Taku Glacier

View of the lower part of the Taku Glacier

The Taku Glacier is a 58 km long glacier in the Boundary Ranges east of Juneau in Alaska. It is the largest outlet glaciers of the Juneau Icefield.

The Taku Glacier flows into the Taku Inlet, a side of Stephens Passage. In Taku Inlet glacier meets the Taku River ⊙ 58.683611-134.368611, he has accumulated more than once in the course of its history. The reservoir thus formed has broken through the ice dam last time in 1750 and since then has not occurred again.

Until 1948, the Taku Glacier calved into the fjord, since its front is on the mainland and he does not lose any more ground by crumbling icebergs. The Taku Glacier pointed in contrast to the other glaciers of the Juneau Icefields in the period 1946-1988 a positive mass balance. The average mass balance was during this time 0.42 meters water equivalent per year, the ice thickness was thus increased relative to the total emissions by almost half a meter on average. Since 1988, the mass balance is negative, 1988-2006 they averaged -0.14 meters water equivalent.

1883 the glacier was given in honor of Paul Schulze, a president of the Northwest Trading Company, the name Schultze Glacier. In 1890, he was by Charles Foster, a former governor of Ohio, renamed Foster Glacier. It sat down but shortly thereafter the still valid today, derived from the name of the Tlingit Indians of the glacier by name.