Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Jökulhlaup time

Glaciers are a big thing around Southeast Alaska, and there are several of them in danger of cutting off lakes and creating a dam. Once the water is blocked off, there is a danger of flooding. This phenomenon is called "Jökulhlaup". This occurs pretty regularly at the Tulsequah Glacier near Juneau and the Salmon Glacier near Hyder. It is close to happening right now at the Tweedsmuir Glacier, which is surging towards the Alsek River near Yakutat and Dry Bay.

We are also in a large tsunami zone, with one of the largest tsunamis ever recorded occuring in Lituya Bay in Glacier Bay National Park.

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