How many glaciers are in the Juneau Icefield?
A marvel of nature which lies 2,000 feet above historic downtown Juneau, the 1,500-square-mile Juneau Icefield is the fifth largest icefield in North America. Extending from Taku Inlet to Skagway, the icefield is the birthing ground of 38 major glaciers, including Juneau's Mendenhall Glacier.
The Juneau Icefield is the fifth largest icefield in North America, stretching 1,500 square miles across the Alaskan panhandle. The Icefield encompasses 38 large glaciers and 100 small valley glaciers, meaning you have the chance to see many glaciers in a single trip.
The Juneau Icefield
Located in the Coast Mountain Range, North America's fifth largest icefield blankets more than 1,500 square miles of land stretching nearly 100 miles north to south and 45 miles east to west.
In fact, of the icefield's 19 notable glaciers, the Taku Glacier is the only one presently advancing. Much of the icefield is contained within the Tongass National Forest.
Mainly size – an icefield is generally larger than a single glacier as it usually a combination of multiple glaciers. Where the landscape is flat, an icefield can form. Glaciers form when layers of snow compress over many years, creating a thick sheet of ice; they often form towards the edge of an icefield.
Off-shooting from this massive sea of ice, you'll have the opportunity to gaze upon the Norris, Hole-in-the-Wall, East Twin, West Twin, & Taku Glaciers. No other method of travel will give you the opportunity to see so many glaciers in one go, making this one of the best excursions in Juneau Alaska.
Bering Glacier currently terminates in Vitus Lake south of Alaska's Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, about 10 km from the Gulf of Alaska. Combined with the Bagley Icefield, where the snow that feeds the glacier accumulates, the Bering is the largest glacier in North America.
Of these, Athabasca Glacier is the biggest and most popular. Surrounded by imposing peaks, visitors can touch glacial ice that is hundreds of years old! On our Cycling Tour Along the Icefields Parkway, opt for an expert-led glacier walk on Athabasca Glacier.
Glaciers. The icefield feeds six major glaciers: Athabasca Glacier.
An ice field (also spelled icefield) is a mass of interconnected valley glaciers (also called mountain glaciers or alpine glaciers) on a mountain mass with protruding rock ridges or summits.
How long will Mendenhall Glacier last?
The icefield's snowfall perpetually creates new glacial ice for Mendenhall Glacier and this ice takes 200-250 years to travel from the Juneau Icefield to Mendenhall Lake. Water depth at the glacier's terminus is 220 feet. At this rate, the glacier would take several centuries to completely disappear.
The lake is a result of the run-off from the glacier and is increasing in size as the glacier continues to retreat. The lake began to form in 1929 and has continued to grow.
Anyone who wants to stand on the glacier can take a rugged eight-mile hike with a guide or go by canoe to get there. These excursions cost more than $200 and sometimes more than $300 per person. Mendenhall is well known for its ice caves.
| Glacier Name | Length |
|---|---|
| Hubbard Glacier | 122 km or 75 miles |
| Fedchenko Glacier | 77 km or 48 miles |
| Siachen Glacier | 75 km or 47 miles |
| Biafo Glacier | 67 km or 42 miles |
1 (4,766 km2), both located on Antarctic islands. Outside the Antarctic, the largest glaciers (about 3,000 km2) are Malaspina-Seward Glacier in Alaska followed by Wykeham Glacier South in the Canadian Arctic and Bering Glacier in Alaska.
CNN — Antarctica's “Doomsday Glacier” – nicknamed because its collapse could drive catastrophic sea level rise – is melting rapidly in unexpected ways, according to new research. The Thwaites Glacier is roughly the size of Florida and is located in West Antarctica.
The Mendenhall Glacier is a tongue of ice stretching 12 miles from the Juneau Icefield to Mendenhall Lake. At its widest point, the glacier is more than a half mile wide, with ice 300 to 1,800 feet deep.
Mendenhall, one of the most beautiful and accessible glaciers in North America, is just 13 miles from downtown Juneau and a few minutes from the airport. It's a must-see destination for any Alaska vacation.
Juneau's most popular attraction (and the most easily accessible Alaska glacier) is the mighty, magnificent Mendenhall Glacier, located just 13 miles from downtown Juneau and only a few minutes from the airport.
1. Matanuska Glacier. Matanuska Glacier is a 2-hour scenic drive north of Anchorage and it's the largest glacier accessible by car in the United States! This makes it not so much of a hike, but it's definitely one of the easiest ways to stand on top of a glacier in Alaska.
