retreat. Some may have melted completely 

and no longer exist.

Wrangell Mountains.—During the period of the Landsat Baseline Decade, the glacierized area of the Wrangell Mountains was approximately 

8,300 km2 (Post and Meier, 1980, p. 45). With the exception of Athna Glacier and South and Center Mackeith Glaciers, which were advancing, apparently in response to heat-flow-related nonclimatic forcing, all of the valley and outlet glaciers in the Wrangell Mountains were retreating, thinning, 

or stagnant. At the end of the 20th century and into the early 21st century, 

no additional information was available about Athna Glacier and South

and Center Mackeith Glaciers. All other valley and outlet glaciers in the 

Wrangell Mountains continued to thin, stagnate, and retreat.

Talkeetna Mountains.—During the period of the Landsat Baseline Decade, the glacierized area of the Talkeetna Mountains was approximately 

800 km2 (Post and Meier, 1908, p. 45). Analyzing the comparative sizes and 

numbers of glaciers shown on topographic maps made from 1948 to 1952 

aerial photography and on AHAP photography from the middle of the “baseline” period (1977) and just after the “baseline” period (1983) shows that the 

glaciers of the Talkeetna Mountains were thinning, retreating, and (or) stagnant. Every glacier observed from the air at the beginning of the 21st century 

(31 August 2000) showed evidence of thinning and retreat, and many smaller 

glaciers had completely disappeared. 

Alaska Range.—During the period of the Landsat Baseline Decade, the 

glacierized area of the Alaska Range was approximately 13,900 km2 (Post 

and Meier, 1980, p. 45). All of the nonactive, surge-type valley glaciers in the 

Alaska Range were stagnant, thinning, and (or) retreating. Several glaciers 

surged early during the “baseline” period, but no terminus advances were 

reported at the time or documented subsequently. At the end of the 20th 

century and into the early 21st century, all of the valley and outlet glaciers in 

the Alaska Range continued to thin, stagnate, and (or) retreat.

Wood River Mountains.—During the period of the Landsat Baseline Decade, the glacierized area of the Wood River Mountains was less than 230 km2

(Post and Meier, 1980, p. 45; Kilbuk-Wood River Mountains). No reported 

observations were made of any Wood River Glaciers during the “baseline” period. However, a comparison of pre-“baseline” period topographic maps and 

photographs with 1984 AHAP photography shows that every glacier visible 

on the aerial photographs had lost length and area during the interval between the data sets. Every glacier continued to lose area and length through 

the late 20th century. No early 21st century information exists. Chikuminuk 

K482 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Glacier was mapped in 1957 and 1958 during the IGY. Since then, its terminus region has thinned and retreated. However, at elevations above 1,000 m, 

it has thickened by an average of about 10 m.

Kigluaik Mountains.—During the period of the Landsat Baseline Decade, three glaciers—Grand Union, Thrush, and Phalarope Glaciers, 

which have a collective glacierized area of less than 3 km2 (Post and Meier, 

1980, p. 45; Seward Peninsula)—existed in the Kigluaik Mountains. Since 

then, they have received little attention. Field investigations performed in 

1986, confirmed that other glaciers that existed during the early 20th century have completely disappeared and documented that the remaining three 

Kigluaik Mountain glaciers were continuing to decrease in area and length. 

Given the rate at which these three glaciers were retreating and thinning, it 

is possible that one or more of them may have subsequently disappeared. 

The absence of recent field observations, including recent aerial photography of the area, renders the continued existence of Kigluaik Mountains glaciers at the end of the 20th century and into the early 21st century a matter 

of speculation.

Brooks Range.—During the period of the Landsat Baseline Decade, the 

glacierized area of the Brooks Range was less than 723 km2 (Post and Meier, 

1980, p. 45). Analysis of published field descriptions and a comparison by the 

author of the sizes and numbers of glaciers shown on pre-Landsat baseline 

USGS topographic maps and 1982 AHAP photography from the end of the 

“baseline” period suggest that the glaciers of the Brooks Range are continuing to thin and retreat. Limited information is available about the status of 

the glaciers at the end of the 20th century and into the early 21st century. 

However, every glacier described showed evidence of thinning and retreat.

As was noted above, the general thinning and retreat of lower elevation 

temperate glaciers is one of the most visible manifestations of the post-“Little 

Ice Age” response of Alaska’s glaciers to the changing regional climate. As the 

regional summaries of the status of Alaska’s glaciers presented here document, most Alaskan mountain glaciers at lower elevations are stagnant and 

(or) retreating and thinning in response to a post-“Little Ice Age” regional 

warming. In fact, of the more than 1,000 glaciers described in this chapter, 

more than 98 percent are currently thinning, retreating, or stagnant. As 

has also been shown, local and regional variability has given every glacier in 

Alaska its own complex and unique history of change. For example, many 

glaciers in southeastern Alaska—such as most of the glaciers of the Glacier 

Bay and the Lynn Canal areas—began to retreat as early as the mid-18th 

century, some more than 100 years before the advent of systematic meteorological measurements of air temperatures; others in the same area advanced 

during that entire period. Today most of Alaska’s glaciers continue to retreat. 

Others, such as the tidewater Harvard and Hubbard Glaciers, have been advancing for more than a century.

Nearly all mountain glaciers in Alaska are temperate; that is, meltwater 

exists in, on, or under the glacier for part, if not all, of the year. Globally, temperate and tropical mountain glaciers are shrinking on all continents and are 

thus excellent indicators of climate change. Small changes in temperature 

and precipitation can have an impact on the status of these glaciers. Ongoing 

glacier melting does, and will continue to substantially reduce the lengths, 

areas, thicknesses, and volumes of Earth’s temperate mountain glaciers. As 

the glaciers of Alaska melt, their meltwaters flow into the Gulf of Alaska and 

into the Bering, Chukchi, and Beaufort Seas, contributing to global (eustatic) 

sea-level rise.

Many investigations have examined the role that temperate glaciers play in 

present and future sea-level changes; most of the attention has been directed 

toward the last five decades of the 20th century (National Research Council, 

1977, 1983, 1984, 1990; Meier, 1984; 1990 1998; Dyurgerov and Meier, 1997a, 

1997b, 1999, 2000; Bahr and Meier, 2000; Dyurgerov and Dwyer, 2000; 

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K483
Arendt and others, 2002; Meier and Wahr, 2002). Almost all of these reports 

state that, if all the remaining nonpolar glacier ice were to melt, a sea-level 

rise of less than 1 m would result. Complete melting of the glacier ice in the 

Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets would lead to a potential global sea-level 

rise of about 80 m—73.4 m from Antarctica, and 6.5 m from Greenland (Williams and Hall, 1993). Several of the studies state that glacier melting and 

meltwater production have increased significantly during the later part of 

the 20th century (Arendt and others, 2002; Meier and Dyurgerov, 2002). Of 

the approximately 4 percent of the glacierized area on Earth that is covered 

by mountain glaciers, less than one-tenth (<0.4 percent) is Alaskan glaciers. 

However, as Meier (1984) first showed, the glaciers of the Alaskan coastal 

region, most of which are melting rapidly under present climatic conditions, 

may contribute more than one-third of the total annual glacier meltwater 

entering the global ocean. Because current climate models predict future 

temperature increases, these glaciers may make even larger contributions to 

future rising sea level.

Arendt and others (2002), synthesized the result of more than a decade of 

geodetic airborne laser profiling of 67 glaciers in Alaska and adjacent Canada. 

The glaciers that they studied represent about 20 percent of the glacierized 

area of Alaska and adjacent Canada, including glaciers that have all or part of 

their termini calving into tidewater or into ice-marginal lakes and glaciers that 

terminate on land. They estimate the total annual volume change of Alaska 

glaciers, expressed as water equivalent, to be -52±15 km3 a-1 for the period 

from the 1950s to the early 1990s and -96±35 km3 a-1 for the period from the 

middle 1990s to the late 1990s. These volumes are equivalent to a rise in sea 

level of 0.14±0.04 mm a-1 during the early period and 0.27±0.10 mm a-1 during the more recent period.

With respect to thickness change, they report that most glaciers thinned 

during both periods, an indication of surface lowering. They stated that measurements for both early- and recent-period glaciers indicate that thinning 

during the recent period was more than twice as much (-1.8 m a-1) as what 

they calculated for the early period (-0.7 m a-1).

With respect to area, Arendt and others (2002) also reported that most 

(but not all) of the glaciers that they investigated had retreated. The total area of measured glaciers decreased 0.8 percent (131 km2

) during the 

early period and 0.4 percent during the recent period. They observed that 

approximately 10 percent of the sampled glaciers either advanced while simultaneously thinning or (during the early period) retreated while thickening. During the recent period, the 10 largest meltwater contributions came 

from Columbia (7.1 km3 a-1 ), Bering (6.0 km3 a-1), Malaspina (2.8 km3 a-1), 

LeConte (1.0 km3 a-1 ), Tazlina (0.56 km3 a-1), Brady (0.54 km3 a-1), Baird 

(0.42 km3 a-1), Black Rapids (0.19 km3 a-1), Mendenhall (0.14 km3 a-1 ), and 

Susitna (0.11 km3 a-1) Glaciers.

The two largest contributors of meltwater during the recent period—Columbia and Bering Glaciers, which together contributed 13.1 km3

 a-1 of water 

to the global ocean (nearly 15 percent of the annual total)—are not simply 

responding to changing climate. The significant increase in Columbia Glacier’s meltwater production resulted from the onset of its catastrophic calving retreat, which began in the early1980s (Krimmel, this volume), whereas 

much of the ice lost at Bering Glacier is the result of rapid calving of ice from 

the surge-advanced terminus. Most of this ice was transported from the accumulation area into the ablation area by surge processes between 1993 and 

1995 (see the Chugach Mountains section in this volume). Similarly, much of 

the increased meltwater contribution from Mendenhall Glacier results from 

the fact that, since 1990, its eastern terminus has ceased to be grounded on 

a sediment plain and is now calving into Mendenhall Lake (see the Coast 

Mountains section in this volume).

K484 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
The significance of the contribution of Alaskan glaciers to global sea level 

can be seen by comparing similar data from Greenland. Krabill and others 

(2000) reported that analysis of 1994-99 aircraft laser altimeter surveys 

over Greenland indicates a net loss of approximately 51 km3 a-1 of ice from 

the entire Greenland ice sheet. They stated that this amount is sufficient 

to raise sea level by 0.13 mm a-1, approximately 7 percent of the observed 

rise. The estimated annual volume loss from Alaska during the recent period, 

96±35 km3 a-1 (Arendt, and others, 2002), is nearly twice that estimated for 

the entire Greenland ice sheet during the same period. 

This chapter has summarized the areal extent and distribution of Alaska’s 

glaciers during the Landsat Baseline Decade (1972–1981) and, where possible, drawn inferences about the past and speculated about the future. This 

“baseline” period can be used by both present and future researchers to document changes in the numbers, lengths, and areas of Alaskan glaciers. The 

diverse data contained herein document that many Alaskan glaciers are rapidly changing, with most glaciers at lower elevations thinning, retreating, and 

(or) stagnant. The chapter also presents examples of the dynamic behavior 

of some glaciers, ranging from calving glaciers that have receded a kilometer 

or more in a year to surge-type glaciers that have advanced more than 10 km 

during a surge event. These larger scale changes are easily seen at the pixel 

resolution of Landsat images; in a few instances, Landsat has been the only 

record of these changes.

