LeConte Glacier

LeConte Glacier is a tidewater glacier in southeastern Alaska that flows about 21 miles to LeConte Bay and is the southernmost tidewater glacier in the Northern Hemisphere. Named in 1887 by U.S. Navy Lieutenant-Commander Charles M. Thomas for geologist Joseph LeConte, it was also known to the Tlingits as Huti, a name John Muir linked to a mythical thunderous bird. The glacier has retreated nearly 2.5 miles since first being documented but is considered relatively stable today. It is especially noted for underwater-born “shooter” icebergs, rapid melting along its submerged face, and its importance as both a visitor destination and a field site for Petersburg students studying glacier change.

Petersburg, Alaska · United States