Russell Glacier is a glacier

Glacier

A glacier is a large persistent body of ice that forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. At least 0.1 km² in area and 50 m thick, but often much larger, a glacier slowly deforms and flows due to stresses induced by its weight...

 in the Qeqqata

Qeqqata

Qeqqata is a new municipality in western Greenland, operational from 1 January 2009. The municipality was named after its location in central-western part of the country. Its population is 9,677 as of January 2010. The administrative center of the municipality is in Sisimiut...

 municipality in central-western Greenland

Greenland

Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...

. It flows from the Greenland ice sheet

Greenland ice sheet

The Greenland ice sheet is a vast body of ice covering , roughly 80% of the surface of Greenland. It is the second largest ice body in the world, after the Antarctic Ice Sheet. The ice sheet is almost long in a north-south direction, and its greatest width is at a latitude of 77°N, near its...

  in the western direction. The front of the glacier is located 25 km (15.5 mi) east of Kangerlussuaq

Kangerlussuaq

Kangerlussuaq is a settlement in western Greenland in the Qeqqata municipality, located at the head of a fjord of the same name. It is Greenland's main air transport hub, being the site of Greenland's largest commercial airport....

. It is active, advancing 25 m (82 ft) every year, and due to easy approach it remains a popular tourist target.

Geography

The ice sheet outflow ending in Russell Glacier is bounded from the north by the tundra

Tundra

In physical geography, tundra is a biome where the tree growth is hindered by low temperatures and short growing seasons. The term tundra comes through Russian тундра from the Kildin Sami word tūndâr "uplands," "treeless mountain tract." There are three types of tundra: Arctic tundra, alpine...

 highland of Isunngua

Isunngua

Isunngua is a highland in the Qeqqata municipality in central-western Greenland, located immediately west of the Greenland Ice Sheet edge. In large part it is covered by the tundra, although in the immediate vicinity of the Sermersuaq ice sheet it gradually becomes exposed, barren, and largely...

 and from the south by an exposed, barren, flattened ridge

Ridge

A ridge is a geological feature consisting of a chain of mountains or hills that form a continuous elevated crest for some distance. Ridges are usually termed hills or mountains as well, depending on size. There are several main types of ridges:...

 of Akuliarusiarsuk. Several meltwater

Meltwater

Meltwater is the water released by the melting of snow or ice, including glacial ice and ice shelfs over oceans. Meltwater is often found in the ablation zone of glaciers, where the rate of snow cover is reducing...

 outflow streams from the base of the glacier form the Akuliarusiarsuup Kuua

Akuliarusiarsuup Kuua

Akuliarusiarsuup Kuua is a river and valley of the same name in the Qeqqata municipality in central-western Greenland. Its source is the meltwater outflow from Russell Glacier, an outflow of the Greenland ice sheet. The river is a tributary of Qinnguata Kuussua, the main river in the Kangerlussuaq...

 river, which flows west-south-west towards Kangerlussuaq. The sandur

Sandur

A sandur is a glacial outwash plain formed of sediments deposited by meltwater at the terminus of a glacier.- Formation :Sandar are found in glaciated areas, such as Svalbard, Kerguelen Islands, and Iceland...

 basin of the outflow river forming the valley of the same name is very shallow; shallow enough to form quicksand

Quicksand

Quicksand is a colloid hydrogel consisting of fine granular matter , clay, and water.Water circulation underground can focus in an area with the optimal mixture of fine sands and other materials such as clay. The water moves up and then down slowly in a convection-like manner throughout a column...

 fields several kilometers long.

Directly to the west of the glacier is a large lake, the 2x10km Aajuitsup Tasia

Aajuitsup Tasia

Aajuitsup Tasia is a large lake in central-western Greenland, in the Qeqqata municipality. It is located approximately northeast of Kangerlussuaq. It is of elongated oval shape, with its western shore at and its eastern shore at...

. Due to minimal height differential, its waters are not conjoint with the meltwater outflow lake immediately to the west of Russell Glacier.

A sibling, unnamed glacier approximately 7 km (4.3 mi) to the southeast of Russell Glacier is the source to the wide outflow meltwater river of Qinnguata Kuussua

Qinnguata Kuussua

Qinnguata Kuussua is a river in a valley of the same name in the Qeqqata municipality in central-western Greenland. Its source is a large meltwater outflow from Russell Glacier flowing from the Greenland Ice Sheet. It is the main river in the Kangerlussuaq area. For most of its run, the river is...

. The confluence

Confluence

Confluence, in geography, describes the meeting of two or more bodies of water.Confluence may also refer to:* Confluence , a property of term rewriting systems...

 of the latter and the Akuliarusiarsuup Kuua river flowing from Russell Glacier is located at the eastern outskirts of the Kangerlussuaq settlement near the end of Kangerlussuaq Fjord

Kangerlussuaq Fjord

Kangerlussuaq Fjord is a long fjord in the Qeqqata municipality in central-western Greenland. The fjord is long and between and wide, flowing from the estuary of Qinnguata Kuussua river to the southwest, and emptying into Davis Strait...

, and used to be known as Watson River.