Bainbridge Glacier originates on Pinnacle Mountain at the edge of the Sargent Icefield on the Kenai Peninsula, and flows east for 10 miles (16 km) to Port Bainbridge, about 47 miles (76 km) south-southeast of Whittier and 36 miles (58 km) east of Seward, Alaska. The glacier’s name was first reported in 1905 by Ulysses S. Grant of the US Geological Survey and was widely known and used locally. Port Bainbridge is a fjord off the east coast of the Kenai Peninsula, named in 1794 by Captain George Vancouver in honor of John Bainbridge, a 17th-century astronomer. The fjord is about 3 miles (4.8 km) wide and 12 miles (19 km) long, with depths reaching 870 feet (265 m). The head of the fjord is a low saddle, about 200 feet (61 m) in elevation and 1 mile (1.6 km) wide, leading to Icy Bay in western Prince William Sound. Bainbridge Glacier and three smaller glaciers to the north are on the fjord’s western shore. The eastern shore is primarily formed by Bainbridge Island and is interrupted by Bainbridge Passage, Prince of Wales Passage, and Elrington Passage, which connect to southern Prince William Sound. The Sargent Icefield was named in 1952 by the US Geological Survey for Rufus H. Sargent, a topographer who conducted extensive exploration and mapping on the Kenai Peninsula. The Kenai Peninsula region comprises the Chugach and Prince William terranes, part of a Mesozoic–Quaternary accretionary complex composed of turbidites exposed for about 1,367 miles (2,200 km) along Alaska’s southern coast. In Prince William Sound, the turbidites of the Chugach and Prince William terranes are known as the Valdez and Orca Groups, respectively. The Sargent Icefield caps part of the Orca Group, which consists of thick layers of sandstone, siltstone, mudstone, and conglomerate—remnants of ancient submarine fan deposits. These sedimentary layers were intruded by plutons about 50 million years ago, indicating accretion by the middle Eocene.

The earliest human migrants into the region likely encountered an inhospitable landscape dominated by embayments filled with glacier ice and limited vegetated flats. The Chugach people of Prince William Sound have historically identified as Alutiiq, the Sugpiat word for ‘Aleut,’ since at least 1851. The Russians referred to all coastal Alaska Natives as Aleuts. Today, Alaska Natives in the region, mostly living in Chenega, about 13 miles (21 km) east-southeast of Bainbridge Glacier, refer to themselves as Aleut, Alutiiq, and Sugpiat, though Sugpiat is becoming the preferred term. The Sugpiat traditionally inhabited the coast from the Kodiak Archipelago north to the Kenai Peninsula and east into Prince William Sound as far as Kayak Island. Their winter homes were semi-subterranean structures called barabaras, while summers were spent at seasonal fish camps. Prince William Sound was first partially explored by Captain James Cook on his third Pacific voyage in May 1778. The Russians subsequently explored the area in 1781, 1788, and 1793. By 1790, they had established sea otter hunting stations, rapidly depleting the population. In 1794, Captain George Vancouver explored the sound for a possible Northwest Passage, and Lieutenant Joseph Whidbey traveled south along the western coast of Prince William Sound in a small boat. In 1887, Samuel Applegate conducted a thorough exploration of western Prince William Sound aboard the schooner Nellie Juan. Although Applegate never published his account, George Davidson studied and summarized the voyage. After interviewing Applegate, Davidson described the features seen and published this account along with Applegate’s map—the earliest reference for many Prince William Sound glaciers. In 1905, 1908, and 1909, Ulysses S. Grant and Daniel F. Higgins studied the geology of Prince William Sound for the US Geological Survey. They were the first to document many glaciers and took photographs that remain invaluable reference points for modern glaciologists.

In 1905, Grant and Higgins explored Port Bainbridge and documented the tidewater Bainbridge Glacier, along with three smaller glaciers on the western side of Port Bainbridge that were no longer tidewater. They did not approach the glacier’s terminus until 1908, when they made detailed observations. They noted fresh push moraines along the glacier’s margin, some containing embedded trees and debris, indicating a recent advance. No further recorded visits to Bainbridge Glacier occurred until 1957, when photographs were taken from the same stations used by Grant and Higgins. A baseline was measured, and four photo stations were reoccupied. A botanist also dated the vegetation on the moraines and at the glacier’s trim line. The expedition found that the ice position had changed little since 1908. However, a 1967 study determined that the glacier advanced around 1934, overriding its 1908 moraine. By 2000, Bainbridge Glacier’s terminus had retreated about 1,000 feet (300 m) from the moraine, forming the head of a small embayment on the western shore of Port Bainbridge. Most of the glacier’s terminus was fronted by an arcuate ice-marginal lake. A well-vegetated, braided outwash plain lay on the southern side of the terminus. This stability suggests near-equilibrium conditions, where the firn line and accumulation area remain above the critical elevation that would expand the ablation area. However, any further upward movement of the firn line will significantly reduce the accumulation area. If this upward shift continues, as suggested by the retreating terminus, it will greatly influence the glacier’s frontal behavior. Read more here and here. Explore more of Bainbridge Glacier and Port Bainbridge here: