Clyde Wahrhaftig and Allan Cox (1959) Rock glaciers in the Alaska Range. Bulletin of the Geological Society of America 70(4): 383–436

• Published in: Progress in Physical Geography: Earth and Environment
• Main Author: Stine, Melanie
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: SAGE Publications 2013
• Subjects: General Earth and Planetary Sciences; Earth and Planetary Sciences (miscellaneous); Geography, Planning and Development; alaska range; glacier; glaciers; Alaska
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0309133313475693; http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0309133313475693; http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full-xml/10.1177/0309133313475693

Rock glaciers are one of the most prominent geomorphic features in high-elevation areas and affect numerous hydrologic, ecologic, and geomorphic processes. However, little scientific attention was focused on rock glaciers during the first part of the 20th century. In 1959, Clyde Wahrhaftig and Allan Cox published a paper titled ‘Rock glaciers in the Alaska Range’, which initiated worldwide interest in these features and a subsequent surge of publications addressing rock glaciers. Wahrhaftig and Cox (1959) provided a detailed and encompassing study on rock glacier features, origins, classifications, relations to climate, movement, and composition. Their data and descriptions established a firm basis for further advancement of rock glacier research. This paper aims to assess the influence that Wahrhaftig and Cox (1959) had on subsequent publications and studies of rock glaciers.