One of the largest glaciers in Alaska, the Hubbard Glacier is also the largest  tidewater glacier that stretches from the Yukon territory in Canada to the head of Yakutat Bay, Alaska along the Southeast “Panhandle” which includes Ketchikan and other charming fishing communities. It is one of the few in the world that is advancing, stretching more than 76 miles in distance, with a face of 6 miles in width and 300 ft in height. So to say we are only witnessing the tip of the icebergs is quite appropriate!

The floating icebergs, can easily be as large as a 3-story building, and last for several weeks before they melt into ice water. The colors of the icebergs vary from white to a beautiful bluish hue to green: white holds more trapped air bubbles; blue are dense and cold (also very old ice if you can imagine); greenish-black are from the glacier bottoms; and dark-striped brown carry gravel and rocks from joining of tributory glaciers. The height of a floating iceberg depends on the ice density, water density and the debris it carries.

The show of large ice cliffs calving into the bay, generating “thunders”, and sending over a 100 ft high splash in the air is quite spectacular. The distance between a cruiseliner and the face of the glacier is determined by the weather condition and the activity level of the glacier at the time. It should be on everyone’s list to do a glacier cruise up the beautiful coast and fjords of Alaska to see these majestic wonders!