College Fjord
Encyclopedia
Fjord
Geologically, a fjord is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created in a valley carved by glacial activity.-Formation:A fjord is formed when a glacier cuts a U-shaped valley by abrasion of the surrounding bedrock. Glacial melting is accompanied by rebound of Earth's crust as the ice...
located in the northern sector of Prince William Sound
Prince William Sound
Prince William Sound is a sound off the Gulf of Alaska on the south coast of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is located on the east side of the Kenai Peninsula. Its largest port is Valdez, at the southern terminus of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System...
in the U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
. The fjord contains five tidewater glaciers (glaciers that terminate in water), five large valley glaciers, and dozens of smaller glaciers, most named after renowned East Coast
East Coast of the United States
The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, refers to the easternmost coastal states in the United States, which touch the Atlantic Ocean and stretch up to Canada. The term includes the U.S...
colleges (women's colleges for the NW side, and men's colleges for the SE side). College Fjord was discovered in 1899 during the Harriman Expedition
Harriman Alaska Expedition
In 1899, wealthy railroad magnate Edward Harriman arranged for a maritime expedition to Alaska. Harriman brought with him an elite community of scientists, artists, photographers, and naturalists to explore and document the Alaskan coast...
, at which time the glaciers were named. The expedition included a Harvard and an Amherst professor, and they named many of the glaciers after elite colleges. According to Bruce Molina, author of Alaska's Glaciers, "They took great delight in ignoring Princeton."http://www.thecrimson.com/printerfriendly.aspx?ref=129231
In 1964 College Fjord was the epicenter of the Good Friday Earthquake
Good Friday Earthquake
The 1964 Alaska earthquake, also known as the Great Alaskan Earthquake, the Portage Earthquake and the Good Friday Earthquake, was a megathrust earthquake that began at 5:36 P.M. AST on Good Friday, March 27, 1964...
, the most powerful earthquake in U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
history. It is a popular destination for cruise ship
Cruise ship
A cruise ship or cruise liner is a passenger ship used for pleasure voyages, where the voyage itself and the ship's amenities are part of the experience, as well as the different destinations along the way...
s. From one place, it is possible to see eight of College Fjords Glaciers at once.
Incomplete list of College Fjord glaciers
- Amherst GlacierAmherst GlacierAmherst Glacier is a 4-mile-long glacier in the U.S. state of Alaska. It trends northwest to a lake, northeast of Point Pakenham and southwest of Valdez. It was named for Amherst College in Amherst, Massachusetts by members of the 1899 Harriman Alaska Expedition....
- Baby Glacier (Alaska)
- Barnard GlacierBarnard GlacierBarnard Glacier is a 53-km-long glacier in the U.S. state of Alaska. It trends southwest to the Chitina River east of Hawkins Glacier, southeast of McCarthy in the Saint Elias Mountains....
- Bryn Mawr GlacierBryn Mawr GlacierBryn Mawr Glacier is a 4.5-mile-long glacier in the U.S. state of Alaska. It trends southeast to Harvard Arm of College Fjord, northwest of College Point and west of Valdez. It was named for Bryn Mawr College in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania by members of the 1899 Harriman Alaska Expedition....
- Crescent Glacier (Alaska)Crescent Glacier (Alaska)Crescent Glacier is a 5.5-mile-long glacier in the U.S. state of Alaska. It trends northwest on the east bank of College Fjord, west of Valdez. It was named by members of the 1899 Harriman Alaska Expedition....
- Downer GlacierDowner GlacierDowner Glacier is a 2.6-mile-long glacier in the U.S. state of Alaska. Trends west with a length of , in Kora Keen Range, northwest of Valdez. It was named in 1910 by Lawrence Martin for the Milwaukee-Downer College for Women in Milwaukee, Wisconsin....
- Harvard GlacierHarvard GlacierThe Harvard Glacier is a large tidewater glacier in the Alaska's Prince William Sound. The glacier has a 1.5-mile wide face where it calves into the College Fjord. The Harvard Glacier is the second largest glacier in the Prince William Sound, after the Columbia Glacier. It is a popular destination...
- Holyoke GlacierHolyoke GlacierHolyoke Glacier is a 1.5-mile-long glacier in the U.S. state of Alaska. It trends southeast on the west bank of College Fjord, southwest of College Point and east of Anchorage. It was named by U.S. Grant and D.F. Higgins, USGS, in 1908. It was named for Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley,...
- Smith Glacier (Alaska)Smith Glacier (Alaska)Smith Glacier is a long glacier in the U.S. state of Alaska. It trends southeast to Harvard Arm of College Fjord, northwest of College Point and west of Valdez. It was named for Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts by members of the 1899 Harriman Alaska Expedition....
- Vassar GlacierVassar GlacierVassar Glacier is a long glacier in the U.S. state of Alaska. It trends southeast to College Fjord, west of College Point and west of Valdez. It was named for Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York by members of the 1899 Harriman Alaska Expedition....
- Wellesley GlacierWellesley GlacierWellesley Glacier is a long glacier in the U.S. state of Alaska. It trends east for to a lagoon on the west bank of College Fjord, southwest of College Point and west of Valdez. It was named for Wellesley College in Wellesley, Massachusetts by members of the 1899 Harriman Alaska Expedition....
- Williams GlacierWilliams GlacierWilliams Glacier is a long glacier in the U.S. state of Alaska. It trends northwest to its terminus east of College Point and west of Valdez. The name was reported in 1908 by Grant and Higgins , USGS. It was named for Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts....
- Yale GlacierYale GlacierYale Glacier is a 20-mile-long glacier in the U.S. state of Alaska. It begins between Mount Cardozo and Mount Einstein and trends southwest to Yale Arm of College Fjord, 47 miles west of Valdez. It was named for Yale University by members of the 1899 Harriman Alaska Expedition....
Glaciers near College Fjord
These glaciers were also named by members of the Harriman Alaska Expedition, but they don't border College Fjord:- Columbia Glacier (Alaska)Columbia Glacier (Alaska)The Columbia Glacier is a glacier in Prince William Sound on the south coast of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is one of several glaciers in the area named for elite U.S. colleges, in this case Columbia University, and was named by the Harriman Alaska Expedition in 1899...
- Dartmouth GlacierDartmouth GlacierThe Dartmouth Glacier is a -long glacier in the U.S. state of Alaska. It heads southwest of Mount Castner in the Chugach Mountains and trends southwest to its terminus at the head of the Coghill River, west of Valdez. The name was reported in 1908 by Grant and Higgins , USGS. It is presumably...
- Harriman GlacierHarriman GlacierHarriman Glacier is an long glacier in the U.S. state of Alaska. It trends northeast to its terminus at head of Harriman Fjord, northeast of Whittier, Chugach Mountains....