Yahtse Glacier facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Yahtse Glacier |
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Yahtse Glacier as it appeared in 1977
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| Type | Valley glacier |
| Location | Yakutat City and Borough, Alaska, U.S. |
| Coordinates | 60°18′20″N 141°43′37″W / 60.30556°N 141.72694°W |
| Length | 40 miles (64 km) |
| Terminus | Sealevel |
| Status | Advancing |
The Yahtse Glacier is a huge river of ice located in the amazing state of Alaska, in the U.S.. It stretches for about 40 miles (64 kilometers), making it a very long and impressive natural wonder. This glacier is always on the move, slowly but surely, shaping the land around it.
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What is a Glacier?
A glacier is like a giant, slow-moving river made of ice. It forms over many years when snow falls in one place and doesn't melt. As more snow piles up, it gets squashed and turns into thick, dense ice. Gravity then pulls this massive ice down mountains and through valleys, creating a glacier.
Types of Glaciers
There are different kinds of glaciers. The Yahtse Glacier is a valley glacier. This means it flows through a valley, just like a river. Other types include ice sheets, which are huge areas of ice covering entire landmasses, and cirque glaciers, which are smaller and found in bowl-shaped hollows on mountainsides.
Where is Yahtse Glacier Located?
The Yahtse Glacier is found in a wild and beautiful part of Alaska. It starts high up on the southeast side of a mountain called Mount Miller. From there, it flows southeast, right next to another large glacier known as the Guyot Glacier.
Journey to Icy Bay
The Yahtse Glacier eventually reaches Icy Bay. This bay is located east of the Guyot Hills and about 70 miles (113 kilometers) northwest of a town called Yakutat. The western part of the glacier is a huge area of ice called an icefield.
How Yahtse Glacier Got Its Name
The name "Yahtse" comes from the nearby Yahtse River. This glacier wasn't always a separate feature. For a long time, it was connected to the Guyot Glacier. But as the Guyot Glacier started to melt and shrink, the Yahtse Glacier became its own distinct branch. That's when it got its unique name.
An Advancing Glacier
One cool thing about the Yahtse Glacier is that it's an "advancing" glacier. This means it's actually growing and moving forward, unlike many other glaciers around the world that are shrinking due to climate change. Scientists study glaciers like Yahtse to understand more about how ice moves and changes over time.
