Malaspina Glacier

The Malaspina Glacier in southeastern Alaska is described as the largest piedmont glacier in the world. It covers about 1,500 square miles (3,900 km²), roughly the area of Rhode Island.[1]

Location

The glacier lies at the head of the Alaska Panhandle, where ice spills from the Saint Elias Mountains onto a coastal plain facing the Gulf of Alaska between Icy Bay and Yakutat Bay. Nearly all of it lies within the southeast lobe of Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve. Its bed is estimated to lie as much as 980 feet below sea level, but it does not reach the water and is not a tidewater glacier.[1]

Formation

Three glaciers converge as they leave the mountains: the Seward Glacier forms the large main lobe, the Agassiz Glacier the western lobe and the Marvine/Hayden Glacier the smallest eastern lobe. Officially they are classified as separate glaciers. Oily Lake lies to the northwest and Malaspina Lake to the southeast, near Yakutat Bay.[1]

Naming and exploration

The Tlingit name, Sít’ Tlein, means big glacier. W. H. Dall of the U.S. Coast Survey named it the Malaspina Plateau in 1874 without recognising its glacial character. The name honours Alessandro Malaspina, a Tuscan explorer in the Spanish Navy who visited the region in 1791.[1]

Change and recognition

Radar data and aerial photographs from 1972 show the Malaspina–Seward system lost about 66 feet of thickness between 1980 and 2000, contributing about 0.5 percent of global sea-level rise over that period. It was designated a U.S. National Natural Landmark in October 1969.[1]

FAQs

What type of glacier is it? A piedmont glacier.

How big is it? About 1,500 square miles.

Who is it named for? Alessandro Malaspina.

Which park contains it? Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve.

Sources

1. Wikipedia: Malaspina Glacier

Editorially reviewed by Specialty Digest Editorial TeamLast reviewed November 12, 2026Researched and drafted with AI assistanceReport an issue