In the past 34 years, I have literally shot tens of thousands of images of the Mendenhall Glacier, and this one is my favorite image. It was shot on the westside of the lake across from the visitors center. I have only seen the water right in front of the glacier go mirror calm once. Even on the calmest days, the 13-mile long glacier produces an ever so slight breeze that keeps the surface of the lake from mirroring up. The rock peninsula in the front of the glacier on the left hand side provides the protection that allows the lake to go mirror calm. Mark
The Mendenhall Glacier is Alaska’s backyard glacier. Located just 12 miles from downtown Juneau, Alaska’s capital city, the Mendenhall Glacier is one of 38 glaciers flowing from the 1,500 square mile expanse of rock, snow and ice known as the Juneau Icefield. Imagine the icefield as a lake of ice from which its glaciers flow like rivers. From its source at an elevation of 4,500 feet to its terminus at the Mendenhall Lake, the Mendenhall Glacier is 13.5 miles in length. Mendenhall Lake is a fresh water lake created by rainwater and glacier melt.
