Columbia Glacier (Alaska)

For the glacier in Washington, see Columbia Glacier (Washington).
For the icefield in Canadian Rocky Mountains, see Columbia Icefield.
Columbia Glacier
Satellite image, September 2018
Map showing the location of Columbia Glacier
Map showing the location of Columbia Glacier
Columbia Glacier
TypeTidewater glacier
LocationDescending from the Chugach Mountains to Prince William Sound, Alaska
Coordinates61°13′11″N 146°53′43″W / 61.21972°N 146.89528°W / 61.21972; -146.89528
Area1,000 km2 (400 sq mi)
Length51 kilometers (32 mi)
Thickness550 m (1,800 ft)
TerminusSealevel (Prince William Sound)
StatusRetreating
Map

The Columbia Glacier, a glacier in Prince William Sound on the south coast of the U.S. state of Alaska, is one of the fastest moving glaciers in the world, and has been retreating since the early 1980s. It was named after Columbia University, one of several glaciers in the area named for elite U.S. colleges by the Harriman Alaska Expedition in 1899.[1] The head of the main branch of the glacier originates at the saddle between Mount Witherspoon and Mount Einstein.

The Alaska Marine Highway vessel M/V Columbia is named after the Columbia Glacier.

  1. ^ INSTAAR Glaciology Group, University of Colorado at Boulder, 1 May 2003, archived from the original on 26 April 2007, retrieved 2007-05-07