Through the use of retrospective and prospective data, this chapter has 

also shown many examples of the natural variability displayed by glaciers 

throughout Alaska. For instance, in less than a century, major coastal bays 

such as Glacier Bay and Icy Bay have formed or expanded in area owing to 

glacier recession; the catastrophic retreat of Columbia Glacier resulted in 

the production of icebergs that are a hazard to maritime navigation; the retreat of major glaciers such as Tazlina Glacier resulted in the formation of 

ice-dammed and ice-marginal lakes that can produce jökulhlaups when the 

ice dam fails; and, twice since the end of the “baseline” period, the ongoing advance of Hubbard Glacier has blocked Russell Fiord and produced two 

of the largest jökulhlaups ever witnessed in North America during modern 

times. Finally, this chapter has reviewed how changing climate has affected 

the areas (and volumes) of nearly all of Alaska’s valley and piedmont glaciers, 

impacting the storage and release of freshwater and contributing in part to 

the observed increase in global sea level.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K485
Acknowledgments

Special thanks are offered to Maynard M. Miller, University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho; Austin Post, U.S. Geological Survey (ret.); and the late William 

O. “Bill” Field, American Geographical Society. More than 35 years ago, Maynard gave me my first opportunity to become familiar with Alaskan glaciers; 

Bill gladly shared his data and his experiences in the 20 years that I knew 

him; and Austin was a good friend who, in addition to providing dozens of 

photographs included in this volume, accompanied me on many adventures 

to some of the most spectacular glaciers and fjords in the world—the glaciers and fjords of Alaska. Also, thanks to Darrell S. Kaufman, Department 

of Geology, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona; Robert M. Krimmel, USGS (ret.); Lawrence C. Mayo, USGS (ret.); and Dennis C. Trabant, 

USGS (ret.), for providing some of the images and (or) photographs and captions used in this volume. I especially want to recognize series editors Jane 

G. Ferrigno and Richard S. Williams, Jr., for their thorough technical reviews 

and comprehensive technical editing of the text and illustrations, Janice G. 

Goodell for typing multiple revisions and the final preparation of the manuscript, and Kirsten C. Healey for her outstanding work in the preparation of 

graphics throughout the volume, in both the printed and web versions. I also 

appreciate Kathie Rankin’s fine work in editing the text, graphics, and figure 

captions.

I also want to acknowledge the assistance provided by Rose Watabe, 

GeoData Center, Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska, in the correct 

identification of all of the AHAP false-color infrared vertical aerial photographs used throughout the chapter. I appreciate the efforts of John Pojeta, 

Jr., USGS (ret.), and Thomas R. Waller, National Museum of Natural History, 

Smithsonian Institution, to identify the bivalve mollusk Petricola sp. shown 

in figure 217. I am particularly grateful to the following technical reviewers, 

who freely gave of their time to review all or part of the text and illustrations: 

Anthony A. Arendt, Keith Echelmeyer, and William D. Harrison, Geophysical 

Institute, University of Alaska; Austin Post, USGS (ret.); Vashon, Washington; Mark F. Meier, University of Colorado, Institute for Arctic and Alpine 

Research, Boulder, Colo.; C Suzanne Brown, Tacoma, Wash.; and Parker E. 

Calkin, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colo.

K486 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
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GLACIERS OF ALASKA K503
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622 p.

K504 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Appendix A

1:250,000-scale U.S. Geological Survey topographic quadrangle maps of Alaska that show glaciers

[?, date is uncertain]

Quadrangle name Release date(s) and Data date(s) Revision and Data date(s)

Adak 1957 (1954–56) 1983 (?)

Afognak 1952 (1951–52) 1982 (1978)

Amutka 1, 2 1951 (?) 1983 (?)

Anchorage 1962 (1948, 1950, 1952, 1960, 1962) 1985 (1978, 1979)

Arctic 1956 (1955) 1983 (19783

)

Atka 1959 (1953–59) 1983 (?)

Atlin 1960 (1960) None

Bering Glacier 1959 (1957, 1959) 1983 (19783

)

Bethel 1980 (1954, 1979) 1987 (?)

Blying Sound 1953 (1951, 1952, 1953) 1982 (19783

)

Bradfield Canal 1955 (1955) None

Chandler Lake 1956 (1955, 1956) 1985 (1979)

Cold Bay 2 1943 (1929, 1942, 1943) 1975 (?)

Cordova 1959 (1950, 1953, 1959) 1982 (19783

)

Craig 1957 (1950–56) 1972 (?)

Demarcation Point 1955 (1955) 1983 (1978)

False Pass1 1949 (1928, 1942, 1943) 1970 (?)

Gareloi Island2 1954 (1949, 1952, 1954) 1983 (?)

Goodnews Bay 1979 (1954, 1978) None

Gulkana 1959 (1949, 1950, 1955, 1959) 1985 (1981)

Healy 1956 (1950–56) 1981 (?)

Icy Bay 1961 (1957, 1961) 1983 (1978)

Iliamna 1957 (1957) 1985 (1978,3

 19803)

Juneau 1962 (1948–62) 1985 (19793

)

Kenai 1958 (1951, 1952, 1958) 1986 (1977, 1978)

Ketchikan 1955 (1948, 1952–55) 1976 (?)

Killik River 1956 (1955, 1956) 1983 (1978, 1979)

Kiska2 1951 (1947, 1951) 1983 (?)

Kodiak 1952 (1948, 1949, 1952) 1983 (1978, 1979)

Lake Clark 1958 (1953–58) 1983 (1978,3

 19803)

Lime Hills 1958 (1953–58) 1983 (1978,3

 19803)

McCarthy 1960 (1951–60) 1981 (1978)

McGrath 1958 (1953–55) 1984 (1978, 1980)

Mt. Fairweather 1961 (1948–61) 1982 (19783

)

Mt. Hayes 1955 (1948–55) 1975 (?)

Mt. Katmai 1951 (1951) 1975 (?)

Mt. McKinley 1958 (1952, 1954, 1958) 1982 (?)

Mt. Michelson 1956 (1955, 1956) 1983 (1978)

Mt. St. Elias 1959 (1959, 1961) 1983 (19783

)

Nabesna 1960 (1948–60) 1982 (?)

Nome2 1950 (1950) 1985 (1952, 1977, 1980)

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K505
Quadrangle name Release date(s) and Data date(s) Revision and Data date(s)

Petersburg 1960 (1948–60) None

Philip Smith Mountains 1956 (1955, 1956) 1983 (1975, 1978, 1982)

Port Alexander 1951 (1951) 1994 (?)

Port Moller 1988 (1963, 1983) None

Samalga Island1, 2 1951 (1944, 1949) 1983 (?)

Seldovia 1963 (1950–63) 1985 (1978 3

)

Seward 1953 (1950, 1952, 1953) 1985 (1978 3

)

Sitka 1951 (1949, 1951) 1987 (?)

Skagway 1961 (1949–61) 1982 (1978,3

 1979 3) 

Stepovak Bay 1963 (1963) 1981 (?)

Sumdum 1961 (1948–61) 1971 (?)

Survey Pass 1956 (1956) 1982 (1978, 1979)

Sutwik Island 1963 (1943, 1963) None

Table Mountain 1956 (1955, 1956) 1984 (1979–81)

Taku River 1960 (1951, 1960) None

Talkeetna 1958 (1954, 1958) 1967 (?)

Talkeetna Mountains 1954 (1951–54) 1983 (1978,3

 1980,3 19813)

Tanacross 1956 (1948–56) 1981 (?)

Teller2 1950 (1950) 1977 (?)

Tyonek 1958 (1952, 1954, 1958) 1985 (1978–80, 1982)

Ugashik 1963 (1951–63) 1975 (?)

Umnak 1951 (1942–48) 1983 (?)

Unalaska1, 2 1951 (1937–44) 1984 (?)

Unimak1 1951 (1938–45) 1983 (?)

Valdez 1960 (1949–51, 1958–60) 1981 (19783

)

Wiseman 1956 (1955–56) 1983 (1970–78)

Yakutat 1959 (1948–59) 1982 (19783

)

1

 Incomplete map.

2

 Glaciers known to be present but not mapped.

3

 Changes in glacier terminus shown on latest map by purple-pattern overprint.

K506 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Appendix B

1:63,360-scale U.S. Geological Survey topographical quadrangle maps of 

Alaska, cited in the text and that show glaciers discussed in the chapter

Quadrangle name Map publication date

Anchorage, Alaska A–2 1960

Anchorage, Alaska A–4 1960

Anchorage, Alaska B–7 1960, 1994

Bering Glacier, Alaska A–7 1984

Cordova, Alaska C–4 1953, 2000

Cordova, Alaska D–5 1954, 1950

Gulkana, Alaska A–2 1959

Juneau, Alaska B–2 1962

McCarthy, Alaska C–4 1959, 1993

Nabesna, Alaska A–3 1960

Seldovia, Alaska C–3 1951

Seward, Alaska A–7 1950, 1997

Seward, Alaska D–5 1950, 1995

Valdez, Alaska A–4 1993

Valdez, Alaska A–5 1953

Valdez, Alaska A–6 1953

Valdez, Alaska C–7 1960, 1993

Valdez and vicinity, Alaska 1962

sheet number 29

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K507
Appendix C

Named Alaska glaciers from the U.S. Board on Geographic Names, 

Geographic Features Names Database,1 and Alaska Dictionary Database2 (as of 2004)

