Changing direction: How glacial retreat is pushing the Alsek River to follow a new route
Print article The Alsek, a world-class rafting river that flows into the Gulf of Alaska from its headwaters in Canada, may soon abandon the lower part of its drainage for a steeper one 15 miles away. The Alsek River starts in the Yukon Territory, flows through British Columbia and then on to Dry Bay in Alaska. It is a rare northern river that cuts from the interior of the continent through rugged mountains to the coast. The re-route of the Alsek River’s ocean connection will be due to the extreme melt of Grand Plateau Glacier, which acts like a cork that prevents the Alsek from following...