Page images
PDF
EPUB

Distribution of Moraines.

185

below the snow-line removes the ice and leaves the rocks. In this manner the stones previously concealed in the névé are concentrated at the surface, and finally form sheets of débris many miles in extent. So far as my observations go, there is nothing to indicate that stones are brought to the surface by any other means than the one here suggested. Upward currents in the ice that would bring stones to the surface have been postulated by certain writers, but nothing sustaining such an hypothesis has been found in Alaska.

The moraines on the lower extremities of the Alpine glaciers may frequently be separated into individual ridges, which in many instances would furnish instructive studies; but in no case has the history of these accumulations been worked out in detail.

With the appearance of moraines at the surface come a great variety of phenomena due to unequal melting. Ridges of ice sheathed with débris, glacial tables, sand cones, etc., everywhere attract the attention; but these features are very similar on all glaciers where the summer's waste exceeds the winter's increase, and have been many times described.

The general distribution of the moraines of the lower portion of the Alpine glaciers of the St. Elias region merits attention. The moraines themselves exhibit features not yet observed in other regions. From Disenchantment bay westward to the Seward glacier the lower portions of the ice-streams are covered and concealed by sheets of débris. About their margins the débris fields support luxuriant vegetation, and not infrequently are so densely clothed with flowers that a tint is given to their rugged surfaces. On the extreme outer margins of the moraines there are sometimes thickets and forests so dense as to be almost impenetrable. The best example of forest-covered moraines resting on living glaciers, however, is found along the borders of the Malaspina ice-field.

PIEDMONT GLACIERS.

This type is represented in the region explored by the Malaspina glacier. This is a plateau of ice having an area of between 500 and 600 square miles, and a surface elevation in the central part of between 1,500 and 1,600 feet. It is fed by the Agassiz, Seward, Marvine, and Hayden glaciers, and is of such volume that

it has apparently displaced the sea and holds it back by a wall of débris deposited about its margin. All of its central portion is of clear white ice, and around all its margins, excepting where the Agassiz and Seward glaciers come in, it is bounded by a fringe of débris and by moraines resting on the ice. Along the seaward border the belt of fringing moraines is about five miles broad. The inner margin of the moraine belt is composed of rocks and dirt, without vegetation, and separated more or less completely into belts by strips of clear ice. On going from the clear ice toward the margin of the glacier one finds shrubs and flowers scattered here and there over the surface. Farther seaward the vegetation becomes more dense and the flowers cover the whole surface, giving it the appearance of a luxuriant meadow. Still farther toward the margin dense clumps of alder, with scattered spruce trees, become conspicuous, while on the outer margin spruce trees of larger size form a veritable forest. That this vegetation actually grows on the moraines above a living glacier is proved beyond all question by holes and crevasses which reveal the ice beneath. The curious lakes scattered abundantly over the moraine-covered areas, and occupying hour-glassshaped depressions in the ice, have already been described.

From the southern end of the Samovar hills, where the Seward and Agassiz glaciers unite, there is a compound moraine stretching southward, which divides at its distal extremity and forms great curves and swirl-like figures indicating currents in the glacier.

All the central part of the plateau is, as already stated, of clear white ice, free from moraines; at a distance it has the appearance of a broad snow surface. This is due to the fact that the ice is melted and honey-combed during the warm summer and the surface becomes vesicular and loses its banded structure. A rough, coral-like crust, due to the freezing of the portions melted during the day, frequently covers large areas and resembles a thick hoar-frost. Crevasses are numerous, but seldom more than a few feet deep. They appear to be the lower portions of deep crevasses in the tributary streams which have partially closed, or else not completely removed by the melting and evaporation of the surface.

Many of the crevasses are filled with water, but there are no surface streams and no lakes. Melting is rapid during the warm

[blocks in formation]

summer days, but the water finds its way down into the glacier and joins the general subglacial drainage. It is evident that the streams beneath the surface must be of large size, as they furnish the only means of escape for the waters flowing beneath the Agassiz, Seward and Marvine glaciers, as well as for the waters formed by the melting of the great Malaspina glacier.

The outer borders of the Malaspina glacier are practically stationary, but there are currents in its central part. Like the expanded ends of some of the Alpine glaciers, as the Galiano and Lucia glaciers, for example, this glacier is of the nature of a delta of ice, analogous in many of its features to river deltas. As a stream in meandering over its delta builds up one portion after another, so the currents in an expanded ice-foot may now follow one direction and deposit loads of débris, and then slowly change so as to occupy other positions. This action tends to destroy the individuality of morainal belts and to form general sheets of débris. The presence of such currents as here suggested has not been proved by measurements, but the great swirls in the Malaspina glacier and the tongues of clear ice in the upper portions of the débris fields on the smaller glaciers strongly suggest their existence.

The Malaspina glacier is evidently not eroding its bed; any records that it is making must be by deposition. Should the glacier melt away completely, it is evident that a surface formed of glacial débris, and very similar to that now existing in the forested plateau east of Yakutat bay, would be revealed.

The former extent of the Malaspina glacier cannot be determined, but it is probable that during its greatest expansion it extended seaward until deep water was reached, and broke off in bergs in the same manner as do the Greenland glaciers at the present day. Soundings in the adjacent waters might possibly determine approximately the former position of the ice-front, and it is possible that submarine moraines might be discovered in this way. The Pimpluna reefs, reported by Russian navigators and indicated on many maps, may possibly be a remnant of the moraine left by the Piedmont glacier from the adjacent

coast.

The glaciers west of Icy bay were seen from the top of Pinnacle pass cliffs, and are evidently of the same character as the Malaspina glacier and fully as extensive. A study of these Pied

mont glaciers will certainly throw much light on the interpretations of the glacial records over northeastern North America. Their value in this connection is enhanced by the fact that they are now retreating and making deposits rather than removing previous geological records.

The expedition of last summer was a hasty reconnoissance, during which but little detail work could be undertaken. The actual study of the ice-fields of the St. Elias region remains for those who come later.

PART V.

HEIGHT AND POSITION OF MOUNT ST. ELIAS.

The height and position of Mount St. Elias have been measured several times during the past century with varying results. The measurements made prior to the expedition of 1890 have been summarized and discussed by W. H. Dall, of the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey, and little more can be done at present than give an abstract of his report.

The various determinations are shown in the table below. The data from which these results were obtained have not been published, with the exception of the surveys made by the United States Coast Survey in 1874, printed in report of the superintendent for 1875.

[merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small]

All of the figures given in the table have been copied from Dall's report, with the exception of the position determined by Malaspina; this is from a report of astronomical observations made during Malaspina's voyage, which places the mountain in latitude 60° 17′ 35′′ and longitude 134° 33′ 10′′ west of Cadiz.* Taking the longitude of Cadiz as 6° 19′ 07′′ west of Greenwich, the figures tabulated above are obtained.

* Ante, p. 65.

26-NAT. GEOG. MAG., VOL. III, 1891.

(189)

« PreviousContinue »