Riggs 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
Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve
Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve is an American national park located in Southeast Alaska west of Juneau. President Calvin Coolidge proclaimed the area around Glacier Bay a national monument under the Antiquities Act on February 26, 1925. ...
in 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., ...
.
It begins on the southern slope of the
Takhinsha Mountains
The Takhinsha Mountains are a mountain range in Haines Borough and the Hoonah-Angoon Census Area in the U.S. state of Alaska, in the southeastern part of the state. They extend west-northwest from the northern end of the Chilkat Range to the he ...
, 6 km (4 mi) southeast of
Mount Harris
Mount Harris, also named Boundary Peak 156, is a mountain in Alaska and British Columbia, located on the Canada–United States border in the Takhinsha Mountains. In 1923 ''Boundary Peak 156'' was named Mount Harris in honour of D. R. Harris, a su ...
and flows south-southeast to the head of
Muir Inlet
Muir Inlet is an inlet in Glacier Bay, U.S.A. ''Muir Inlet'' heads in Muir Glacier, and extends for south to Glacier Bay, NW of Hoonah, Alaska ''Muir Inlet'' is separated from Chilkat Inlet and Lynn Canal by Chilkat Range. ''Muir Inlet'' has ...
, 69 km (43 mi) southwest of
Skagway
The Municipality and Borough of Skagway is a first-class borough in Alaska on the Alaska Panhandle. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,240, up from 968 in 2010. The population doubles in the summer tourist season in order to deal with ...
.
It was named by the
American Geographical Society
The American Geographical Society (AGS) is an organization of professional geographers, founded in 1851 in New York City. Most fellows of the society are Americans, but among them have always been a significant number of fellows from around the ...
in 1947 for
Thomas Riggs, Jr.,
Governor of Alaska
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political r ...
from 1918 to 1921.
See also
*
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 ...
Cited references
Glaciers of Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve
Glaciers of Hoonah–Angoon Census Area, Alaska
Glaciers of Unorganized Borough, Alaska
{{Alaska-glacier-stub