Lituya Mountain
Encyclopedia
Lituya Mountain is a peak in the Fairweather Range of Alaska
, United States, south of Mount Fairweather
. Its eastern slopes feed a branch of the Johns Hopkins Glacier
, which flows into Glacier Bay
. On its western side is a large cirque
, shared with Mount Fairweather, Mount Quincy Adams
, and Mount Salisbury
, which heads the Fairweather Glacier
; this flows almost to the Pacific
coast at Cape Fairweather
. The Lituya Glacier
flows from the south side of the mountain and flows into Lituya Bay
on the Pacific coast.
Though not exceptional in terms of absolute elevation, Lituya Mountain does possess great vertical relief over local terrain. For example, the south side of the mountain drops 8,000 feet (2440 m) to the Lituya Glacier in approximately 3 miles (4.8 km), and the southeast side drops the same distance in just over 2 miles (3.2 km).
Lituya Mountain is not often climbed, partly due to its proximity to the higher and better-known Mount Fairweather, and partly due to difficult access and bad weather in the Fairweather Range.
and devastated the entire bay. The wave destroyed lands and trees up to 524 meters above sea level around the bay. The edge located to the west of the Gilbert Inlet at the bottom of the Lituya Glacier (point opposite to the rock impact in the water) was the most affected place.
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
, United States, south of Mount Fairweather
Mount Fairweather
Mount Fairweather , is one of the world's highest coastal mountains at 4,671 metres It is located east of the Pacific Ocean on the border of Alaska, United States and western British Columbia, Canada...
. Its eastern slopes feed a branch of the Johns Hopkins Glacier
Johns Hopkins Glacier
Johns Hopkins Glacier is a long glacier located in Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve in the U.S. state of Alaska. It begins on the east slopes of Lituya Mountain and Mount Salisbury, and trends east to the head of Johns Hopkins Inlet, southwest of the terminus of Clark Glacier and northwest...
, which flows into Glacier Bay
Glacier Bay
Glacier Bay Basin in southeastern Alaska, United States, encompasses the Glacier Bay and surrounding mountains and glaciers, which was first proclaimed a U.S. National Monument on February 25, 1925 and which was later, on Dec...
. On its western side is a large cirque
Cirque
Cirque may refer to:* Cirque, a geological formation* Makhtesh, an erosional landform found in the Negev desert of Israel and Sinai of Egypt*Cirque , an album by Biosphere* Cirque Corporation, a company that makes touchpads...
, shared with Mount Fairweather, Mount Quincy Adams
Mount Quincy Adams (Fairweather Range)
Mount Quincy Adams is a mountain located on the border between United States and Canada. It is named after John Quincy Adams , the sixth president of the United States....
, and Mount Salisbury
Mount Salisbury
Mount Salisbury is a peak in the Fairweather Range of Alaska, 6 miles southeast of Mount Fairweather. Its east slopes feed one of the northern branches of the Johns Hopkins Glacier, which flows into Glacier Bay...
, which heads the Fairweather Glacier
Fairweather Glacier
Fairweather Glacier is a 19-mile-long glacier in Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve in the U.S. state of Alaska. It begins on the west slope of Mount Salisbury and continues west to its 1961 terminus 0.2 miles east of Cape Fairweather, 100 miles northwest of Hoonah.Fairweather Glacier is...
; this flows almost to the Pacific
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
coast at Cape Fairweather
Cape Fairweather
Cape Fairweather is a cape 705 m high, which is ice covered except for rocky exposures along its southeast and east sides, lying midway between Drygalski Glacier and Evans Glacier on the east coast of Graham Land...
. The Lituya Glacier
Lituya Glacier
Lituya Glacier is a tidewater glacier in the U.S. state of Alaska. Located at inside Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, its source is in the Fairweather Range and it feeds into Lituya Bay on the gulf coast of Southeast Alaska....
flows from the south side of the mountain and flows into Lituya Bay
Lituya Bay
Lituya Bay is a fjord located on the coast of the Southeast part of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is long and wide at its widest point. The bay was noted in 1786 by Jean-François de La Pérouse, who named it Port des Français...
on the Pacific coast.
Though not exceptional in terms of absolute elevation, Lituya Mountain does possess great vertical relief over local terrain. For example, the south side of the mountain drops 8,000 feet (2440 m) to the Lituya Glacier in approximately 3 miles (4.8 km), and the southeast side drops the same distance in just over 2 miles (3.2 km).
Lituya Mountain is not often climbed, partly due to its proximity to the higher and better-known Mount Fairweather, and partly due to difficult access and bad weather in the Fairweather Range.
1958 earthquake
On July 9, 1958, an earthquake along the Fairweather Fault loosened about 40 million cubic yards of rock above Lituya Bay. The impact of this enormous volume of rock falling from approximately 1,000 m produced locally the largest recorded tsunami1958 Lituya Bay megatsunami
The 1958 Lituya Bay megatsunami occurred on July 9, 1958, when an earthquake triggered a landslide that caused 30 million cubic meters of rock and ice to fall into the narrow inlet of Lituya Bay, Alaska...
and devastated the entire bay. The wave destroyed lands and trees up to 524 meters above sea level around the bay. The edge located to the west of the Gilbert Inlet at the bottom of the Lituya Glacier (point opposite to the rock impact in the water) was the most affected place.