The Malaspina Glacier is so large that it can only seen in its entirety from space; this 1994 photo from STS-66, on a rare clear day, is of an area about 100 km (60 mi) across.

The Malaspina Glacier in southeastern Alaska is the largest piedmont glacier in non-polar North America. It is about 65 km (40 mi) wide and 45 km (28 mi) long, with an area of some 3,900 sq km (1,500 sq mi). Download high resolution version (1000x667, 171 KB)Photo of Malaspina Glacier taken from STS-66, November 1994. ... Download high resolution version (1000x667, 171 KB)Photo of Malaspina Glacier taken from STS-66, November 1994. ... STS-66 is a Space Shuttle program mission. ... State nickname: The Last Frontier, The Land of the Midnight Sun Other U.S. States Capital Juneau Largest city Anchorage Governor Frank Murkowski (R) Official languages English Area 1,067,653 mi² / 1,717,854 km² (1st)  - Land 1,481,347 km²  - Water 236,507 km² (13. ... Austrias longest glacier, the Pasterze, winds its 8 km (5 mile) route at the foot of Austrias highest mountain, the Grossglockner A glacier is a large, long-lasting river of ice that is formed on land and moves in response to gravity. ... World map showing location of North America A satellite composite image of North America North America is a continent in the northern hemisphere, bounded on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean, on the south by the Caribbean Sea, and on the west...

It forms where several valley glaciers, primarily the Seward Glacier and Agassiz Glacier, spill out from the Saint Elias Mountains onto the coastal plain facing the Gulf of Alaska between Icy Bay and Yakutat Bay. Although it fills the plain, nowhere does it actually reach the water and so does not qualify as a tidewater glacier. The Saint Elias Mountains is a mountain range located in southeastern Alaska (United States) and southwestern Yukon (Canada). ... The Gulf of Alaska is an arm of the Pacific Ocean defined by the curve of the southern coast of Alaska, stretching from the Alaska Peninsula and Kodiak Island in the west to the Alexander Archipelago in the east, where Glacier Bay and the Inside Passage are to be found. ... Map of Yakutat Bay Yakutat Bay is 29 km (18 mi) across, extending southwest from Disenchantment Bay to the Gulf of Alaska. ... Austrias longest glacier, the Pasterze, winds its 8 km (5 mile) route at the foot of Austrias highest mountain, the Grossglockner A glacier is a large, long-lasting river of ice that is formed on land and moves in response to gravity. ...

The Malaspina is up to 600 meters thick in places, with a bottom estimated at up to 300 meters below sea level. There are two lakes on the margin of the glacier; Oily Lake at the foot of the Samovar Hills between the Agassiz and Seward glaciers, and Malaspina Lake at the southeast margin, close to Yakutat Bay. A lake is a body of water surrounded by land. ...

Study of radar data and aerialqqq allalalalal photographs dating back to 1972 shows that the Malaspina-Seward system lost about 20 m (60 ft) of its thickness between 1980 and 2000; because the glacier is so large, that was sufficient to contribute 1/2 of one percent of the rise in the global sea level.

The glacier is protected within the boundaries of the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve. Established in 1980 by the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, Wrangell-St. ...

External links

• NPS page with more pictures
• Alaska Science Forum on Malaspina shrinkage