What is the most active glacier in Alaska?
More about the Matanuska Glacier
The majority of glaciers in Alaska today are smaller alpine glaciers that hang off mountain slopes. The Matanuska is an active glacier that flows at one foot per day in the summertime. It takes approximately 600 years for the ice to form up-glacier and advance to the terminus.
The age of the oldest Alaskan glacier ice ever recovered (from a basin between Mt. Bona and Mt. Churchill) is about 30,000 years old.
Most U.S. glaciers are in Alaska; others can be found in Washington, Oregon, California, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, and Nevada (Wheeler Peak Glacier in Great Basin National Park).
The largest glacier in the world, Antarctica's Lambert Glacier, is one of the world's fastest-moving ice streams.
The Taku Glacier located in Taku inlet of Alaska is the deepest and thickest glacier of the world measuring a maximum depth of almost 1500 meters and a length of about 58 kilometers.
Alaska has an estimated 100,000 glaciers, ranging from tiny cirque glaciers to huge valley glaciers.
That doesn't mean melting is over. A pulse of cooler water at its edge let part of the glacier gain some mass. But overall, the melting across Greenland continues apace.
- 91% in Antarctica.
- 8% in Greenland.
- Less than 0.5% in North America (about 0.1% in Alaska)
- 0.2% in Asia.
- Less than 0.1% are in South America, Europe, Africa, New Zealand, and Indonesia.
Juneau Icefield straddles the Alaska and British Columbia border. It is one of the largest icefields in the world, with glaciers reaching from 9 m to 2300 m above sea level.
- Lynx & Bobcat. Lynx have a short tail and characteristic tufts of black hair on the tips of their ears; large, padded paws for walking on snow; and long whiskers on the face. ...
- Marmot. ...
- Pika. ...
- Ptarmigan. ...
- Woodland Caribou. ...
- Bighorn Sheep. ...
- Mountain Goat. ...
- Elk.
How deep is the ice in the glacier?
How thick are glaciers? A good guess is that the ice thickness is about one-half of the surface width of the glacier. Although few glaciers have been measured, the measured thicknesses range from a few tens of meters for small glaciers to about 1,500 meters for the largest glaciers in Alaska.
Major glaciers in Kilimanjaro and Yosemite will disappear by 2050, UN says. Major glaciers across the world, including those in the Dolomites in Italy, Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania and Yosemite and Yellowstone parks in the U.S., will be gone by 2050 even if global emissions are reduced, according to a UNESCO report.
The black bears that summer near the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center and adjacent Recreation Area are ideal candidates to explore these questions. About 15 black bears are active in the visitor center area, especially in July, August and early September when salmon spawn in Steep Creek.
Hubbard Glacier has been advancing for more than 100 years and has twice closed the entrance to Russell Fiord during the last 16 years by squeezing and pushing submarine glacial sediments across the mouth of the fiord (figs. 2 and 3).
The Crater Glacier (also known as Tulutson Glacier) is a geologically young glacier that is located on Mount St. Helens, in the U.S. state of Washington. The glacier formed after the 1980 Eruption and due to its location, the body of ice grew rapidly, unknown to the public for nearly 20 years.
The Mendenhall Glacier and many others along the Southeast Alaska coast are remnants of the Little Ice Age which began about 3,000 years ago.
Thousands of years of packed snowfall creates an enormous amount of weight and compresses air bubbles out to form the ice. The density of glacial ice and transmission of blue wavelengths is what allows this vibrant color and makes it different from other ice formations closer to the surface.
This is an enthralling opportunity to witness two jewels in Juneau - the graceful elegance of humpback whales and the serene beauty of the Mendenhall Glacier. Our fleet of whale watching boats and glacier shuttles offer a seamless combination of two of Juneau's favorite activities and our most popular tour.
You are guaranteed to see whales on this amazing and scenic Juneau whale watching and Mendenhall Glacier tour. Want to get out onto the open Alaskan waters? Our captains and naturalists will take you in search of humpback and killer whales, sea lions, porpoises and so much more!
Ice Caves at Mendenhall Glacier
There are public access trails to the ice caves at the park, but enter at your own risk if trekking alone. Though spectacular, it's recommended that glaciers should only be explored with a professional guide. Tours of the ice caves are offered from July through September.
What is the deadliest glacier?
