What is a Glacier?

Skagway helicopter tours explained

See that helicopter? It’s sitting on a glacier. Glacier = BIG. Iceberg = small

More than one million tourists visit Skagway every year. They come from exotic places like India, Japan, and Kansas. Many of them are excited to take a Skagway helicopter tour so that they can walk on an honest-to-god glacier. But this begs the question, “What exactly is a glacier?”

In the M&M tour booth, we sell these amazing Skagway helicopter tours, and it’s pretty obvious that while many people think they know what a glacier is, they really don’t. Let’s explore this topic in detail so that you’re fully prepared when you take your helicopter tour.

A glacier is not an iceberg

First and foremost, a glacier and an iceberg are two different things. When we hear someone say, “I want to see one of those glaciers floating in the water,” we already know that person thinks an iceberg is a glacier. Why? Because glaciers do not float on water, but icebergs do.

Well, then what’s an iceberg?

An iceberg is a big chunk of ice floating in the water. While icebergs are often chunks of ice that have fallen off of a glacier, they are not actually a glacier. An iceberg may also have broken off of an ice shelf, but let’s not confuse ourselves by going down that road.

The key feature that qualifies a chunk of ice as an iceberg is that it’s floating freely in open water. Did you ever see that movie, Titanic? The ship in that movie sank because it hit an iceberg, which is a floating chunk of ice. You see, only 10% of an iceberg is visible above water, which means 90% is hidden among the briny depths. Hitting an iceberg is bad for ships because it sinks them. Also, Rose should have shared that floating chunk of wood with Jack. Very selfish.

Okay, smarty pants, then what’s a glacier?

A glacier forms over a long period of time. As snowfall accumulates, it compacts in much the same way you compact a snowball with your hands to throw at your annoying cousin. Eventually, the snow becomes so compacted it forms highly dense ice. Gravity causes this ice to flow downhill, just like a river flows downhill. However, frozen water flows a lot slower than liquid water.

Glacial ice is so dense, blue light cannot penetrate it. This is why glaciers appear to be blue. Also remember that glaciers are always flowing downhill, which means you can sometimes feel it move beneath your feet. Glaciers have been around since the ice age, which started sometime around 2.4 million years ago, about the time Keith Richards was born. Conversely, the oldest icebergs are only about 2 or 3 years old.

If you want to learn more about glaciers before your Skagway helicopter tour, we recommend taking a look at this helpful link. Or you can do what most visitors do and ask your tour salesperson about glacial taxonomy. After all, tour salespeople are just as smart as they are good looking.

Helicopter tour to the glacier is amazing

So, now you’re ready for your helicopter tour to the glacier in Skagway. It’s just as amazing as you’ve always dreamed it would be. Bring a camera and something to collect water so that you can drink pristine water from an ancient glacier. That will sure make your friends jealous! Unless they think an iceberg is a glacier.