The Davidson Glacier is a large
valley glacier
A valley is an elongated low area often running between Hill, hills or Mountain, mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers ...
near
Haines,
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. ...
that finds its source in the
Chilkat Range.
History
The Davidson Glacier was named in 1867 for
George Davidson. Its Indian name is Ssitkaje. It was recounted by
John Muir
John Muir ( ; April 21, 1838December 24, 1914), also known as "John of the Mountains" and "Father of the National Parks", was an influential Scottish-American naturalist, author, environmental philosopher, botanist, zoologist, glaciologist ...
in his famous travels in and around
Glacier Bay
Glacier Bay Basin in southeastern Alaska, in the United States, encompasses the Glacier Bay and surrounding mountains and glaciers, which was first proclaimed a U.S. National Monument on February 25, 1925, and which was later, on December 2, 1980 ...
in 1879. The glacier was, at that time, a glacier that nearly reached tidewater.
[(Wilderness Essays, The Alaska Trip (pg 60) John Muir).] It has since receded into the mountains, becoming a valley glacier, and created its very own glacial lake in the glacier's moraine (similar to the
Mendenhall Glacier
Mendenhall Glacier (in Tlingit language “Sít”) is a glacier about long located in Mendenhall Valley, about from downtown Juneau in the southeast area of the U.S. state of Alaska. The glacier and surrounding landscape is protected as part ...
and
lake
A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...
) about one mile inland from the Chilkat Inlet.
Current status
Currently, the Davidson Glacier serves as a tourist attraction for Haines and Skagway.
See also
*
List of glaciers
*
Mount Rifenburgh
References
External links
*
Glaciers of Alaska
Glaciers of Haines Borough, Alaska
Tourist attractions in Haines Borough, Alaska
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