Survey. Thwaites glacier has been dubbed the world's most deadly glacier because of its estimated 2.2 million cubic kilometres of ice, enough to raise seas by 3.3 to 5 metres, depending on the timescale. It already accounts for about 4 per cent of sea level rise.
The Siachen Glacier is the highest battleground on earth, where India and Pakistan have fought intermittently since 13 April 1984.
The deepest point on continental Earth has been identified in East Antarctica, under Denman Glacier. This ice-filled canyon reaches 3.5km (11,500ft) below sea level. Only in the ocean are the valleys deeper still.
Scientists are concerned that only part of Thwaites—its Eastern Ice Shelf, the part of its body that floats above the ocean—will collapse within 10 years.
...
| Gem Glacier | |
|---|---|
| Type | Hanging glacier |
| Location | Glacier National Park, Glacier County, Montana, U.S. |
| Coordinates | 48°44′48″N 113°43′40″W |
| Area | 5 acres (0.020 km2) in 2005 |
It is more than a mile thick on average. So we are looking at roughly 115,000 cubic miles of ice, some of it above the waterline and some below. In round numbers, a cubic mile of ice contains a trillion gallons of water.
A part of this ice sheet, the Jakobshavn Glacier, is located on the western coast of Greenland. According to GPS measurements, this glacier's flow has reached well over 100 feet per day. At this rate, more than 20 million tons of icebergs calve off from it each day as its leading edge reaches the Arctic Ocean.
Jakobshavn Isbrae in Greenland is generally considered to be the fastest glacier in the world, with speeds of up to 40 metres per day. Many glaciers in Greenland and in the Antarctic Peninsula are accelerating, which is generally attributed to warmer conditions and more meltwater lubricating the bed of the glacier.
The Antarctic continent lies on a large landmass. Underneath that smooth ice sheet there are mountains and valleys.
Experience the Spectacular Mendenhall Glacier
A half-mile wide, with ice up to 1,800 feet deep, it's little wonder this is Juneau's most popular destination.
Can you walk on glacier in Juneau?
Walking on a glacier in Alaska is an activity that every adventurous traveler should experience firsthand. Juneau is one of the best places for this with many glaciers and different types of excursion options. Looking for the easiest and most affordable way to step foot on a glacier?
The absence of a road network is due to the extremely rugged terrain surrounding the city. This in turn makes Juneau a de facto island city in terms of transportation, since all goods coming in and out must go by plane or boat, in spite of the city's location on the Alaskan mainland.
Alaska has the nation's greatest concentration of glaciers; approximately 100,000 of them cover nearly 30,000 square miles. The glaciers near Anchorage are among the most accessible. In fact, there are 60 glaciers within 50 miles of Anchorage.
While many people go to Mendenhall Glacier with a tour group or on a shore excursion, you can also get to the glacier on your own. You can take a taxi from Juneau, drive to the glacier with a rental car, or take the city bus to Glacier Spur Road and walk the rest of the way (1.5 miles).
After further research, we stumbled upon a description of the West Glacier Trail. From this trail, one can actually access Mendenhall Glacier directly on foot.
One of the most popular glaciers in Juneau, the Mendenhall Glacier can be visited on this privately guided tour. Hike through the Tongass National Forest and around the majestic Mendenhall Glacier on foot.
According to the GLIMS data set, the three largest glaciers in the world are Vatnajokull Glacier in Iceland, Flade Isblink Ice Cap in Greenland, and Seller Glacier in Antarctica.
The largest glacier in the United States is the Bering Glacier, near Cordova, Alaska. With its associated icefield feeders it is 203 km (126 miles) long and covers an area of more than 5,000 square kilometers (1,900 square miles).
Is the glacier retreating? Yes. A neo-glaciation period began 3,000 years ago and ended in the mid-1700s. At this time, Mendenhall Glacier reached its point of maximum advance, its terminus resting almost 2.5 miles down valley from its present position.
1. Matanuska Glacier. Matanuska Glacier is a 2-hour scenic drive north of Anchorage and it's the largest glacier accessible by car in the United States! This makes it not so much of a hike, but it's definitely one of the easiest ways to stand on top of a glacier in Alaska.
How deep is Mendenhall Glacier?
Adjacent Mendenhall Lake began to form about 1900 and has become about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) long, 1 mile (1.6 km) wide, and 220 feet (65 metres) deep near the centre of the glacier's face. This article was most recently revised and updated by Amy Tikkanen.