College Fiord

Another day- more glaciers. But some of these are huge. Each one is called after American colleges, and the biggest is Harvard Glacier, which is just adjacent to Yale, which is to the right of this photo.

Harvard is so big that my wide angle lens could not take it all in when we got closer, our captain took us to within half a mile. It is three miles wide, about 300 feet high, more than three times taller than our ship. We can see it running back for twenty miles, and it really runs much further.

We watched as Harvard calved, sometimes tons of ice disturbed the water below, then floated gently close to the base, as there is virtually no movement of the water in this end of the fiord.

This is the East end of Harvard, piles of ice which has fallen from the face have built up at the base of the ice cliff.

The powdered rock and boulders that the ice has picked up on its long journey to the ocean show well on this picture, from time to time sections trickle down into the water below.

Just a short distance away, separated by a small hill, lies Yale Glacier. With the same source as Harvard, it can be seen here stretching back many miles. All of these glaciers were named by geologists who visited the area many years ago, most after the colleges they attended.

This one is Smith Glacier, flowing from the same icefield, which has never been named. This one looks really decorative, with the rock stream down the centre.

All the time we were in the fiord looking at the glaciers, our naturalist/ geologist Jules was describing the scene from the bridge by the public address system,  and giving us details of the background to these phenomena. We have attended several of his lectures, which he always starts with "Good Morning, Class!"

This is an Alpine glacier, in that it does not reach the water below, and this photo clearly shows the bowl it has carved in the rock, from when it did. Meltwater from the glacier tumbles down the exposed rock, over the moraine below. It is some years since the ice receded, as witnessed by the green growth on the lover slopes.

Otters playing in the near freezing water of the fiord

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