McCarty Glacier melt, Alaska

The 1909 photograph shows the west side of the terminus of McCarty Glacier. In the 2004 image, the terminus has retreated about 9 miles (15 kilometers) to the north. The area in the foreground, which had been covered by glacial deposits, is now open ocean water, thanks to the melting of glacier ice under the sediment deposits. The former barren zone and adjacent hillside are now covered by dense vegetation. U.S. Geological Survey, Department of the Interior. Earlier image by W. O. Field, courtesy of the National Snow and Ice Data Center and Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve Archive. Later image is a USGS photograph by Bruce F. Molina.