 |  |  |  |  |  |
| Alaska, The Great Land Into the Wild - My great Alaskan Railroad Adventure |
This shows a glacier coming off the Harding Ice Field. Over 700 glaciers
are fed by this massive sheet of snow and ice .
are fed by this massive sheet of snow and ice .
Bear Glacier is the largest glacier coming off the Harding Ice Field. It is over
a mile wide and almost a mile thick. Down the middle of the glacier run
dark grey 'racing stripes'. When two glaciers merge (as they have here) the
dirt and debris they carry form parallel stripes.
a mile wide and almost a mile thick. Down the middle of the glacier run
dark grey 'racing stripes'. When two glaciers merge (as they have here) the
dirt and debris they carry form parallel stripes.
| Below: A Cirque or Hanging Glacier is one that is not fed by the Harding ice field. But instead is created and fed by the over 90 feet of snowfall these mountains receive each year. They create and are created by these bowl shaped depressions in the side of the mountains. The snow doesn't disappear in the summer months and compacts into glacial ice. These hanging glaciers can be seen all over the mountain range in Alaska. |
Page 9 of 20