The Juneau Icefield is an

ice field An ice field (also spelled icefield) is a mass of interconnected valley glaciers (also called mountain glaciers or alpine glaciers) on a mountain mass with protruding rock ridges or summits. They are often found in the colder climates and highe ...

located just north of

Juneau The City and Borough of Juneau, more commonly known simply as Juneau ( ; tli, Dzánti K'ihéeni ), is the capital city of the state of Alaska. Located in the Gastineau Channel and the Alaskan panhandle, it is a unified municipality and the s ...

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. ...

, continuing north through the border with

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, 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 (; ) 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 over many years, often centuries. It acquires distinguishing features, such as ...

s including 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 the

Taku Glacier Taku Glacier (Tlingit language, Lingít: ''T'aaḵú Ḵwáan Sít'i'') is a tidewater glacier located in Taku Inlet in the U.S. state of Alaska, just southeast of the city of Juneau, Alaska, Juneau. Recognized as the deepest and thickest alpine t ...

. 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 that can be a few inches across to over 40 feet. Crevasses form as a result of the movement and resulting stress associated with the shear stress generated when two semi-rigid pie ...

s. The icefield, like many of its glaciers, reached its maximum glaciation point around 1700 and has been in retreat since. In fact, of the icefield's 19 notable glaciers, the Taku Glacier is the only one presently advancing. Much of the icefield is contained within the

Tongass National Forest The Tongass National Forest () in Southeast Alaska is the largest U.S. National Forest at . Most of its area is temperate rain forest and is remote enough to be home to many species of endangered and rare flora and fauna. The Tongass, which is ...

. 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 The Llewellyn Glacier is a glacier located in British Columbia and Alaska. It is the second-largest glacier in the Juneau Icefield. The glacier has rapidly retreated as of recent, and on June 6, 2018, a large kilometre-sized chunk of the narrow to ...

. On the south side of the icefield, the Norris Glacier retreated , the East Twin Glacier , the

West Twin Glacier West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...

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 Parks", was an influential Scottish-American naturalist, author, environmental philosopher, botanist, zoologist, glaciologist ...

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 Crucial to the survival of a glacier is its mass balance or surface mass balance (SMB), the difference between accumulation and ablation (sublimation and melting). Climate change may cause variations in both temperature and snowfall, causing c ...

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 Devils Paw (or Devil's Paw, or Boundary Peak 93) is the high point of the Juneau Icefield, on the Alaska-British Columbia border. It is a part of the Boundary Ranges of the Coast Mountains. It is notable for its steep rise above the low local ...

Nelles Peak Nelles Peak is a remote mountain summit located in the Coast Mountains of British Columbia, Canada. It is situated at the northeastern periphery of the Juneau Icefield, inside the BC-Alaska boundary, on the west side of Tulsequah Lake. Its nea ...

, Emperor Peak,

The Snow Towers The Snow Towers is a glaciated mountain summit located in the Boundary Ranges of the Coast Mountains, in the U.S. state of Alaska. The two peaks, 0.1 mi apart, are situated at the apex of the Taku and Herbert Glaciers near the western edge of th ...

Taku Towers Taku may refer to: Places North America * the Taku River, in Alaska and British Columbia ** Fort Taku, also known as Fort Durham and as Taku, a former fort of the Hudson's Bay Company near the mouth of the Taku River ** the Taku Glacier, in Al ...

Camp 15 Peak Camp 15 Peak is a mountain in the borough of Juneau, Alaska, United States. It is part of the Boundary Ranges of the Coast Mountains in western North America. On the divide east of Battle Glacier, it is located 3 miles southwest of The Tusk ...

, and the

Mendenhall Towers Mendenhall Glacier (in Tlingit language “Sít”) is a glacier about long located in Mendenhall Valley, about from downtown Juneau, Alaska, Juneau in the southeast area of the U.S. state of Alaska. The glacier and surrounding landscape is p ...

Gallery

File:Juneau Ice Field (8025725933).jpg, Juneau Icefield showing

and

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