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| Mendenhall Ice Caves |
Mendenhall Glacier is a glacier about 12 miles long located
in Mendenhall Valley, about 12 miles from downtown Juneau in the southeast area
of the U.S. state of Alaska.
The Mendenhall Glacier is a 12-mile-long glacier in the
Mendenhall Valley, located only 12 miles from downtown Juneau in Southeast
Alaska. Federally protected as part of the Mendenhall Galcier Recreation Area,
a unit of the Tongass National Forest, the glacier originally had two names, Sitaantaagu
("Glacier Behind the Town") and Aak'wtaaksit ("Glacier Behind
the Little Lake").
The Ice Caves are inside the glacier, accessible only to
those willing to kayak to, and then ice climb over the glacier. However, the
glacier is retreating increasingly fast as global warming heats the oceans and
temperatures rise.
Monitored since 1942 by the Juneau Icefield Rsearch Program,
the Mendenhall Glacier has receded almost 2 miles since 1958, while previously
it had receded only 0.5 miles since 1500. The caves are in part a function of
this increased glacial melting.
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