Picture of the week

Bear Glacier melt water

The melt water draining from the bottom of the Bear Glacier through channel formed underneath the ice.  The subsequent river that heads down canyon toward the town of Stewart was raging from these waters, as the area was also experiencing unusually warm temperatures. It will be interesting to see the consequences of this river shrinking as the glacier continues to diminish in size, and what that will mean to the salmon population, the wildlife, and the people that depends on it? 

While out at the Bear Glacier I also ran into a local timber truck driver who mentioned that he remembered a time when the glacier covered the current lake and terminated at a point above the current road.  He said that they would have to spray coal dust on the glacier to keep it back from intruding on the older road (that was higher up the mountain).  I guess the coal dust is no longer needed.

The images in first row reflect those captured of landscapes around the Bear Glacier and the Worthington Glacier outside of Valdez, Alaska.  You can also view a video of the Bear Glacier here.

Other images were documented in Wrangell & St. Elias National Park along the Copper River, on the road to McCarthy, the Kennecott mine, and the remnants of the nearby Kennecott Glacier.  Lastly images (bottom row) were captured in Jasper, Banff, and Kootenay National Parks while traveling through Alberta to the southeast on the way back.