Kaskawulsh Glacier, Vast temperate glacier in Saint Elias Mountains, Canada.
Kaskawulsh Glacier is a vast expanse of ice in the Saint Elias Mountains, located within Kluane National Park in Yukon. It formed from the merging of multiple glacier branches and creates a dramatic landscape of frozen flows, crevasses, and meltwater channels.
This glacier reached its maximum extent around 1750 and has been shrinking ever since. The retreat accelerated noticeably in the early 1900s and has quickened dramatically in recent decades.
The lakes near this glacier have long been gathering places for First Nations communities who rely on fishing in these waters. The shifts in water flow have reshaped how people connect with the land and altered the rhythms of activities that matter deeply to local peoples.
The glacier is best viewed from a distance, with a popular trail running along a riverbed toward the ice terminus. The region demands good preparation due to harsh conditions and rapidly changing weather.
In 2016, this glacier triggered a rare geological event when its meltwater redirected a river's course. Water that once flowed northward toward one ocean abruptly switched to flowing southward toward another ocean, a phenomenon known as river piracy.
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