Tongass National Forest

2005

Click on photos for higher-resolution images.

Between the last week in February and the last week in May 2004, The gap between glacier and rock point narrowed:

• Late February: 1,350 feet (410 meters)
• Early March: 1,230 feet (375 meters)
• Mid-late March: 1,075 feet (330 meters)
• Mid-late April: 950 feet (290 meters)
• Late May: 660 feet (200 meters)

May 4
(photo by George Kali, US Army Corps of Engineers)
Several weeks before this photo was taken, the gap between ice and rock was 660 feet.
(Large image - 1 MB)

May 18 - Although Hubbard Glacier has not advanced to threaten the opening into Russell Fjord so far this year, that doesn't mean there isn't plenty of action along its face. Above and below are photos of icebergs calving from the glacier into Disenchantment Bay and the fascinating jagged formations of that extensive face. (Large images are 308 - 320 KB)

May 18
Osier Island (outlined in yellow) pokes its rocky head out of the water just ahead of the face of Hubbard Glacier within Russell Fjord. (Large image - 208 KB)

July 8 - Photos taken from a small plane on an achingly beautiful July day show both the colorful beauty and the enormous size of Hubbard Glacier. (Large images - 417, 465, 364, and 468 KB respectively, clockwise from upper left.)

July 8
Medial moraines are formed when two glaciers meet and join. Each has scraped rock from the sides of valleys as it moved along, and the rock scrapings continue as a ribbon of color between the two moving ice masses. The dark glacier at the far left is Valerie Glacier, coming in from the northwest. (Large image - 307 KB)