Kahiltna Glacier is the longest glacier in the Alaska Range, stretching 44 miles (71 kilometres) through the heart of Alaska’s highest peaks. It originates on the southwest slope of Denali near Kahiltna Pass at an elevation of 3,150 metres and flows almost due south between Mount Foraker to the west and Mount Hunter to the east.
The glacier was first documented by Alaska Range explorer Lieutenant J.S. Herron in 1902, who recorded the name as “Car-ilt-nu Glacier”. The name derives from an indigenous Athabaskan term, with an alternate form given as Kagheltnu Li’a. Its exceptional length and position beneath North America’s highest mountain make it a significant feature of the Alaska Range’s ice field system. The glacier serves as a major drainage route for the region’s snow and ice, shaped by the steep topography and high precipitation that characterise this corner of the subarctic.
