If you travel to Alaska you may not encounter a wild bear, but I can guarantee you’ll have an ice encounter! Whether you are drinking a glass of freshly squeezed glacier water or exploring the great outdoors, it’s never far away. While staying in Valdez we were fortunate to take a cruise on Prince William Sound heading toward the Colombia Glacier. We passed by humpbacked whales, sea lions, porpoises and sea otters. The sea otters were my favourite. They float on their backs snacking on their most recent catch. As we got closer to the glacier we passed by some of the bluest icebergs I have ever seen. I’m glad our Captain knew what he was doing squeezing in between the icebergs. When we got as close as we could to Columbia Glacier we stood in awe on the deck listening quietly for the crack. Then it happened—crack, splash and the glacier calved. A new iceberg was born. We are learning so much. Stay Safe. You are always in my prayers. Love Mom. Definitions according to NSIDC
Glaciers are made up of fallen snow that, over many years, compresses into large, thickened ice masses. Due to sheer mass, glaciers flow like very slow rivers. Some glaciers are as small as football fields, while others grow to be dozens or even hundreds of kilometres long. An Iceberg is a piece of ice that has broken off from the end of a glacier that terminates in water. The breaking off of icebergs, known as calving, is a normal part of the life of a glacier-fed ice shelf, even when the icebergs calved are massive.
2 Comments
KB NPW
10/26/2022 11:49:54 am
We are wondering what made that big piece of ice fall off in the video.
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Ray
10/26/2022 05:11:22 pm
Think of a glacier like a big slow ice river, once it reaches the sea there is no ground underneath it and it eventually breaks of in big chunks, then called an iceberg. The boat was big and had probably 1
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