Glacier name Latitude Longitude Map name3

Adams Glacier 58°46'57"N. 135°50'12"W. Juneau D–6

Addison Glacier 59°56'07"N. 149°47'20"W. Blying Sound D–8

Agassiz Glacier 60°11'10"N 140°44'31"W. Mount Saint Elias A–8

Aho Glacier 60°48'51"N. 152°39'00"W. Kenai D–8

Aialik Glacier 59°58'05"N. 149°47'59"W. Blying Sound D–8

Alexander Glacier 59°53'54"N. 139°24'57"W. Yakutat D–4

Allen Glacier 60°47'00"N. 144°37'00"W. Cordova D–2

Alsek Glacier 59°12'00"N. 138°08'00"W. Yakutat A–1

Alverstone Glacier 60°17'56"N. 139°08'33"W. Mount Saint Elias A–4, B–4

Amherst Glacier 61°00'56"N. 147°51'20"W. Anchorage A–3

Anderson Glacier 61°05'46"N. 141°05'45"W. McCarthy A–1

Anderson Glacier 61°07'47"N. 146°44'00"W. Valdez A–8

Andrews Glacier 58°54'45"N. 136°20'30"W. Mount Fairweather D–2

Annin Glacier 61°06'28"N. 146°41'11"W. Valdez A–8

Antler Glacier 58°50'44"N. 134°37'54"W. Juneau D–2, D–3

Applegate Glacier 60°27'31"N. 148°35'55"W. Seward B–5

Arey Glacier 69°14'24"N. 143°51'33"W. Demarcation Point A–5

Art Lewis Glacier 59°53'04"N. 138°52'27"W. Yakutat D–3

Arthur Glacier 59°14'00"N. 135°50'00"W. Skagway A–3

Atrevida Glacier 59°57'38"N. 139°47'43"W. Yakutat D–5

Augusta Glacier 60°15'32"N. 140°25'35"W. Mount Saint Elias A–7, B–7

Aurel Glacier 59°14'15"N. 135°57'00"W. Skagway A–3

Aurora Glacier 58°39'58"N. 136°42'12"W. Mount Fairweather C–3

Baby Glacier 61°09'46"N. 147°35'56"W. Anchorage A–2

Bacon Glacier 58°38'59"N. 133°48'29"W. Taku River C–6

Bainbridge Glacier 60°06'31"N. 148°29'08"W. Seward A–4

Baird Glacier 57°13'32"N. 132°25'36"W. Sumdum A–2

Baker Glacier 61°04'48"N. 148°21'45"W. Anchorage A–4

Baldwin Glacier 60°47'51"N. 141°18'22"W. Bering Glacier D–1

Baldwin Glacier 58°55'30"N 136°23'00"W. Mount Fairweather D–2

Baltimore Glacier 61°18'06"N. 147°46'14"W. Anchorage B–2, B–3

Barnard Glacier 61°10'34"N. 147°56'27"W. Anchorage A–3

Barnard Glacier 61°09'54"N. 141°33'59"W. McCarthy A–2

Barrier Glacier 61°14'46"N. 152°21'46"W. Tyonek A–6, A–7

Barry Glacier 61°11'43"N. 148°02'29"W. Anchorage A–3, A–4

Bartlett Glacier 60°37'30"N. 148°58'29"W. Seward C–6

Battle Glacier 58°43'38"N. 134°34'09'W. Juneau C–2, D–2

Battle Glacier 59°38'00"N. 138°16'30'W. Yakutat C–1

Bear Glacier 59°59'38"N. 149°37'06"W. Blying Sound D–7

Bear Lake Glacier 60°10'09"N. 149°14'50"W. Seward A–6, A–7

Beare Glacier 60°01'21"N. 141°40'44"W. Bering Glacier A–2

Beloit Glacier 60°38'43"N. 148°41'23"W. Seward C–5

K508 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Glacier name Latitude Longitude Map name3

Bench Glacier 61°01'59"N. 145°41'16"W. Valdez A–5

Bering Glacier System 60°30'01"N. 142°30'01"W. Bering Glacier 1:250,000 

Bering Glacier 60°18'08"N. 143°25'11"W. Bering Glacier A–8, B–7

Bertha Glacier 59°11'37"N. 135°48'22"W. Skagway A–3

Betge Glacier 60°28'05"N. 143°00'05"W. Bering Glacier B–7

Bettles Glacier 60°55'50"N. 148°24'35"W. Seward D–4

Billings Glacier 60°52'22"N. 148°35'07"W. Seward D–5 SE

Bird Glacier 61°00'38"N. 149°16'52"W. Anchorage A–7 SE

Black Glacier 59°57'42"N. 139°40'23"W. Yakutat D–5

Black Rapids Glacier 63°27'41"N. 146°11'36"W. Mount Hayes B–5, C–4

Black and Tan Glacier 61°44'22"N. 152°37'51"W. Tyonek C–8, D–8

Blackstone Glacier 60°38'26"N. 148°44'01"W. Seward C–5

Blockade Glacier 61°00'43"N. 152°17'18"W. Tyonek A–6, A–7

Blossom Glacier 60°01'38"N. 140°03'50"W. Mount Saint Elias A–6

Boundary Glacier 59°20'29"N. 136°26'08"W. Skagway B–4

Boundary Glacier 56°06'20"N. 130°07'08"W. Bradfield Canal A–1

Brady Glacier 58°34'52"N. 136°47'02"W. Mount Fairweather B–2, C–3

Bravo Glacier 69°16'06"N. 143°50'12"W. Demarcation Point B–5

Bremner Glacier 60°49'57"N. 143°18'55"W. Bering Glacier D–7, D–8

Bridge Glacier 58°24'35"N. 133°40'26"W. Taku River B–6

Brilliant Glacier 61°07'57"N. 147°26'29"W. Anchorage A–2

Broken Glacier 63°24'42"N. 145°32'57"W. Mount Hayes B–4

Brooks Glacier 63°09'18"N. 150°36'08"W. Mount McKinley A–2

Brown Glacier 57°41'47"N. 132°57'48"W. Sumdum C–3, C–4

Bryn Mawr Glacier 61°15'13"N. 147°49'29"W. Anchorage A–3, B–3

Bucher Glacier 58°52'48"N. 134°32'10"W. Juneau D–2

Buckskin Glacier 62°59'09"N. 150°21'50"W. Talkeetna D–1

Burns Glacier 60°43'59"N. 148°44'41"W. Seward C–5, D–5 SW

Burroughs Glacier 58°59'27"N. 136°17'23"W. Mount Fairweather D–1

Butler Glacier 59°57'05"N. 139°03'17"W. Yakutat D–3

Byron Glacier 60°45'03"N. 148°51'26"W. Seward D–5 SW

Caldwell Glacier 62°23'36"N. 152°39'51"W. Talkeetna B–6

Camicia Glacier 61°08'08"N. 146°03'37"W. Valdez A–6 NW

Cantwell Glacier 63°26'48"N. 149°25'35"W. Healy B–5

Canwell Glacier 63°20'05"N. 145°32'56"W. Mount Hayes B–4

Canyon Glacier 59°16'47"N. 138°25'55"W. Yakutat B–2

Cap Glacier 60°57'03"N. 147°54'33"W. Seward D–3

Capps Glacier 61°19'43"N. 151°59'24"W. Tyonek B–5, B–6

Carl Glacier 62°07'09"N. 141°32'14"W. Nabesna A–2

Carroll Glacier 59°05'03"N. 136°38'42"W. Skagway A–5

Carroll Glacier 60°42'00"N. 148°43'00"W. Seward C–5

Cascade Glacier 61°08'45"N. 148°11'06"W. Anchorage A–4

Cascade Glacier 58°40'39"N. 137°25'53"W. Mount Fairweather C–5

Cascade Glacier 60°13'03"N. 140°28'47"W. Mount Saint Elias A–7

Cascading Glacier 59°47'48"N. 139°03'47"W. Yakutat D–3

Casement Glacier 59°01'18"N. 135°55'49"W. Skagway A–3, Juneau D–6

Casey Glacier 56°02'23"N. 130°10'34"W. Bradfield Canal A–1

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K509
Glacier name Latitude Longitude Map name3

Castner Glacier 63°25'35"N. 145°36'00"W. Mount Hayes B–4

Cataract Glacier 61°01'52"N. 148°24'59"W. Anchorage A–4

Chamberlain Glacier 59°22'56"N. 138°40'39"W. Yakutat B–2, B–3

Chamberlin Glacier 69°17'18"N. 144°55'37"W. Mount Michelson B–2

Charley Glacier 58°51'42"N. 137°09'05"W. Mount Fairweather D–4

Charpentier Glacier 58°39'58"N. 136°34'30"W. Mount Fairweather C–2

Chedotlothna Glacier 62°53'22"N. 151°52'17"W. Talkeetna D–4

Chenega Glacier 60°14'40"N. 148°28'24"W. Seward A–4, B–4

Chernof Glacier 59°51'01"N. 150°23'25"W. Seldovia D–1, D–2

Cheshnina Glacier 61°54'45"N. 144°07'05"W. Valdez D–1

Chetaslina Glacier 62°00'09"N. 144°11'59"W. Gulkana A–1, Valdez D–1

Chichokna Glacier 62°00'43"N. 144°17'11"W. Gulkana A–1, Valdez D–1

Chickaloon Glacier 62°06'06"N. 148°26'09"W. Talkeetna Mountains A–3

Chickamin Glacier 56°03'46"N. 130°17'56"W. Bradfield Canal A–1

Chikuminuk Glacier 60°06'56"N. 159°17'15"W. Bethel A–1

Childs Glacier 60°40'44"N. 144°52'04"W. Cordova C–3

Chilkat Glacier 59°40'49"N. 135°39'48"W. Skagway C–2, C–3

Chisana Glacier 62°00'44"N. 142°20'45"W. Nabesna A–3 

Chistochina Glacier 63°11'36"N. 144°45'33"W. Mount Hayes A–2, Gulkana A–2

Chitina Glacier 61°00'15"N. 141°15'27"W. McCarthy A–1, Bering Glacier D-2

Chitistone Glacier 61°29'46"N. 142°04'49"W. McCarthy B–3, C–4

Clara Smith Glacier 56°14'17"N. 130°29'44"W. Bradfield Canal A–2

Claremont Glacier 60°30'37"N. 148°42'38"W. Seward C–5

Clark Glacier 58°48'41"N. 137°06'28"W. Mount Fairweather D–4

Clear Glacier 61°03'39"N. 149°09'13"W. Anchorage A–6

Cleave Creek Glacier 61°08'16"N. 145°12'43"W. Valdez A–4

Coal Glacier 60°11'53"N. 141°12'16"W. Bering Glacier A–1

College Glacier 63°15'20"N. 145°20'47"W. Mount Hayes A–3, B–3

Colony Glacier 61°14'22"N. 148°30'27"W. Anchorage A–5, B–5

Columbia Glacier 61°13'11"N. 146°53'43"W. Valdez A–8, Seward D–1

Columbus Glacier 60°24'23"N. 141°05'10"W. Bering Glacier B–1

Concordia Glacier 60°41'44"N. 148°43'33'W. Seward C–5

Cone Glacier 56°12'39"N. 159°29'21"W. Chignik A–5

Contact Glacier 60°28'13"N. 148°26'32"W. Seward B–4

Contact Glacier 69°15'55"N. 143°42'12"W. Demarcation Point B–5

Copper Glacier 62°08'57"N. 143°46'13"W. Nabesna A–6

Corbin Glacier 61°06'51"N. 145°58'20"W. Valdez A–6 SE

Cordova Glacier 60°49'56"N. 145°36'06"W. Cordova D–5

Cotterell Glacier 60°36'43"N. 148°35'49"W. Seward C–5

Coxe Glacier 61°08'23"N. 148°03'09"W. Anchorage A–3, A–4

Crab Glacier 56°14'35"N. 159°17'59"W. Chignik A–4, B–4

Crater Glacier 61°13'23"N. 152°13'50"W. Tyonek A–6, A–7, B–7

Crescent Glacier 60°59'47"N. 147°51'26"W. Seward D–3, Anchorage A–3

Cross Creek Glacier 62°02'22"N. 142°38'27"W. Nabesna A–4

Crow Glacier 61°02'56"N. 149°08'45"W. Anchorage A–6

Cul-de-sac Glacier 62°27'31"N. 152°46'07"W. Talkeetna B–6, C–6

Cushing Glacier 59°06'05"N. 136°31'38"W. Skagway A–4, A–5

K510 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Glacier name Latitude Longitude Map name3

