The Matanuska Glacier in Glacier View, Alaska

I recently travelled to Anchorage, Alaska, with a previous post detailing a hike taken in Chugach State Park. We also visited the Matanuska Glacier in Glacier View, Alaska. The Matanuska Glacier is 100 miles northeast of Anchorage, and at 27 miles in length is the largest glacier accessible by car in the United States. Wearing MICROspikes, a traction system that can be worn over shoes, we were guided onto the terminus (end) of the glacier.

Matanuska Glacier has been downwasting (melting) at a rate of about one foot a year, and an extensive field of rocks must now be crossed to reach the end of the glacier. These materials were deposited by the glacier and is known as ground moraine.

These images, as well as additional images, can all be found on my licensing archive.

-Matt