Nature
Malaspina Glacier, or Sít’ Tlein, is an immense glacier system on the coastal plain of southeastern Alaska between Icy Bay and Yakutat Bay, widely regarded as the world’s largest piedmont glacier. Formed where the Seward, Agassiz, and Marvine or Hayden glaciers spread out from the Saint Elias Mountains, it covers about 3,900 square kilometers and reaches great thickness, though it does not enter the ocean. Its Tlingit name means “big glacier,” while its colonial name honors Alessandro Malaspina, who visited in 1791. Most of the system lies within Wrangell–St. Elias National Park and Preserve, and modern measurements show substantial thinning that contributed measurably to global sea-level rise.
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Yakutat, Alaska · United States
