Kahiltna Glacier is a 36 miles (57.9 km) long glacier

Glacier

A glacier is a large persistent body of ice that forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. At least 0.1 km² in area and 50 m thick, but often much larger, a glacier slowly deforms and flows due to stresses induced by its weight...

 of the Alaska Range

Alaska Range

The Alaska Range is a relatively narrow, 650-km-long mountain range in the southcentral region of the U.S. state of Alaska, from Lake Clark at its southwest end to the White River in Canada's Yukon Territory in the southeast...

 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...

. It starts on the southwest slope of Mount McKinley

Mount McKinley

Mount McKinley or Denali in Alaska, United States is the highest mountain peak in North America and the United States, with a summit elevation of above sea level. It is the centerpiece of Denali National Park and Preserve.- Geology and features :Mount McKinley is a granitic pluton...

 near Kahiltna Pass (elevation 10320 ft (3,145.5 m)). Its main channel runs almost due south between Mount Foraker

Mount Foraker

Mount Foraker is a mountain in the central Alaska Range, in Denali National Park, southwest of Mount McKinley. It is the second highest peak in the Alaska Range, and the fourth highest peak in the United States...

 to the west and Mount Hunter

Mount Hunter (Alaska)

Mount Hunter, or Begguya, is a mountain in Denali National Park in Alaska. It is approximately 8 miles south of Mount McKinley, or Denali, the highest peak in North America. "Begguya" means child in the Dena'ina language...

 to the east.

Forks

The glacier has a few notable forks. The Northeast Fork lies just under, and to the south of, the large plateau which houses the 14000 feet (4,267.2 m) camp on the standard West Buttress route of Mount McKinley. It also provides access to the popular, but more technical, West Rib and Cassin Ridge routes. The East Fork is rarely visited, but provides access to the west side of the South Buttress of McKinley. The mouth of the Southeast Fork is the site of the seasonal airstrip and base camp for McKinley. This location is just outside the southern boundary of the wilderness portion of Denali National Park and Preserve

Denali National Park and Preserve

Denali National Park and Preserve is located in Interior Alaska and contains Denali , the highest mountain in North America. The park and preserve together cover 9,492 mi² .The longest glacier is the Kalhiltna glacier....

. It also serves as the base camp for climbers attempting routes on the west or north sides of the formidable Mount Hunter, which rises just south of the Southeast Fork, and on the east or southeast sides of Mount Foraker, which lies just across the main part of the glacier.

Many other unnamed forks split off to the east from the main stream of the glacier in the region south of Mount Hunter, providing access to a complex of small but steep rock peaks, popular with climbers, known as Little Switzerland

Little Switzerland (landscape)

A little Switzerland or Schweiz is a landscape, often of wooded hills. This Romantic aesthetic term is not a geographic category, but was widely used in the 19th century to connote dramatic natural scenic features that would be of interest to tourists...

. The snout of the glacier lies further to the south, at elevation approximately 1000 ft (304.8 m), where the glacier gives rise to the Kahiltna River.