The Malaspina Glacier is not only one of Alaska's largest glaciers, but it is also the largest piedmont glacier in the world. A piedmont glacier is a valley glacier that forms bubble-like lobes when it crosses flat plains. The glacier spans an impressive 1,500 square miles (3,884 square kilometers) and was named for Alessandro Malaspina, an Italian explorer who visited the glacier in 1791. Almost all of the glacier lies within the beautiful Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve. Despite the glacier's stupendous thickness - the glacier's ice has been confirmed to be 2,000 feet (600 meters) thick in some places - this impressive natural feature has been shrinking, thanks to rising temperatures due to climate change. Visitors to the area can backpack across this stunning landscape or view it from above on a breathtaking helicopter tour.

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