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__NOTOC__ The Malaspina Glacier () in southeastern
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 ...
is the largest piedmont glacier in the world. Situated at the head of the Alaska Panhandle, it is about wide and long, with an area of some , approximately the same size as the state of
Rhode Island Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...
.


Name

The Lingít name translates to Big Glacier. The colonial name for the glacier is in honor of
Alessandro Malaspina Brigadier Alejandro Malaspina (November 5, 1754 – April 9, 1810) was a Spanish Navy officer and explorer. Under a Spanish royal commission, he undertook a voyage around the world from 1786 to 1788, then, from 1789 to 1794, a scientific expedit ...
, a Tuscan explorer in the service of the
Spanish Navy The Spanish Navy, officially the Armada, is the Navy, maritime branch of the Spanish Armed Forces and one of the oldest active naval forces in the world. The Spanish Navy was responsible for a number of major historic achievements in navigation ...
, who visited the region in 1791. In 1874, W. H. Dall of the
United States Coast Survey United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...
bestowed the name "Malaspina Plateau" on it, not realizing its true geological character.


Geography

The Malaspina Glacier actually comprises Seward Glacier, Agassiz Glacier, and Marvine/Hayden Glacier, which converge as they spill out from the
Saint Elias Mountains The Saint Elias Mountains () are a subgroup of the Pacific Coast Ranges, located in southeastern Alaska in the United States, Southwestern Yukon and the very far northwestern part of British Columbia in Canada. The range spans Wrangell-St. Elias ...
onto the coastal plain facing the
Gulf of Alaska The Gulf of Alaska ( Tlingit: ''Yéil T'ooch’'') is an arm of the Pacific Ocean defined by the curve of the southern coast of Alaska, stretching from the Alaska Peninsula and Kodiak Island in the west to the Alexander Archipelago in the ...
between Icy Bay and
Yakutat Bay Yakutat Bay ( Lingít: ''Yaakwdáat G̱eeyí'') is a bay in the U.S. state of Alaska, extending southwest from Disenchantment Bay to the Gulf of Alaska. "Yakutat" is a Tlingit name reported as "Jacootat" and "Yacootat" by Yuri Lisyansky in ...
. Officially, these three glaciers are classified independently, such that Malaspina Glacier does not technically exist. The three glaciers are almost always referred to together, though sometimes only the largest primary piedmont lobe is referred to as Malaspina Glacier. This notable feature is actually part of Seward Glacier, with Agassiz Glacier contributing the secondary piedmont lobe to the west, and Marvine/Hayden Glacier constituting the smallest and most eastern lobe. Although the glaciers fill the plain, nowhere do they actually reach the water and so do not qualify as a tidewater glaciers. Notably, both Seward Glacier and Marvine/Hayden Glaciers terminate near Malaspina Lake, formed during a previous advance. Neither glacier actually terminates in the lake, and therefore are also not classified as lacustrine glaciers. The Malaspina is up to thick in places, with the
elevation The elevation of a geographic location (geography), ''location'' is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational equipotenti ...
of its bottom being estimated to be as much as below sea level. There are two
lake A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...
s on its margins: Oily Lake to the northwest, at the foot of the Samovar Hills between the Agassiz and Seward glaciers, and Malaspina Lake to the southeast, close to Yakutat Bay. Nearly all of the glacier is encompassed by the southeast lobe of the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve.


History

Radar data and aerial photographs dating back to 1972 provide evidence that the Malaspina-Seward glacier system lost about of its thickness between 1980 and 2000; because the glacier is so large, that amount of shrinkage was sufficient to contribute 0.5% of the rise in the global sea level. In October 1969, the glacier became a
National Natural Landmark The National Natural Landmarks (NNL) Program recognizes and encourages the conservation of outstanding examples of the natural history of the United States. It is the only national natural areas program that identifies and recognizes the best e ...
.


See also

* List of National Natural Landmarks *
List of glaciers A glacier ( ) or () is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight; it forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation (melting and sublimation) over many years, often centuries. Glaciers slowly defor ...


Notes


External links


NPS page
{{authority control Glaciers of Alaska National Natural Landmarks in Alaska Glaciers of Yakutat City and Borough, Alaska Wrangell–St. Elias National Park and Preserve