Dadina Glacier 62°02'28"N. 144°19'29"W. Gulkana A–1

Dagelet Glacier 58°34'00"N. 137°12'00"W. Mount Fairweather C–4

Daisy Glacier 60°10'11"N. 141°14'14"W. Bering Glacier A–1

Dall Glacier 62°41'27"N. 152°04'08"W. Talkeetna C–4, C–5

Dartmouth Glacier 61°10'11"N. 147°37'04"W. Anchorage A–2

Davidson Glacier 59°04'54"N. 135°28'21"W. Skagway A–2

Dawes Glacier 57°28'31"N. 132°42'12"W. Sumdum B–3

Deadman Glacier 60°39'01"N. 149°00'32"W. Seward C–6

Demorest Glacier 58°40'45"N. 134°04'51"W. Juneau C–1

Denver Glacier 59°25'08"N. 135°05'47"W. Skagway B–1

Deserted Glacier 60°59'32"N. 145°36'07"W. Cordova D–5, Valdez A–5

Desolation Glacier 58°47'00"N. 137°32'01"W. Mount Fairweather D–5

Detached Glacier 61°04'23"N. 148°23'44"W. Anchorage A–4

Dickinson Glacier 59°12'53"N. 135°56'09"W. Skagway A–3

Dinglestadt Glacier 59°43'02"N. 150°26'26"W. Seldovia C–2

Dirt Glacier 58°49'37"N. 136°01'25"W. Mount Fairweather D–1

Dirty Glacier 60°57'17"N. 148°24'59"W. Seward D–4

Dixon Glacier 59°40'15"N. 150°53'10"W. Seldovia C–3

Dogshead Glacier 61°22'18"N. 152°01'42"W. Tyonek B–6

Doroshin Glacier 59°27'44"N. 151°06'17"W. Seldovia B–3, B–4

Double Glacier 60°04'24"N. 152°59'46"W. Kenai A–8

Double Glacier 60°40'34"N. 152°39'50"W. Kenai C–8

Downer Glacier 61°16'26"N. 147°36'47"W. Anchorage B–2

Drop Glacier 62°19'17"N. 144°00'34"W. Gulkana B–1, Nabesna B–6

Dying Glacier 58°49'50"N. 136°15'10"W. Mount Fairweather D–1

Eagle Glacier 61°06'06"N. 149°00'02"W. Anchorage A–6

Eagle Glacier 58°38'11"N. 134°40'35"W. Juneau C–3

Eaglek Glacier 60°56'16"N. 147°48'19"W. Seward D–3

East Alapah Glacier 68°08'23"N. 150°48'37"W. Chandler Lake A–2

East Nunatak Glacier 59°45'29"N. 138°44'30"W. Yakutat D–2, D–3

East Twin Glacier 58°34'57"N. 133°53'08"W. Taku River C–6

Eberly Glacier 60°07'50"N. 142°03'16"W. Bering Glacier A–3

Echo Glacier 58°44'50"N. 134°24'04"W. Juneau C–2, D–2

Eel Glacier 63°22'28"N. 145°31'52"W. Mount Hayes B–4

Eklutna Glacier 61°15'43"N. 148°59'00"W. Anchorage B–6

Eldridge Glacier 63°01'24"N. 150°07'26"W. Mount McKinley A–1, Talkeetna Mountains D–6

Eliot Glacier 61°21'25"N. 147°38'03"W. Anchorage B–2

Ellsworth Glacier 60°13'40"N. 148°51'38"W. Seward A–5, A–6

Esetuk Glacier 69°17'54"N. 144°19'22"W. Mount Michelson B–1

Eureka Glacier 63°20'21"N. 146°21'32"W. Mount Hayes B–5

Ewe Glacier 61°02'33"N. 141°17'07"W. McCarthy A–1

Excelsior Glacier 60°02'04"N. 148°45'31"W. Seward A–5, Blying Sound D–5

Exit Glacier 60°11'00"N. 149°37'32"W. Seward A–8

Explorer Glacier 60°46'41"N. 148°54'59"W. Seward D–6 SE

Fairweather Glacier 58°50'33"N. 137°38'54"W. Mount Fairweather D–5

Falling Glacier 60°29'04"N. 148°32'50"W. Seward B–5

Fan Glacier 60°50'29"N. 143°43'23"W. Bering Glacier D–8

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K511
Glacier name Latitude Longitude Map name3

Fassett Glacier 59°18'48"N. 138°32'20"W. Yakutat B–2

Fels Glacier 63°23'10"N. 145°40'00"W. Mount Hayes B–4

Ferebee Glacier 59°32'31"N. 135°36'49"W. Skagway B–2, C–2

Ferguson Glacier 56°01'30"N. 130°13'30"W. Bradfield Canal A–1

Fickett Glacier 60°33'28"N. 145°00'26"W. Cordova C–3

Field Glacier 58°55'58"N. 134°47'05"W. Juneau D–2

Finger Glacier 56°12'25"N. 159°14'54"W. Chignik A–4

Finger Glacier 58°29'52"N. 137°06'59"W. Mount Fairweather B–4

Fleischmann Glacier 62°21'13"N. 152°50'21"W. Talkeetna B–6

Flute Glacier 61°08'40"N. 149°17'05"W. Anchorage A–7 NE

Fog Glacier 56°14'34"N. 159°27'04"W. Chignik A–5, B–5

Foraker Glacier 63°08'00'N. 151°35'00"W. Mount McKinley A–4

Fourpeaked Glacier 58°47'16"N. 153°31'03"W. Afognak D–5

Fourth Glacier 59°36'47"N. 139°07'49"W. Yakutat C–4 SE

Fraser Glacier 60°45'17"N. 141°13'33"W. Bering Glacier D–1

Frederika Glacier 61°44'25"N. 142°16'13"W. McCarthy C–4

Gakona Glacier 63°12'01"N. 145°11'13"W. Mount Hayes A–3

Galiano Glacier 59°57'40"N. 139°43'17"W. Yakutat D–5

Gannett Glacier 61°17'16"N. 148°17'29"W. Anchorage B–4

Garrison Glacier 59°09'47"N. 135°41'31"W. Skagway A–2

Gates Glacier 61°37'41"N. 142°59'05"W. McCarthy C–6

Geikie Glacier 58°35'48"N. 136°36'34"W. Mount Fairweather C–2

Gerstle Glacier 63°28'51"N. 145°19'22"W. Mount Hayes B–3, C–3

Giffin Glacier 61°33'50"N. 141°22'00"W. McCarthy C–1

Gilkey Glacier 58°48'42"N. 134°25'22"W. Juneau D–2, D–3

Gillam Glacier 63°41'57"N. 147°07'22"W. Healy C–1

Gilman Glacier 58°48'07"N. 137°02'13"W. Mount Fairweather D–4

Girdled Glacier 58°56'51"N. 135°43'51"W. Juneau D–6

Godwin Glacier 60°08'01"N. 149°10'19"W. Seward A–6, A–7

Goodwin Glacier 60°36'36"N. 144°55'39"W. Cordova C–3

Gooseneck Glacier 69°19'56"N. 143°46'53"W. Demarcation Point B–5

Gracey Creek Glacier 56°13'26"N. 130°34'14"W. Bradfield Canal A–2, B–2

Grand Pacific Glacier 59°03'50"N. 137°03'30"W. Skagway A–6, A–7

Grand Plateau Glacier 59°02'35"N. 137°53'04"W. Skagway A–8, Yakutat A–1

Gray Glacier 56°00'35"N. 130°09'59"W. Bradfield Canal A–1

Great Glacier 56°50'00"N. 131°47'00"W. Bradfield Canal D–6

Greenpoint Glacier 56°00'42"N. 130°16'56"W. Bradfield Canal A–1

Grewingk Glacier 59°34'51"N. 150°57'01"W. Seldovia C–3

Griddlecake Glacier 60°26'49"N. 143°24'11"W. Bering Glacier B–7

Grinnell Glacier 60°43'09"N. 144°47'09"W. Cordova C–2, C–3

Guerin Glacier 61°35'36"N. 141°06'18"W. McCarthy C–1

Gulkana Glacier 63°16'07"N. 145°25'17"W. Mount Hayes A–3, B–3

Guyot Glacier 60°10'33"N. 141°39'08"W. Bering Glacier A–1, A–2

Hades Highway 58°39'42"N. 133°55'54"W. Taku River C–6, Juneau C–1

Haenke Glacier 60°04'05"N. 139°38'51"W. Mount Saint Elias A–5

Hallo Glacier 58°24'37"N. 154°14'29"W. Mount Katmai B–1

Hanging Glacier 59°51'11"N. 138°57'27"W. Yakutat D–3

K512 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Glacier name Latitude Longitude Map name3

