Hello! How many times have you found yourself
sitting on a glacier? It's not hard to come by
in Alaska! 20% of the land area of Alaska is
covered over with glacial ice. This glacier
that I'm sitting on here is Knik Glacier.
Not far from Anchorage, and easily accessable
by off-road vehicle, Knik Glacier and it's
associated river and valley through Chugach
Range are popular playgrounds for 4-Wheel
junkies. The Knik River flats at the base of the
valley offer an easy access campground that
extends all the way to the Glacier itself.
Glaciers are made up of very dense ice. It's
this high density that gives glacial ice its
bluish, tidy-bowl color. The ice contains very
little air, and as light is refracted through
it, the color blue is radiated. This dense
ice melts much slower, as well. A popular
experiment of this is illustrated by many
of the local cruise companies. They break
up a piece of glacial ice to serve in drinks.
Often, the ice will last for the duration
of the day-long cruise!
Construction Ahead!
More to come.....