Nugget Falls Explained

Nugget Falls
Photo Width:250
Location:East of Mendenhall Glacier, Auke Bay, Alaska
Coords:58.4272°N -134.5367°W
Type:Cascade and Fan
Height:377feet
Width:100feet
Height Longest:278feet
Number Drops:2
Average Flow:Perennial
Watercourse:Nugget Creek

Nugget Falls, also known as Nugget Creek Falls or Mendenhall Glacier Falls, is a waterfall downstream of the Nugget Glacier, at the base of Bullard Mountain, in the U.S. state of Alaska. Formed by the creek from the Nugget Glacier, the waterfall drops 377feet in two tiers of 99feet and 278feet onto a sandbar in Mendenhall Lake, which is the freshwater pool at the face of the Mendenhall Glacier. The lake then drains via Mendenhall River into the Inside Passage.[1] The waterfall is fed by Nugget Creek, which is in turn fed by the Nugget Glacier, a tributary glacier on the mountainside east of Auke Bay. The creek cascades down towards Mendenhall Lake, forming a hanging valley, then plunges over the falls to the lake. Prior to the recession of Mendenhall Glacier, it was said that the falls would drop "directly on the glacier",[1] or that the "glacier covered the waterfall".[2]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Bryan Swan. Dean Goss. Nugget Falls. www.world-waterfalls.com. World Waterfall Database. 2009-06-17. https://web.archive.org/web/20100105154431/http://world-waterfalls.com/waterfall.php?num=460. 2010-01-05. dead.
  2. Web site: Going It Alone: The Waterfall at Mendenhall Glacier, Alaska. Gabriel. Theresa. www.nomadjournaltrips.com. nomad journal trips. 2009-06-17. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20090602132930/http://www.nomadjournaltrips.com/mendenhall_glacier_alaska. 2009-06-02.