Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Mendenhall Glacier

If you ever get a chance to visit Juneau, Alaska, take a trip to Mendenhall Glacier. It's a short 20 minute bus ride from the docks. Did you know the only way to reach Juneau is by plane or boat? There are no roads that connect Juneau to the outside world and it's the capitol of Alaska.


This is the famous Mendenhall Glacier. You can rarely see these so close without a boat. Click on the photo for a larger view.


This is a close-up view of the glacier. Here's what I read about why the the color is so blue..."Glacial ice appears blue because it absorbs all colors of the visible light spectrum except blue, which it transmits. The transmission of this blue wavelength gives glacial ice its blue appearance."


Just in front of the glacier are these strange shaped ice sculptures which I assume broke off from the main glacier and floating on Mendenhall Lake.


- Karen

4 comments:

dot said...

The glacier is an amazing sight and I certainly didn't know that about Juneau. At first glance I thought those were ducks in the last picture.

AVCr8teur said...

Dot: Those were glacial ducks! :D

Gerald (SK14) said...

so unds like you had a great tip

Neva said...

Absolutley stunning photos! You are a true artisit to capture this so well! It is so clear!!!