Harper Glacier 63°05'22"N. 150°58'37"W. Mount McKinley A–2

Harpoon Glacier 56°14'09"N. 159°13'27"W. Chignik A–4

Harpoon Glacier 61°22'10"N. 152°33'56"W. Tyonek B–7, B–8

Harriman Glacier 60°56'28"N. 148°31'04"W. Seward D–4, D–5

Harvard Glacier 61°23'20"N. 147°26'11"W. Anchorage B–2, C–2

Hawkins Glacier 61°13'59"N. 141°53'37"W. McCarthy A–3

Hayden Glacier 60°02'19"N. 140°01'31"W. Mount Saint Elias A–6, Yakutat D–6

Hayes Glacier 61°46'31"N. 152°18'37"W. Tyonek C–7, D–6, D–7

Hayes Glacier 63°42'17"N. 146°41'45"W. Mount Hayes C–6

Heiden Glacier 61°02'52"N. 145°39'39"W. Valdez A–5

Hendrickson Glacier 59°49'32"N. 139°25'09"W. Yakutat D–4

Heney Glacier 60°53'15"N. 144°53'36"W. Cordova D–2, D–3

Henry Glacier 59°51'42"N. 139°28'38"W. Yakutat D–4

Herbert Glacier 58°34'09"N. 134°36'30"W. Juneau C–2, C–3

Herron Glacier 63°03'18"N. 151°36'54"W. Mount McKinley A–4

Hesselberg Glacier 60°21'30"N. 143°22'01"W. Bering Glacier C–7

Hidden Glacier 59°44'05"N. 139°06'55"W. Yakutat C–3, D–4

Hidden Glacier 56°01'45"N. 130°07'57"W. Bradfield Canal A–1

Hitchcock Glacier 60°05'30"N. 140°22'54"W. Mount Saint Elias A–7

Hogback Glacier 61°06'19"N. 145°56'53"W. Valdez A–5, A–6 SE

Hole-in-the-Wall Glacier 58°28'45"N. 133°59'35"W. Juneau B–1, Taku River B–6

Hole-in-the-Wall Glacier 61°39'30"N. 142°12'31"W. McCarthy C–4

Holgate Glacier 59°52'16"N. 149°55'07"W. Blying Sound D–8

Holyoke Glacier 61°09'40"N. 147°57'28"W. Anchorage A–3

Hook Glacier 58°28'22"N. 154°26'36"W. Mount Katmai B–2, C–2

Hoonah Glacier 58°50'26"N. 137°03'23"W. Mount Fairweather D–4

Hubbard Glacier 60°18'50"N. 139°22'15"W. Mount Saint Elias A–5, B–4

Hubley Glacier 69°17'13"N. 143°44'37"W. Demarcation Point B–5

Hugh Miller Glacier 58°44'29"N. 136°41'12"W. Mount Fairweather C–3, D–2

Hummel Glacier 56°01'35"N. 130°15'44"W. Bradfield Canal A–1

Hunter Creek Glacier 61°19'52"N. 148°42'00"W. Anchorage B–5

Huscroft Glacier 58°37'00"N. 137°23'45"W. Mount Fairweather C–5

Icicle Glacier 61°12'18"N. 149°06'28"W. Anchorage A–6

Indian Glacier 60°07'51"N. 150°15'29"W. Kenai A–1

Irene Glacier 59°34'28"N. 135°24'49"W. Skagway C–1 SW, C–2

Island Glacier 56°15'16"N. 159°23'43"W. Chignik B–5

Jacksina Glacier 62°05'21"N. 143°28'27"W. Nabesna A–5

James Robert Glacier 69°08'00"N. 145°02'00"W. Mount Michelson A–2

Jarvis Glacier 59°25'59"N. 136°26'59"W. Skagway B–4 NW

Jefferies Glacier 60°37'08"N. 141°50'55"W. Bering Glacier C–3, C–4

Jeffery Glacier 63°08'16"N. 151°04'33"W. Mount McKinley A–3

John Glacier 58°51'17"N. 137°10'32"W. Mount Fairweather D–4

Johns Hopkins Glacier 58°48'24"N. 137°15'01"W. Mount Fairweather D–4

Johnson Glacier 61°14'25"N. 146°22'17"W. Valdez A–7 NE

Johnson Glacier 63°23'30"N. 145°02'49"W. Mount Hayes B–2, B–3

Johnson Glacier 60°06'13"N. 153°01'54"W. Lake Clark A–1, Kenai A–8

Johnson Glacier 60°30'47"N. 144°28'31"W. Cordova C–2

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K513
Glacier name Latitude Longitude Map name3

Jones Glacier 58°55'45"N. 137°08'50"W. Mount Fairweather D–4

Kachemak Glacier 59°42'42"N. 150°34'56"W. Seldovia C–2

Kadachan Glacier 58°53'33"N. 137°06'28"W. Mount Fairweather D–4

Kahiltna Glacier 62°45'57"N. 151°18'12"W. Talkeetna B–3, D–3

Kanikula Glacier 62°44'39"N. 151°01'11"W. Talkeetna C–2, C–3

Kashoto Glacier 58°51'31"N. 137°00'22"W. Mount Fairweather D–4

Kennicott Glacier 61°36'01"N. 143°04'11"W. McCarthy C–6

Keystone Glacier 61°07'15"N. 145°56'15"W. Valdez A–6 SE

K’idazq’eni Glacier 61°14'00"N. 152°10'00"W. Tyonek A–6

Killey Glacier 60°08'57"N. 150°09'32"W. Kenai A–1

Kimball Glacier 63°16'20"N. 144°37'15"W. Mount Hayes B–2

Kings Glacier 60°26'06"N. 148°36'17"W. Seward B–5

Klooch Glacier 58°35'05"N. 137°21'15"W. Mount Fairweather C–5

Klutina Glacier 61°22'08"N. 146°12'53"W. Valdez B–6

Klutlan Glacier 61°27'03"N. 141°10'45"W. McCarthy B–1

Kluvesna Glacier 61°49'28"N. 143°48'55"W. McCarthy D–8

Knife Creek Glaciers, The 58°16'16"N. 155°02'26"W. Mount Katmai B–4

Knik Glacier 61°22'03"N. 148°17'55"W. Anchorage B–4, B–5

Konamoxt Glacier 59°23'00"N. 137°38'00"W. Skagway B–8

Koniag Glacier 57°22'31"N. 153°18'30"W. Kodiak B–4

Krisha Glacier 59°12'30"N. 135°49'30'W. Skagway A–3

Kulavok Glacier 69°12'00"N. 144°52'31"W. Mount Michelson A–2

Kuleska Glacier 60°22'25"N. 142°31'55"W. Bering Glacier B–5

Kushtaka Glacier 60°25'59"N. 144°05'17"W. Cordova B–1

Kuskulana Glacier 61°38'31"N. 143°36'03"W. McCarthy C–7, C–8

La Perouse Glacier 58°32'28"N. 137°13'27"W. Mount Fairweather C–4, D–4

LaGorce Glacier 60°44'15"N. 144°27'49"W. Cordova C–2

Lacuna Glacier 62°44'28"N. 151°32'16"W. Talkeetna C–4

Lafayette Glacier 61°01'47"N. 147°47'17"W. Anchorage A–3

Lake George Glacier 61°03'30"N. 148°39'57"W. Anchorage A–5

Lakina Glacier 61°35'29"N. 143°18'36"W. McCarthy C–7

Lamb Glacier 61°03'42"N. 141°17'30"W. McCarthy A–1

Lamplugh Glacier 58°49'56"N. 136°53'43"W. Mount Fairweather D–3

Langdon Glacier 60°24'55"N. 148°38'01"W. Seward B–5

Lare Glacier 60°02'46"N. 141°48'27"W. Bering Glacier A–3

Lateral Glacier 60°03'37"N. 152°56'47"W. Kenai A–8

Latouche Glacier 59°52'07"N. 139°35'45"W. Yakutat D–5

Laughton Glacier 59°31'21"N. 135°06'05"W. Skagway C–1 SE

Lawrence Glacier 60°39'43"N. 148°36'50"W. Seward C–5

Leaking Glacier 58°26'20"N. 134°25'30"W. Juneau B–2

Learnard Glacier 60°48'23"N. 148°43'16"W. Seward D–5 SW

Le Blondeau Glacier 59°16'35"N. 136°13'30"W. Skagway B–4

Lechner Glacier 59°56'15"N. 149°37'24"W. Blying Sound D–7, D–8

LeConte Glacier 56°56'46"N. 132°19'46"W. Petersburg D–1, D–2

Leeper Glacier 60°15'33"N. 142°17'58"W. Bering Glacier A–4, B–4

Leffingwell Glacier 69°18'00"N. 144°08'00'W. Mount Michelson B–1

Lemon Creek Glacier 58°23'24"N. 134°20'56"W. Juneau B–2

K514 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Glacier name Latitude Longitude Map name3

Libbey Glacier 60°10'31"N. 140°56'54"W. Mount Saint Elias A–8

Lime Glacier 61°51'48"N. 142°04'44"W. McCarthy D–3

Little Jarvis Glacier 59°24'25"N. 136°25'09'W. Skagway B–4 NW

Lituya Glacier 58°44'07"N. 137°26'41"W. Mount Fairweather C–5

Logan Glacier 60°53'22"N. 141°11'43"W. Bering Glacier D–1, D–2

Long Glacier 61°47'34"N. 144°03'56"W. Valdez C–1, D–1

Lookout Glacier 58°36'00"N. 137°21'00"W. Mount Fairweather C–5

Loomis Glacier 58°56'30"N. 136°25'30"W. Mount Fairweather D–2

Lowell Glacier 60°50'14"N. 148°41'26"W. Seward D–5 SE, SW

Lowell Glacier 61°18'13"N. 147°34'00"W. Anchorage B–2

Lowell Glacier 60°13'03"N. 149°45'44"W. Seward A–8

Lucia Glacier 59°59'38"N. 139°54'42"W. Yakutat D–6

Maclaren Glacier 63°18'57"N. 146°31'11"W. Mount Hayes B–6

Malaspina Glacier 59°58'53"N. 140°43'06"W. Yakutat C–8, D–8

Marcus Baker Glacier 61°26'38"N. 147°59'51"W. Anchorage B–3, B–4

Margerie Glacier 58°58'04"N. 137°10'33"W. Mount Fairweather D–4, Skagway A–6

Marquette Glacier 60°38'43"N. 148°38'44"W. Seward C–5

Marshall Glacier 61°04'45"N. 145°31'30"W. Valdez A–5

Martin Glacier 59°17'30"N. 138°27'59"W. Yakutat B–2

Martin River Glacier 60°34'05"N. 143°52'09"W. Bering Glacier C–8, Cordova B–1

Marvine Glacier 60°06'05"N. 140°08'57"W. Mount Saint Elias A–6

Matanuska Glacier 61°39'21"N. 147°34'52"W. Anchorage C–2, D–3

Matthes Glacier 58°44'50"N. 134°11'56"W. Juneau C–1

Maynard Glacier 58°41'23"N. 136°36'00"W. Mount Fairweather C–2

McArthur Glacier 61°06'01'N. 152°25'31"W. Tyonek A–7

McBride Glacier 59°05'46"N. 136°02'49"W. Skagway A–3, A–4

McCall Glacier 69°18'13"N. 143°50'44"W. Demarcation Point B–5

McCallum Glacier 63°17'50"N. 145°36'07"W. Mount Hayes B–4

McCarthy Creek Glacier 61°37'11"N. 142°48'41"W. McCarthy C–5

McCarty Glacier 59°46'12"N. 150°13'15"W. Seldovia C–1, D–1

McCarty Glacier 59°52'17'N. 139°24'23'W. Yakutat D–4

McCune Glacier 60°52'56"N. 144°49'41"W. Cordova D–3

McGinnis Glacier 63°35'08"N. 146°07'36"W. Mount Hayes C–5

McPherson Glacier 60°33'01"N. 144°35'37"W. Cordova C–2

Meade Glacier 59°11'48"N. 134°45'12"W. Atlin A–8, Skagway A–1

Meares Glacier 61°14'23"N. 147°25'03"W. Anchorage A–2

Mendenhall Glacier 58°29'45"N. 134°31'56"W. Juneau B–2 NW

Metal Creek Glacier 61°39'01"N. 148°19'48"W. Anchorage C–4

Middle Fork Glacier 61°47'49"N. 142°07'17"W. McCarthy D–3

Miles Glacier 60°37'17"N. 144°07'08"W. Cordova C–1, C–2

Milk Glacier 61°02'53"N. 149°04'57"W. Anchorage A–6

Miller Glacier 59°32'21"N. 138°59'27"W. Yakutat C–3

Miller Glacier 60°04'28"N. 139°34'28"W. Mount Saint Elias A–5

Milton Glacier 60°41'00"N. 148°44'00"W. Seward C–5

Mineral Creek Glacier 61°16'41"N. 146°18'25"W. Valdez B–7

Mint Glacier 61°52'16"N. 149°03'41"W. Anchorage D–6

Morse Glacier 59°10'16"N. 136°30'54"W. Skagway A–5

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K515
Glacier name Latitude Longitude Map name3

