ALASKA PHOTO BLOG

River Of Ice

Hubbard Glacier

The author’s image of the Hubbard Glacier from miles away.

All images by the author.

Watercraft cannot get close enough to the Hubbard Glacier for true appreciation of its mass. Frequent and unpredictable calving makes close approach foolhardy.

All heard the distant crack of separation and subsequent splash, but this photographer was too slow.

A cow calves a calf. Glaciers calve icebergs. The falling ice not only presents a crushing hazard. When large icebergs drop, subsequent waves can swamp a small boat or propel other bergs into it.

Leaving the ship behind

Cruise ships can only get as close as ice floes will allow. Our approach was on a much smaller boat with a few hundred people aboard.

The Pigeon Guillemots were also headed for the glacier

Beyond the ice flows is the northwestern end of the face of the Hubbard Glacier. Beyond the gray dividing ice is the dark face of the Valerie Glacier.

Though they flow down from different sources in the mountains, the smaller Valerie and Hubbard glaciers meet Disenchantment Bay as one.

Striations and colors characterize the ice.

We only saw the terminus of the glacier where it meets the water. The full scale is mind-boggling. Even gazing directly upon its face, the observer is unable to comprehend that the terminus is seven miles wide.

At times the glacier has moved far enough forward to seal off the water beyond the point.

Beyond what we could see, the Hubbard River of Ice extends 76 miles into the mountains. The ice marching down the mountainsides and calving into the water was formed by snow that fell over 400 years ago.

The ice in this photo is 350 feet high.

The full height of the face of the glacier is on the order of 600 feet with 250 feet unseen under the water.

Massive chunks of ice float in the bay

The icebergs are often colorful abstract sculptures

And useful, too.

All the gulls agree.

Back to the big boat

Rain dampened the attire of those acquiring unobstructed views but not their spirits. Even so, all appreciated returning to the floating hotel.

On the way out of the bay

Because it did not provide a hoped-for route to the Atlantic, explorers named it Disenchantment Bay. Tourists would be happy to ditch the “dis.”

[embed]Alaska, May 2024 A tourist's account of land and sea in Alaska, with a final stop in Vancouverrandy-fredlund.medium.com