The Juneau Icefield is an ice field located just north of

Juneau Juneau ( ; ), officially the City and Borough of Juneau, is the capital of the U.S. state of Alaska, located along the Gastineau Channel and the Alaskan panhandle. Juneau was named the capital of Alaska in 1906, when the government of wha ...

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 ...

, continuing north through the border with

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

, extending through an area of in the Coast Range ranging north to south and east to west. The icefield is the source of many

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, including the Mendenhall Glacier and the Taku Glacier. The icefield is home to over 40 large valley glaciers and 100 smaller ones. The Icefield serves as a tourist attraction with many travellers flown in by helicopter for quick walks on the deep ice and the massive, awe-inspiring moist

crevasse A crevasse is a deep crack that forms in a glacier or ice sheet. Crevasses form as a result of the movement and resulting stress associated with the shear stress generated when two semi-rigid pieces above a plastic substrate have different rate ...

s. The icefield, like many of its glaciers, reached its maximum glaciation point around 1700 and has been in retreat since. Much of the icefield is contained within the Tongass National Forest. Since 1948, the Juneau Icefield Research Program has monitored glaciers of the Juneau Icefield. On the west side of the icefield, from 1946-2009, the terminus of the Mendenhall Glacier has retreated over . Eight kilometers to the north, the Herbert Glacier has retreated , while Eagle Glacier retreated , Gilkey Glacier and Llewellyn Glacier . On the south side of the icefield, the Norris Glacier retreated , the East Twin Glacier , the West Twin Glacier with only the Taku Glacier advancing. Surveys reveal the Taku as one of the deepest glaciers of the sub-temperate icefields surveyed at nearly thick. This glacier was advancing in 1890 when viewed by

John Muir John Muir ( ; April 21, 1838December 24, 1914), also known as "John of the Mountains" and "Father of the national park, National Parks", was a Scottish-born American naturalist, author, environmental philosopher, botanist, zoologist, glaciologi ...

and had a large calving front. By 1963, the glacier had advanced . In 1948, the Taku Fjord had been completely filled in with glacial sediment and the glacier no longer calved. From 1948–1986, the glacier had a positive glacier mass balance driving the advance. From 1987–2009, the glacier has had a slightly negative mass balance, not enough to end the advance, but if it continues will soon slow it. Notable peaks on the Juneau Icefield are Devils Paw, Nelles Peak, Emperor Peak, The Snow Towers,

Taku Towers Taku Towers is a double summit mountain located in the Boundary Ranges of the Coast Mountains, in the U.S. state of Alaska. The two north and south peaks, 0.2 mi apart with 6,653+ and 6,605-ft elevations respectively, are situated in the Taku R ...

, Camp 15 Peak, and the Mendenhall Towers.

Gallery

File:Juneau Ice Field (8025725933).jpg, Juneau Icefield showing Devils Paw and Nelles Peak File:Spirit Range 1532.jpg, Spirit Range, over the Juneau Icefield File:Juneau Ice Field (5013565995).jpg, Several prominent peaks in the icefield File:Alamy WM 1506.jpg, Juneau Icefield looking Northwest

References

External links

Terminus Behavior of Juneau Icefield Glaciers 1948-2005Juneau Icefield Research ProgramCanadian Mountain Encyclopedia: Juneau Icefield entrycrevassezone.orgPulitzer Center Crisis Reporting
Juneau Icefield Research (multimedia)
A description of the flora and fauna in the Icefield
{{Authority control Boundary Ranges Ice fields of Alaska Ice fields of British Columbia Glaciers of Juneau, Alaska Stikine Country Tourist attractions in Juneau, Alaska Tongass National Forest

See also

Gallery

References

External links