The Knik Glacier is located just 50 miles (80.5 km) east of Anchorage, Alaska

Anchorage, Alaska

Anchorage is a unified home rule municipality in the southcentral part of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is the northernmost major city in the United States...

 on the northern end of the Chugach Mountains

Chugach Mountains

The Chugach Mountains of southern Alaska are the northernmost of the several mountain ranges that make up the Pacific Coast Ranges of the western edge of North America. The range is about 500 km long, running generally east-west. Its highest point is Mount Marcus Baker, at , but most of its...

. The ice field averages over 25 miles (40.2 km) long and over 5 miles (8 km) across, making it one of the largest glaciers in southcentral Alaska. Knik Glacier feeds the 25 miles (40.2 km) long Knik River

Knik River

The Knik River is a 25-mile-long river in the U.S. state of Alaska. Its source is at Knik Glacier, from which it flows northwest and west and empties into the head of Cook Inlet's Knik Arm, near the mouth of the Matanuska River....

 which empties into the Knik Arm section of Cook Inlet

Cook Inlet

Cook Inlet stretches from the Gulf of Alaska to Anchorage in south-central Alaska. Cook Inlet branches into the Knik Arm and Turnagain Arm at its northern end, almost surrounding Anchorage....

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Lake George

Lake George 61°15′00"N 148°37′00"W, a glacial lake formed near the face of the glacier, received national recognition by the National Natural Landmark

National Natural Landmark

The National Natural Landmark program recognizes and encourages the conservation of outstanding examples of the natural history of the United States. It is the only natural areas program of national scope that identifies and recognizes the best examples of biological and geological features in...

 (NNL) Program. Lake George was recognized because of a unique natural phenomenon called a "jökulhlaup

Jökulhlaup

A jökulhlaup is a glacial outburst flood. It is an Icelandic term that has been adopted by the English language. It originally referred to the well-known subglacial outburst floods from Vatnajökull, Iceland which are triggered by geothermal heating and occasionally by a volcanic subglacial...

", an Iceland

Iceland

Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...

ic term for glacial lake outburst flood

Glacial lake outburst flood

A glacial lake outburst flood is a type of outburst flood that occurs when the dam containing a glacial lake fails. The dam can consist of glacier ice or a terminal moraine...

. The breakup of this ice dam would send a violent wall of water, ice and debris down the river valley causing massive flooding and sometimes devastation to local settlers' properties. The jökulhlaup occurred annually until it ceased in 1967 due to glacial recession, thought to be associated with the massive Good Friday Earthquake

Good Friday Earthquake

The 1964 Alaska earthquake, also known as the Great Alaskan Earthquake, the Portage Earthquake and the Good Friday Earthquake, was a megathrust earthquake that began at 5:36 P.M. AST on Good Friday, March 27, 1964...

 of 1964.

History

Early pioneers were said to hold a yearly lottery, gambling on the exact date when the jökulhlaup would break and flood the Knik River Valley. The flooding would often close vital transportation routes between Anchorage and the Matanuska-Susitna Valley

Matanuska-Susitna Valley

Matanuska-Susitna Valley is an area in Southcentral Alaska south of the Alaska Range about 35 miles north of Anchorage, Alaska....

.

Cinema

In 1991 Paramount Pictures

Paramount Pictures

Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...

 used Knik Glacier to film a portion of Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country is the sixth feature film in the Star Trek science fiction franchise and is the last of the Star Trek films to include the entire main cast of the 1960s Star Trek television series. Released in 1991 by Paramount Pictures, it was directed by Nicholas Meyer and...

. Knik Glacier was the setting for a scene in which Captain Kirk and Dr McCoy are rescued from the Klingon

Klingon

Klingons are a fictional warrior race in the Star Trek universe.Klingons are recurring villains in the 1960s television show Star Trek: The Original Series, and have appeared in all five spin-off series and eight feature films...

 ice planet prison Rura Penthe

Rura Penthe

Rura Penthe is the name of a fictional penal colony in the following works:* A penal colony in Siberia in the 1869 Tolstoy novel War and Peace* A penal colony island in the 1954 Disney film 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea...

.

Present day

Today the glacier is a visitor attraction, sharing its natural beauty with locals and visitors from around the world. With several tour companies operating in the area, visitors can view the glacier by air via a flightseeing company, all-terrain vehicle

All-terrain vehicle

An all-terrain vehicle , also known as a quad, quad bike, three wheeler, or four wheeler, is defined by the American National Standards Institute as a vehicle that travels on low pressure tires, with a seat that is straddled by the operator, along with handlebars for steering control...

 tour, by jetboat or by airboat charter.

Local private and charter pilots provide passengers with a memorable flight-seeing trip from Anchorage to Lake George via Eagle River, followed by a low moose-spotting flight along the Knik River

Knik River

The Knik River is a 25-mile-long river in the U.S. state of Alaska. Its source is at Knik Glacier, from which it flows northwest and west and empties into the head of Cook Inlet's Knik Arm, near the mouth of the Matanuska River....

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External links

• http://www.knikglacier.com/
• http://www.anchorage.net/