Morse Glacier 58°52'19"N. 136°16'32"W. Mount Fairweather D–1

Moser Glacier 59°34'37"N. 139°02'21"W. Yakutat C–3

Mother Goose Glacier 60°20'34"N. 149°12'11"W. Seward B–6

Muir Glacier 59°04'42"N. 136°21'38"W. Skagway A–4, Mount Fairweather D–1

Muldrow Glacier 63°15'38"N. 150°26'14"W. Mount McKinley B–1, B–2

Muth Glacier 61°06'49"N. 147°40'14"W. Anchorage A–1, A–2

Nabesna Glacier 61°56'00"N. 143°05'26"W. McCarthy D–6

Nadina Glacier 62°02'56"N. 144°43'34"W. Gulkana A–2

Natazhat Glacier 61°31'48'N. 141°01'23"W. McCarthy C–1

Nelchina Glacier 61°37'43"N. 146°54'37"W. Valdez C–8, Anchorage C–1

Nellie Juan Glacier 60°27'20"N. 148°22'33"W. Seward B–4

Nelson Glacier 56°29'40"N. 132°00'52"W. Petersburg B–1, Bradfield Canal B–6

Nenana Glacier 63°31'23"N. 147°40'13"W. Healy B–2, C–2

Netland Glacier 59°25'00"N. 137°53'00"W. Skagway B–8

Nikonda Glacier 62°03'18"N. 142°44'20"W. Nabesna A–4

Nizina Glacier 61°37'52"N. 142°27'03"W. McCarthy C–4

Norris Glacier 58°26'20"N. 134°11'03"W. Juneau B–1

North Baird Glacier 57°13'21"N. 132°44'55"W. Sumdum A–3

North Crillon Glacier 58°39'18"N. 137°19'53"W. Mount Fairweather C–4, C–5

North Dawes Glacier 57°37'07"N. 132°57'02"W. Sumdum C–3, C–4

North Twin Glacier 61°29'30"N. 152°36'27"W. Tyonek B–7, B–8

Northland Glacier 60°40'17"N. 148°43'35"W. Seward C–5

Northwestern Glacier 59°49'31"N. 150°03'18"W. Seldovia D–1

Novatak Glacier 59°28'37"N. 138°28'47"W. Yakutat B–1, B–2

Nugget Creek Glacier 58°25'49"N. 134°23'28"W. Juneau B–2

Nuka Glacier 59°38'56"N. 150°45'46"W. Seldovia C–3 NE

Oasis Glacier 57°14'40"N. 132°37'04"W. Sumdum A–2

Ogive Glacier 59°03'07"N. 134°47'54"W. Atlin A–8

Okpilak Glacier 69°09'46"N. 144°11'42"W. Mount Michelson A–1

Orange Glacier 59°57'42"N. 139°14'37"W. Yakutat D–4

Organ Glacier 61°08'35"N. 149°15'39"W. Anchorage A–7 NE

Outlet Glacier 56°15'45"N. 159°20'46"W. Chignik B–5

Ovtsyn Glacier 60°27'30"N. 142°53'30"W. Bering Glacier B–6

Pangnik Glacier 69°11'30"N. 144°51'00"W. Mount Michelson A–2

Patterson Glacier 57°00'35"N. 132°33'14"W. Sumdum A–2, Petersburg D–3

Patton Glacier 58°54'00"N. 136°18'00"W. Mount Fairweather D–1

Pedersen Glacier 59°53'34"N. 149°46'50"W. Blying Sound D–8

Pedro Glacier 61°07'43"N. 147°21'25"W. Anchorage A–1, A–2

Pegmatite Glacier 63°15'55"N. 145°23'21"W. Mount Hayes B–3

Penniman Glaciers 61°05'34"N. 148°20'31"W. Anchorage A–4

Peters Glacier 63°10'52"N. 151°00'09"W. Mount McKinley A–3, B–2

Peters Glacier 69°16'51"N. 144°57'23"W. Mount Michelson B–2

Petrof Glacier 59°27'16"N. 150°49'51"W. Seldovia B–3

Pigot Glacier 60°54'06"N. 148°30'16"W. Seward D–4, D–5

Pinnacle Glacier 60°08'32"N. 140°19'11"W. Mount Saint Elias A–7

Plateau Glacier 58°58'32"N. 136°22'17"W. Mount Fairweather D–1, D–2

Polychrome Glacier 63°27'24"N. 149°50'46"W. Healy B–6

K516 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Glacier name Latitude Longitude Map name3

Popof Glacier 56°44'47"N. 132°15'48"W. Petersburg C–1

Porcupine Glacier 60°00'05"N. 149°16'08"W. Seward A–7 SE

Portage Glacier 60°45'11"N. 148°47'08"W. Seward D–5 SW

Portlock Glacier 59°38'09"N. 150°56'30"W. Seldovia C–3 NW

Pothole Glacier 61°18'29"N. 152°26'48"W. Tyonek B–7

Princeton Glacier 60°19'32"N. 148°23'22"W. Seward B–4

Prospect Glacier 60°01'44"N. 149°15'14"W. Seward A–7

Ptarmigan Glacier 58°22'28"N. 134°22'17"W. Juneau B–2 SE

Puget Glacier 60°04'20"N. 148°34'41"W. Seward A–5

Quintino Sella Glacier 60°32'39"N. 141°01'15"W. Bering Glacier B–1, C–1

Radcliffe Glacier 61°19'21"N. 147°43'35"W. Anchorage B–2

Rainbow Glacier 59°06'52"N. 135°29'55"W. Skagway A–2

Rainy Glacier 60°38'28"N. 148°32'54"W. Seward C–5

Ram Glacier 61°05'16"N. 141°21'36"W. McCarthy A–1, A–2

Ranney Glacier 61°11'04"N. 147°33'46"W. Anchorage A–2

Rasmuson Glacier 59°47'00"N. 139°23'00"W. Yakutat C–4, D–4

Raven Glacier 61°03'52"N. 149°05'14"W. Anchorage A–6

Red Glacier 55°57'28"N. 130°10'06"W. Ketchikan D–1

Red Glacier 60°00'28"N. 152°55'55"W. Kenai A–8, Seldovia D–8

Regal Glacier 61°42'21"N. 142°35'47"W. McCarthy C–4, C–5

Reid Glacier 58°46'27"N. 136°48'23"W. Mount Fairweather D–3

Rendu Glacier 59°05'29"N. 136°50'52"W. Skagway A–5

Revelation Glacier 61°45'21"N. 154°09'21"W. Lime Hills D–4

Rex Glacier 61°17'49"N. 142°25'49"W. McCarthy B–4

Riggs Glacier 59°10'08"N. 136°14'37"W. Skagway A–4

Riley Creek Glacier 63°32'57"N. 145°34'50"W. Mount Hayes C–4

Ripon Glacier 60°40'51"N. 148°35'46"W. Seward C–5

Roaring Glacier 60°59'47"N. 148°27'30"W. Seward D–4, Anchorage A–4

Robertson Glacier 63°15'34"N. 144°29'04"W. Mount Hayes B–1

Rodman Glacier 59°20'27"N. 138°41'47"W. Yakutat B–2

Rohn Glacier 61°45'14"N. 142°29'27"W. McCarthy D–4

Romer Glacier 58°59'09"N. 136°44'32"W. Mount Fairweather D–3

Root Glacier 61°34'36"N. 142°54'07"W. McCarthy C–6

Roscoe Glacier 59°58'00"N. 153°25'00"W. Iliamna D–2

Rubin Glacier 61°07'47"N. 146°02'29"W. Valdez A–6 SW

Russell Glacier 61°36'52"N. 141°53'26"W. McCarthy C–3

Ruth Glacier 62°45'55"N. 150°37'42"W. Talkeetna C–1 NW, D–2

Saddlebag Glacier 60°31'42"N. 145°04'53"W. Cordova B–3, C–3

Saksaia Glacier 59°22'23"N. 136°23'34"W. Skagway B–4 NW

Sanford Glacier 62°08'30"N. 144°27'30"W. Gulkana A–1

Sarokin Glacier 60°28'31"N. 142°23'47"W. Bering Glacier B–4

Saussure Glacier 59°39'18"N. 135°19'49"W. Skagway C–1 NW

Sawyer Glacier 57°57'20"N. 133°05'24"W. Sumdum D–4

Schubee Glacier 59°20'57"N. 135°17'43"W. Skagway B–1 SW

Schwan Glacier 60°58'28"N. 145°08'07"W. Cordova D–4, Valdez A–3

Schwanda Glacier 69°15'37"N. 143°45'44"W. Demarcation Point A–5, B–5

Scidmore Glacier 58°48'19"N. 136°43'46"W. Mount Fairweather D–3

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K517
Glacier name Latitude Longitude Map name3

Scott Glacier 60°41'46"N. 145°10'37"W. Cordova C–4 SW

Sea Otter Glacier 58°55'21"N. 137°42'07"W. Mount Fairweather D–6

Seefar Glacier 68°33'40"N. 147°16'30"W. Philip Smith Mountains C–1

Serpent Tongue Glacier 58°22'09"N. 154°38'12"W. Mount Katmai B–2

Serpentine Glacier 61°07'12"N. 148°16'15"W. Anchorage A–4

Seth Glacier 60°52'17"N. 148°32'11"W. Seward D–5 SE

Seward Glacier 60°12'31"N. 140°22'48"W. Mount Saint Elias A–7

Shadows Glacier 62°27'57"N. 152°42'08"W. Talkeetna B–6, C–6

Shakes Glacier 56°48'51"N. 132°10'23"W. Petersburg D–1

Shakespeare Glacier 60°45'04"N. 148°43'24"W. Seward D–5 SW

Shamrock Glacier 61°08'54"N. 152°47'16"W. Tyonek A–8

Sheep Glacier 62°19'55"N. 144°13'37"W. Gulkana B–1

Shelf Glacier 62°27'33"N. 152°43'58"W. Talkeetna B–6

Shelter Valley Glacier 61°47'43"N. 142°29'07"W. McCarthy D–4, D–5

Shephard Glacier 60°41'00"N. 145°21'00"W. Cordova C–4

Sheridan Glacier 60°37'32"N. 145°09'17"W. Cordova C–4 SW

Sherman Glacier 60°33'28"N. 145°06'58"W. Cordova C–3, C–4

Shiels Glacier 60°52'18"N. 144°46'50"W. Cordova D–2, D–3

Shoup Glacier 61°12'23"N. 146°33'27"W. Valdez A–7

Silver Glacier 60°53'34"N. 146°24'24"W. Cordova D–7

Skee Glacier 59°59'34"N. 149°42'04"W. Blying Sound D–8

Skilak Glacier 60°14'06"N. 150°04'43"W. Kenai A–1, B–1

Skookum Glacier 60°43'47"N. 148°53'44"W. Seward C–6

Slide Glacier 60°31'04"N. 144°18'51"W. Cordova B–1, C–1

Slim Glacier 56°11'10"N. 159°15'08"W. Chignik A–4

Slope Glacier 60°28'06"N. 143°51'21"W. Bering Glacier B–8

Smith Glacier 61°16'26"N. 147°46'49"W. Anchorage A–1, B–3

Soule Glacier 55°53'08"N. 130°15'05"W. Ketchikan D–1

South Crillon Glacier 58°37'53"N. 137°19'34"W. Mount Fairweather C–4, C–5

South Glacier 59°28'22"N. 135°03'52"W. Skagway B–1

South Sawyer Glacier 57°40'51"N. 132°49'02"W. Sumdum C–3, D–3, D–4

South Twin Glacier 61°26'01"N. 152°39'52"W. Tyonek B–8

Southern Glacier 59°23'23"N. 151°06'27"W. Seldovia B–3, B–4

Speel Glacier 58°19'22"N. 133°27'19"W. Taku River B–5

Spencer Glacier 60°38'00"N. 148°54'10"W. Seward C–6

Split Glacier 69°15'00"N. 144°07'00"W. Mount Michelson A–1

Split Glacier 59°39'28"N. 150°28'03"W. Seldovia C–2

Spoon Glacier 60°01'15"N. 149°16'05"W. Seward A–7 SE

Spotted Glacier 58°55'36"N. 153°28'58"W. Afognak D–5

Spur Glacier 63°27'10"N. 145°09'53"W. Mount Hayes B–3

Stairway Glacier 61°04'37"N. 148°29'15"W. Anchorage A–4

Steller Glacier 60°28'08"N. 143°33'23"W. Bering Glacier B–7, B–8

Stephens Glacier 61°25'26"N. 146°21'47"W. Valdez B–6, B–7

Stoney Glacier 61°55'31"N. 152°53'19"W. Tyonek D–8

Stony Glacier 61°36'35"N. 153°48'19"W. Lime Hills C–3

Straightaway Glacier 63°06'46"N. 151°19'55"W. Mount McKinley A–3, A–4

Sumdum Glacier 57°47'05"N. 133°27'04"W. Sumdum D–5

K518 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Glacier name Latitude Longitude Map name3

