Alaska wouldn\u2019t be Alaska without its glaciers. These massive rivers of ice are responsible for the shape of the landscape\u2014and that\u2019s just the beginning. Learn the history behind the state\u2019s most famous glaciers.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
A cruise through Glacier Bay<\/a> is a journey through natural and human history, back to the Little Ice Age. Truly a remarkable place, it has acted as a living laboratory for scientists, such as botanist William S. Cooper, who studied how plants react to glacial retreat. It is the muse for poets and a beloved wild playground of naturalists, like John Muir.<\/p>\n It\u2019s the ancestral homeland of the Huna Tlingit, who called it S’e Shuyee<\/em>\u00a0or “edge of the glacial silt.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div> Johns Hopkins Glacier: <\/strong>Harry Feilding Reid, a glaciologist, seismologist and professor at Johns Hopkins University, named this glacier in 1893.<\/p>\n Margerie Glacier: <\/strong>This was named after French geographer Emmanuel de Margerie, who visited in 1913.<\/p>\n On cruises to Glacier Bay<\/a>, rangers and Huna Tlingit guides bring the history of this extraordinary place to life with engaging talks.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div> As you cruise College Fjord<\/a>, you\u2019re traveling in the path of the 1899 Harriman Expedition that rounded up the world\u2019s leading naturalists, botanists, photographers and nature writers on a two-month voyage from Seattle to Alaska and Siberia.<\/p>\n You\u2019ll notice that many of the glaciers are named after prestigious universities. Glaciers on the left are women\u2019s colleges and the ones on the right are men\u2019s colleges. Some of the more famous glaciers in the College Fjord are Amherst, Barnard, Bryn Mawr, Harvard, Smith, Vassar and Yale.<\/p>\n Fun Fact: It’s believed that as an ice-cold snub, the scientists didn\u2019t name a glacier after Princeton.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div> Even at 400 years old, Hubbard Glacier<\/a> manages to stay active. As many glaciers thin and retreat, Hubbard Glacier is advancing at a rate so fast it\u2019s nicknamed, \u201cthe Galloping Glacier.\u201d Hubbard\u2019s massive ice chunks regularly calve off and thunder into the sea. It also caused the largest glacial lake outburst flood in recent history.<\/p>\n Fun Fact: Hubbard Glacier was named after Gardiner Hubbard, one of the National Geographic Society founders.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div> Ready to book your next cruise vacation? Find a Cruise <\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div> Tracy Arm<\/a> is a 30-mile-long fjord, accessed through Stephens Passage and part of the Tracy Arm-Fords Terror Wilderness. It was named after the Secretary of the Navy, Benjamin Franklin Tracy. At the fjord\u2019s end lies the Sawyer Glacier, a glacier with two separate parts, North and South.<\/p>\n See the Twin Sawyer Glaciers on the Tracy Arm Fjord & Glacier Explorer<\/a> shore excursion.<\/p>\n Fun Fact: Spectacular red-tree corals inhabit Tracy Arm. These corals are typically found in much deeper waters but favor Tracy Arm\u2019s current and cold temperatures.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div> Valdez Glacier is a winter wonderland with a storied past. Prospectors came to Valdez in the late 1800s to follow the \u201cAll-American Route\u201d to the goldfields over the glaciers. However, the gold seekers were misled. There was no town or real trail.<\/p>\n Between 1897-98, thousands of stampeders came to the new city. Some set up shop and some braved the harrowing journey over the glacier.<\/p>\n Fun Fact: Valdez is one of the snowiest places in the United States! The snowflakes can get as big as apples.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div> John Muir originally named this glacier Auke (Auk) for the Tlingit Auk Kwaan. In 1891, it was renamed for Thomas Corwin Mendenhall, an American physicist and meteorologist. Sadly, the Mendenhall Glacier has receded 1.5 miles since 1929. A stop into the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center is the best way to learn more about its history. Or view the glacier and enjoy a salmon feast on the Mendenhall Glacier & Salmon Bake<\/a> excursion.<\/p>\n Fun Fact: The Juneau Icefield is more than 3,000 years old.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div> Learn more about Alaska’s glaciers by visiting Your Guide to Glaciers in Alaska<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>Glacier Bay\u2019s Most Popular Glaciers<\/h3>\n
College Fjord<\/h2>\n
Hubbard Glacier<\/h2>\n
Tracy Arm & Twin Sawyer Glaciers<\/h2>\n
Valdez Glacier<\/h2>\n
Mendenhall Glacier<\/h2>\n
Alaska Glacier Discovery<\/h2>\n