Humboldt Glacier () is one of the major
glacier
A glacier (; or ) is a persistent body of dense ice, a form of rock, that is constantly moving downhill under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires ...
s in northern
Greenland
Greenland is an autonomous territory in the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. It is by far the largest geographically of three constituent parts of the kingdom; the other two are metropolitan Denmark and the Faroe Islands. Citizens of Greenlan ...
.
The glacier is named after German naturalist
Alexander von Humboldt
Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander von Humboldt (14 September 1769 – 6 May 1859) was a German polymath, geographer, natural history, naturalist, List of explorers, explorer, and proponent of Romanticism, Romantic philosophy and Romanticism ...
and is the widest
tidewater glacier in the Northern Hemisphere.
Geography
The Humboldt Glacier borders the
Kane Basin in North West
Greenland
Greenland is an autonomous territory in the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. It is by far the largest geographically of three constituent parts of the kingdom; the other two are metropolitan Denmark and the Faroe Islands. Citizens of Greenlan ...
. Its front is wide. It has been retreating in the period of observation spanning 1975–2010.
Humboldt Glacier fringes the coast of
Peabody Bay
Peabody Bay () is a large bay in northwestern Greenland. Administratively it is part of Avannaata municipality. Geography
Peabody Bay is located on the eastern side of the Kane Basin off the western end of the Humboldt Glacier.
Cape Forbes and ...
from north to south. The
McGary Islands lie off the glacier at the southern end of the bay.
[''Prostar Sailing Directions 2005 Greenland and Iceland Enroute'', p. 88]
See also
*
List of glaciers in Greenland
This is a list of glaciers in Greenland. Details on the size and flow of some of the major Greenlandic glaciers are listed by Eric Rignot and Pannir Kanagaratnam (2006)
Ice sheets and caps
*Greenland Ice Sheet
*Ad Astra Ice Cap (Greenland), ...
*
Peabody Bay
Peabody Bay () is a large bay in northwestern Greenland. Administratively it is part of Avannaata municipality. Geography
Peabody Bay is located on the eastern side of the Kane Basin off the western end of the Humboldt Glacier.
Cape Forbes and ...
References
External links
*
Glaciers of Greenland
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