The Malaspina Glacier in southeastern Alaska

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...

 is the largest piedmont glacier the world. Situated at the head of the Alaska Panhandle, it is about 65 km (40.4 mi) wide and 45 km (28 mi) long, with an area of some 3900 km² (1,505.8 sq mi). It is named in honor of Alessandro Malaspina

Alessandro Malaspina

Alessandro Malaspina was an Italian nobleman who spent most of his life as a Spanish naval officer and explorer...

, an Italian explorer in the service of the Spanish Navy, who visited the region in 1791. In 1874, W.H. Dall, of what is now the U.S. National Geodetic Survey

U.S. National Geodetic Survey

National Geodetic Survey, formerly called the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey , is a United States federal agency that defines and manages a national coordinate system, providing the foundation for transportation and communication; mapping and charting; and a large number of applications of science...

, bestowed the name "Malaspina Plateau" on it, not realizing its true geological character.

It arises where several valley glaciers, primarily the Seward Glacier and Agassiz Glacier

Agassiz Glacier

Agassiz Glacier is located in the U.S. state of Montana in Glacier National Park . It is named after Louis Agassiz, a Swiss-American glaciologist. The glacier is situated in a cirque to the southeast of Kintla Peak west of the Continental Divide. Agassiz Glacier is one of several glaciers that have...

, spill out from the Saint Elias Mountains

Saint Elias Mountains

The Saint Elias Mountains are a subgroup of the Pacific Coast Ranges, located in southeastern Alaska in the United States, southwestern Yukon and the very far northwestern part of British Columbia in Canada. The range spans Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve in the USA and Kluane...

 onto the coastal plain facing the Gulf of Alaska

Gulf of Alaska

The Gulf of Alaska is an arm of the Pacific Ocean defined by the curve of the southern coast of Alaska, stretching from the Alaska Peninsula and Kodiak Island in the west to the Alexander Archipelago in the east, where Glacier Bay and the Inside Passage are found.The entire shoreline of the Gulf is...

 between Icy Bay and Yakutat Bay

Yakutat Bay

Yakutat Bay is a 29-km-wide bay in the U.S. state of Alaska, extending southwest from Disenchantment Bay to the Gulf of Alaska. "Yakutat" is a Tlingit name reported as "Jacootat" and "Yacootat" by Yuri Lisianski in 1805....

.