Stikine Icecap
| Stikine Icecap
Stikine Icefield
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 The Devils Thumb ( 2777 m ) above the Stikine Icecap |
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| location | Alaska (USA), British Columbia (Canada) | |
| Mountains | Boundary ranges | |
| Type | icecap | |
| surface | 21,876 km² | |
| Coordinates | 57 ° 4 ′ N , 132 ° 14 ′ W | |
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The Stikine Icecap (also called Stikine Icefield ) is a 21,876 km² ice cap in the Boundary Ranges of the Coast Mountains .
It stretches along the border between the Alaska Panhandle and the Canadian province of British Columbia . It is bounded in the south by the Stikine River and in the north by the Taku River .
The ice cap is the headwaters of several tributaries of the Taku River and Stikine River. It feeds several glaciers. The Wright Glacier flows north to the Taku River. LeConte , Baird , Dawes , South-Sawyer and Sawyer stream west and end right on the ocean. The Patterson Glacier also flows west, but ends 10 km offshore. The Great , Mud , Flood and Shakes glaciers flow east and south, respectively, to the Stikine River. Overall, the glaciated area of the Stikine Icefield accounts for about 6% of the glaciated area of Alaska.
The global melting of glaciers is also visible at the Stikine Icefield: there has been a rapid loss of mass since the middle of the 20th century , which has accelerated since the turn of the millennium. In the lower consumption areas of the glaciers, their thickness decreases by up to 5 m per year.
The highest peak in the Stikine Icecap is Mount Ratz at 3090 m .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Etienne Berthier u. a .: Brief communication: Unabated wastage of the Juneau and Stikine icefields (southeast Alaska) in the early 21st century . In: The Cryosphere . 2018, doi : 10.5194 / tc-12-1523-2018 .