This is the story of how many of Alaska’s magnificent glaciers came to be named after prestigious Eastern institutions of higher learning.

During the spring and summer of 1899, a wealthy industrialist named Edward Henry Harriman organized an expedition to explore the plant and animal life of Alaska.

Among its many accomplishments, The Harriman Alaska Expedition discovered a vast fjord in the northern section of Prince William Sound. There are many glaciers in this fjord, and they line up – one after another – in a never-ending display of enormous rivers of ice.

The enthusiastic explorers wanted to create a continuity of public imagery for the newly discovered glaciers. Consequently, they decided to connect the glaciers by naming them after prominent institutions of higher learning. The inlet in which all these aqueous marvels are located came to be known as the College Fjord.

The first of the newfound glaciers were named after schools represented on the expedition – Harvard and Amherst. They were followed by other elite colleges along the eastern seaboard – some of which had helped to fund the expedition – Yale, Barnard, Bryn Mawr, Holyoke, Smith, Vassar, and Wellesley. Columbia and Dartmouth also have glacier namesakes, but they are not located in College Fjord. Conspicuous by its prestigious absence is a Princeton Glacier.

The Harvard Glacier pictured above covers over 100,000 acres of the Chugach National Forest. It is the second largest glacier in Prince William Sound and is located at the end of the College Fjord. It is 1.5 miles wide and about 300 feet high at the point where it calves icebergs into the water.

The Harvard Glacier is the northernmost point visited by the cruise ships sailing the Inside Passage of Alaska. Another popular route takes passengers to Glacier Bay. Either destination is equally inspiring to the naturalist/tourist.

Because the members of The Harriman Expedition took hundreds of photos of glaciers, Mr. Harriman is credited with providing significant visual comparisons of how the great glaciers have changed over the course of the last century.

Happy travels!

Photos © Wayne and Judy Bayliff