Glacier
Margerie Glacier
Fast-flowing 21-mile tidewater glacier at the head of Tarr Inlet, a highlight of Glacier Bay cruises.
2.8 mi
Glacier
Grand Pacific Glacier
Debris-covered glacier at the head of Tarr Inlet that carved Glacier Bay.
Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve · NPS
- Glacier type
- Valley
- Status trend
- Retreating
- Retreat notes
- Receded to the head of Tarr Inlet over about 250 years; thinning.
- Viewing access
- Boat
The Grand Pacific Glacier starts in Canada’s St. Elias Mountains and is credited with carving Glacier Bay. Over 250 years it has receded to the head of Tarr Inlet, where it no longer reaches tidewater, and it has been thinning for decades. Rock debris, in places more than three feet thick, covers much of the lower ice. John Muir named it in 1879, when its face reached Russell Island.
Location
In pictures
Wildlife viewing · Boating
Sources
- Grand Pacific GlacierNational Park Service · Accessed 2026-11-08
Last updated 2026-11-09
Nearby within 25 miles
Glaciers
Glacier
Lamplugh Glacier
Brady Icefield tidewater glacier marked by a 2015 landslide and a receding blue ice face.
14.1 mi
Glacier
Johns Hopkins Glacier
Mile-wide tidewater glacier filling the head of Johns Hopkins Inlet, with seals on the ice.
16.7 mi
Glacier
Reid Glacier
Slow-moving glacier at the head of quiet Reid Inlet, a favorite kayak and boat anchorage.
16.7 mi
