Matanuska Glacier is a valley glacier in the US state of Alaska. At 27 miles (43 km) long by 4 miles (6.4 km) wide, it is the largest glacier accessible by car in the United States. Its terminus feeds the Matanuska River. It lies near the Glenn Highway about 100 miles (160 km) northeast of Anchorage in Glacier View. The glacier flows about 1 foot (30 cm) per day. Due to ablation of the lower glacier, as of 2007, the location of the glacier terminus has changed little over the previous three decades.
>>>PUT SHARE BUTTONS HERE<<<
In this Dossier
Matanuska Glacier in the context of Proglacial river
A proglacial river is a river that flows from the margin of a glacier. These rivers are strongly affected by the highly-seasonal water supply from the glacier and by the large supply of sediment that arrives at the glacier terminus. This high sediment supply often makes them steep and braided. Many modern proglacial rivers drain glaciers in the mountain ranges of Alaska and the Himalayas. Past and present proglacial rivers in front of large ice sheets deposited large outwash plains of sediment.