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__NOTOC__ The Columbia Glacier is a
glacier A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its Ablation#Glaciology, ablation over many years, often Century, centuries. It acquires dis ...
in
Prince William Sound Prince William Sound (Sugpiaq: ''Suungaaciq'') is a sound of 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 Tr ...
on the south coast of 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 sover ...
of
Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...
, is one of the fastest moving glaciers in the world, and has been retreating since the early 1980s. It was named after
Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
, one of several glaciers in the area named for elite U.S. colleges by the Harriman Alaska Expedition in 1899. The head of the main branch of the glacier originates at the saddle between
Mount Witherspoon Mount Witherspoon is a 12,012-foot-elevation (3,661 meter) glaciated summit located northwest of Valdez, Alaska, Valdez in the Chugach Mountains of the U.S. state of Alaska. It's set on land managed by Chugach National Forest. This remote mountai ...
and
Mount Einstein Mount Einstein is an elevation glaciated summit located northwest of Valdez in the Chugach Mountains of the U.S. state of Alaska. This remote mountain, sixth-highest in the Chugach range, is situated at the head of Yale Glacier on land manag ...
. The
Alaska Marine Highway The Alaska Marine Highway (AMH) or the Alaska Marine Highway System (AMHS) is a ferry service operated by the U.S. state of Alaska. It has its headquarters in Ketchikan, Alaska. The Alaska Marine Highway System operates along the south-central ...
vessel M/V ''Columbia'' is named after the Columbia Glacier.


Size

The glacier twists its way through western Alaska's
Chugach Mountains The Chugach Mountains of southern Alaska are the northernmost of the several mountain ranges that make up the Pacific Coast Ranges of the western edge of North America. The range is about long and wide, and extends from the Knik and Turnagain ...
. The bald streak at the bottom of the mountains, called the trimline, shows this glacier has lost of thickness. It has also retreated since that measurement was taken.


Retreat

The glacier's speed of retreat at the terminus reached a maximum of nearly per day in 2001, when it was discharging icebergs at approximately r per year; the glacier has subsequently slowed down, resulting in an increase in retreat rate. The terminus has retreated a total of at an average rate of approximately per year since 1982. The retreat has been accompanied by nearly of thinning at the present position of the terminus. In the next few decades it is expected to retreat another , to a point where the bed of the glacier rises above sea level. Columbia Glacier's retreat should be completed around 2020. Tidewater glacier advance and retreat is not directly forced by climate (adjacent tidewater glaciers may be simultaneously advancing and retreating), but rapid retreat appears to be triggered by climate-forced long-term thinning.


See also

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Columbia Icefield The Columbia Icefield is the largest ice field in North America's Rocky Mountains. Located within the Canadian Rocky Mountains astride the Continental Divide along the border of British Columbia and Alberta, Canada, the ice field lies partly in ...
*
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 deform ...
*
Columbia Peak (Alaska) Columbia Peak is a elevation glaciated summit located northwest of Valdez in the Chugach Mountains of the U.S. state of Alaska. This remote mountain is situated west-southwest of Mount Defiant, near the head of Meares Glacier, between the Fi ...


References


External links

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Video contains footage of glacier calving
Articles containing video clips Glaciers of Alaska Glaciers of Chugach Census Area, Alaska Glaciers of Copper River Census Area, Alaska Glaciers of Unorganized Borough, Alaska {{ChugachAK-geo-stub