R. Doug Wicker — Author

Mount Seattle in background — 10,070 feet/3,069 meters

Hubbard Glacier is an active, advancing sheet of ice.  Icebergs breaking off the face of Hubbard Glacier and crashing into Disenchantment Bay can exceed ten stories.  You’ll see a video I took of one such event next week.

Wall of Blue

The ice at the face of Hubbard Glacier took some 400 years to arrive here, much of it originating some 76 miles/122 kilometers away from its present location.

Hubbard Glacier

This primary source for Hubbard Glacier is an ice field just west of Mount Walsh in the Kluane National Park and Reserve in neighboring Canada.

Hubbard Glacier

On this week’s Fun Photo Friday I’ll present some of my favorite views of Hubbard Glacier and Disenchantment Bay.  Until then, here’s today’s slide show:

Hubbard Glacier meets Valerie Glacier

Hubbard Glacier

Hubbard Glacier

Ice Flow

Disenchantment Bay

Hubbard Glacier

Hubbard Glacier — Six Miles Wide

This is one destination Ursula and I had never visited in our previous five cruises to Alaska — Disenchantment Bay and the Hubbard Glacier.  The Hubbard Glacier wall is actually two glaciers that merge about six miles northeast of the bay.  The much smaller and narrower Valerie Glacier is pictured in the image below.  The boundary between Valerie and Hubbard is the dark area (moriane) on the right side of the image.  The moraine on the left is debris scoured by Valerie’s edge scraping along the valley wall.

Valerie Meets Hubbard

Here’s an false-color aerial view from the Wikipedia article on Hubbard Glacier:

Public Domain, http://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=479429

You’ll recall that I got some great ice calving shots at Margerie Glacier, but these events were even more spectacular at Hubbard.  I’ll be showing you video of one enormous chunk of ice several stories tall crashing intto Disenchantment Bay in an upcoming video I made of the glaciers we visited.  Until then, below is an example of the huge pieces of ice that calve off the Hubbard Glacier.  Bear in mind when you look at this chunk of blue that the wall of ice behind it is hundreds of feet tall.

Blue iceberg

But don’t just photograph the glacier if you’re lucky enough to find a cruise ship that heads out this way.  Capture as well the interesting icebergs dotting the bay.

Icebergs on a smaller scale

Also take time to notice the surrounding landscape.

Disenchantment Bay

We’ll continue our Hubbard tour on Wednesday.  Until then, here’s today’s slide show (click and enjoy):

Hubbard Glacier

Hubbard Glacier

Hubbard Glacier

Hubbard Glacier

Hubbard Glacier

Hubbard Glacier