This weekend I’ll be going to a small town called Yakutat in Alaska for a mapping project. What’s so special about this place?

The Hubbard Glacier has advanced enough to disconnect the Russell Fiord from the sea and create “Russell Lake” once in 1986 and again in 2002. The blocking of the fiord threatens the local fishing-based economy, as the Situk river would be flooded if the wall of ice and mud held up. Fortunately in 1986 and 2002 that didn’t happen; each time the natural dam broke with tremendous force (sometimes called “jökulhlaup”, usually but usually when caused by a volcano).

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