Worthington Glacier, Valley glacier in Thompson Pass, Alaska.
Worthington Glacier is a 5,774-acre valley glacier in the Chugach Mountains beside Thompson Pass, about 28.7 miles east of Valdez on the Richardson Highway. It shows features such as depositional areas and terminal moraines, and part of it lies within the 113-acre Worthington Glacier State Recreation Site.
Worthington Glacier was listed as a National Natural Landmark in 1968. The designation recognized the valley glacier's moraines and depositional zones as examples of glacial geology in the Chugach Mountains. The glacier lies partly within the Worthington Glacier State Recreation Site, a 113-acre roadside park operated by the state of Alaska.
The 113-acre Worthington Glacier State Recreation Site, run by the State of Alaska, sits beside the Richardson Highway at milepost 28.7, about 46 km east of Valdez. From its viewing area visitors look up at the glacier's terminus and moraines in the Chugach Mountains.
The glacier lies beside the Richardson Highway at milepost 28.7, about 28.7 miles east of Valdez. The 113-acre Worthington Glacier State Recreation Site, run by the state of Alaska, is a roadside park with a view of the ice. The glacier has been retreating for about 150 years, so the ice front sits farther up the valley than in the past.
Worthington Glacier has retreated steadily for the last 150 years, but less dramatically than many other Alaskan glaciers. Its ice still reaches close to the Richardson Highway at milepost 28.7, about 28.7 miles east of Valdez, where the 113-acre state recreation site gives road access to the terminus.
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