College Fjord is a

fjord In physical geography, a fjord (also spelled fiord in New Zealand English; ) is a long, narrow sea inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Antarctica, the Arctic, and surrounding landmasses of the n ...

located in the northern sector of

Prince William Sound Prince William Sound ( Sugpiaq: ''Suungaaciq'') is a sound off the Gulf of Alaska on the south coast of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is located on the east side of the Kenai Peninsula. Its largest port is Valdez, at the southern terminus of the ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

. The fjord contains five

tidewater glacier The tidewater glacier cycle is the typically centuries-long behavior of tidewater glaciers that consists of recurring periods of advance alternating with rapid retreat and punctuated by periods of stability. During portions of its cycle, a tidewat ...

s (glaciers that terminate in water), five large valley glaciers, and dozens of smaller glaciers, most named after renowned East Coast colleges (women's colleges for the NW side, and men's colleges for the SE side). College Fjord was discovered in 1899 during the Harriman Expedition, at which time the glaciers were named. The expedition included a Harvard and an Amherst professor, and they named many of the glaciers after elite colleges. According to Bruce Molina, author of ''Alaska's Glaciers'', "They took great delight in ignoring Princeton

Incomplete list of College Fjord glaciers

* Amherst Glacier * Baby Glacier * Barnard Glacier *

Bryn Mawr Glacier Bryn Mawr Glacier is a glacier in the U.S. state of Alaska. It trends southeast to Harvard Arm of College Fjord, northwest of College Point (Alaska), College Point and west of Valdez, Alaska, Valdez. It was named for Bryn Mawr College in Bryn ...

* Crescent Glacier *

Downer Glacier Downer Glacier is a glacier in the U.S. state of Alaska. Trends west with a length of , in Kora Keen Range, northwest of Valdez. It was named in 1910 by Lawrence Martin for the Milwaukee-Downer College for Women in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. See ...

Harvard Glacier The Harvard Glacier is a large tidewater glacier in the Alaska's Prince William Sound. The glacier has a 1.5-mile (2 km) wide face where it calves into the College Fjord. It is 300 ft thick and covers 120,000 acres of Chugach National F ...

* Holyoke Glacier *

Smith Glacier Smith Glacier ( is a low-gradient Antarctica, Antarctic glacier, over 160 km (100 mi) long, draining from Toney Mountain in an ENE direction to Amundsen Sea. A northern distributary, Kohler Glacier, drains to Dotson Ice Shelf but the ma ...

Vassar Glacier Vassar Glacier is a long glacier in the U.S. state of Alaska. It trends southeast to College Fjord, west of College Point and west of Valdez. It was named for Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York, by members of the 1899 Harriman Alaska E ...

Wellesley Glacier Wellesley Glacier is a long glacier in the U.S. state of Alaska. It trends east for to a lagoon on the west bank of College Fjord, southwest of College Point and west of Valdez. It was named for Wellesley College in Wellesley, Massachusetts b ...

* Williams Glacier *

Yale Glacier Yale Glacier is a long glacier in the U.S. state of Alaska. It begins at the saddle between Mount Witherspoon and Mount Einstein, and trends southwest to Yale Arm of College Fjord, 47 miles (76 km) west of Valdez. It was named for Ya ...

Glaciers near College Fjord

These glaciers were also named by members of the Harriman Alaska Expedition (see map at https://www-tc.pbs.org/harriman/images/log/lectures/crossengl/barrymap_lg.jpg), but they don't border College Fjord: *

Columbia Glacier (Alaska) __NOTOC__ The Columbia Glacier, a glacier in Prince William Sound on the south coast of the U.S. state of Alaska, is one of the fastest moving glaciers in the world, and has been retreating since the early 1980s. It was named after Columbia Uni ...

* Dartmouth Glacier * Barry Glacier *

Surprise Glacier Surprise (or, rarely, surprize) may refer to: * Surprise (emotion), a brief emotional state experienced as the result of an unexpected significant event Places * Surprise, Arizona, a city in the United States * Surprise, Indiana, an unincorporat ...

* Harriman Glacier * Serpentine Glacier * Cataract Glacier Bodies of water of Chugach Census Area, Alaska Fjords of Alaska Tourist attractions in Chugach Census Area, Alaska {{ChugachAK-geo-stub