Wet and Dry, Fire and Ice: Visiting Seven of America’s Natural Wonders VOICE TWO: Now it is time to cool off in the far northern state of Alaska. We could probably just call all of Alaska a natural wonder. But, of special interest are its glaciers. These huge, slow-moving masses of ice cover about seventy-five thousand square kilometers. About one hundred thousand of these rivers of ice flow down mountains. Some start from thousands of meters up a mountain. They can flow to areas just a few hundred meters above sea level. The largest Alaskan glacier is called Malaspina. It is more than two thousand two hundred square kilometers. VOICE ONE: Most glaciers move very slowly. But sometimes one will suddenly speed ahead for a year or two. These are called surge- glaciers. The most recent surges were in two thousand. The Tokositna glacier and Yanert Glaciers now have deep, narrow cuts on their formerly smooth surfaces. Yanert Glacier dropped ninety-one meters as a result of the surge. It is always very cold on the glaciers. Next we go to a hot spot. Sometimes very hot.