Nature
Portage Glacier lies on Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula in Chugach National Forest near Portage Lake, Turnagain Arm, and the historic route between Prince William Sound and Turnagain Arm. Its name, recorded in 1898 by Thomas Corwin Mendenhall of the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey, reflects that portage route. Hundreds of years ago the glacier filled about 14 miles of Portage Valley and connected to five glaciers that are now separate, showing major retreat over time. The Begich/Boggs Visitor Center was built at Portage Lake in 1986, but the glacier is no longer visible from it, and access today involves boat travel in summer or travel across the frozen lake in winter.
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Whittier, Alaska · United States
