180 /. 0. -Russell — Mt. St. Elias and its Glaciers. 



All of the streams where they leave the glacier are over- 

 loaded and at once deposit the coarser portions of their burdens. 

 Those which bifurcate, continue to build up their channels all 

 the way to the sea ; while the rivers, formed by the union of 

 many small branches, excavates channels, the depth of which is 

 regulated by the elevation of the land above sea level. All of 

 the streams bear quantities of debris to the ocean, but there 

 their work ends. The waves and currents in the ocean seize 

 the debris delivered to them and build it into beaches and bars. 

 Nearly all of the streams near their mouths are turned west- 

 ward on account of sand bars thrown across them by the pre- 

 vailing ocean currents. Nothing of the nature of stream 

 channels beneath sea level is suggested, or could reasonably be 

 expected. 



On the border of the glacier facing Yakutat bay the drainage 

 is different from that on the southern border. The flow of 

 the ice is there eastward and instead of forming a bold, con- 

 tinuous escarpment, ends irregularly with a low frontal slope. 



The principal streams on the eastern margin in 1891, were 

 the Osar, Kame and Kwik. Each of these issues from a tunnel 

 and then flows for some distance between walls of ice. Of the 

 three streams, mentioned, the most interesting is the Kame. 

 This issues from the mouth of a tunnel in the ice about three 

 miles back from the actual border of the glacier, and flows 

 for half a mile in a narrow canon with walls of dirty ice fifty 

 feet or more high. The canon then expands and forms a valley 

 bordered by moraine-covered hills of ice, which gradually 

 widens toward the east, until it merges with a low marshy tract 

 bordering the shore of the bay. Well rounded sand and 

 gravel is being deposited by this stream in large quantities. 

 This covers the ice over which the stream flows, and during 

 former stages, was deposited in terraces along the lower por- 

 tion of the channel. These terraces, in part at least, rest on 

 ice. The rounded and worn condition of the gravel and sand 

 brought out of the tunnel, is proof that it has had a long inter- 

 or sub-glacial journey. 



On the north side of the open channel of Kame stream 

 there is a sharp ridge of well rounded gravel which runs paral- 

 lel with the present river, and in places can be seen to rest on 

 an icy bed. This was evidently deposited by a stream similar 

 to the present one, but which flowed fully one hundred feet 

 higher. This ridge of gravel seems to be of the same general 

 character as the Karnes of New England and other glaciated 

 regions. 



Near the shore of Takutat bay, Kame, Osar and other 

 streams of the same character, spread out in lagoons and sand 

 flats, where the finer material which they carry is deposited. 