Summit Glacier 56°47'39"N. 132°16'18"W. Petersburg D–1

Sunrise Glacier 63°22'25"N. 150°10'40"W. Mount McKinley B–1

Sunset Glacier 63°20'06"N. 150°13'04"W. Mount McKinley B–1

Surprise Glacier 62°41'55"N. 152°18'27"W. Talkeetna C–5

Surprise Glacier 61°00'54"N. 148°31'23"W. Anchorage A–5

Susitna Glacier 63°30'38"N. 147°01'28"W. Healy B–1, C–1

Takhin Glacier 59°13'56"N. 136°09'02"W. Skagway A–4, B–4

Taku Glacier 58°35'43"N. 134°10'47"W. Juneau B–1, C–1

Talkeetna Glacier 62°08'12"N. 148°31'37"W. Talkeetna Mountains A–3, A–4

Tana Glacier 60°43'53"N. 142°43'51"W. Bering Glacier C–5

Tanaina Glacier 60°48'30"N. 152°44'00"W. Kenai D–8

Tasnuna Glacier 60°59'21"N. 145°31'33"W. Cordova D–5, Valdez A–4

Tatina Glacier 62°27'03"N. 152°48'44"W. Talkeetna B–6

Taylor Glacier 60°34'36"N. 148°37'42"W. Seward C–5

Tazlina Glacier 61°28'51"N. 146°35'41"W. Valdez B–7, C–7

Tebenkof Glacier 60°41'01"N. 148°31'18"W. Seward C–4, C–5

Texas Glacier 56°05'23"N. 130°10'25"W. Bradfield Canal A–1

Thiel Glacier 58°43'01"N. 134°39'48"W. Juneau C–2

Through Glacier 55°59'04"N. 130°22'02"W. Ketchikan D–2, Bradfield Canal A–1

Thumb Glacier 55°59'13"N. 130°13'00"W. Ketchikan D–1

Tiger Glacier 60°10'18"N. 148°33'14"W. Seward A–4, A–5

Tigertail Glacier 60°13'19"N. 148°26'24"W. Seward A–4, B–4

Tired Pup Glacier 61°29'24"N. 153°56'16"W. Lime Hills B–3

Tittmann Glacier 61°08'07"N. 141°07'09"W. McCarthy A–1

Toboggan Glacier 61°01'18"N. 148°16'37"W. Anchorage A–4

Tok Glacier 63°08'13"N. 144°12'30"W. Mount Hayes A–1

Tokositna Glacier 62°50'07"N. 150°51'36"W. Talkeetna C–2, D–2

Tommy Glacier 60°59'13"N. 147°52'49"W. Seward D–3

Tongue Glacier 60°04'05"N. 153°16'21"W. Lake Clark A–1

Tonsina Glacier 61°18'50"N. 145°48'50"W. Valdez B–5

Topeka Glacier 58°56'05"N. 137°05'02"W. Mount Fairweather D–4

Toyatte Glacier 58°54'29"N. 137°06'18"W. Mount Fairweather D–4

Trail Glacier 60°33'33"N. 148°57'39"W. Seward C–6

Traleika Glacier 63°09'30"N. 150°46'26"W. Mount McKinley A–2

Trident Glacier 63°42'22"N. 146°24'13"W. Mount Hayes C–5, D–5

Trimble Glacier 61°43'32"N. 152°04'08"W. Tyonek C–6

Triumvirate Glacier 61°28'01"N. 152°00'09"W. Tyonek B–5, B–6

Truuli Glacier 59°57'55"N. 150°30'20"W. Seldovia D–2

Tsina Glacier 61°15'30"N. 145°51'49"W. Valdez B–5

Tsirku Glacier 59°18'15"N. 136°27'28"W. Skagway B–4

Turner Glacier 60°02'48"N. 139°42'17"W. Mount Saint Elias A–3, A–5

Tustumena Glacier 59°59'47"N. 150°21'34"W. Seldovia D–1, Kenai A–2

Tuxedni Glacier 60°09'42"N. 153°05'29"W. Lake Clark A–1, B–1

Twaharpies Glacier 61°22'57"N. 142°12'03"W. McCarthy B–4

Twentymile Glacier 60°57'10"N. 148°38'55"W. Seward D–5

Twentyseven Mile Glacier 61°09'09"N. 145°46'54"W. Valdez A–5

Twin Glacier 58°53'47"N. 136°25'10"W. Mount Fairweather D–2

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K519
Glacier name Latitude Longitude Map name3

Tyeen Glacier 58°52'03"N. 137°10'45"W. Mount Fairweather D–4

Tyndall Glacier 60°08'52"N. 141°08'50"W. Bering Glacier A–1

Ultramarine Glacier 60°24'18"N. 148°19'44"W. Seward B–4

Umbrella Glacier 59°59'45"N. 153°10'10"W. Iliamna D–1

Unknown Glacier 58°43'47"N. 133°56'56"W. Taku River C–6

Valdez Glacier 61°17'24"N. 146°12'28"W. Valdez A–6, B–6

Valerie Glacier 60°08'38"N. 139°35'14"W. Mount Saint Elias A–4, A–5

Van Cleve Glacier 60°42'00"N. 144°17'00"W. Cordova C–1

Variegated Glacier 59°59'54"N. 139°19'54"W. Yakutat D–4

Vassar Glacier 61°12'55"N. 147°51'56"W. Anchorage A–3

Vaughan Lewis Glacier 58°49'45"N. 134°15'06"W. Juneau D–1

Villard Glacier 59°17'30"N. 135°15'30"W. Skagway B–1 SW

Walsh Glacier 60°55'21"N. 141°06'45"W. Bering Glacier D–1

Watson Glacier 60°11'21"N. 142°11'59"W. Bering Glacier A–4

Waxell Glacier 60°36'05"N. 143°00'05"W. Bering Glacier C–6

Wedge Glacier 60°57'39"N. 148°23'23"W. Seward D–4

Wellesley Glacier 61°11'55"N. 147°55'12"W. Anchorage A–3

Wernicke Glacier 60°45'52"N. 143°53'50"W. Bering Glacier D–8, Cordova D–1

West Alapah Glacier 68°08'36"N. 150°51'45"W. Chandler Lake A–2

West Fork Glacier 61°39'06"N. 142°42'35"W. McCarthy C–5

West Fork Glacier 63°17'00"N. 150°05'48"W. Mount McKinley B–1, Healy B–6

West Fork Glacier 63°30'59"N. 147°21'18"W. Healy B–2, C–1

West Glacier 62°15'29"N. 143°56'50"W. Nabesna B–6, Gulkana A–1

West Gulkana Glacier 63°16'25"N. 145°30'20"W. Mount Hayes B–3, B–4

West Nunatak Glacier 59°41'18"N. 138°48'51"W. Yakutat C–3, D–3

West Twin Glacier 58°34'45"N. 133°57'18"W. Taku River C–6

Westbrook Glacier 61°07'10"N. 146°41'01"W. Valdez A–8

Whiskey Hill Glacier 61°49'13"N. 142°35'16"W. McCarthy D–5

White Glacier 58°48'04"N. 135°56'03"W. Juneau D–6

White River Glacier 60°04'18"N. 142°02'04"W. Bering Glacier A–3

Whiteout Glacier 61°10'35"N. 148°49'06"W. Anchorage A–5

Whittier Glacier 60°45'15"N. 148°41'00"W. Seward C–5, D–5 SE

Willard Glacier 59°12'34"N. 135°51'56"W. Skagway A–3

Williams Glacier 61°03'37"N. 147°45'49"W. Anchorage A–3

Windy Glacier 68°33'53"N. 147°24'27"W. Philip Smith Mountains C–1

Witches Cauldron 57°06'46"N. 132°29'09"W. Sumdum A–2

Wolverine Glacier 60°24'42"N. 148°55'04"W. Seward B–6

Woodworth Glacier 60°58'22"N. 145°24'19"W. Cordova D–4, Valdez A–4

Worthington Glacier 61°10'13"N. 145°45'48"W. Valdez A–5

Wortmanns Glacier 61°01'30"N. 145°44'55"W. Cordova D–5, Valdez A–5

Wosnesenski Glacier 59°28'57"N. 150°56'00"W. Seldovia B–3, C–3 SW

Wright Glacier 58°28'12"N. 133°31'20"W. Taku River B–5

Yaga Glacier 60°10'30"N. 142°00'53"W. Bering Glacier A–3

Yahtse Glacier 60°18'20"N. 141°43'37"W. Bering Glacier A–2, B–2

Yakataga Glacier 60°08'45"N. 142°09'06"W. Bering Glacier A–4

Yakutat Glacier 59°31'35"N. 138°48'33"W. Yakutat B–3, C–3

Yale Glacier 61°17'16"N. 147°28'40"W. Anchorage A–2, B–2

K520 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Glacier name Latitude Longitude Map name3

Yalik Glacier 59°31'23"N. 150°45'15"W. Seldovia B–2, C–3

Yanert Glacier 63°36'10"N. 147°37'30"W. Healy C–2

Yentna Glacier 62°43'07"N. 151°40'57"W. Talkeetna C–4

Yushin Glacier 60°26'05"N. 143°13'05"W. Bering Glacier B–6

Named Alaskan icefields

Bagley Ice Field4/Icefield 60°33'00"N. 142°30'00"W. Bering Glacier 1:250,000

Juneau Icefield 58°37'00"N. 134°30'00"W. Juneau C–2

Harding Icefield/Ice Field 60°01'05"N. 149°59'10"W. Seward A–8, Seldovia D–1

Sargent Icefield/Ice Field 60°17'48"N. 148°35'09"W. Seward A–5, B–4, B–5

Stikine Icefield 57°40'00"N. 132°45'00"W. Petersburg C–1, D–1, D–2; Sumdum A–1, A–2, 

A–3, B–2, B–3, C–2, C–3, C–4, D–3, D–4, D–5; 

