Images of Alaskan Glaciers

In the neighborhood of the North Pole – A Land of Flowing Ice – The bright blue color in the glaciers comes when pristine snow falls on the ice fields and is compressed over thousands of years by the weight of new snow falling year after year. The weight of all this snow compress the snow into ice and the snow and ice pushes the glacier forward and through the lower landscape.

Above is Dawes glacier calving into an arm of the Misty Fjord. To the immediate left is Mendenhall Glacier located just a short bus ride out of Alaska’s Capital of Juneau. The bottom photograph is Hubbard Glacier and popular with Alaska cruises as the ships get up near the glacier face to watch tons of ice fall into the sea.

FYI – global warming is only a very small part of the cause of glaciers receding. The force that pushes glaciers forward is new snow fall, while the leading edge either falls into the sea or is melted by summer temperatures. With reduced snow fall the glacier recedes more quickly. Many glaciers around the world are still growing.