Northwestern Glacier Calving Part 1
by LaDonna McCray
Title
Northwestern Glacier Calving Part 1
Artist
LaDonna McCray
Medium
Photograph - Photography
Description
This glacier, named after Northwestern University in 1909, can be found at the Kenai Fjords National Park at the head of the Northwestern Fjord, a nearly 10-mile long, narrow, and steep inlet. This tidewater glacier is reachable only by boat, almost 70-mile boat tour from Seward, Alaska.
Northwestern has retreated and receded at least 6 miles since then and has revealed a spectacular fjord with sweeping granite faces and terrain that is unique in the park. By the second half of the 20th century, Northwestern Glacier's recession revealed a number of islands in the Fjord that had previously been covered in ice. Take a cruise from Seward and envision the entirety of of Northwestern Fjord filled with ice, as you make your way to Northwestern Glacier.
Ice calving, also known as glacier calving or iceberg calving, is the breaking of ice chunks from the edge of a glacier. It is a form of ice ablation or ice disruption. It is the sudden release and breaking away of a mass of ice from a glacier, iceberg, ice front, ice shelf, or crevasse. The ice that breaks away can be classified as an iceberg, but may also be a growler, bergy bit, or a crevasse wall breakaway. Calving of glaciers is often accompanied by a loud cracking or booming sound before blocks of ice up to 60 meters high break loose and crash into the water. The entry of the ice into the water causes large, and often hazardous waves.
Uploaded
October 25th, 2021
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