The National Geographic Magazine, Vol. III. (Complete), 1891Various
History
The National Geographic Magazine, Vol. III. (Complete), 1891
Various
Geography -- Periodicals
Looking across the waters of the bay, whitened by thousands of
floating bergs, we could see three miles of the ice-cliffs formed
where the Hubbard glacier enters the sea. A dark headland on the shore
of the mainland to the right shut off the full view of the glacier but
formed a strongly drawn foreground, which enhanced the picturesque
effect of the scenery. The Hubbard glacier flows majestically through
a deep valley leading back into the mountains, and has two main
branches, with a smaller and steeper tributary between. These branches
unite to form a single ice-foot extending into the bay. The western
branch has a dark medial moraine down its center, which makes a bold,
sweeping curve before joining the main stream. There is also a broad
lateral débris-belt along the bases of the cliffs forming its right
bank. The whole surface of the united glacier, and all of the white
tongues running back into the mountains beyond the reach of vision,
are broken and shattered, owing to the steepness and roughness of the
bed over which they flow. The surface, where not concealed by morainal
material, is snow-white; but in the multitude of crevasses the blue
ice is exposed, and gives a greenish-blue tint to the entire stream.
Where the subglacial slopes are steep, the ice is broken into
pinnacles and towers of the grandest description.
On the steep mountain sides sloping toward the Hubbard glacier there
are more than a dozen secondary ice-streams which are tributary to it.
The amphitheatres in which the glacier has {100} its beginnings have
never been seen; but our general knowledge of the fountains from which
glaciers flow assures us that not only scores but hundreds of other
secondary and tertiary glaciers far back into the mountains contribute
their floods to the same great stream.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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