Taku River A–4, A–5

Named branches of Alaskan glaciers

Dead Branch Norris Glacier 58°24'05"N. 134°13'18"W. Juneau B–1

Death Valley Branch Norris 

Glacier

58°29'00"N. 134°15'00"W. Juneau B–1

Middle Branch Norris Glacier 58°28'00"N. 134°15'00"W. Juneau B–1

North Branch Norris Glacier 58°31'16"N. 134°13'41"W. Juneau B, C–1

North Branch Trimble Glacier 61°41'41"N. 152°14'22"W. Tyokek C–6

South Branch Trimble Glacier 61°39'03"N. 152°08'54"W. Tyokek C–6

Southwest Branch Taku Glacier 58°33'05"N. 134°17'19"W. Juneau C–1

West Branch Eklutna Glacier 61°13'05"N. 149°00'50"W. Anchorage A–6, B–6

West Branch Taku Glacier 58°39'52"N. 134°31'49"W. Juneau C–2

Named forks of Alaskan glaciers

East Fork Kahiltna Glacier 63°00'18"N. 151°04'45"W. Mount McKinley A–3, Talkeetna D–3

North Fork Ruth Glacier 63°02'57"N. 150°40'57"W. Mount McKinley A–2

Northeast Fork Kahiltna Glacier 63°02'39"N. 151°06'20"W. Mount McKinley A–3

Northwest Fork Ruth Glacier 63°02'01"N. 150°51'54"W. Mount McKinley A–2

Southeast Fork Kahiltna Glacier 62°58'04"N. 151°07'16"W. Talkeetna D–3

West Fork Ruth Glacier 62°59'30"N. 150°49'30"W. Talkeetna D–2

West Fork Traleika Glacier 63°06'54"N. 150°51'04"W. Mount McKinley A–2

Named lobes of Alaskan glaciers

Bering Lobe 60°10'00"N. 143°23'00"W. Bering Glacier A–6, A–7, A–8, B–6, B–7

Big River Lobe Double Glacier 60°41'18"N. 152°25'46"W. Kenai C–7

Drift River Lobe Double Glacier 60°39'44"N. 152°30'41"W. Kenai C–7

Kaliakh Lobe Bering Glacier 60°18'10"N. 143°10'10"W. Bering Glacier B–6

Middle Fork Lobe Bremner 

Glacier

60°51'40"N. 143°26'43"W. Bering Glacier D–7

North Fork Lobe Bremner 

Glacier

60°54'49"N. 143°23'43"W. Bering Glacier D-7

Steller Lobe 60°21'00"N. 143°45'00"W. Bering Glacier B–7, B–8

Tana Lobe Bremner Glacier 60°54'17"N. 143°12'53"W. Bering Glacier D–6 

1. The Geographic Features Names Database is available at http://geonames.usgs.gov/.

2.The Alaska Dictionary Database can be found in Orth (1967).

3.The map names refer to the 1:250,000-scale USGS map series of Alaska. Each 1:250,000-scale map is subdivided into four east-west strips; lettered A, B, C, and D, 

south to north. Each letter strip is subdivided into 1, 2, 3, 4, ...from east to west. The alphanumeric map designations are part of the 1:63,360-scale USGS map series. 

The NE, SW, SE, or SW following some map names identifies a 1:24,000- or 1:25,000-scale map.

4.At the request of Austin Post (USGS), the Bagley Ice Valley was added as an approved name by the BGN in 1997. Post defines the Bagley Ice Valley as the central part 

of the Bagley Ice Field; the Bagley Ice Field extends from the head of Steller Glacier on the west to the head of Columbus Glacier on the east. In DeLorme Mapping 

(2001, p. 76–77) and on the USGS Bering Glacier 1:250,000-scale map, only the Bagley Ice Field is shown. Ice Field and Icefield are BGN-approved variant names.

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K521
Appendix D

Chronological list of pre-20th century Alaska explorers, cartographers, 

historians, naturalists, and expeditions

[Compiled from the following sources: Baker (1902, 1906), Davidson (1901, 1904), Henry (1984), Hulley (1953), Molnia and Post (1995), 

Orth (1967), and Sherwood (1965)]

Name Country Date(s) of activities

Vitus Jonassen Bering Russia 1741

Alexi Ilich Chirikov Russia 1741–42

Sofron Khitrov Russia 1741–42

Georg Wilhelm Steller Russia 1741–42

Sven Waxell Russia 1741–42

Emilian Bassov Russia 1745–47

Captain Rybinski Russia 1748

Nikisor Trapesnikov Russia 1749–61

Ivan Nikisorov Russia 1757

Simon Krasilnikov Russia 1758–61

Captain Pushkarev Russia 1760–62

Captain Lazerov Russia 1761

Captain Korovin Russia 1762–66

Stephen Glotov Russia 1763–66

Ivan Maximovich Soloviov Russia 1764–69

Lieutenant Synd Russia 1767–68

Peter Kuzmich Krenitzin Russia 1768–70

Mikhail Dmitrievich Levashov Russia 1768–70

Stephen Zaikov Russia 1772–83

Juan F. de la Bodega y Quadra Spain 1775–79

Antonio Maria Bucareli Spain 1775–79

Francisco Antonio Maurelle Spain 1775–79

William Bligh England 1778

James Cook England 1778

Charles Clerke England 1778

Captain Nagaiev Russia 1781

Grigorii Ivanovich Shelikhov Russia 1783–91

Don Ignacio Arteaga Spain 1779

William Coxe England and Russia 1780

Jean F. de Galaup de La Pérouse France 1786

Lieutenant de fregate Blondela France 1786

Gaspard Duche de Vancy France 1786

John Mears England 1786–89

Nathaniel Portlock England 1786–87

Gerassim Gavrilovich Pribilov Russia 1786

William Douglas England 1788–89

Gonzalo Haro Spain 1788

Estevan Martinez Spain 1788

Joseph Billings Russia 1789–92

Gavrila Andreevich Sarichev Russia 1790–92

Martin Sauer Russia 1790–92

K522 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Name Country Date(s) of activities

Luka Alekseevich Voronin Russia 1790–92

Alessandro Malaspina Spain 1791

Antonio Pineda Spain 1791

Don Jacinto Caamano Spain 1792

William R. Broughton England 1793–94

Thomas Heddington England 1793–94

George Vancouver England 1793–94

James Whidbey England 1793–94

Gavril Ivanovitch Davidov Russia 1803

Nikolai Alexanderovitch Khwostov Russia 1803

Adam Johann von Krusenstern Russia 1804–05

Georg Heinrich Langsdor Russia 1804–05

Yuri Theodorovich Lisianski Russia 1804–05

Ivan Filippovich Vasiliev Russia 1808–09

Glieb Semenovich Shishmarev Russia 1816–21

Otto von Kotzebue Russia 1816–17

Adolph Karlovich Etolin Russia 1818–22

Peter Ivanovitch Ilin Russia 1818–42

Mikhail Nikolaievich Vasiliev Russia 1819–21

Ioann Veniaminov Russia 1824–42

Sir John Franklin England 1826

Feodor Petrovich Litke Russia 1827–28

Mikhail Nikolaievich Staniukovich Russia 1827–28

Captain Ingenstrem Russia 1829–32

Mikhail Dimitrievich Teben’kov Russia 1831–50

Ensign Vasiliev Russia 1831–32

Ivan Chernov Russia 1832–38

Dionysius Federovich Zarembo Russia 1834–39

Edward Belcher England 1837

Peter W. Dease England 1837

Thomas Simpson England 1837

Captain Lindenberg Russia 1838

Mikhail Murashev Russia 1839–40

George Simpson England 1841

Lieutenant Woronkofski Russia 1842–43

Laurenti Alexief Zagoskin Russia 1842–45

Captain Archimandritov Russia 1848–50

George Dixon England 1848

Full Pilot Kuritzien Russia 1849

Constantin Grewingk Germany 1850

William Gibson United States 1854–55

North Pacific Exploring Expedition United States 1854–55

Cadwalder Ringwalder United States 1854

John Rodgers United States 1854–55

Robert Kennicott United States 1860–65

Peter Tikhmeniev Russia 1861–63

William P. Blake United States 1863–68

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K523
Name Country Date(s) of activities

Commander Bassarguine Russia 1863

William H. Dall United States 1865–99

Western Union Telegraph Exp. United States 1865–67

Ivan Petroff United States 1866–92

George Davidson United States 1867–69

Noah Brooks United States 1867 

Richard W. Meade United States 1868–69

David Pender United States 1868

Charles W. Raymond United States 1869

Henry W. Elliot United States 1872–76

Marcus Baker United States 1873–80

C.E.S. Wood United States 1877

Sheldon Jackson United States 1877–05

Edward W. Nelson United States 1877–81

Lester A. Beardslee United States 1879–80

John Muir United States 1879–99

Samuel Hall Young United States 1879

Calvin L. Hooper United States 1880–99

Henry Glass United States 1881

Henry E. Nichols United States 1881–83

Patrick H. Ray United States 1881–83

Arthur and Aurel Krause Germany 1882

Thomas Meehan United States 1883 

George M. Stoney United States 1883–86

Frederick Schwatka United States 1883–86

William R. Abercrombie United States 1884–99

John C. Cantwell United States 1884–85

Joseph Bullock Coghlan United States 1884

Henry T. Allen United States 1885

Richardson Clover United States 1885

William Libbey, Jr. United States 1886

Heywood W. Seaton-Karr England 1886

Albert S. Snow United States 1886

G. Frederick Wright United States 1886

Charles M. Thomas United States 1887–88

Zera L. Tanner United States 1888–93

Harold W. Topham England 1888

Otto J. Klotz Canada 1889–94

Henry B. Mansfield United States 1889–91

Charles H. Stockton United States 1889

John H. Turner United States 1889–91

H. P. Cushing United States 1890

Leslie Expedition United States 1890–91

National Geographic Society United States 1890–present

Henry Fielding Reid United States 1890–92

Israel C. Russell United States 1890–91

Charles W. Hayes United States 1891

K524 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD
Name Country Date(s) of activities

Joseph Stanley-Brown United States 1891

William I. Moore United States 1892–95

Edward K. Moore United States 1895–98

Frank C. Schrader United States 1896–1903

Josiah E. Spurr United States 1896–98

Luigi Amedeo-Duke of Abruzzi Italy 1897

Fillippo de Fillippi Italy 1897

Will W. Duffield United States 1897

David H. Jarvis United States 1897–98

Jefferson F. Moser United States 1897–1901

George R. Putnam United States 1897–99

William Yanert United States 1897

Edward C. Barnard United States 1898–1900

Alfred H. Brooks United States 1898–1925

George H. Eldridge United States 1898

Robert L. Faris United States 1898–1901

John A. Flemer United States 1898

Edwin F. Glenn United States 1898–99

Walter C. Mendenhall United States 1898–1905

William J. Peters United States 1898–1902

John F. Pratt United States 1898–1904

Homer P. Ritter United States 1898–1904

Edmund F. Dickins United States 1899–1905

Thomas G. Gerdine United States 1899–1905

Grove Karl Gilbert United States 1899–1901

Harriman Alaska Expedition United States 1899

Joseph S. Herron United States 1899

Wilfred H. Osgood United States 1899–1902

GLACIERS OF ALASKA K525
Williams and Ferrigno, Eds.—SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS: ALASKA—U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1386–K 

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