Ruth Glacier

{{Short description|Glacier in Alaska}} {{Use American English|date=July 2025}} {{Infobox glacier | name = Ruth Glacier | image = A048, Denali National Park, Alaska, USA, Ruth Glacier and the Great Gorge, 2002.jpg | caption = Ruth Glacier | type = Valley glacier | location = Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska, U.S. | coordinates = {{coord|62|45|55|N|150|37|42|W|type:glacier_scale:500000|display=inline,title}} | area = | length = {{Convert|40|mi|km}} | thickness = {{Convert|3800|ft|m}} (1983) | terminus = moraine | status = unknown | map = Alaska | label_position = top | map_caption = | mapframe = yes | mapframe-zoom = 8 | mapframe-wikidata = yes }} '''Ruth Glacier''' is a glacier in Denali National Park and Preserve in the U.S. state of Alaska.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.topozone.com/map.asp?lat=62.7847&lon=-150.64372&s=500&size=l&u=4&datum=nad27&layer=DRG| title = USGS Talkeetna D-2 (AK) Topo Map| publisher = Topozone| accessdate = 2007-01-25}}</ref> Its upper reaches are approximately 3 vertical miles below the summit of Denali. The glacier's "Great Gorge" is one mile wide, and drops almost {{convert|2000|ft|m}} over {{convert|10|mi|km}}, with crevasses along the surface. Above the surface on both sides are {{convert|4900|ft|m}} granite cliffs. From the top of the cliffs to the bottom of the glacier is a height exceeding that of the Grand Canyon. Ruth Glacier moves at a rate of {{convert|3|ft|m}} per day and was measured to be {{convert|4000|ft|m}} thick in 1983.<ref>{{cite web| url =http://www.nps.gov/dena/naturescience/ruth_glacier.htm| archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20070313233434/http://www.nps.gov/dena/naturescience/ruth_glacier.htm| url-status =dead| archive-date =March 13, 2007| title = Ruth Glacier|work=Denali National Park and Preserve| publisher = National Park Service| accessdate = 2007-01-25}}</ref>

Surrounding the Ruth Gorge are many mountains of the Alaska Range, including the Mooses Tooth, Mount Dickey, Mount Bradley, Mount Wake, Mount Johnson, and London Tower with highly technical ice and rock climbs on their faces.

According to the National Park Service (NPS), several air taxi operators are authorized to land aircraft on Ruth Glacier in Denali National Park.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.nps.gov/dena/planyourvisit/flightseeing.htm | title=Flightseeing - Denali National Park & Preserve (U.S. National Park Service) }}</ref>

==History==

In 1903, the glacier was explored by physician and ethnographer Frederick Cook, who named it after his youngest daughter.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/frederick-albert-cook-explorer-and-physician-usa-his-news-photo/501373901 | title = Ruth and Helene Cook | work = Haeckel Collection | publisher = Getty Images | accessdate = 2018-09-26}}</ref><ref>{{cite gnis | id = 1408932 | name = Ruth Glacier | accessdate = 2018-09-26}}</ref>

A 2024 open licence research project estimated the Grand Gorge to be the deepest in north America at {{convert|8085|ft|m}}.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Zhong |first=Raymond |date=2024-10-09 |title=In High Mountain Alaska, a Glacier’s Deep Secret Is Revealed at Last |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/08/climate/alaska-great-gorge-deepest.html |work=New York Times}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Tober |first=Brandon S. |last2=Christoffersen |first2=Michael S. |last3=Holt |first3=John W. |last4=Truffer |first4=Martin |last5=Larsen |first5=Christopher F. |date=2024-10-09 |title=Thickness of Ruth Glacier, Alaska, and depth of its Great Gorge from ice-penetrating radar and mass conservation |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0022143024000534/type/journal_article |journal=Journal of Glaciology |language=en |pages=1–10 |doi=10.1017/jog.2024.53 |issn=0022-1430|doi-access=free }}</ref>

==See also== * List of glaciers * Fake Peak

==References== {{Reflist}}

{{Commons category}} {{Geographic Location 2 | Center = The Great Gorge | North = Don Sheldon Amphitheater<br />The Gateway | Northeast = The Gargoyle | ENE = The Mooses Tooth | East = London Tower | ESE = Werewolf Tower | Southeast = Peak 7979 | South = | Southwest = Mount Church | WSW = Mount Grosvenor | West = Mount Wake<br />Mount Johnson | WNW = Mount Dickey<br />Mount Bradley | Northwest = Mount Barrille }}

Category:Glaciers of Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska Category:Glaciers of Denali National Park and Preserve Category:Denali Category:Glaciers of Alaska